Lotte Chemical Corp., Seoul, is planning to raise ethylene production by 200,000 tonnes/year at its Yeosu petrochemical complex in the South Korean province of Jeollanam-do.
Increased ethylene output would result from conversion of the plant’s current 1 million-tpy naphtha cracker to run on a feedstock of propane gas, the company said.
Alongside expanding ethylene production to 1.2 mllion tpy, the project also would increase the complex’s 520,000-tpy output of propylene to 620,000 tpy, Lotte said.
The expansion additionally would involve installation of gas turbine generators based on byproduct methane as part of a plan to increase the complex’s ability to generate its own electricity, as well as reduce its emissions of greenhouse gases, the company said.
If approved, construction on the 300 billion-won expansion is scheduled to begin during first-half 2017, with new capacity due for startup by 2018.
Once in service, the Yeosu expansion would increase Lotte’s South Korean domestic production of ethylene to 2.3 million tpy and overall global output to 4.5 million tpy by yearend 2018, the company said.
Contact Robert Brelsford at [email protected].