Jiangsu sailboat accepts worlds largest single-train coal-to-chemicals plant from Honeywell UOP

MOSCOW (MRC) – Honeywell announced that Jiangsu Sailboat Petrochemical Company, Ltd. has accepted a new methanol-to-olefins (MTO) unit provided by Honeywell UOP, and that the plant is operating and has met all guarantees, as per Hydrocarbonprocessing.

With a production capacity of 833,000 metric tons per year, the unit is the largest single-train MTO unit in the world.
Honeywell UOP, which pioneered MTO technology, started its first MTO unit for China’s Wison Clean Energy in 2013.

The Sailboat facility in Lianyungang City in Jiangsu Province manufactures propylene to make acrylonitrile for clothing and fabrics, and high-performance polymers used in automotive parts, hard hats and other hard plastic products. The plant also produces ethylene for ethylene vinyl acetate copolymers that are used to make adhesives, foams, medical devices, photovoltaic cells, and other products, and C4 olefins for butadiene, an ingredient in synthetic rubber.

“The Jiangsu Sailboat unit is now, by far, the largest single-train MTO unit in the world,” said John Gugel, vice president and general manager of Honeywell UOP’s Process Technology and Equipment business. “At this scale, Honeywell UOP’s Advanced MTO process leads the industry in terms of scale and operating efficiency.”

The two most widely used components to make plastics are ethylene and propylene, and both have traditionally been derived from crude oil. Regions such as China that lack domestic sources of crude oil have turned to MTO technology to take advantage of alternative feedstocks such as coal and natural gas.

Jiangsu Sailboat chose the Advanced MTO process because it produces the highest yields of light olefins at the lowest cost of production, with the lowest catalyst consumption and the lowest operating cost. In addition, the unit is configured for production of C4 olefins as well as ethylene and propylene.

Honeywell UOP’s Advanced MTO process combines the UOP/Hydro MTO process and the Total/UOP Olefin Cracking Process to significantly increase yields and feedstock efficiency. The process converts methanol from coal and natural gas into ethylene and propylene. At the heart of the technology are UOP’s proprietary catalysts, which make it possible to efficiently adjust the ratio of propylene and ethylene produced so operators can most effectively meet demand for those products.

Jiangsu Sailboat Petrochemical Co., Ltd. is a wholly-owned subsidiary company of Shenghong Holding Group, located in Xuwei new district Industrial Park, Lianyungang City, Jiangsu province. When fully completed, the 500-hectare facility will produce about 2.5 million tons of short-supply high-end petrochemical products annually.
MRC

Shells fourth linear alpha olefins unit progresses towards start-up later this year

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Shell Chemical LP (Shell) is making good progress on the main construction of its fourth linear alpha olefins (AO) unit at its chemicals manufacturing site in Geismar, Louisiana, USA, as per Hydrocarbonprocessing.

The 425 Mtpy capacity increase will make Shell’s Geismar site the largest AO producer in the world. "This is one of Shell’s largest chemicals investments in the USA,” said Graham van’t Hoff, Executive Vice President for Royal Dutch Shell plc’s global Chemicals business. "We are on track to begin commercial production by the end of 2018, enabling Shell to remain an important economic engine for this region."

Shell started main site construction in January 2016, after taking a final investment decision in November 2015, and has safely placed large process equipment like reactors, columns and vessels, and pre-assembled modules that will form the core of the new AO unit at Geismar.

Shell has completed building a cooling tower for the new AO unit, and two new storage areas, one for rail and one for the AO unit’s high-purity butene. Construction continues to progress well towards start-up later this year, with the focus on electrical and instrumentation activities, and starting commissioning of certain systems as they reach mechanical completion.

The project hit a peak of 2,000 construction workers in December last year, and the total number of permanent employees will increase to around 700 when completed.

Shell will supply advantaged ethylene feedstock from the nearby Norco and Deer Park sites. The new unit will be based on Shell’s advantaged technology, known as the Shell Higher Olefins Process (SHOP) technology that has been successfully used by Shell since the 1970s.

Shell’s integrated operations on the US Gulf Coast enable global reach for the products produced at Geismar, supplying petrochemicals to regional and international customers.

