MOSCOW (MRC) -- A pump serving ethylene unit No. 22 at Chevron Phillips Chemical's Sweeny, Texas plant has shut unexpectedly, according to a filing with the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality, as reported by Plastemart.
The outage caused pressure build up in an ethylene surge drum that subsequently vented to the atmosphere, releasing ethylene and propylene, among other materials. The pump was returned to service.
The ethylene unit has an production capacity of 300,000 m tpa. Chevron Phillips operates three steam crackers at the Sweeny site, with estimated ethylene production of 1.9 mln mtpa.
As MRC reported earlier, in July 2014, Chevron Phillips Chemical (CPChem) received approval from its board of directors and obtained an environmental permit from the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) to expand normal alpha olefins (NAO) production capacity at its Cedar Bayou plant in Baytown, Texas. This investment will provide an additional 100,000 tpy of capacity. Construction completion is anticipated in July, 2015.
Chevron Phillips Chemica, headquartered in The Woodlands, Texas (north of Houston), US,l is one of the world’s top producers of olefins and polyolefins and a leading supplier of aromatics, alpha olefins, styrenics, specialty chemicals, piping, and proprietary plastics. Chevron and Phillips 66 each own 50% of Chevron Phillips Chemical.
MRC