According to the “Chemical Weekly†report of the United States, Jean-Bernard Lartigue, president of Total Petrochemicals, stated that Total plans to build its industrialized olefin cracking process (OCP) plant within five years. The installation may be built at the refinery/petrochemical base in Antwerp. The process can convert the C4 to C8 fractions of refineries and petrochemical plants into ethylene and propylene, and use a zeolite catalyst that increases propylene production.
The OCP process technology was jointly developed by Total and UOP of the United States and has been tested in the Feluy petrochemical plant in Belgium.
In addition, Total and UOP are implementing previously announced plans to combine the OCP process with the methanol-to-olefin process (MTO) jointly developed by UOP and Hydro. Lartigue said that Total will operate a pilot plant in Feluy from next year to verify the combined effect of the OCP process and the MTO process. The pilot plant will operate until 2010. At that time, the company will make a decision on the industrialization of combinatorial technology.
Lartigue said that MTO can produce the same amount of ethylene and propylene; the MTO-OCP combination process can produce propylene and ethylene in a 2:1 ratio. He also stated that if the crude oil price is 30 US dollars/barrel or more, compared with other processes for producing olefins, this process can show its competitiveness.
Lartigue did not disclose where the first industrial-grade MTO-OCP process plant will be built, but said the company is discussing the possibility of building a joint venture in China, which will be a methanol plant based on coal raw materials. He also said that it may also be a natural gas feedstock methanol plant in the Middle East.
The OCP process technology was jointly developed by Total and UOP of the United States and has been tested in the Feluy petrochemical plant in Belgium.
In addition, Total and UOP are implementing previously announced plans to combine the OCP process with the methanol-to-olefin process (MTO) jointly developed by UOP and Hydro. Lartigue said that Total will operate a pilot plant in Feluy from next year to verify the combined effect of the OCP process and the MTO process. The pilot plant will operate until 2010. At that time, the company will make a decision on the industrialization of combinatorial technology.
Lartigue said that MTO can produce the same amount of ethylene and propylene; the MTO-OCP combination process can produce propylene and ethylene in a 2:1 ratio. He also stated that if the crude oil price is 30 US dollars/barrel or more, compared with other processes for producing olefins, this process can show its competitiveness.
Lartigue did not disclose where the first industrial-grade MTO-OCP process plant will be built, but said the company is discussing the possibility of building a joint venture in China, which will be a methanol plant based on coal raw materials. He also said that it may also be a natural gas feedstock methanol plant in the Middle East.