Honeywell UOP technology offering China a hand

UOP LLC, a Honeywell company has announced that China’s Better Clean Energy has licensed its advanced methanol to olefins (MTO) process to convert methanol into high value petrochemicals which help meet growing global demand for plastics and other key materials. Honeywell UOP’s MTO technology is a cost effective way to convert methanol derived from coal or natural gas, rather than imported crude oil, into the components to make plastics, synthetics and other materials.

Better Clean Energy will use the process to produce 300 000 tpy of ethylene and propylene at its new facility in Shandong province in Eastern China. In addition to technology licensing, Honeywell UOP will provide engineering, training, technical service and specialty, equipment for the facility, which is expected to start up in 2016.

This is the fifth licensing award for the MTO process and comes after the successful start up of its first commercial scale MTO facility for Wison Clean Energy in September 2013 in China. The 2013 unit has produced over 360 million lb of ethylene and propylene since startup, meeting all of its performance criteria, including yield quality and quantity.

The technology

Honeywell UOP’s Advanced MTO process combines the UOP/Hydro MTO process and the Total/UOP Olefin Cracking process to significantly increase yields and feedstock efficiency. The process converts methanol from non-crude oil sources such as coal and natural gas into ethylene and propylene. In addition to offering the lowest operating cost, quick and efficient startup and operational reliability, the Advanced MTO process also offers flexibility in the ratio of propylene and ethylene produced, so operators can adjust to most effectively meet market demands.

Comments

Mike Millard, Vice President and General Manager, Honeywell UOP’s Technology and Equipment Business said, “MTO technology has revolutionised the modern petrochemicals industry by providing an economical way to turn low cost coal and even natural gas into the chemicals needed to make plastics. Our first commercial MTO facility in China proved the viability of our technology, generating high yields of the compounds needed to meet the growing global demand for plastics.”

Edited from press release by Claira Lloyd

Read the article online at: https://www.hydrocarbonengineering.com/petrochemicals/15072015/honeywell-uop-help-china/