Sinopec Breaks Foreign Monopoly with Fluidized Bed Hydrogen Peroxide Technology

Sinopec Technology Development Co. has announced a major breakthrough in fluidized bed hydrogen peroxide production technology, overcoming long-standing foreign technical barriers. This innovation supports the upgrading of China’s hydrogen peroxide production technology and has already been licensed to foreign companies, with Europe’s largest engineering firm acting as its licensing agent in Western markets.

Hydrogen peroxide is one of the most complex and safety-critical basic chemicals to produce. In 2022, China accounted for over 50% of the global hydrogen peroxide market with an annual production capacity of 24 million tons. However, the majority of production still relies on outdated fixed-bed technology, which has only one-quarter the efficiency and capacity of foreign fluidized bed methods, making a technological breakthrough essential.

Led by Sinopec Research Institute of Petroleum Processing (RIPP) and supported by Hunan Petrochemical, a dedicated hydrogen peroxide R&D team spent 15 years developing the green fluidized bed production process. This technology integrates three catalysts, three process enhancements, and two new reaction methods, achieving full-process innovation. It significantly boosts production efficiency and enables large-scale industrial applications, meeting the demand for key downstream projects like caprolactam and propylene oxide. The technology is protected by 72 Chinese patents and one PCT international patent.

In 2018, Hunan Petrochemical deployed Sinopec’s fluidized bed technology in China’s first 72,000-ton per year industrial hydrogen peroxide plant. The facility has operated smoothly since its launch, achieving performance indicators far superior to domestic standards. To support its 60-million-ton caprolactam relocation project in 2021, Hunan Petrochemical began constructing two additional large-scale hydrogen peroxide plants using this technology.

At a Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) conference in December 2023, experts highlighted that Sinopec’s fluidized bed technology significantly enhances intrinsic safety in hydrogen peroxide production, making it highly valuable for industry-wide adoption.

By 2024, Hunan Petrochemical’s two plants had produced 585,000 tons of hydrogen peroxide, with energy consumption metrics meeting design targets. From January to May 2025, production totaled 345,000 tons, with energy consumption reduced to 114.09 kg standard oil per ton, down 2.43 kg year-on-year. Hydrogen consumption also dropped to 231.37 cubic meters per ton, a reduction of 2.647 cubic meters compared to the previous year.