By OGJ editors
HOUSTON, Nov. 8 -- Dow Technology Licensing and Saudi European Petrochemical Co. (Ibn Zahr)—a Saudi Basic Industries Corp. (Sabic) joint venture—have started up what they say is the world's largest single polypropylene (PP) train at Al Jubail industrial city on the Persian Gulf coast. Nameplate capacity is 500,000 tonnes/year of PP resins, the companies say.
To manufacture homopolymers and random copolymers, the facility uses the Unipol PP process technology, a gas-phase process that requires no equipment for handling, separating, or recycling solvents in producing the PP resins.
"When this plant and others currently in the execution stage enter service, Unipol PP process technology will be used to produce nearly 11 million tonnes/year of [PP], which will represent more than 16% of total global capacity," the companies reported.
