Expansions: Johnson Matthey to provide tech for world’s largest butanediol plant in China; TotalEnergies awards Kent multi-site engineering services contract in US

Tech firm Johnson Matthey is providing its butanediol (BDO) technology to China's Fujian Zhongjing Petrochemical, which plans to build three new BDO plants in phases, said to be the largest facility of its kind in the world.. The BDO will be used as feedstock for producing 600,000 tonnes/year of biodegradable plastic polybutylene adipate terephthalate (PBAT), which is used in compostable packaging.

Summarising its technology, Johnson Matthey says: “The Davy butanediol process can produce in a single reaction train, varying ratios of three products; 1,4 butanediol (BDO), tetrahydrofuran (THF) and gamma butyrolactone (GBL).”

It adds that the flexible process uses maleic anhydride, which can be obtained by the oxidation of butane or benzene, as the feedstock. “This allows our licensees to rapidly respond to market conditions to manufacture high quality products for the polymers and solvents industries. The use of low-cost raw materials provides a more economical process.”

Chairman of Zhongjing Petrochemical Group, Weng Shengjin, said: ‘We will further increase investment to achieve the goals of energy conservation, carbon reduction and emissions reduction.’

President, China at Johnson Matthey, Dr Mark Su added: ‘Our technology also enables our customers to make significant energy savings and operational improvements.’

In other news, Kent, US-based engineering services provider in the oil and gas, low carbon energy and chemicals sectors, has announced that it has been awarded a three-year Master Services Agreement (MSA) with TotalEnergies for engineering services in the US.

Under this agreement, Kent will provide engineering services at TotalEnergies’ Port Arthur Platform and La Porte Plant in Texas and the Carville Plant in Louisiana, one of the largest polystyrene facilities in the world.

The agreement will also include the provision of services for Bayport Polymers LLC’s Ethane Cracker in Texas, which is operated by TotalEnergies. Kent has been providing engineering services to TotalEnergies at the Port Arthur Platform since 2016.

The engineering scope covers everything from feasibility studies through pre-FEED and FEED and into detailed engineering. The contract is managed from Kent’s Houston office and draws upon expertise from its offices in Canada, UK, Colombia and India when necessary.

As one of TotalEnergies' six refining and petrochemicals platforms worldwide, the Port Arthur Platform has a daily processing capacity of 238,000 barrels/day and is the company’s largest facility in the US. The platform can process heavy crude oil, as well as lighter domestic crudes. It also has a dedicated unit to produce low-sulphur fuels, which reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

(PRA)

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