Phenol/Acetone '02: Cos must boost propylene integration

22 May 2002 17:34  [Source: ICIS news]

MADRID (CNI)--Cumene/phenol manufacturers will need to increase their integration with propylene to avoid being squeezed when this feedstock becomes tight, warned Andrew Spiers, a principal at the consultancy Nexant.

He explained to the ICIS-LOR World Phenol/Acetone* conference here on Wednesday that the sourcing of propylene will become a growing issue for cumene/phenol projects. This will also provide a greater incentive to develop non-propylene based technology.

Spiers explained that propylene demand is growing faster than ethylene with which it is co-produced. Cumene/phenol is one of the fastest growing propylene derivatives.

He estimated that global phenol demand will increase at 5% per year from 6.2m tonne in 2001 to 8.0m tonne in 2006. This will force more cumene production to be based on refinery propylene and the location of a cumene plant will become a major factor.

But with much of the new phenol capacity planned for Asia, Spiers questioned how future feedstocks needs will be met. He suggested that cumene may be exported from the Middle East to Asia.

*The 2^nd ICIS-LOR World Phenol/Acetone conference concludes tomorrow. ICIS-LOR is a sister company to CNI.

By: Peter Taffe
+44 20 8652 3214

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