Clariant's MegaZonE catalyst delivers strong results in Chinese methanol plant

Clariant announced that its MegaZonE technology is delivering excellent performance on the methanol plant of CNOOC’s China Blue Chemical Ltd.

The innovative system uses several layers of methanol catalysts with different activity levels to optimize heat management and overall catalyst performance. MegaZonE was installed at CNOOC’s methanol production plant in Hainan, China, in April 2021, and has been operating optimally for more than 36 months now. A joint venture with the KB Group, the CNOOC plant produces 600,000 tpy methanol from natural gas using Air Liquide’s Lurgi process and Clariant’s MegaMax® catalysts.

Since MegaZonE was implemented at the CNOOC plant, carbon conversion efficiency has improved considerably, with average makeup gas consumption decreased by 67 Nm3 per metric ton of methanol compared with the previous charge. Pressure drop has also decreased significantly, eliminating the risk of bottlenecks on high pressure drop in the reactor. Furthermore, the plant is benefitting from a 20% reduction in by-product formation, which has greatly improved methanol quality. These factors combined have resulted in substantial economic benefits.

Georg Anfang, Vice President Syngas and Fuels at Clariant Catalysts, commented, “Clariant’s efforts to continuously improve methanol production are not limited to catalyst formulation. We also focus on the overall process and how our catalysts can be optimally used in the complete reactor system. MegaZonE is a perfect example and has proven to be a major breakthrough for the methanol industry. We are honored to have CNOOC as our customer and delighted to witness the excellent performance and commercial results we promised.”

China BlueChemical Ltd., a division of China National Offshore Oil Corporation (CNOOC), is a modern, large-scale enterprise engaged in deep processing of natural gas, manufacturing mineral fertilizers and chemical products. Its annual production capacity totals to 1.84M tons of urea, 1 M tons of phosphate and compound fertilizers, as well as 1.4 M tons of methanol and 270 K tons of acrylonitrile.”

Jointly developed by Clariant and Air Liquide, MegaZonE technology makes optimum use of Clariant’s high-performance MegaMax catalysts through a unique layering concept. Moderately active catalysts are loaded in hotter zones of the converter to prevent hotspots and minimize thermal stress, thereby extending catalyst lifetime (by up to 2 years). In contrast, catalysts with enhanced activity are placed in the lower section of the converter to intensify reaction rates, increase cumulative methanol production (by up to 15%), and reduce by-product formation (by up to 30%).

MegaZonE technology is a drop-in solution that is suitable for virtually any methanol production facility. Existing plants benefit from tailored refill options for optimizing processes, while new facilities can enjoy a more compact and resilient design. MegaZonE is also compatible with a variety of feed sources, including stranded gas, unused syngas, or CO2-rich gases. This can help producers considerably reduce the CO2 footprint of their facilities and meet their sustainability targets.

Clariant has launched a new propane dehydrogenation plant using the CATOFIN catalyst in Jiaxing, Zhejiang Province, China. The CATOFIN catalyst provides good performance and reliability, increasing the overall profitability of propylene production.

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Lummus Technology LLC and Element Six (Oxfordshire), part of the De Beers Group and a producer of chemical vapor deposition (CVD) diamond solutions, have announced global partnership that will leverage a solution to address the worldwide challenge of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) destruction, said the company.

“Destroying and eliminating PFAS from water is an important global challenge,” said Leon de Bruyn, president and CEO, Lummus Technology.

The partnership combines Element Six’s patented boron-doped diamond (BDD) electrochemical oxidation technology with Lummus’ patented electro-oxidation technology and system integration for water and wastewater treatment.

Lummus and Element Six have tested their combined technologies using free-standing BDD electrodes, which resulted in destruction of long- and short-chain PFAS. Free-standing BDD electrodes, as opposed to metal electrodes plated with BDD, enable the high current densities that destroy short-chain PFAS, said Lummus.

The companies are already making progress with customers to address numerous real-life applications leveraging the BDD electrochemical oxidation technology, it added.

Lummus Technology (Houston, USA) and MOL Group (Budapest, Hungary) have begun designing a joint venture for expanded recycling. The plant will be located in Tiszaujvaros, (Hungary), on the territory of MOL Petrochemicals. The production capacity of the processing plant will be 40 thousand tons of plastic waste per year. MOL will process the resulting petrochemical raw materials at its facility, Lummus said in a press release.

