MOSCOW (MRC) -- Following the announcement of a joint development agreement in June 2020, Dow and Shell have reported progress on their technology programme to electrically heat steam cracker furnaces, according to Hydrocarbonprocessing.
This new route has the potential to significantly reduce CO2 emissions from one of the central processes of the chemical industry.
The companies confirm that the joint programme has been awarded EUR3.5 million (USD4.2 million) in MOOI (Mission-driven Research, Development and Innovation subsidy) scheme funding by the Netherlands Government.
They also announce joining forces with The Netherlands Organisation for Applied Scientific Research (TNO) and the Institute for Sustainable Process Technology (ISPT). This multi-company collaboration aims to accelerate key milestones for the near-term progress and longer-term breakthroughs needed.
In the first year, the programme has advanced electrification solutions for today’s steam crackers while also pursuing game-changing technologies for novel designs of electrified crackers in the longer-term. The dual-path approach aims to support emission reductions required to meet the companies’ 2030 CO2 ambitions and their targets to achieve net zero emissions businesses by 2050 or sooner, in line with the Paris agreement.
Joint teams in the Netherlands and the United States have deployed their expertise in electrical design, metallurgy, hydrocarbon technology and computational fluid dynamics to narrow down concepts, validate emissions benefits, advance patents, demonstrate the durability of electric heating elements, and partner with equipment suppliers.
The companies are now evaluating construction of a multi-megawatt pilot plant, with potential start-up in 2025, subject to investment support.
Ethylene and propylene are the main feedstocks for the production of polyethylene (PE) and polypropylene (PP), respectively.
According to MRC's ScanPlast report, Russia's estimated PE consumption totalled 744,130 tonnes in the first four month of 2021, up by 4% year on year. Shipments of all PE grades increased. At the same time, PP deliveries to the Russian market were 523,900 tonnes in January-April 2021, up by 55% year on year. Supply of homopolymer PP and PP block copolymers increased, whereas shipments of PP random copolymers decreased.
The Dow Chemical Company is an American multinational chemical corporation headquartered in Midland, Michigan, United States. Dow is a large producer of plastics, including polystyrene (PS), polyurethane, polyethylene, polypropylene, and synthetic rubber.
Royal Dutch Shell plc is an Anglo-Dutch multinational oil and gas company headquartered in The Hague, Netherlands and with its registered office in London, United Kingdom. It is the biggest company in the world in terms of revenue and one of the six oil and gas "supermajors". Shell is vertically integrated and is active in every area of the oil and gas industry, including exploration and production, refining, distribution and marketing, petrochemicals, power generation and trading.
MRC