Houston-headquartered ExxonMobil Chemical Technology Licensing has licensed its proprietary tubular tail technology to Thai Polyethylene Company (TPE), a subsidiary of Siam Cement Group (SCG). Following installation of the technology, production capacity at the plant is expected to increase from 100-152 kilotonnes/year, with energy consumption reduced by up to 20%. Engineering and design is underway and construction is expected to be completed in 2016.

Under the license, the tubular tail technology will debottleneck and retrofit the autoclave reactor at TPE's low density polyethylene (LDPE) plant in Map Ta Phut, Thailand. This is the first installation of tubular tail technology on an autoclave reactor developed by ICI to produce polyethylene.

"We selected this tubular tail technology based on the excellent support and results of working with ExxonMobil Chemical. During the past decade, we have continuously implemented process improvements at Map Ta Phut, resulting in an overall capacity increase of 10%, better efficiency and safety, and lower operating costs," said Somchai Wangwattanapanich, Vice President-Operations, SCG Chemicals. He continued, "The retrofit will enable us to supply high quality LDPE resins to fast-growing high-end applications like food packaging. This is another commitment in our business direction to grow high value products."