The New Fluidized Bed Reactor for the Maleic Anhydride Unit at Polynt Ravenna Site

The video shows the installation of the new fluidized bed reactor from its arrival at the dock in Ravenna to its positioning on its foundation at Polynt. The system used to lift the reactor is an innovative one engineered by Fagioli; it is particularly suitable where traditional cranes are limited by space constraints, as in this case.

Built at the Walter Tosto workshops in Chieti, the reactor—7.0 metres in diameter and 25.0 metres in height—has an approximate weight of 500 tons. Inside the reactor there are about 9.0 km of cooling coils capable of removing the heat generated by the reaction of n‑butane and air in the presence of a catalyst, developed and manufactured in-house at Polynt’s R&D and production facilities in Scanzorosciate (BG).

The reaction heat is efficiently recovered to produce steam, which is then converted into electrical energy used to meet the plant’s energy needs and partially exported to the national grid.

The reactor is designed to produce up to 60 kty of Maleic Anhydride using fluidized bed technology, jointly developed by Lummus and Polynt in the 1980s and continuously improved over the years through Polynt’s operational experience at the Ravenna plant.

The reactor is expected to come on stream in September 2022.