Abstract: The industrial application of a 200 kt/a m-xylene adsorption separation unit in ZhongJin Petrochemical Co. Ltd. was introduced. The unit was completed and began to be put into operation in 2020, which was the largest m-xylene production unit in the world. The test results show that the capacity of the unit is 203.3 kt/a, the purity of the m-xylene product is 99.53%, and the single-pass yield is 95.1%. The appropriate range of water content in the adsorbent is beneficial for the selectivity, which can improve the product purity and yield. In addition, benzene is a temporary poison for the adsorbent, and increasing benzene content in the desorbent will reduce the yield.

Key words: C₈ aromatics, m-xylene, adsorptive separation, water content