Chinese coal-to-olefins plant uses Dow Unipol for PP productionChinese coal-to-olefins plant uses Dow Unipol for PP production
The first plant in China to manufacture polypropylene (PP) from coal-generated olefins will utilize Dow's Unipol gas-phase process. The China Shenhua Coal to Liquid and Chemical Baotou Coal Chemical Co.'s Shenhua Baotou Coal Chemicals business started up the 300,000-tons/yr PP facility in early August. Located in the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, the plant uses gasification technology to convert coal into a synthesis gas or syngas. That syngas is used to produce methanol, which is transformed into PP building blocks, olefins.
August 24, 2010
Unipol's fluidized-bed reactors and high-performance SHAC catalyst systems allow the production of homopolymers, random copolymers, and impact copolymers.
Shenhua Group is a state-owned company founded in 1995, with 54 coal mines at present and a total coal production capacity of 200 million tons. In addition to power plants with a total installed capacity of 16,080 MW, the company has been investing heavily in the new coal-to-chemicals business. So far in 2010, it has invested RMB436.9 million ($64.4 million). Going back to the start of construction, the accumulative investment is around RMB763.9 million ($112.6 million), with 75.17% of the construction having been completed according to Shenhua's timetable. In addition to the Baotou site, the company is investigating further coal-to-chemicals investments in Wuhai, Shenhua, Shaanxi, Xinjiang, Hulunbeier, and Tongliao
According to a report in the Oil and Gas Journal, the Baotou site will be at full capacity by the fourth quarter, with the ability to produce about 1.8 million tonnes/yr of methanol for conversion into olefins, ultimately yielding about 600,000 tonnes/yr of polyethylene and PP. The gasification unit uses technology from GE.
Dow's Unipol PP technology has been implemented in projects in 18 countries, on six continents. According to Dow's web site, there are 51 reactor lines using Unipol PP technology worldwide with a production capacity of over 11.5 million tons/yr. In August 2009, Dow announced that Sinochem Quanzhou Petrochemical Co. Ltd. had selected Unipol PP process technology for its new 200,000-tons/yr PP facility. That plant is being built in Quanzhou, Fujian Province and is expected to come on line in 2011. In June 2009, Dow announced that Indonesian firm PT Pertamina (Persero) would utilize Unipol for its new 250,000-tonnes/yr PP facility at its Balongan complex in West Java, Indonesia. In November 2009, Dow and Saudi European Petrochemical Co. (IBN ZAHR; a SABIC subsidiary) announced the start-up of the world's single-largest PP train located in Al Jubail Industrial City, with the plant utilizing Unipol PP process technology. Nameplate capacity was said to be 500,000 tonnes/yr of PP. That's the third IBN ZAHR plat to use Unipol. Counting the newest site along with a facility that was being built in Yanbu, Saudi Arabia, the company was to have nearly 1.8 million tonnes/yr of annual capacity using Unipol.
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