Praxair, Inc. (Danbury, Conn.; www.praxair.com) has signed a long-term contract with MEGlobal to supply oxygen and nitrogen to its new ethylene glycol (EG) plant being built in Freeport, Texas. MEGlobal (www.meglobal.biz), a wholly-owned subsidiary of Equate Petrochemical Co. (www.equate.com), is a world leader in the manufacture and supply of merchant monoethylene glycol and diethylene glycol.
Praxair’s new world-scale air separation unit (ASU), expected to start up in 2019, will provide oxygen to MEGlobal’s plant for use in its EG manufacturing process and into Praxair’s extensive industrial gas pipeline system. EG is used as a raw material in a variety of products, such as the manufacture of polyester fibers, polyethylene terephthalate resins for liquid and food containers, and other industrial applications. As part of this project, Praxair will also construct a new carbon dioxide purification and liquefaction facility. This gas supply will enable Praxair to serve customers in a variety of industries, including food and beverage where it is used to carbonate drinks, as well as to freeze, chill, preserve and package food. This facility is also expected to start up in 2019.