Shell Seeking JV Partners for Styrene Monomer/ Propylene Oxide Latest Technology

Shell Chemicals is seeking potential joint venture partners for its new styrene monomer (SM) and propylene oxide (PO) facility. The chemical plant is expected to cost in the region of $500 million which is to be built in Southeast Asia or Middle East with a world-scale capacity for Asia Pacific demand.

The chemical will be producing mainly PO with SM as co-products hence having higher flexibility and financial advantages due to current strong propylene oxide value chain.

Formosa Plastics Starting It's New PP Plant

Formosa Plastics had obtained governmental approval to receive propylene feedstock at its Ningbo port terminal, with the first refrigerated propylene cargo and eventually to start feeding feedstock propylene into Farmosa Plastics's new 450,000 tonne/year polypropylene (PP) plant in Ningbo.

The start-up has had many hiccups due to governmental regulations and construction problems and the successful start-up of Formosa’s Ningbo PP plant would tighten the critical propylene supply in the market.

MTO Projects Spur in Inner Mongolia

China’s Inner Mongolia is spurring with methanol investments through methanol-to-olefins (MTO) projects due to its cheap and abundant coal supply with estimated of nearly 10 million tonnes/year of methanol will be produced by the next 5 years.

MTO projects such as by Datang International Power has capacity of 1.7 million tonne/year methanol with around 1.5m tonnes will be converted to propylene using Lurgi’s technology as feedstock to make around 500,000 tonnes of polypropylene (PP).

The cost of polypropylene made from this route is expected to be cost competitive, given the low price of coal in Inner Mongolia using coal gasification technology from Shell with 3 tonnes of methanol are needed to produce 1 tonne of propylene through the process.

Sibur Polypropylene Using INEOS Technology

INEOS has been selected for a contract to provide 200,000 tonne/year Polypropylene plant in southwest Siberia process technology for Sibur's proposed plant in Tomsk, Russia. The construction is expected to start commissioning in 2012.

This will be Sibur's second polypropylene plant using INEOS process technology. Previously, Sibur used INEOS’ Innovene polypropylene process technology for a proposed 500,000 tonne/year PP plant at Tobolsk, Russia.

Sibur and Evonik on Discussion for Propylene Oxide Plant

Propylene oxide facility (PO) using Evonik and Uhde, a german engineering firm is on discussion for Evonik Industries and Russia-based JSC Sibur Holding to undertake a feasibility study on the construction of the chemical plant.

JSC Sibur partnership in the JV most likely is for penetration into the Russian market which may also looking at creating a joint venture to produce hydrogen peroxide to supply the PO plant as well as for applications in the paper and pulp bleaching industry.

Titan's Metathesis Unit Producing Propylene

Titan's metathesis unit at Pasir Gudang Malaysia which has a capacity of 115 thousands tonnes per annum of propylene starts delivering on-spec propylene which will enter the market soon.

The propylene produced largely will be for internal consumption of captive downstream polypropylene (PP) plants with limited cargoes going away in the region.

New Acrylic Acid Process Route

US biofuels player and ethanol producer Cargill is in the collaboration with Novozymes to develop a new breakthrough technology that would create acrylic acid through 3-hydroxypropionic acid (3HPA) using sugar. Engineered biological micro-organisms will be used to make 3HPA from fermented sugar. Bio-