BASF, SABIC and Linde start construction of the world’s first demonstration plant for large-scale electrically heated steam cracker furnaces

BASF, SABIC and Linde have started construction of the world’s first demonstration plant for large-scale electrically heated steam cracker furnaces, said the companies.

By using electricity from renewable sources instead of natural gas, the new technology has the potential to reduce CO2 emissions of one of the most energy-intensive production processes in the chemical industry by at least 90% compared to technologies commonly used today.

The demonstration plant will be fully integrated into one of the existing steam crackers at BASF’s Verbund site in Ludwigshafen, Germany. It will test two different heating concepts, processing around 4 tons of hydrocarbon per hour and consuming 6 megawatts of renewable energy. The start-up of the demonstration plant is targeted for 2023.

BASF and SABIC are investing together into the project and the demonstration plant will be operated by BASF. Linde is the engineering, procurement and construction partner for the project and in the future will commercialize the developed technologies.

To support the development of the novel furnace technology, the project has been granted €14.8 million by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action under its “Decarbonization in Industry” funding program. The program is supporting energy-intensive industries in Germany in their efforts to achieve carbon neutrality.

The demonstration plant aims to show that continuous olefin production is possible using electricity as a heat source. The plant is designed in a way that two heating concepts can be tested in parallel: Direct heating applies an electric current directly to the process tubes inside the reactor; indirect heating uses radiative heat of heating elements placed around the tubes. Testing these two concepts will make it possible to react flexibly to different customer and site requirements.

Steam crackers play a central role in the production of basic chemicals and require a significant amount of energy to break down hydrocarbons into olefins and aromatics. Typically, the reaction is conducted in furnaces at temperatures of about 850 degrees Celsius. Today these temperatures are reached by burning fossil fuels. The project aims to reduce the CO2 emissions by powering the process with electricity.

In March 24, 2021 BASF, SABIC and Linde have signed a joint agreement to develop and demonstrate solutions for electrically heated steam cracker furnaces. The partners have already jointly worked on concepts to use renewable electricity instead of the fossil fuel gas typically used for the heating process.

SABIC is a global diversified chemicals company, headquartered in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. It manufactures on a global scale in the Americas, Europe, Middle East and Asia Pacific, making distinctly different kinds of products: chemicals, commodity and high-performance plastics, agri-nutrients and metals.

Linde is a leading global industrial gases and engineering company with 2021 sales of $31 billion (€26 billion). We live our mission of making our world more productive every day by providing high-quality solutions, technologies and services which are making our customers more successful and helping to sustain and protect our planet. The company serves a variety of end markets including chemicals & energy, food & beverage, electronics, healthcare, manufacturing, metals and mining.

BASF operates through six core business segments: Chemicals, Materials, Industrial Solutions, Surface Technology, Nutrition & Care, and Agricultural Solutions. In Russia, the company has at least six subsidiaries: BASF LLC (fertilizer trade), BASF Industrial Metals LLC (metals trade in primary forms), BASF Yug LLC (seed trade), Hemetal LLC ( trade in industrial chemicals), LLC "MBS Building Systems" (trade in building materials and products) and LLC "BASF Vostok" (production of paints and varnishes).

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Engineering major Linde has signed a long-term agreement to supply high-purity industrial gases to PT Freeport Indonesia, a leading mining company in Indonesia, said Refiningandpetrochemicalsme.

Linde will build, own and operate an air separation unit to supply oxygen and nitrogen to PT Freeport Indonesia’s new copper smelter and refinery in Manyar, Indonesia, the engineering major said in a statement. The new copper smelter, the largest copper processing site in the world, will process concentrates from PT Freeport Indonesia’s Grasberg mine, the statement added.

The new on-site facility is expected to start up in mid-2024 and will be one of the largest air separation units in Indonesia. "Copper plays a key role in the electrification of transportation and industrial processes. We are excited to help PT Freeport expand its processing capacity in Indonesia,” said Moloy Banerjee, president, ASEAN & South Asia, Linde. He said, “By deploying Linde’s advanced technology, we will deliver a customized plant which will significantly improve energy efficiency."

