Honeywell announced today that Sonatrach Total Entreprise Polymères (STEP) has selected Honeywell UOP’s (Des Plaines, Ill.; www.uop.com) C3 Oleflex technology to produce 565,000 metric tons per year of polymer-grade propylene for a proposed plant in Arzew, Algeria.
In addition to technology licensing, Honeywell is providing the basic engineering design as well as services, equipment, catalysts and adsorbents for the plant. When completed, it will represent UOP’s second C3 Oleflex unit in North Africa, following an earlier award in Egypt.
“The Oleflex technology will enable STEP to convert domestically produced propane into propylene, which is the primary component in a wide variety of plastic products that are rapidly growing in demand in the region,” said Bryan Glover, vice president and general manager of Honeywell UOP’s Petrochemicals & Refining Technologies business. “STEP will further convert the propylene into polypropylene plastic to supply customers in Algeria, as well as along the Mediterranean, and in other markets such as Europe.
Honeywell UOP’s C3 Oleflex technology uses catalytic dehydrogenation to convert propane to propylene and is designed to have a lower cash cost of production and higher return on investment compared to competing dehydrogenation technologies. Its low energy consumption, low emissions and fully recyclable, platinum-alumina-based catalyst system helps minimize its impact on the environment. The independent reactor and regeneration design of the Oleflex technology helps maximize operating flexibility and onstream reliability. Oleflex technology has been selected for 63 out of 84 dehydrogenation projects globally since 2011, including propane (C3), isobutane (iC4) and mixed C3/ iC4 service.
Last year, Honeywell announced that Sonatrach will use technologies from Honeywell UOP to produce cleaner-burning transportation fuels at its Skikda Refinery on the eastern Mediterranean coast of Algeria. UOP also announced that Sonatrach will use UOP technologies, including C4 Oleflex, at its Arzew facility to produce 200,000 metric tons per year of methyl tert-butyl ether (MTBE), a high-octane gasoline additive that reduces emissions in automobile exhaust.
Sonatrach Total Entreprise Polymères (STEP) is a joint venture between Algeria’s State Oil Company Sonatrach S.p.A. (51%) and France’s Total S.A. (49%). The STEP joint venture was created in 2018 to carry out the joint petrochemical project in Arzew.
Honeywell UOP (www.uop.com) is a leading international supplier and licensor of process technology, catalysts, adsorbents, equipment, and consulting services to the petroleum refining, petrochemical, and gas processing industries. Honeywell UOP is part of Honeywell’s Performance Materials and Technologies strategic business group, which also includes Honeywell Process Solutions (www.honeywellprocess.com).