FOCUS ON
pultrusion and sheet moulding compound
processes, something that was more difficult to do
in the past. CELLOBOND ultra-low formaldehyde
(ULF) resins are used to manufacture composite
parts that meet and exceed the most demanding
fire, smoke and toxicity standards in aerospace
(FAR 25.852), automotive (GB/T 31467),
construction (ASTM E84) and rail (EN45545-2 HL3,
BS 6853 Class 1A, and NFPA130) applications.
Original Source: Hexion, 12 Mar 2019, (Website: http://
www.hexion.com/) ã Hexion 2019.
McDermott buys tech firm Siluria
McDermott has acquired Siluria Technologies, a
San Francisco-based start-up company that
develops catalysts for oxidative coupling of
methane into ethylene.
Original Source: Chemical and Engineering News, 12
Aug 2019, 97 (32), 14 (Website: http://www.cen-online.
org) ã American Chemical Society 2019.
NEW PLANTS
Successful startup of world’s
largest dehydrogenation plant using
Clariant’s CATOFIN catalyst
technology
Clariant announced the successful startup of its
CATOFIN catalyst at Hengli Group’s new mixed-
feed dehydrogenation plant in Dalian, China. The
new unit combines propane dehydrogenation
(PDH) with iso-butane dehydrogenation (BDH)
process technologies, and it will produce over 1 M
tonne/y of olefins - becoming the world’s largest
plant using CATOFIN catalyst technology. The
state-of-the-art process pairs Clariant’s CATOFIN
catalyst together with McDermott’s Lummus
process technology and is proven to enable high
reliability and yields, cost efficiency and simplicity.
In addition to the CATOFIN catalyst, the facility is
using Clariant’s innovative Heat Generating
Material (HGM) to produce its on-purpose olefins.
CATOFIN is an extremely reliable technology for
light paraffin dehydrogenation. Operating at
thermodynamically advantaged reactor pressure
and temperature to maximize yield, the process
relies on Clariant’s highly selective CATOFIN
catalyst and the company’s patented metal-oxide
HGM to deliver high conversion rates. With the
successful startup of the Hengli plant, this now
marks Clariant’s 21st CATOFIN unit in operation,
totaling over 9 M tonnes of olefin production
capacity globally.
Original Source: Clariant, 15 Aug 2019, (Website: http://
www.clariant.com) ã Clariant 2019.
Total to start up biorefinery in
France
Total will launch its 500,000 tonne/y biorefinery in
La Mede, France, following a number of delays
and controversy regarding its imported palm oil
feedstock. In 2015, the company said it would
spend $223 M to convert the plant into a
renewable diesel facility employing Axens’ Vegan
process technology. Vegetable oil from soyabean,
carinata, sunflower, rapeseed, and palm would
constitute 60-70% of feedstock supply, while the
remaining 30-40% would be sourced from used
November 2019
CATALYSTS
cooking oil, animal fat, and residues from the pulp
and paper sector or waste. Total has committed to
consume less than 300,000 tonne/y of crude palm
oil.
Original Source: Oils and Fats International, Jun 2019,
35 (5), 13 (Website: http://www.oilsandfatsinternational.
com) ã Quartz Business Media Ltd 2019.
Chevron Australia starts up Gorgon
LNG carbon-capture project
Chevron Australia has started up the carbon
dioxide-capture system at its Gorgon LNG project
on Barrow Island off the Western Australian coast.
The system takes CO2 removed from the gas
supply coming in from offshore Gorgon field and
reinjects it into deep reservoirs under the island.
The carbon-capture programme was originally
scheduled for start-up in Mar 2017 soon after the
LNG plant came on stream a few months earlier,
however technical issues resulted in several
delays. The problems are believed to have
involved valves and pipeline equipment and were
discovered during the commissioning phase of the
$1.7-bn injection system. The delays have meant
that about 10 M tonnes of CO2 have been released
into the atmosphere since Dec 2016. Despite this,
Chevron says the capture facility will reduce
Gorgon’s total greenhouse gas emissions by 40%
when it is fully operational. This will mean capture
and injection of 3.4 M-4 M tonne/y of CO2, which
equates to about 100 M tonnes over the 40-year
life of the LNG project. The company is now
monitoring the system performance and plans to
ramp-up injection volumes during the next few
months. It did not specify a timetable for when the
project will be operating at full capacity. The
Australian government has paid A$60 M towards
the capital cost of the project. Australia emitted
538.2 M tonnes of CO2 equivalent in 2018, an
increase of 0.7% from 2017, mainly due to an
increase in LNG exports. The Gorgon project is
operated by Chevron. Other JV partners are
ExxonMobil Corp, Royal Dutch Shell PLC, Osaka
Gas, Tokyo Gas, and JERA.
