It was concluded, because of the advantages of both raw material cost
a~d process yield, that the newer ortho-xylene feed process will account for
all or nearly all of the future growth in the industry. However, the older
naphthalene feed process will continue to be operated by those producers who
already have an investment in the process and a ready supply of naphthalene.
Some plant conversions might occur but it is not likely because the orthoxylene
process employs a fixed bed tubular reaction system a~d the naphthalene
process employs a coil-cooled fluid bed reaction system. For these reasons,
the body of this report is devoted to a study of the air emissions from the
ortho-xylene process while Appendix IV addresses itself to a brief review of
the naphthalene process emissions.