BP completes construction of new VAM plant at Hull, UK

01 August 2001 17:04  [Source: ICIS news]

LONDON (CNI)--Anglo-American energy and chemicals group BP confirmed on Wednesday that it has completed the construction phase of its new 250 000 tonne/year vinyl acetate monomer (VAM) unit in Hull, northeast England.

Plant commissioning is now ready to take place, with ethylene available to go through the facility. It is hoped the plant will have reached commercial specification by the end of August.

It will use Leap technology which is based on a fluidised bed reactor and catalyst design that employs traditional raw materials of acetic acid, ethylene and oxygen. This technology was developed with the help of the Warrensville Research Centre in the US and has been described by BP as the most significant breakthrough in VAM manufacturing in three decades.

BP is counterbalancing the commissioning of the new facility in Hull with the closure of its VAM plant at Baglan Bay, Wales. This is likely to take place in the autumn (Q2/3), once the commissioning process in Hull has been completed satisfactorily.

By: Joanna Kesteven
+44 208 652 3214

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