Davy Process Technology Licenses LP OxoSM Technology To Dammam 7 Petrochemical Limited
London, UK & Midland, MI - Davy Process Technology Limited (DPT), a Johnson Matthey company, in cooperation with Union Carbide Corporation (UCC), a subsidiary of The Dow Chemical Company, announced that Dammam 7 Petrochemical Limited (Dammam 7) chose LP OxoSM SELECTORSM 30 Technology with NORMAX Catalyst for its new facility in Al Jubail, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. The plant, which is slated to produce 80,000 metric tons per year of normal-butanol, is scheduled to go into operation during 2008.
LP Oxo Process Technology is a low-pressure hydroformylation process that uses propylene and synthesis gas to produce normal- and iso-butyraldehydes. These butyraldehydes are then converted into normal- and iso-butanol, as well as other derivatives. To better suit customer needs, DPT and UCC offer a variety of LP Oxo Process Technologies, ranging from the LP Oxo SELECTOR 10 to the LP Oxo SELECTOR 30, which are named according to their respective isomer selectivity ratios. As the selectivity ratio rises, output increasingly favors normal-butanol.
"In evaluating various technology options, we sought an oxo process that would not only provide the most cost-effective means of producing n-butanol, but one that was supported with demonstrated technical and operational expertise," says Bader Abdulaziz Kanoo, chairman & managing director, Dammam 7. "The company selected Dow because of its international reputation for technological expertise in the field of petrochemical manufacturing engineering. A first in the Middle East region, the plant will be part of a petrochemical complex with a target of manufacturing 200,000 metric tons of acrylic acid and its derivatives which is a key factor in the Saudi downstream industry."
David Tomlinson, president of DPT, said, "The Dammam 7 plant will be the 32nd project to rely on LP Oxo Process Technology licensed from DPT and UCC. More than 60 percent of the global production of butyraldehydes comes from plants using LP Oxo Technology. Union Carbide and Davy Process Technology have been engaged in every step of the selection process, and we look forward to working with Dammam 7 throughout plant design, startup and operation."
"Our newest LP Oxo SELECTOR 30 Technology with NORMAX Catalyst provides the highest commercially-available isomer selectivity, setting the industry standard for excellence," says Molly Peifang Zhang, vice president, Dow Technology Licensing. "Using our process, converters, like Dammam 7, are able to reduce output of the less desirable iso-butanol by as much as 67 percent. This, in turn, enables them to achieve the highest possible normal-butanol production rates."
SOURCE: Davy Process Technology