DOI: https://doi.org/10.9767/jcerp.20420

Improving Energy Efficiency by Using Liquid Benzene in Production of Ethylbenzene from Ethylene and Benzene

Department of Chemical Engineering, Universitas Diponegoro, Jl. Prof. Sudarto, SH, Tembalang, Semarang, Indonesia

Received: 13 Jun 2025; Revised: 26 Jun 2025; Accepted: 27 Jun 2025; Available online: 16 Jul 2025; Published: 30 Dec 2025.
Editor(s): Istadi Istadi
Open Access Copyright (c) 2025 by Authors, Published by Universitas Diponegoro and BCREC Publishing Group
Creative Commons License This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
Fulltext View|Download

Citation Format:
Cover Image
Abstract

The production process of ethyl benzene through the alkylation reaction between ethylene and benzene is a crucial stage in the petrochemical industry, especially as the main raw material in the synthesis of styrene. The development and optimization of this process are important to increase reaction efficiency, reduce production costs, and minimize environmental impacts. This study aims to optimize the operating parameters of the alkylation reactor in order to obtain high ethylene conversion and maximum selectivity to ethyl benzene. The methods used include kinetic reaction modeling, process simulation, and sensitivity analysis to variables such as temperature, pressure, and mole ratio of ethylene to benzene. The simulation results show that the optimum conditions are achieved at a temperature of 650°F, a pressure of 300 psig, and a mole ratio of 10:1, with ethylene conversion reaching 97,3% and ethyl benzene selectivity of 99,6%. In conclusion, this optimization approach has succeeded in increasing the efficiency of the ethyl benzene production process and can be applied on an industrial scale to improve profitability and operational sustainability.

Keywords: Alkylation; Ethyl Benzene; Energy Efficiency; Optimization; Kinetic reactor

Article Metrics:

Article Info
Section: Original Research Articles
Language : EN
Recent articles
Process Intensification of Hydrodealkylation (HDA) for Benzene Production through Heat Integration and Gas Recycle Optimization Improving Glycerol Conversion by Implementing Recycle Streams and Reducing Distillation Steps in Glycerol Carbonate Production Quality Analysis of Biobriquettes Combination Ratio of Oil palm Frond and Water Hyacinth Waste with Durian Seed Flour Adhesive More recent articles
  1. . Zhang, Y., Liu, H., & Wang, Y. (2019). Process simulation and optimization of ethylbenzene production via Aspen Plus. Chemical Engineering Research and Design, 147, 1-9. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cherd.2019.04.012
  2. . Qin, Z., Zhou, Y., Li, Z., Hohne, M., Bornscheuer, U. T., & Wu, S. (2024). Production of biobased ethylbenzene by cascade biocatalysis with an engineered photodecarboxylase. Angewandte Chemie International Edition, 63 (e202314566). https://doi.org/10.1002/anie.202314566
  3. . Sharma, R., & Bhan, A. (2020). Selective alkylation of benzene with ethylene over modified zeolite catalysts: A kinetic and mechanistic study. Journal of Catalysis, 389, 1-10. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jcat.2020.05.002
  4. . Nakamura, K., Tanizaki, S., Tsubokawa, K., Tsuji, E., Suganuma, S., & Katada, N. (2024). Ethylation of benzene with ethane over MFI zeolite-supported Pb catalyst. Catalysis Letters, 155 (17). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10562-024-04862-0
  5. . Yan, Q., Wang, D., Zhang, K., Wang, J., Cao, Y., Liu, W., & Duan, X. (2025). Insights from thermodynamics analysis of gas-phase benzene alkylation with ethylene. Chemical Engineering Science, 121794. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ces.2025.121794
  6. . Cao, Y., Taghvaie Nakhjiri, A., & Sarkar, S. (2023). Modelling and simulation of waste tire pyrolysis process for recovery of energy and production of valueable chemicals (BTEX). Scientific Reports, 13 (1), 6090. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-023-33336-3
  7. . Yang, W., Wang, Z., Sun, H., & Zhang, B. (2016). Advances in development and industrial applications of ethylbenzene processes. Chinese Journal of catalysis, 37(1), 16-26. https://doi.org/10.1016/S1872-2067(15)60965-2
  8. . Ng, Q. H., Sharma, S, S., & Rangaiah, G. P. (2017). Design and analysis of an ethyl benzene production process using conventional distillation columns and dividing-wall column for multiple objectives. Chemical Engineering Research and Design, 118, 142-157. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cherd.2016.10.046
  9. . Welch, V. A., Fallon, K. J., & Gelbke, H. P., (2012). Ethylbenzene In Ullmann’s Encyclopedia of Industrial Chemistry (Vol. 13). Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA. https://doi.org/10.1002/14356007.a10 035.pub2
  10. . Wang, Y., Gao, Y., Xie, S., Liu, S., Chen, F., Xin, W., & Xu, L. (2018). Adjustment of the Al siting in MCM-22 zeolite and its effect on alkylation performance of ethylene with benzene. Catalysis Today, 316, 71-77. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cattod.2018.02.040
  11. . Khlebnikoya, E., Dolganova, I., Ivashkina, E., & Koshkin, S. (2016). Modeling of benzene with ethylene alkylation. MATEC Web of Conferences, 6, 01001. https://doi.org/10.1051/matecconf/20164901001
  12. . Ebrahim, A. n., Sharak, A. Z., Mousavi, S. A., Aghazadeh, F., & Soltani, A. (2011). Modification and optimization of benzene alkylation process for production of ethylbenzene. Chemical Engineering and Processing: Process Intensification, 50, 31-36. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cep.2010.10.011
  13. . Marchant, D. C. (2015). Optimization: A perspective on improving an ethylbenzene production design (Undergraduate honors thesis, University of Mississippi). eGrove. https://egrove.olemiss.edu/hon_thesis/265
  14. . Le, Q. N. (1994). Production of ethylbenzene (U.S. Patent No. 5,334,795). United States Patent and Trademark Office. https://patents.google.com/patent/US5334795A
  15. . Chudinova, A. A., Buchatskaya, N. I., Ivashkina, E. N., Salischeva, A. A., Gavrikov, A. A., Nurmakanova, A. E., & Khlebnikova, E. S. (2016). Increasing the efficiency of liquid phase alkylation of benzene with propylene using the method of mathematical modelling. Procedia Engineering, 152, 25-33. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.proeng.2016.07.613
  16. . Ivashkina, E., Khlebnikova, E., Dolganov, I., & Khroyan, L. A. (2021). Mathematical modelling of liquid-phase alkylation of benzene with ethylene considering the process unsteadiness. Industrial & Engineering Chemistry Research. https://dx.doi.org/10.1021/acs.iecr.0c02660

Last update:

No citation recorded.

Last update:

No citation recorded.