Reliance could export 3,000 tonnes of propylene every quarter

16 September 2009 09:40  [Source: ICIS news]

SINGAPORE (ICIS news)--India’s Reliance Industries could have up to 3,000 tonnes of propylene available for export every quarter following the conversion of its Hazira polypropylene (PP) plant to copolymer grade, a source close to the company said on Wednesday.

"Production of copolymer PP requires less propylene and more ethylene than homopolymer PP," the source said.

The 450,000 tonne/year plant in Gujarat state, which has two lines of equal capacity, was earlier producing only homopolymer PP.

Reliance sent the first copolymer PP cargoes from its newly converted 225,000 tonne/year line into the local market on 16 July. The other 225,000 tonne/year line at the plant was already producing copolymer PP.

The plant uses feedstock propylene from its 800,000 tonne/year naphtha cracker at Hazira and its 430,000 tonne/year gas cracker at Gandhar, both in Gujarat. The company said in July that it had installed a new reactor to feed the ethylene needed to produce copolymer PP from the plant.

Demand for copolymer grade from the automotive, home appliances, home furniture and crate segments was very strong, the source added.

With the conversion of Reliance’s second PP line, its domestic nameplate capacity for copolymer PP had increased to 520,000 tonnes/year, although actual production was significantly lower, market sources said. India’s consumption of this PP grade material is currently 300,000 tonnes a year.

The only other Indian producer of copolymer PP is Haldia Petrochemicals Ltd, which can produce around 70,000 tonnes/year of this grade.

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By: Prema Viswanathan
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