New technologies key to energy and feedstock efficiency - UOP

16 November 2009 13:20  [Source: ICIS news]

MUMBAI (ICIS news)--Newer technologies such as methanol-to-olefins and coal-to-olefins could become viable options for petrochemical production to reduce dependence on crude oil, a senior industry executive said on Monday.

“For countries like China, which has an abundance of coal reserves and methanol plants and low reserves of crude, it would make a lot of sense to monetise these low-cost routes to petrochemical production,” said Rajeev Gautam, president and CEO of process technology provider UOP.

Gautam was speaking at the Indian Petrochem 2009 conference being held in Mumbai, India.

The coal-to-olefins process could yield $250 (€168) of revenue per tonne of coal consumed, which made it a very lucrative route, according to Gautam.

Most of China’s methanol production was coal-based and this made the methanol-to-olefins process very cost and energy efficient, he added.

“Energy and feedstock efficiency are key to the long-term profitability of the petrochemical industry,” Gautam said.

The two-day conference ends on 17 November.

($1 = €0.67)

For more on olefins visit ICIS chemical intelligence
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By: Prema Viswanathan
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