Agreeing with this, Tony Wenas, president and director, PT Freeport Indonesia, said: “Linde’s track record for the safe and reliable supply of industrial gases made it our partner of choice as we expand our operations." Linde is a leading global industrial gases and engineering company and has reported $31 billion in revenue in 2021. The company serves a variety of end markets including chemicals & energy, food & beverage, electronics, healthcare, manufacturing, metals and mining.

The company claims that its industrial gases are used in countless applications, from life-saving oxygen for hospitals to high-purity & specialty gases for electronics manufacturing, hydrogen for clean fuels and much more.

As per MRC, Linde has completed their efforts as part of implementing the Amur Gas Chemical Complex (AGCC) construction project. "Linde has completed its work within the AGCC project framework. We are dealing with its adaptation to new conditions together with partners from Sinopec," the Russian chemical giant said. Early in 2020, Linde made the contract for provision of pyrolysis services for AGCC. The Amur Gas Chemical Complex is the joint venture of Sibur (60%) and China’s Sinopec (40%) for polyethylene and polypropylene production. The capacity of the plant will be up to 2.7 mln tonnes of polymers annually.
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Eurotecnica, the technology arm of the Proman family of companies has recently announced the award by Xinji Energy Chemical Co. of a contract for the implementation of the largest high pressure melamine plant in the world with a 120,000 ton per year capacity, said Process-worldwide.

Xinji Energy Chemical Co. has selected Eurotecnica’s ultimate 5th generation (G5) proprietary Euromel technology for the design and implementation of this landmark project.

Xinjiang Xuefeng, the group Xinji belongs to, is already the largest melamine producer in the world, and has chosen Eurotecnica’s Euromel because it features the lowest energy consumption on the market.

We remind, PetroChina Urumqi Petrochemical is planning to revamp and upgrade its refining facilities by adding some new refining as well as petrochemical units. A 450,000 tonne/year polypropylene (PP), a 300,000 tonne/year styrene monomer (SM), a 200,000 tonne/year polystyrene (PS), and a 1.2m tonne/year purified phthalate acid (PTA) unit will be installed as the petrochemical part. The refining part will mainly include a new 1.2m tonne/year solvent deasphalting (SDA), a 2.2m tonne/year fluid catalytic cracking (FCC), and a 1m tonne/year gas fractionation units.
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Nobian has successfully started to supply chlorine and caustic soda from 100% renewable electricity in the Netherlands and Germany, said the company.

This achievement underlines Nobian’s commitment to accelerating the supply of green products in its portfolio. The certification of Nobian’s caustic soda and chlorine by the International Sustainability and Carbon Certification (ISCC) contributes to Nobian’s renewable energy goals, as part of its sustainability program Grow Greener Together.

Nobian will be carbon neutral by 2040, with 100% renewable energy. Building on its long-standing experience in the large-scale production of essential chemicals, the chlorine and caustic soda from 100% renewable electricity allows Nobian to reduce the carbon footprint of its customers.

Nobian’s caustic soda and chlorine are crucial to produce everyday products. Caustic soda is, for example, essential in the production of aluminum, pulp, and paper, but it is also being used in water treatment, pharmaceutical- and food processes and personal care soaps. Chlorine is an important building block for the chemical and pharmaceutical industries. Over 50% of European chemical production relies on this process and many chemicals, plastics and medicines depend on the use of chlorine during manufacturing.

Nobian’s caustic soda and chlorine from 100% renewable electricity are certified through an annual audit by the International Sustainability and Carbon Certification (ISCC). ISCC PLUS is a sustainability certification program for bio-based and circular raw materials for all markets and sectors. This certification ensures that Nobian complies with globally recognized ecological and social sustainability requirements, emission reductions and traceability.

