Lummus Technology (Houston) announced a contract award from Silleno LLP for an ethylene unit, which will be part of the first polyethylene plant to be built in the Republic of Kazakhstan.
Strategically located at the National Industrial Petrochemical Technopark in the Kazakhstan’s Atyrau Region, the plant will play a pivotal role in Kazakhstan’s economy by increasing gross domestic product, creating jobs during the construction and operations phases, and generating other indirect business opportunities for the local economy.
“It is an honor to collaborate with Silleno and be part of such an important petrochemical project that is a major investment and growth driver for the Republic of Kazakhstan,” said Leon de Bruyn, President and Chief Executive Officer, Lummus Technology. “We have executed several projects recently in Kazakhstan, so this builds on our experience and growth in the country. It also gives us the unique opportunity to provide our leading technology to help advance Kazakhstan’s energy and petrochemicals industry.”
Lummus’ ethylene technology will be critical in producing polyethylene, a process that will consist of two stages: 1) converting ethane to ethylene and 2) producing polyethylene directly from ethylene.
Lummus’ scope includes the technology license, basic engineering and training for the new plant, which will convert ethane from the Tengiz oil field into 1.3 million tons per year of ethylene. The ethylene unit will also leverage Lummus’ Short Residence Time (SRT®) heaters and incorporate Lummus’ olefins recovery system. These heaters will optimize product yield and the recovery system reduces equipment by up to 25 percent compared to conventional systems, which will increase energy efficiency, lower capital costs and decrease CO2 emissions.