Process engineering development for the manufacturing of manganese octoate on a pilot plant scale

A technically and economically feasible process is developed for the manufacturing of manganese octoate as a powerful paint drier in a pilot plant unit. Such material is an environmentally safe through drier, catalyzes cross linking within the whole coating layer and is highly recommended for both hard and durable finishes. Scaling-up is based upon successful studying, evaluation and optimization of all operating parameters affecting process chemical reaction kinetics, product recovery and purification, and finally the vacuum crystallization stage. The performance of the pilot unit, overall conversion of reactants (>85%) were in excellent conformity with laboratory results. Full characterization of the final product is accomplished through practicing a variety of instrumental XRF, FTIR, XRD, ED-XRF, elemental and HPLC analyses. The developed product has been used in different commercially practiced formulations proved excellent drier characteristics including adhesive strength, film hardness and ductility. The design capacity of the pilot plant could match excellently with local commercial market demands that depend on price-consumption rate relationships. The process techno-economic evaluation reveals high profitability potentials including % annual return on investment and payback period. (C) 2011 The Institution of Chemical Engineers. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.