Marco Waas, Director R&D, Technology and Sustainability at Nobian says: “This important step fits seamlessly with Nobian's sustainability program Grow Greener Together. By 2040 we will be CO2 neutral, with 100% renewable energy.” Waas added, “The ISCC PLUS certification of our caustic soda and chlorine from 100% renewable electricity underlines our commitment to accelerating our green product portfolio. We have a strong drive to help our customers reduce their carbon footprint with our green products."

Jurgen Baune, Vice President Chlor-Alkali and Managing Director at Nobian in Germany: ‘The ISCC PLUS certification of our caustic and chlorine from 100% renewable electricity strengthens Nobian’s position as a leading producer of essential chemicals. By combining our core competencies with smart cooperation and innovation, we believe we can Grow Greener Together with our partners and customers.” Baune: “Our green caustic soda and chlorine are great examples of this mission."

We remind, Nobian (formerly Nouryon), the world's largest manufacturer of paints and specialty chemicals, has declared force majeure for the supply of caustic soda and chlorine in Europe. Thus, the Nobian company announced a force majeure for the supply of caustic soda from August 30 due to high temperatures in the summer, which led to a decrease in production, mechanical breakdowns and a reduction in the supply of raw materials.

Nobian is a European market leader in the production of salt, essential chemicals, and energy for industry, varying from construction and cleaning to pharmaceuticals and water treatment. We excel in the safe and reliable provision of high-purity salt, chlor-alkali, chloromethane, and hydrogen.
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MRC) -- Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd, India's second-largest oil refining and fuel retailing firm, plans to scale up its renewable energy portfolio to 10 GW by 2040 - the year it is targeting net-zero carbon emission, said Business-standard.

Addressing the company's annual shareholders' meeting, he said BPCL is diversifying and expanding into adjacent and alternate businesses, which will not only provide additional revenue streams but also offer a hedge against any decline in the oil and gas business.

"The company has identified six strategic areas - petrochemicals, gas, renewables, new businesses, that is, consumer retailing, e-mobility and upstream - which will serve as pillars of future growth and create sustainable value for all stakeholders, while the core business of refining and marketing of petroleum products continues to provide stability and funding bandwidth," said chairman Arun Kumar Singh.

This is with a view to achieving net-zero emissions by 2040, he added. In the renewable energy space, BPCL plans to scale up its portfolio from less than 50 megawatts today to 1 gigawatt (GW) by 2025 and 10 GW by 2040.

The firm has also decided to expand its reach and presence in the non-fuel business to offer consumables, durables and services by leveraging its pan-India network of over 20,000 fuel stations and more than 6,200 LPG distributors.

It is also creating highway fast charging corridors to address the range anxiety related to EVs. On a pilot basis, BPCL has adopted 900 km of the Chennai-Trichy-Madurai highway, where it has set up a recharge facility at every 100 km distance at its retail outlets along both sides of this stretch.

BPCL plans to extend this facility across 200 highway corridors with around 2,000 retail outlets in 2022-23, he said. The company has planned two new petchem projects at Bina and Kochi refineries.

"Once commissioned, these will increase the share of petrochemicals in the company's product portfolio from around 1 per cent currently to about 8 per cent," he said. In the city gas distribution segment of the natural gas business, BPCL has further expanded its footprint, acquiring licenses for 8 new Geographical Areas. With this, BPCL has licenses for developing CGD networks in 25 GAs covering 62 districts.

On an overall basis, the company has an interest in a total of 50 GAs covering 105 districts, inclusive of JVs. In the upstream space, Bharat PetroResources Ltd, a subsidiary of the company, has oil and gas assets from Brazil to Mozambique, he added.

As per MRC, HPCL commenced its Cowdung to Compressed Biogas Project at Sanchore, Rajasthan. This will be HPCL’s first project under Waste to Energy portfolio. The plant is proposed to utilize 100 Tons per day of dung to produce biogas, which can be utilized as automotive fuel. The project is proposed to be commissioned in a year’s time.

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