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Inexpensive, competitive methods - the results of decades of experience.
Aromatic benzene is used in the chemical industry as a raw material for making many organic and aromatic compounds. It is the starting material for the production of paints, plastics, synthetic resins, solvents, plant protection products and detergents. Benzene increases the octane number of petrol, and improves its anti-knock properties. Benzene is hydrogenated to produce acetone and phenol, as well as other compounds. Phenol is an equally important industrial chemical. It is used as an intermediate product in the production of plastics.
EPC offers you a selection of modern processes for the production of benzene and phenol, as well as wide choice state-of-the art technologies. EPC focuses on both the economic and the ecological aspects.
Caprolactam
Caprolactam is an important starting material for the polymerization of polyamide 6. The specialists at EPC use the cost-effective, competitive amine-anon method to produce caprolactam. This process is known for both its high efficiency and the relatively low capital investment it requires. In this classic process, in which the reaction route has often been further developed over the years, cyclohexanone is oximated with hydroxylammonium sulfate in the presence of ammonia, subsequently rearranged to form caprolactam, and finally purged of the other reaction products.
Despite the continual further developments of the technologies, the experts at EPC apply all their thinking to ensuring that caprolactam plants continue to remain commercially viable and environmentally compatible, with or without the production of ammonium sulfate.
Polyamide
Polyamides have universal applications on account of their outstanding properties. These include low density, high melting and softening points, a low coefficient of friction, high tear resistance and elasticity, high dielectric strength, and resistance to oil and chemicals. Our patented PA 6 extraction process – EPC PAtraction – is a result of our decades of experience in the production and processing of polyamides. We select the appropriate reactors for the specific application, so that high or low viscosity granulates can be produced as required. After the subsequent granulation of the polymer, the PA 6 granulate is extracted and dried.
Here again, EPC has the specific know-how that enables customers all over the world to produce granulates with an extremely low proportion of residues in the extraction. The granulates are used, for example, in the food industry.
Ammonium sulfate
Ammonium sulfate is a salt of ammonia and sulfuric acid. As an especially white nitrogen fertilizer, it is an indispensable fertilizer additive that is most effective in neutral to alkaline soils.
The chemistry experts at EPC recommend using the commercially proven "big crystal-crystallization" process to achieve a really high-quality product. It is admittedly a complex process, but it is stable and flexible, and produces top quality ammonium sulfate with the aid of hydraulic classifying device equipment. The use of this modern technology offers many advantages. The heat and steam produced during the "big crystal-crystallization" process are recycled to reduce energy consumption to a very low level.
The substantial reduction of energy costs coupled with the high environmental compatibility due to the small quantities of wastes, and a top-class product enable you to look forward to a lucrative return on your investment.
EPC Exclusives
Process development
We have been working with strong partners for many years to develop our processes. Renowned institutes – such as the Thuringian Institute for Textile and Plastics Research (TITK) and the Fraunhofer Institute – value their cooperation with EPC. In this way, we have built up an impressive potential for innovation. Working together with our customers, this process development has created many attractive new processes for new products. In recent years, EPC has designed and constructed a large number of research and pilot plants for various fields of application. The most recent has been the pilot carbon fibre plant at the TITK in Rudolstadt.
Simulation of critical stages in the design of a process
Simulating the crucial basic operations (e.g. reactions, rectifications, washing) of a process helps to identify and eliminate any weak points. Safety measures can be derived from the results of the simulation, and simulations also help the EPC specialists to select the most suitable technologies.
Customized plant layout
The layout of a plant depends on a wide range of constraints and conditions, for example the process requirements, the amount and arrangement of the equipment, fire and explosion protection requirements, operating and maintenance concepts, whether the plant is located in a new or existing building, open or closed architecture, and so on. In each case, EPC can develop the optimal layout for the plant and meet the customer's specific requirements. This applies to both the construction of a new plant and to the extension or revamping of an existing plant.
