Posted on 09/16/2015 2:07:06 PM PDT by thackney
The groundbreaking of a $1.85 billion Chinese investment for a Louisiana chemical plant is slated for Friday with London-based Amec Foster Wheeler newly signed on for engineering services and more.
China’s Shandong Yuhuang Chemical Co. formed the Yuhuang Chemical Inc. in Houston last year to develop the large methanol plant in Louisiana’s St. James Parish, which is between New Orleans and Baton Rouge. Methanol is primarily used to make other commercial chemicals.
The project is part of the massive growth of petrochemical projects in Texas and Louisiana as companies seek to take advantage of cheap natural gas feedstocks coming from U.S. shale plays. Earlier in September, Taiwan-based Formosa Petrochemical said it is considering building a $9.4 billion petrochemical complex in St. James Parish.
The Yuhuang methanol project will use natural gas to make methanol with Paris-based Air Liquide’s “Lurgi MegaMethanol” technology. Although the contract terms are not being disclosed, Amec Foster Wheeler said it will provide engineering, project management, procurement and early construction services. The stated goal is to extend the deal next year into a full-scope engineering and construction contract.
“Amec Foster Wheeler has provided a team with solid project delivery experience and a strong working relationship with Air Liquide, and we look forward to meeting the project’s challenges with them as our partner,” said Yuhuang President and CEO Charlie Yao in a prepared statement.
Amec Foster Wheeler and Air Liquide both have sizable Houston presences.
The facility is expected to come online in 2018 and eventually produce up to 5,000 metric tons per day of methanol.
Lurgi MegaMethanol
http://www.engineering-solutions.airliquide.com/en/about-us-global-engineering-and-construction-solutions/technologies-air-liquide-lurgi-cryo/methanol-and-derivatives.html
Within the past 10 years, we have reduced production costs by more than half with the introduction of our Lurgi MegaMethanol® technology, specifically designed for large-scale operators leveraging economies of scale.
The Lurgi MegaMethanol® process is an advanced technology for converting natural gas to methanol at low cost in large quantities. The technology has been developed for world-scale methanol plants with capacities greater than one million metric tons per year.
Its main processing features include oxygen-blown natural gas reforming (either in combination with steam reforming or as pure autothermal reforming); two-step methanol synthesis in water- and gas-cooled reactors operating along the optimum reaction route; and the capability to recycle hydrogen to adjust synthesis gas composition.
The high efficiency of the process and the low capital investment costs of MegaMethanol plants permit a significant reduction in methanol costs. Furthermore, the technology paves the way for new downstream industries such as our MTP® process, which can use methanol as a feedstock competitive to oil.
With a series of Lurgi MegaMethanol® plants, either based on natural gas or coal already in operation, the road to reliable and cost-effective large-scale methanol-production is opened.
What’s the primary use for this product?
The largest use for methanol is as a feedstock for the plastics industry. It is used to make methanal and hence a variety of plastics, based on reactions with phenol, carbamide (urea) and melamine.
Polymers such as the polyesters (e.g. Terylene) and poly(methyl-2-methylpropenoate) (e.g. Perspex) use methanol as the original feedstock. Methanol is now the principal source for the manufacture of ethanoic acid.
Thanks, looks like a jack of all chemical.
There are a few that are basic building block to a massive range of stuff.
Ethylene is another.
Yeah!
Remind me again how many Chinese chemical warehouses have exploded the past few days.
30% formaldehyde. Getting a good supply for when the usurper signals the start of martial law and the jihad.
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