Hydrogen peroxide: Production route
The clever recycled molecule behind nearly all peroxide
What this tab covers How it is made: the main production routes or, for product families, the main product types and technologies, compared on share of supply, inputs per tonne, plant scale, yield, co-products and unit cost.The anthraquinone autoxidation (AO) process makes nearly all of the world's peroxide, in plants from 10 kt to more than 300 kt a year. Producers differ mainly in working solution chemistry, catalyst and scale, which set hydrogen and energy use. Direct synthesis from hydrogen and oxygen over palladium has been piloted but not scaled. Small on-site electrochemical generators make dilute peroxide from water, air and power for water treatment, a route that could grow with cheap renewable electricity.
Routes compared
| Route | Share of supply | Inputs per tonne | Typical scale | Yield | Co-products | Unit cost |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Anthraquinone autoxidation (large merchant plants) | over 95% of world output (indicative) | about 0.06 t H2, 0.3-0.6 MWh electricity, 1-2 t steam, solvent and Pd losses per t H2O2 100% (indicative) | 50-150 kt/yr merchant plants (indicative); Gujarat Alkalies 39 kt/yr across two sites (100% basis) | about 95% on hydrogen (indicative) | none material; solvent emissions | cash cost about $400-600/t (100%) at $2/kg grey hydrogen and $60/MWh (indicative) |
| Mega-plants integrated with HPPO | a growing share of world capacity (indicative) | as above, with lower energy per t through scale (indicative) | 230 kt/yr at Evonik Jilin (2014) | about 95% (indicative) | none | lowest in the industry (indicative) |
| On-site electrochemical generation | very small (indicative) | electricity and air; no hydrogen (indicative) | kg to tonnes per day | not published | none | higher than AO per tonne but avoids transport (indicative) |
How each route works
Anthraquinone autoxidation (large merchant plants)A working solution of ethyl- or amyl-anthraquinone is cycled through hydrogenation, oxidation and extraction. Plants of 50-150 kt/yr serve pulp, textile and chemical customers within a region. Solvay, Evonik, Arkema, Mitsubishi Gas Chemical, Kemira and Chinese producers run this route.
Mature and scalable; energy and solvent intensive, and peroxide is costly to ship.
Fibre2Fashion (GACL, 2009); indicative Mega-plants integrated with HPPOA single-train AO plant of 200-300 kt/yr is built on the propylene oxide site and pipes peroxide directly. Evonik-thyssenkrupp Uhde and BASF-Dow-Solvay technologies dominate. China has built many HPPO plants since 2014.
Captive and efficient; tied to one customer's run rates.
Evonik (2014) On-site electrochemical generationCells reduce oxygen at a cathode to make dilute peroxide (under about 5%) on demand from water and electricity. Used for water treatment and disinfection where delivery of concentrated peroxide is difficult.
Can be zero carbon with clean power; dilute product only.
Indicative Unit economics are indicative ranges from the sources named; costs move with feedstock and energy prices, plant size and region.