Borealis studying the set-up of a propane dehydrogenation plant in Belgium

Austrian polyolefins supplier Borealis will study the feasibility of a new, world-scale propane dehydrogenation (PDH) plant at its existing production site in Kallo, Belgium.

The feasibility study will be carried out over the next nine months. The final investment decision is expected to be taken in the third quarter of 2018, while the potential start-up of the plant is scheduled for the second half of 2021. The new PDH plant would have a targeted annual production capacity of 740 kilotonnes/year, making it one of the largest and most efficient facilities in the world. The Borealis Kallo location has been chosen due to its excellent logistical position and its experience in propylene production and handling. Borealis has selected Honeywell UOP's Oleflex technology for the new plant.

"A new PDH plant of this scale would be a significant investment for Borealis in Europe. It would strengthen our long term commitment to be the innovative polypropylene and propylene supplier that is meeting the needs of our customers today and in the future," says Markku Korvenranta, Borealis Executive Vice President, Base Chemicals. "During the coming quarters we will be engaging with the value chain partners and authorities to work out the commercial and operational details of the project."

The company says that in Europe propylene demand is increasing while the supply growth from steam crackers and refineries is slowing down. It is for the reason that the is market tightening that it is looking at on-purpose propylene investment. With on-purpose propylene production, propane is selectively dehydrogenated, which means that hydrogen is removed from the molecule in a chemical process, to become propylene. Propylene is also a by-product from the steam cracking of liquid feedstocks such as naphtha or liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), and from off-gases produced in refineries.

Flexible, integrated steam crackers as well as the PDH plant and their associated production units, form the backbone of the Borealis olefins and polyolefins portfolio in Europe. It sources basic feedstocks such as propane, naphtha, butane and ethane from the oil and gas industry and converts these into ethylene, propylene and other high value hydrocarbons.