UOP LLC, a Honeywell (NYSE:HON) company, announced today that Viva Methanol Limited, a subsidiary of Eurochem, has selected the UOP/Hydro MTO process technology and the Total Petrochemicals/UOP Olefin Cracking process technology to produce light olefins - the basic building blocks for plastics - from natural gas-derived methanol at a new Viva Polymers Ltd. facility in Nigeria.
The project will be the first commercial-scale installation of the MTO process and Olefin Cracking process technologies. The facility, located within the Lagos Free Trade Zone, Nigeria, will produce olefins from methanol derived from natural gas, an attractive, “cost-advantaged” feedstock that is plentiful in the region.
The new facility will produce 1.3 million metric tons of ethylene and propylene annually for the production of polyethylene and polypropylene, which are used in the production of plastics for packaging, pipes, carpeting, film and other products. UOP will provide technology license, basic engineering, catalysts, adsorbents, specialty equipment, and technical support. The new plant is expected to come online in 2012.
“Methanol-to-olefins technology will allow us to use natural gas available in Nigeria and is more cost effective than traditional olefin production from crude oil derived feedstocks,” said Mr Mohan K Vaswani, chairman of Viva Methanol Limited. “With 10,000 metric tons of methanol produced per day, this will be the largest methanol production facility in the world, and UOP technology will help us convert this methanol to high-value olefins to support growing plastics demand.”
“We are very pleased to see the substantial progress that Viva Methanol Limited has made towards the implementation of this project,” said Jim D’Auria, director of UOP’s petrochemicals business. “The natural gas to olefins route will provide a significant competitive edge to petrochemicals producers.”
UOP previously completed the basic engineering design for an earlier version of this project in 2003, but the project will now take advantage of the latest advances in methanol, methanol-to-olefins, and olefin cracking technologies to achieve significantly greater economies of scale and unparalleled yields and efficiencies with this facility.
The MTO technology, jointly developed by UOP and Norsk Hydro ASA, converts methanol to ethylene and propylene. The process, based upon proprietary UOP catalysts, is proven to provide high yields with minimal byproducts. It is designed for flexibility of the quantity of each product produced, which allows producers to adjust levels to match shifting market demands. The Olefin Cracking process, jointly developed by UOP and Total Petrochemicals, can be integrated with the MTO process to increase the yield of ethylene and propylene within the plant and minimize hydrocarbon byproducts.
Viva Methanol Limited is a Nigerian subsidiary of Eurochem Corporation Pte. Ltd. a privately-owned company based in Singapore.
UOP LLC, headquartered in Des Plaines, Illinois, USA, is a leading international supplier and licensor of process technology, catalysts, adsorbents, process plants, and consulting services to the petroleum refining, petrochemical, and gas processing industries. UOP is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Honeywell International, Inc. and is part of Honeywell’s Specialty Materials strategic business group. For more information, go to www.uop.com.
Honeywell International is a $36 billion diversified technology and manufacturing leader, serving customers worldwide with aerospace products and services; control technologies for buildings, homes and industry; automotive products; turbochargers; and specialty materials. Based in Morris Township, N.J., Honeywell’s shares are traded on the New York, London, and Chicago Stock Exchanges. It is one of the 30 stocks that make up the Dow Jones Industrial Average and is also a component of the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index. For additional information, please visit www.honeywell.com.
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Contacts:
Susan Gross
(847) 391-2380
Susan.gross@uop.com
