Expansions: Versalis licenses ABS tech to India’s Supreme; Grace’s PP tech licensed to China’s Oriental Energy

Italian chemical firm Versalis, an Eni company, has licenses the continuous mass technology for a 70 kilotonne/year ABS unit to Supreme Petrochem, an Indian polystyrene and expandable polystyrene producer. The unit will be built in the Amdoshi –Wangani, District Raigad, in Maharashtra state, India.

This technology will produce styrenic polymers with a low carbon footprint owing to reduced emissions and energy consumption. Market applications of the technology include the automotive industry, household appliances, the electronics sector, medical appliances and furniture.

The license agreement confirms the primary role of Versalis in styrenics and strengthens its position in the Asian market, an area which is undergoing a strong expansion in the petrochemical field and is increasingly focused on selecting more sustainable technologies with a low environmental impact.

Versalis will be supported by Eurotecnica Contractors and Engineers SpA, with which the company has recently signed a cooperation agreement within the styrenics business. Eurotecnica, which will support Versalis in supplying the basic engineering design package, is an Italian company founded in 1962 and part of the Proman Group. The company specialises in providing engineering services relevant to proprietary technologies with established leadership in the Asian market, in melammine technology.

Versalis is one of the largest producers of polymers in Europe. It has a wide portfolio of proprietary technologies and consolidated experience as a licensor leveraging its extensive R&D, lab & pilot plant testing capabilities and full-scale plant operations experience.

Meanwhile in other news, polyolefin catalyst technology and polypropylene (PP) process technology provider W. R. Grace & Co., has licensed its Unipol PP process technology to Oriental Energy for its Maoming, China, plant. This is Oriental Energy’s fifth PP line, and its fourth using Grace’s process technology with a production capacity of 400 kilotonnes/year.

Oriental Energy currently has the largest Unipol PP operating capacity in China, and there are plans to build additional PP lines at its sites in Ningbo and Maoming in the years to come, it adds.

Laura Schwinn, President of Grace’s Specialty Catalysts business said, “We are extremely pleased that Oriental Energy has chosen our Unipol PP process technology once again for its newest polypropylene line in Maoming. Our continuous cooperation over the last ten years has created a solid and lasting relationship between our businesses, and we are excited to watch Oriental Energy achieve their goal of becoming one of the top polypropylene producers in the world using our technology.”

Wu Yinlong, General Manager of Oriental Energy, commented, “We selected Grace’s Unipol PP process for our site in Maoming because of our confidence in the technology. We know from experience with our other Unipol PP lines that we can produce the advanced polypropylene resins we need for our customers. We also know Grace will be a trusted advisor to provide support and service for the life of our plants.”

(PRA)

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