MOSCOW (MRC) -- Dow Chemical's propylene dehydrogenation (PDH) unit in Freeport, Texas, is offline for a turnaround, reported S&P Global with reference to US olefin market participants.
Sources said the PDH unit went offline for scheduled maintenance September 26, and the work is expected to last 45-60 days. Originally, sources expected the turnaround to begin in early September, but then learned it had been delayed.
Dow said it does not typically comment on turnaround activity.
One market participant said that as a result of the turnaround, she expects US propylene inventory to begin decreasing. This comes a day after the US Energy Information Administration data showed an increase in inventories last week, the third consecutive weekly rise for propylene inventories.
As MRC informed previously, Dow Chemical began major maintenance on the LHC 1 cracker at Terneuzen, Netherlands from 9 September, 2019. More than 1,500 extra employees from various external companies will carry out maintenance work in the subsequent period.
Propylene is a feedstock for producing polyprolypele (PP).
According to MRC's ScanPlast report, the estimated PP consumption in the Russian market was 796,120 tonnes in January-July 2019, up by 11% year on year. Shipments of PP block copolymer and homopolymer PP increased.
Dow believes that plastic waste has value and can be transformed into new products and energy. In addition to plastic roads, Dow is working with key partners in South America to use recycled plastics to develop construction materials for schools in Colombia. Dow is also at the forefront of developing and scaling chemical recycling technology to take recycled plastic waste back to feedstock for the creation of new products. By reimagining new ways to reuse, recycle and repurpose plastic waste, Dow and its partners are leading the way in the development of innovative circular economy solutions.
MRC