LyondellBasell to build HDPE plant on US Gulf Coast

Petrochemicals giant LyondellBasell will build a High Density Polyethylene (HDPE) plant on the US Gulf Coast, with a capacity of 500,000 tonnes. This news comes after Sabic and Exxon Mobil Corporation said they are considering the potential development of a jointly owned petrochemical complex on the US Gulf Coast, with several other US firms also undertaking capacity expansions, due to the availability of cheaper natural gas in the region. http://www.plasticsandrubberasia.com/july2016/company9.html

LyondellBasell's plant will be the first to employ its new proprietary Hyperzone PE technology. Start-up is planned for 2019.

"Innovation is key to our future success. This new proprietary technology will have the capability to produce a wide range of HDPE products with enhanced properties, many of which have the potential to exceed industry benchmarks," said Bob Patel, LyondellBasell's CEO.

LyondellBasell says its Hyperzone PE promotes enhanced properties including improved stress crack resistance and enhanced balance between stiffness and impact strength.

The Hyperzone PE technology is a cascade gas phase process based on LyondellBasell's Multizone circulating reactor technology and was developed at LyondellBasell's European R&D centres located in Frankfurt, Germany, and Ferrara, Italy. The new proprietary technology will have the capability to produce a wide range of high-performance multi-modal HDPE products. In certain applications, Hyperzone PE resins allow customers to use less PE resin per unit produced, resulting in improved resource efficiency and savings for customers. While the Hyperzone PE plant will be located on the US Gulf Coast, the products produced will serve markets across the globe

"We are continuing to invest in growth-oriented projects like Hyperzone PE, where we see long term feedstock advantage," Patel added. "We believe that the combination of our latest polyolefins technology and new ethylene capacity from low cost debottlenecks will provide a good return on investment. Additionally, this project enhances our ethylene integration strategy, allowing us to capture value across the ethylene value chain."

LyondellBasell currently produces a total of 3.5 million tonnes/year of HDPE, including capacity of its joint venture facilities. The company is a leading worldwide producer of all forms of PE with a capacity of 6 million tonnes/year. Consumer products made from PE are commonly recycled, says the firm.

The UK and US-headquartered LyondellBasell is a global leader in the development and licensing of polyolefin processes and related catalysts and plans to make the Hyperzone PE technology available for licensing in the future. The company has over 250 PP and PE lines licensed worldwide.

LyondellBasell did not mention where the new plant will be located. It currently produces PE at its Texas site.

The Hyperzone PE project is part of LyondellBasell's ongoing growth plan. Recently, the company completed work on ethylene expansion projects at the company's La Porte and Channelview sites in Texas. A third ethylene expansion project is currently underway in Corpus Christi, Texas. Additionally, development of a world scale propylene oxide and tertiary butyl alcohol (PO/TBA) plant at the company'sChannelview site is progressing.

Hyperzone is a trademark owned by the LyondellBasell Industries group of companies.