US PetroLogistics II plans to build new PDH unit on Gulf Coast

Amanda Hay

19-Jul-2019

HOUSTON (ICIS)–PetroLogistics II plans to construct a 500,000 tonne/year propane dehydrogenation (PDH) facility on the US Gulf Coast based on a new process technology, the company said in a release.

Eye Ubiquitous/REX/ShutterstockThe company licensed Dow’s fluidised catalytic dehydrogenation (FCDh) technology,  which uses a reactor design based on fluidised catalytic cracking.

PetroLogistics II is evaluating two sites for the new project.

On-purpose propylene production  projects have become attractive over the last decade as the US shale revolution led to several new steam cracker projects, all of which use low-cost ethane as a feedstock and yield very little propylene.

However, high capital costs and difficulty achieving stable production have been challenges associated with PDH units.

The use of Dow’s technology is expected to result in a much lower capital cost and improved reliability, PetroLogistics said.

“We have been working with Dow for three years in evaluating the FCDh technology and we are confident that it addresses those challenges and represents a significant breakthrough in the PDH process,” PetroLogistics president Nathan Ticatch said in the release.

Dow did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

PetroLogistics built North America’s first PDH facility in 2010 – a 635,000 tonne/year facility on the Houston Ship Channel that it later sold to Flint Hills Resources (FHR). PetroLogistics II is not affiliated with FHR.

Only two other PDH projects have been completed in the US: Dow’s 750,000 tonne/year unit at Freeport, Texas, and Enterprise Products Partners’ 750,000 tonne/year unit at Mont Belvieu, Texas.

The Enterprise unit uses CATOFIN technology from McDermott’s Lummus Technology. Dow’s plant uses the Oleflex process technology from Honeywell UOP. The PDH unit owned by FHR is based on the CATOFIN process technology.

PetroLogistics II is backed by private equity firm Quantum Energy Partners.

Additional reporting by Al Greenwood

Image above shows plastic objects made of polypropylene (PP), one of the main derivatives of propylene. Photo by Eye Ubiquitous/REX/Shutterstock

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