Honeywell announced that Ceyhan Polipropilen Uretim A.Ş. will use Honeywell UOP’s (Des Plaines, Ill.; www.uop.com) C3 Oleflex technology to produce 457,000 metric tons per year (m.t./yr) of polymer-grade propylene for a new petrochemicals complex in Ceyhan, Turkey. Ceyhan Polipropilen Uretim is a joint venture of Ronesans Holding and the Algerian national energy company Sonatrach S.p.A. The new unit will be used to supply propylene for production of polypropylene, which is used to make a wide variety of plastic products that are growing in demand globally.
Honeywell UOP will provide technology licensing and customized basic engineering design, services, equipment, catalysts and adsorbents for the plant. When completed, this will be the first propane dehydrogenation (PDH) unit to operate in Turkey.
“There is growing demand in the region for propylene to make plastics, and that propylene has historically been a byproduct of refining fuels, or a product of naphtha cracking,” said Bryan Glover, vice president and general manager of Honeywell UOP’s Petrochemicals and Refining Technologies business. “The Oleflex technology produces a high yield of propylene from propane derived from natural gas, and Ceyhan is an ideal location for this technology because it’s close to the main consumers of polypropylene in Turkey.”
The new unit will enable Ceyhan Polipropilen to manufacture polypropylene domestically, reducing Turkey’s dependence on imports from manufacturers in the Middle East and Western Europe. Turkey accounts for half the total demand for polypropylene in the region. Demand for polypropylene in Turkey is expected to grow at about 2.5% annually over the next decade.
UOP’s C3 Oleflex technology converts propane to propylene through catalytic dehydrogenation.
Turkey imported more than 2 million metric tons of polypropylene in 2017. The new plant is expected to reduce Turkish imports of polypropylene by 25%, and offset approximately $13 billion in imported petrochemicals, representing a third of Turkey’s foreign trade deficit in manufacturing.
Ceyhan Polipropilen Uretim was formed earlier this year to develop a polypropylene production plant in the Ceyhan Mega Petrochemistry Industry Zone. The facility is set to begin production in 2023. Ronesans Holding ranks as the world’s 33rd and Europe’s ninth largest contractor in the ENR list of the world’s top contractors. Sonatrach earlier announced plans to construct its own C3 Oleflex unit in partnership with Total S.A., at Arzew, Algeria.