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On Monday, SM prices inched lower in the Asian region, said Polymerupdate.

An industry source in Asia informed a Polymerupdate team member, "Prices fell on the back of lower upstream benzene prices coupled with weak demand trends in the Asian market."

FOB Korea SM prices on Monday were assessed at the USD1 100-1 110/mt levels, a drop of USD (-10/mt) from Friday's assessed levels.

CFR China SM prices on Monday were assessed at the USD1 115-1 125/mt levels, a decline of USD (-10/mt) from Friday.

Meanwhile, upstream benzene prices on Monday were assessed at the USD985-995/mt FOB Korea levels, down USD (-10/mt) from Friday.

We remind, styrene monomer prices fell in Asia last week amid weaker consumer demand in the region. The decline in demand has led to an increase in the amount of unsold styrene stock in the market, which has put downward pressure on prices. The fall in benzene prices has also led to lower prices in the region.

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China BlueChemical Ltd. (China BlueChem; Beijing), an affiliate of China National Offshore Oil Corp (CNOOC), have projected net profit between 670 million renminbi (USD91.8 million) and 700 million renminbi, a fall of 60.9%-59.1% year over year, for the first half of 2024, as per Chemweek.

The company said that last year it achieved gains amounting to 852 million renminbi from the disposal of the 67% equity interests in PetroChina (Inner Mongolia) New Material Co Ltd., formerly known as CNOOC Tianye Chemical Ltd.

China BlueChem said that excluding the effect of the last year’s transaction, the net profit for this year is still expected to decrease year over year, due to lower sales of urea and the decline in prices of the company’s main products, such as phosphate fertilizers and compound fertilizers and urea.

China BlueChem is one of the largest, in terms of production volume, producers of nitrogen fertilizers and methanol in China, it said on its website.

The company also produces acrylonitrile.
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AkzoNobel NV said its net profit in the second quarter of 2024 was 50% higher year over year, at EUR177 mln, said the company.

This was mainly due to lower effective tax rate that was around 15 percentage points down year over year, because of the tax impact related to the release of a provision for an uncertain tax position and adjustments on the tax positions for the UK ACT case, AkzoNobel said.

The company’s revenue was up 2%, to EUR2.78 billion, due to volume growth and higher price/mix, AkzoNobel said. Adjusted EBITDA increased 1%, to EUR400 million, missing analysts’ consensus estimate of EUR426.3 million provided by S&P Capital IQ. AkzoNobel’s adjusted EBITDA margin was 14.4%, compared with 14.5% in the second quarter of 2023.

Profitability was negatively affected by operating cost inflation, particularly in wages, the company said. Raw material cost benefits and volume growth supported the company’s earnings in the second quarter, AkzoNobel said. Adjusted operating profit declined 1%, to EUR309 million, missing a consensus of EUR343.5 million.

“Although our operational costs are up, efforts to mitigate this inflationary cost pressure are accelerating and measures are already underway, above and beyond our industrial efficiency program. This will allow us to deliver on our 2024 ambitions, toward the lower end of our guidance and in line with current consensus,” said Greg Poux-Guillaume, CEO of AkzoNobel.

AkzoNobel expects to deliver adjusted EBITDA toward the lower end of its full-year guidance range of EUR1.5 to EUR1.65 billion, based on current market conditions and constant currencies, the company said, adding that for the mid-term it aims to expand profitability to deliver an adjusted EBITDA margin of above 16% and a return on investment between 16% and 19%, “underpinned by organic growth and industrial excellence.”

The company’s decorative paints division posted a 1% decrease in sales, to EUR1.14 billion, mainly due to lower volumes in China and Latin America, AkzoNobel said. Adjusted EBITDA was 7% down year over year, to EUR178 million, while the adjusted EBITDA margin was 1.1 percentage points lower at 15.6%.

AkzoNobel’s performance coatings division saw sales rise 4%, to EUR1.65 billion, on double digit volume growth in China and solid growth in the rest of Asia and North America, the company said. Adjusted EBITDA increased to EUR237 million from EUR214 million in the second quarter of 2023. The company’s adjusted EBITDA margin was 14.4% versus 13.4% the prior-year period.

AkzoNobel intends to close production sites in Groot Ammers (Netherlands), Cork (Ireland) and Lusaka (Zambia) and move production to other locations in the region. This commitment is the first part of the company's plan to improve industrial efficiency, which will be completed by the end of 2026.

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