The chemicals produced at Shell Geismar, which celebrated its 50th anniversary in October 2017, are used in the production of stronger and lighter polyethylene plastic for packaging and bottles, as well as engine and industrial oils and drilling fluids.
MRC

Porvair acquires Keystone Filter

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Porvair Filtration Group, has acquired Keystone Filter, a division of CECO Environmental Corp (CECO), as per Hydrocarbonprocessing.

The Company has acquired the goodwill, business and trading assets of Keystone for cash. Keystone designs and manufactures a range of filter cartridges and housings for the food and beverage, drinking water, and chemical process markets in the USA.

Keystone designs and manufactures a range of filter cartridges and housings for the food and beverage, drinking water, and chemical process markets in the USA.

Keystone designs and manufactures a range of filter cartridges and housings for the food and beverage, drinking water, and chemical process markets in the USA.

Keystone reported revenue of approximately USD4 million in the year ended 31 December 2017. As part of this acquisition, the Group has entered into a transition services agreement with CECO to transfer the business to its plant in Ashland, Virginia, over the next few months.

Ben Stocks, Chief Executive of Porvair plc, said: "The acquisition of Keystone increases [our] presence in the US, broadening [our] markets and providing a range of cross selling opportunities. Keystone brings sales expertise, distribution and a broad customer base for whom Porvair's wider product range will be attractive."
MRC

The use of carbon dioxide will reduce the industry’s reliance on non-renewable resources to manufacture plastics

MOSCOW (MRC) -- The chemical industry has long been exploring various ways of turning the carbon dioxide gas (CO2) into a useful raw material that can replace fossil feedstock and reduce the industry’s carbon footprint, as per Hydrocarbonprocessing.

Developing this technology is especially important for the plastics industry as most plastic is made from petroleum.

The CO2 gas has one thing in common with petroleum: it contains the element carbon, a central building block for the chemical industry, and, unlike petroleum, it is an abundant raw material. Covestro has been working with partners from industry and academia on a number of projects to capture CO2 and use it to replace petroleum.

The technology they have developed allows to use CO2 to produce a polyol, the main component of polyurethane foam, which is used almost everywhere - from furniture to building insulation. The foam manufactured from this CO2-based polyol will initially be used in the production of mattresses but could potentially find its way into other applications.
MRC

Mitsubishi Chemical Corporation & Linde Engineering announce transfer of HDA technology

MOSCOW (MRC) – The Engineering Division of The Linde Group (Linde) and Mitsubishi Chemical Corporation (MCC) have concluded a definitive agreement for the transfer of MCC’s Hydrodealkylation (HDA) technology to Linde, as per Hydrocarbonprocessing.

For more than 45 years, MCC’s cutting-edge HDA process has been deployed and successfully operated in a number of commercial plants. During the signing ceremony: Yoshitaka Arakawa, Senior Associate Director, Division General Manager, Basic Petrochemicals Divison, MCC (left) and John van der Velden, Managing Director, Linde Engineering Division (right).

During the signing ceremony: Yoshitaka Arakawa, Senior Associate Director, Division General Manager, Basic Petrochemicals Divison, MCC (left) and John van der Velden, Managing Director, Linde Engineering Division (right).

The HDA technology mainly converts toluene and other aromatic components into high purity benzene. This can be leveraged for maximizing the overall benzene yield in olefin plants, e.g. steam crackers.

In addition, HDA technology can also be implemented for a variety of refinery applications. Benzene is one of the most widely used chemicals involved in the manufacturing of daily use products such as detergents, plastic and rubber.

"We are very excited about MCC having given us the opportunity to further expand our portfolio adjacent to the steam cracker technology. MCC’s HDA technology will facilitate our world-class go-to-market licensing strategy. Our primary objective is to provide optimized and highly integrated HDA applications to the petrochemicals industry for both revamps or expansions at existing ethylene plants as well as for new world-scale petrochemical complexes," said John van der Velden, Managing Director, Linde Engineering Division.

"MHC process is old HDA technology, has a history of commercial operation more than 40 years. I sincerely hope that this technology transfer will create new added value soon by integrating with Linde's excellent steam cracker technology," said Yoshitaka Arakawa, Senior Associate Director, Division General Manager, Basic Petrochemicals Division, MCC.

The technology transfer to Linde is expected to be completed by June this year. Based on Linde’s longstanding and leading expertise in olefin plant design, engineering and construction, Linde now offers HDA technology solutions with best in class economic performance.
MRC