MOSCOW (MRC) -- Clariant’s next-generation methanol synthesis catalyst is delivering exceptional performance at the coal-to-liquid plant of China Energy Corporation (CHN Energy) Ningxia Coal Industry Co Ltd (NCIC), located in Yinchuan, Ningxia Province, China. Installed at the plant in August 2018, MegaMax 800 achieved an anticipated operation load of 102 percent after just two months, as per Hydrocarbonprocessing.
The new catalyst’s fast and favorable start is due to its 40 percent higher productivity compared to previous generations.
Following its successful startup, MegaMax 800’s superior performance has benefitted NCIC in several ways. The 1-million-ton per year methanol production plant is experiencing considerably higher yield at lower energy and feedstock costs. In addition, make-up gas consumption has dropped by 51 million cubic meters per year. These combined process improvements will have a dramatic effect on the producer’s cost savings, which are now expected to be approximately USD3 million annually. The facility is further reporting the noticeably lower formation of by-products such as ethanol in the crude methanol product, which will undoubtedly add to its total profitability.
While the new catalyst’s superior performance was exceptional – it was also expected. That’s because MegaMax 800 is specially developed to offer higher activity and superior selectivity towards methanol production – even at very low reactor temperatures and pressures. Consequently, producers will be able to increase methanol capacity by as much as 10 percent, depending on the facility’s design and processes.
Stefan Heuser, Senior Vice President & General Manager Business Unit Catalysts at Clariant, commented, "We are delighted that our MegaMax 800 catalyst is providing NCIC the benefits we promised. The favorable results are significant! Not only because NCIC is one of China’s largest coal-to-chemicals producers, but also as it is the first customer for MegaMax 800 using the Lurgi LP methanol process in China. It is another example of how Clariant is able to offer perfectly compatible catalysts and technology to maximize production efficiency and reliability for our customers."
China Energy Corporation Ningxia Coal Industry Co Ltd is the largest coal-to-chemicals company in China as well as globally. It owns and operates a world-class coal-to-liquids (CTL) methanol plant, which has used the Lurgi LP methanol synthesis process since 2016.
As MRC reported earlier, in March 2017, Clariant, a world leader in specialty chemicals, was awarded a contract by Dongguan Grand Resource Science & Technology Co. Ltd. to develop a new propane dehydrogenation unit in cooperation with CB&I. The project includes the license and engineering design of the unit, which is to be built in Dongguan City, Guangdong Province, China. The Dongguan plant will be one of the largest single-train dehydrogenation units in the world. Clariant's technology partner CB&I will base the plant's design on its Catofin catalytic dehydrogenation technology, which uses Clariant's tailor-made Catofin catalyst and Heat Generating Material (HGM).
Propylene is the main feedstock for producing polyprolypele (PP).
According to MRC's ScanPlast report, the estimated consumption of PP in the Russian market totalled 694,210 tonnes in January-June 2019, up by 14% year on year. The supply of propylene block copolymers (PP-block) and propylene homopolymers (PP-homo) increased.
Clariant AG is a Swiss chemical company and a world leader in the production of specialty chemicals for the textile, printing, mining and metallurgical industries. It is engaged in processing crude oil products in pigments, plastics and paints. Clariant India has local masterbatch production activities at Rania, Kalol and Nandesari (Gujarat) and Vashere (Maharashtra) sites in India.
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