Materials News

Chinese supplier to use coal to produce chemicals

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The project will be the first commercial-scale installation of Honeywell UOP's advanced MTO methanol-to-olefins solution, which allows petrochemical producers to use methanol from natural gas or coal, instead of petroleum, to produce plastics and petrochemicals.

This solution, which combines the UOP/Hydro MTO process and the Total Petrochemicals/UOP Olefin Cracking Process, allows producers in countries with limited supplies of crude oil, but plentiful quantities of coal or natural gas, to produce high-value petrochemicals.

Honeywell UOP will provide technology licenses, basic engineering, catalysts, adsorbents, speciality equipment and technical services for the plant, which is expected to start up in 2013.

Located in Nanjing, China, the facility will be one of the world's first methanol-to-olefin production facilities.

The MTO process, jointly developed by Honeywell UOP and Ineos (formerly Hydro), converts methanol from non-crude oil sources such as coal or natural gas to ethylene and propylene primarily. The facility will also employ the Olefin Cracking Process (OCP), which further converts olefins produced during the MTO process to boost the total yield of usable ethylene and propylene.

The solution, based on proprietary UOP catalysts, is said to provide high yields with minimal by-products. It also offers flexibility in the quantity of propylene and ethylene produced, so producers can adjust their plant design to most effectively address market demands.

The MTO process technology has been successfully demonstrated in a semi-commercial-scale unit built by Total Petrochemicals in Feluy, Belgium. Total Petrochemicals and UOP recently announced the successful conversion of ethylene and propylene from the demonstration unit to PE and PP.

Wison, located in Nanjing Chemical Industrial Park and fully owned by Shanghai-headquartered Wison Group, adopts clean coal technologies to produce high-quality chemicals - including carbon monoxide, hydrogen, synthetic gas, methanol and sulphur - for use in the Chinese industry.