MOSCOW (MRC) -- Saudi Aramco Technologies Company and Sumitomo Chemical Company, Limited, have formed a technology partnership with Axens in support of Axens’ AlphaButol licensed process to enhance 1-butene production by using the AFA (anti-fouling agent) technology, as per Hydrocarbonprocessing.
The AFA technology, jointly developed by Aramco and Sumitomo Chemical, works in conjunction with Axens’ catalyst system to substantially reduce undesired polymeric fouling in 1-butene units. Aramco and Sumitomo Chemical have granted Axens the right to sublicense this beneficial technology to existing and prospective licensed units of AlphaButol.
Rabigh Refining & Petrochemical Company, an affiliate of Aramco and Sumitomo Chemical, and a licensee of AlphaButol, is the first to benefit from this technology. The AFA technology was effective in broad ranges of industrially relevant operating windows and duration in its 1-butene production units. “The AFA has demonstrated a real breakthrough in unit operation profitability, via higher production rates and reduced maintenance costs, due to lower levels of fouling. Removability of the fouling has also been improved with a substantially easier way to clean the unit, leading to shorter maintenance periods,” said Mohammed A. Basaffar, Section Head of Polymer section of the Process Engineering Department in Rabigh Refining & Petrochemical Company.
"We are very pleased that Aramco and Sumitomo Chemical have selected Axens as their partner, and we are looking forward to contributing to the success of AFA technology with our expertise in this area. We are glad to assist in achieving this milestone, which is a stepping stone to further commercialization of the AlphaButol technology in the coming years," said Axens’ Chairman and CEO Jean Sentenac.
As per MRC, Saudi Aramco said it restructured its debt financing for Sadara Chemical Company, its joint venture (JV) with Dow Chemical, an American petrochemical major. The Saudi national oil company also said an agreement had been reached to allocate more natural gas feedstock to the joint venture, which has been building the world’s biggest chemical complex ever delivered in a single phase, in Jubail. Saudi Aramco and Dow have agreed to guarantee up to an aggregate of USD3.7 billion of senior debt principal in proportion to their ownership interests in Sadara, Aramco said in a stock exchange filing.
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 1,868,160 tonnes in the first nine months of 2021, up by 18% year on year. Shipments of all grades of ethylene polymers increased. At the same time, PP shipments to the Russian market were 1,138,510 tonnes in January-September 2021, up by 30% year on year. Supply of propylene homopolymer (homopolymer PP) and block-copolymers of propylene (PP block copolymers) increased, whereas supply of injection moulding statistical copolymers of propylene (PP random copolymers) decreased significantly.
Saudi Aramco, officially the Saudi Arabian Oil Company, is a Saudi Arabian national oil and natural gas company based in Dhahran, Saudi Arabia. Saudi Aramco's value has been estimated at up to USD10 trillion in the Financial Times, making it the world"s most valuable company. Saudi Aramco has both the largest proven crude oil reserves, at more than 260 billion barrels, and largest daily oil production.
MRC