What Is Propylene? Check the Benefit & Safety Information

Did you know about propylene? Propylene or propene is a chemical that is family to olefin. It is the by-product of a petroleum refinery and a co-product of ethylene production.

To learn more about propylene and its benefits in the industry, read the explanation below!

What Is Propylene?

Propylene is a basic chemical that creates more complex chemicals. It forms several chemicals, such as cumene, acrylonitrile, acrylic acid, and propylene oxide.

Propylene or propene has several properties, such as being colorless, being flammable, and being a liquid gas with a slightly sweet odor. Propene is the main material of polypropylene production which is widely used plastic.

Not only that but propene is also made of petroleum and processed through light naphtha steam cracking and fluid catalytic cracking process, made of natural gas, and coals.

Steam cracking is the petrochemical process that breaks saturated hydrocarbons into smaller unsaturated hydrocarbons. This process is done in steam crackers working to produce important materials, such as ethylene, butadiene, propylene, aromatics, and acetylene, at 800-870 degrees Celsius.

On the other hand, fluid catalytic cracking is the secondary conversion process in the petroleum industry that transforms petroleum fractions into fuels, such as gasoline, diesel, and LPG.

In detail, fluid catalytic cracking is the chemical process using catalysts to create new smaller molecules than the bigger ones to make distillation fuels and gasoline.

Propylene mixes the flame quality of acetylene with the secondary heating capacity of propane. In addition, propene is hotter than propane if burnt. Propylene is the second simplest olefin with a chemical formula of C3H6.

Since it is the forming basic chemical of other chemicals, the demand for propylene production is increasing. According to Statista, in 2022, the propylene production capacity reached 150.3 million metric tons and is predicted to develop in the next year due to propene factory building plans in Asia and the Middle East.

Propylene has three primary grades, such as refinery, chemical, and polymer grades. Refinery grade propylene has 50–70% pure propylene in propane.

This grade is typically used in liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), becomes a component that increases octane in motor gasoline, and is used in chemical synthesis.

Meanwhile, chemical-grade propylene is the propylene used in derivatives like oxo alcohols. Then, polymer-grade propylene has a few impurities and is used to create carpet fiber, packaging coating, and furniture coating.

Propylene of this quality is usually used to create part of plastic mold for automotive, health, and household products.

Chemical Reactions in Propylene

Propylene has similar properties to other olefin because it easily undergoes addition reaction at room temperature. Some reactions that happen in propene are as follows:

1. Polymerization

Most of the propene is used to manufacture polypropylene via polymerization. Propene will be polymerized when it encounters the right catalyst.

To achieve the polymerization reaction, you can use high pressure to suspend the catalyst in a liquid propene solution or flow gaseous propene through a fluidized bed reactor (FBR).

2. Combustion

Propylene is flammable just like other olefins. It can burn when there is a proper or excessive oxygen level. When it burns, propene will produce water and carbon dioxide.

Benefits of Propylene

Propylene is often used in various industries, especially the petrochemical industry that produces raw materials. Below are some products using propene:

Plastic resin to make clothes, plastic bottles, and outdoor furniture.
Isopropyl alcohol to make solvents, cleaning products, cosmetic, and pharmaceutical products.
Propylene oxide to make vehicle parts, furniture, boats, household tools, resin, and solvents.
Acrylonitrile to make acrylic carpet fiber, vehicle parts, electronics, clothes, and wastewater treatment components.
Plasticizer alcohol to make surface coating, raincoat, cable coating, and adhesive.
Acrylic acid to make adhesives, surface coatings, and superabsorbent polymers, such as diapers and sanitary pads.
Cumene to make acetone in health products and baseball helmets as well as phenol for wood adhesive and coating.

Safety Information about Propylene Exposure

Since propane is highly flammable, it is commonly stored as a liquid in high-pressure containers. Yet, propylene can be stored as a gas in an approved container that is guaranteed safe.

Propene is highly flammable, especially when exposed to heat, flames, and sparks. Propene storage containers can rupture if exposed to intense heat or fire for long periods.

Therefore, workers must be careful and wear complete Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) to prevent greater risk.

Due to its flammable characteristics, factories and companies need to implement adequate OHS policies to ensure the safety of workers and the surrounding community.

Regarding OHS policies in the working environment, Chandra Asri Group implements basic PPE, such as long-sleeve suits, safety shoes, safety helmets, and safety goggles as well as special PPE, such as masks, earmuffs, body harnesses, gloves, and coveralls that must be worn by all employees.

Aside from that, Chandra Asri Group also implements other OHS policies, such as emergency response procedures to mitigate the risk of work accidents, PAUSE, and so on.

That is the information about propylene that you should know. Propylene or propene has become one of the basic chemicals for various manufacturing processes, especially plastics, housewares, vehicle parts, and other products.

Regarding propylene, Chandra Asri Group is a leading chemical solution company in Southeast Asia that provides high-quality olefins, such as ethylene, propylene, pyrolysis gasoline, pyrolysis fuel oil, and crude C4.

Propylene supplied directly to the Chandra Asri Group complex has a purity of 99.5%. The propane is used to produce polypropylene (PP) which then becomes the raw material for making plastic.

So, for your manufacturing chemical needs, trust Chandra Asri Group!