Original Source: PennWell Corporation, 8 Aug 2019,
(Website: http://www.ogj.com/index.html) ã Pennwell
Corporation 2019.
PetroLogistics lets contract for
proposed USGC PDH unit
PetroLogistics ll LLC, a portfolio company of
Quantum Energy Partners, Houston, has let a
contract to McDermott International Inc to perform
front-end engineering design services for a recently
proposed 500,000-tonne/y propane
dehydrogenation (PDH) unit to be built at the US
Gulf Coast. Valued at $150 M, McDermott has
reflected the FEED contract award in its 2Q 2019
backlog, the service provider said. McDermott
revealed no further details regarding the contract,
including a timeframe for when FEED services
would be completed. This latest contract follows
PetroLogistics II’s previous award to Dow Chemical
Co to provide technology licensing for the new
PDH unit, which will be equipped with Dow’s
proprietary fluidized catalytic dehydrogenation
technology that uses a novel reactor design based
on fluidized catalytic cracking for on-purpose
propylene production. PetroLogistics II has yet to
decide between two alternative USGC sites under
evaluation for the project’s precise location. Neither
a budget nor timeline for projected commissioning
of the PDH unit has been disclosed.
Original Source: PennWell Corporation, 12 Aug 2019,
(Website: http://www.ogj.com/index.html) ã Pennwell
Corporation 2019.
Dow retrofitting cracker in
Plaquemine with technology to
produce propylene
Dow Chemical Co is retrofitting its proprietary
fluidized catalytic dehydrogenation (FCDh)
technology into one of its mixed-feed crackers in
Plaquemine, LA, US, to produce on-purpose
propylene. The retrofit-which comes as part of the
company’s current slate of low-capital intensity,
high-return incremental growth investments-will
enable production of more than 100,000 tonne/y of
additional on-purpose propylene at full run-rate,
further back-integrating Dow’s derivative facilities to
cost-advantaged propylene while also maintaining
the unit’s current ethylene production capacity,
Dow said. The project is scheduled to begin
producing on-purpose propylene by end-2021. Dow
said the retrofit will enable the company to
continue meeting rising demand for its businesses
serving consumer, infrastructure, and packaging
end-markets, while also remaining within its stated
near-term capital expenditure targets. The
proposed Plaquemine retrofit follows Dow’s 2016
expansion of ethylene capacity of this same
cracker by more than 225,000 tonne/y, which
added the ability to crack ethane while maintaining
the flexibility to crack propane, butane, and
naphtha. Dow, however, did not disclose current
production capacities of existing crackers at the
Plaquemine site. The Plaquemine retrofit comes
amid Dow and other US cracker operator’s growing
consumption of ethane instead of heavier feed
slates, resulting in a reduction of coproduct
production, including propylene. This reduction in
propylene has created a supply-demand gap in the
US that requires additional on-purpose propylene
sources to meet the needs of downstream
derivatives, according to the operator. Alongside
enabling production of reliable and cost-efficient
on-purpose propylene from cost-advantaged US
shale gas feedstocks to supply Dow’s integrated
derivative units in Louisiana, the FCDh technology
retrofit also will allow reduced capital outlay by up
to 25% and lower energy usage and greenhouse
gas emissions by up to 20%, thereby improving
overall sustainability when compared to
conventional propane dehydrogenation
technologies, the company said. Dow also recently
licensed its FCDh technology to PetroLogistics ll
LLC for its planned 500,000-tonne/y propane
dehydrogenation unit to be built on the US Gulf
Coast.
Original Source: PennWell Corporation, 20 Aug 2019,
(Website: http://www.ogj.com/index.html) ã Pennwell
Corporation 2019.
Hazer secures ARENA funding to
construct hydrogen production
facility
On behalf of the Australian government, the
Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA)
has approved up to A$9.41 M (£5.2 M) investment
to Hazer Group for the development and operation
of an advanced hydrogen production unit in
Munster. Clean energy company Hazer is planning
to construct an A$15.8 M (£8.8 M), 100 tonne/y
project. This facility will include its advanced
hydrogen production technology that transforms
biogas from sewage treatment into graphite and
hydrogen using iron ore as a catalyst. This
technology forms an alternative hydrogen pathway
to the conventional ways of steam methane
reforming and electrolysis. Hazer is planning to sell
clean hydrogen for industrial purposes and is
exploring markets for graphite. It has chosen
Western Australian Water Corporation (WA Water
Corporation)’s Woodman Point Wastewater
Treatment Plant in Munster as the location of the
hydrogen facility. It has reached a Memorandum of
5