Surfactant synthesis technology from oil refining by-products developed at TPU

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Surfactant synthesis technology from oil refining by-products developed at TPU

Researchers of Tomsk Polytechnic University, with the support of the federal program of the Ministry of Education and Science of the Russian Federation "Priority 2030" of the federal project "Youth and Children", are developing a domestic technology for the production of surfactants based on secondary oil refining by-products. The TPU researchers have already perfected the technique by synthesizing a trial batch of petroleum sulfonates.

Surfactants are widely used as a base for synthetic detergents, and are also used in the chemical and petroleum industries. For example, in the production of demulsifiers, anticorrosive chemicals. Surfactants are also used to intensify oil recovery.

They are produced from various types of raw materials, including those based on petroleum sulfonates. According to the researchers, there are technologies for petroleum sulfonate synthesis in Russia, but they are mainly based on foreign developments. And the products obtained earlier in this way were mainly exported abroad, where they were used for the production of household detergents. Products based on Russian raw materials were already delivered to domestic markets in the final form.

"Alpha-olefins and linear alkylbenzenes are most often used as raw materials in current sulfonation technologies. These are products of basic organic synthesis processes. In general, this is a rather expensive raw material, since it is obtained as a result of several stages of chemical conversion. Exports of raw materials and imports of finished products are currently strongly restrained due to sanctions pressure.

Therefore, there is an important task - to convert current production facilities to produce highly demanded surfactants and chemicals. Besides, this is a promising area not only for the domestic market, but also for exports to friendly countries. Our project is also important because it allows not only to preserve and develop competencies in sulfonation technologies, but also to improve existing technological facilities,

- says Elena Ivashkina, head of the project, professor of the Department of Chemical Engineering at the TPU Engineering School of Natural Resources.

Previously, the research team developed a comprehensive mathematical model of the sulfonation of alkylbenzenes, the key ingredients in the formulas of modern household and industrial detergents. Optimum design characteristics have been identified with its help, which make it possible to increase process efficiency and significantly reduce the number of stops and flushes of chemical reactors.

"We have accumulated a good deal of groundwork in this area, developed a digital twin of the existing production facility, and proposed solutions to optimize the design of reactor equipment. Developing the topic, we started experimental research, directly, surfactant synthesis from an alternative type of raw material in the laboratory," adds the researcher.

After analyzing the available data, the TPU researchers proposed using various low-margin by-products of secondary refining processes for the production of petroleum sulfonates. For example, heavy gas oils from coking, cracking and other thermodestructive processes. Currently, they are used, for example, as components for boiler fuels.

"These are low-cost products, but they are potential raw materials for sulfonation and production of petroleum sulfonates. And this is already a high-margin product with a potentially wide market. Our task was to conduct exploratory research confirming the hypothesis that synthesis from these types of raw materials is possible," the expert explains.

A new, high-tech equipment, a sulfonation plant, was purchased to conduct the experiments. Such a plant is used for the production of sulfonic acids, their salts and other sulfur-containing products with the use of sulfonating agents, for example, sulfuric anhydride and other reagents.

"We have already managed to obtain and analyze a trial batch of petroleum sulfonates based on low-quality secondary oil refining products. This confirms our hypothesis about the possibility of synthesis using alternative sources of raw materials. Then, we plan to refine the methodology qualitatively, develop new batches, focusing on optimizing synthesis parameters to increase product yield and improve its quality," sums up Elena Ivashkina.

The research features and the results already obtained were presented at the XXVI International Conference on Chemical Reactors (Khimreaktor-26), held in Minsk at the end of October.