Intro to Plants

BD Plant

Butadiene (BD) Plant started commercial operation in Dec 1989 with the introduction of Nippon Zeon technology. This plant uses mixed C4(MC4), produced in the ethylene plant, as feedstock and DMF(Dimethyl Formamide), the extractant, to fractionate and produce 1,3-Butadiene according to the extractive distillation method.

Plant processes

  • First Extractive Distillation Unit
    This unit fractionates acetylenes, that dissolve well in DMF (Dimethyl Formamide), an extractant, among mixed C4 (MC4), butane that does not dissolve in BD, and C4 Raffinate-1 containing butene.
  • Second Extractive Distillation Unit
    This unit uses the extractant (DMF) to fractionate crude BD and acetylene from the BD and acetylenes fractionated along with solvents in the first extractive distillation unit.
  • BD Fractionation Unit
    This unit produces high-purity 1,3-butadiene in the two continuous separation columns using the differences in boiling points. Light acetylene is recovered as Off Gas and used as fuel, while heavy butene-2 and acetylene are fractionated as C4 Raffinate-2.

Product uses

BD Plant Product uses
C4 RAFFINATE-1 Used as feedstock for the MTBE Plant.
1,3-BUTADIENE Mostly used as feedstock for synthetic rubber (BR, SBR).