Graduation Project

UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY
CHEMICAL ENGINEERING
DEPARTMENT BRANCH OF
CHEMICAL PORCESS ENGINEERING
MORNING STUDY FOURTH STAGE
Production of Hexamine
Supervised By :Lec. Ayad.Diri
Prepared By: Humam .Y. Abd-almonem
: Lith .A. Mohissen
Academic Year: 2021_2022

1
INTRODUCTION:
Hexamine is also known as hexamethylenetetramine, aminoform,
crystamine, methenamine or formin a white, crystalline powder with a
slight amine odor. It is soluble in water,
alcohol, and chloroform, but it is insoluble in ether.

Hexamethylenetetramine (C6H12N4) is a fourth-cycled molecule that
may be easily produced at ambient temperature and atmospheric
pressure by condensation of ammonia and formaldehyde under aqueous
acidic conditions.
HISTORICAL REVIEW:
Since its discovery over one hundred years ago,
hexamine has become increasingly important in a large
number of industries in the United States and around
the world. The U.S. production of hexamine exceeded
ninety million pounds in 1986
United States hexamine production and usage peaked

during the Vietnam War at a level of almost one
hundred and fifty million pounds per year.
PHYSICAL PROPERTIES
Hexamine is a white color crystal shape powders, odorless with

slightly sweet taste. It has anaphylactic irritation to the skin; specific
gravity: 1.331(20℃); flash point: 250℃; stored in the air, it is stable,
but easy to absorb moisture and lump. Hexamine is flammable with
colorless flame. Its melting point is 263℃. When heated to 100℃ at
normal pressure, minor part of it will be sublimated and decomposed
into methylamine. Hexamine has a very good solubility in water. At
25℃, its concentration in saturated aqueous solution is 46.5%.
Hexamine is a weak alkaline reagent with PH value: 8-8.5. When
ammonia concentration increases, the solubility of hexamine in
ammonia solution will decrease. Hexamine will be decomposed in
presence of hydrochloric acid, sulphuric acid, acetic acid and salicylic
acid to form formaldehyde, ammonia, sodium carbonate, and
methylamine. The higher H + concentration is, the faster the
decomposition will take place.
formula (CH2)6N4
Molecular Weight 140.19
Sublimation 285 – 295°C
Temperature
Flash Point 250°C
Density of solid @ 1.33g/cm3
20°C
Bulk Density 700 to 800 g/L
Particle Size 700 micron - Maximum
Specific Heat 36.5 cal/°C
Heat of Formation @ 28.8 kcal/mol
25°C
Heat of Combustion 1,003 kcal/mol
@ 25°C
Solubility in Water
20°C 874 g/L
25°C 867 g/L
60°C 844 g/L
pH of 10% Aqueous 8 to 9
Solution
Vapor Pressure @ 0.0035 mbar
20°C
CHEMICAL PROPERTIES
1-RDX synthesis:
In January of 1941, J. C. Sheehan, who had just
completed his doctoral thesis with Bachmann,
began work on a novel approach to the synthesis of
RDX. In the conventional British process for making
RDX, hexamethylenetetramine is treated with 98-
100 percent nitric acid, as is shown in equation (1).
C6H12N4 + 3 HNO3 –> C3H6O6N6 + 3 HCHO + NH3
CHEMICAL PROPERTIES
2-HMDT
Hexamethylene triperoxide diamine (HMTD) is a high explosive organic
compound. HMTD is an organic peroxide, a heterocyclic compound with
a cage-like structure. It is a primary explosive. It has been considered
as an initiating explosive for blasting caps in the early part of 20th
century, mostly because of its high initiating power (higher than that of
mercury fulminate) and its inexpensive production. As such, it was
quickly taken up as a primary explosive in mining applications.
However, it has since been superseded by more (chemically) stable
compounds such as dextrinated lead azide and DDNP (which contains no
lead or mercury). HMTD is widely used in amateur-made blasting caps.
(CH2)6N4+3H202-> (CH2)6N2(O2)3+2NH3
COMBUSTION OF HEXAMINE:
(CH2)6N4+10O2->4CO+2CO2+NO2+6H2O
PFD
EQUIPMENT DESIGN
EQUIPMENT DESIGN
ENVIRONMENTAL EFFECTS
 hexamine to be dissolved in water and the binders filtered off before use.
 Safety. Hexamine is not terribly toxic, so its major hazard comes from its high flammability. Also,
because it does not melt or produce smoke while burning, it can be difficult to tell that samples are
actually on fire, leading to accidental burns.
 Storage. Hexamine doesn't require special storage conditions, though it should be kept in closed
plastic bottles, at room temperature or lower, away from acids or corrosive vapors
 Disposal. Hexamine can be safely burned. Small amounts can be poured down the drain or in the
ground.
 Hand protection. Wear suitable gloves. Chemical protection gloves are suitable, which are tested
according to EN 374. For special purposes, it is recommended to check the resistance to chemicals
of the protective gloves mentioned above together with the supplier of these gloves. The times are
approximate values from measurements at 22 ° C and permanent contact. Increased temperatures
due to heated substances, body heat etc. and a reduction of the effective layer thickness by
stretching can lead to a considerable reduction of the breakthrough time. If in doubt, contact
manufacturer. At an approx. 1.5 times larger / smaller layer thickness, the respective breakthrough
time is doubled / halved. The data apply only to the pure substance. When transferred to substance
mixtures, they may only be considered as a guide
DISCUSSION AND
CONCLUSION
 The aim of this project is to design a plant for the production of hexamine with a
capacity of (750kg\h) or 5000 ton per year
1. Three production methods are known for this material. The comparison between
these methods justifies the selection of the gas – gas phase method for the
production of hexamine
2. We used the dryer before the crystallizer in our project to increase the purity of the
hexamine crystals
3. The cost of our reactor was 57193$ and the volume was 3.9
4. The most important part of our reactor design was the control unit on our reactor
because if we leave the reactor without temperature control the heat will rise up and
the raw material will decompose to its original form thus, we will not get the desired
purity
5. We included in our project the effect of COVID 19 on the international market of
hexamine because the main source for hexamine production nowadays is China
6. The FCC(fixed capital cost) of our plant was
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UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY

Prepared By: Humam .Y. Abd-almonem

: Lith .A. Mohissen

Academic Year: 2021_2022

alcohol, and chloroform, but it is insoluble in ether.

United States hexamine production and usage peaked

Hexamine is a white color crystal shape powders, odorless with

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