Shell Chemicals Ltd. and Lurgi Zimmer AG, Frankfurt, have unveiled a new process to make polytrimethylene terephthalate (PTT), a polymer used in carpets and textiles and as an engineering thermoplastic.
Under a cross-licensing agreement, Shell will license the technology to third parties, while Lurgi will provide key engineering and equipment for PTT plants that incorporate the process.
The first plant to use Shell's new process will be a 115,000 metric ton/ year unit to be built at Altamira, Mexico, for a Shell affiliate company that expects to begin production by yearend 2000.
Ron Epperson, business manager for technology licensing at Shell, said the new process was developed with Lurgi and offers substantially improved manufacturing efficiency compared with other processes.
"Together we have reduced the number of processing steps," said Epperson, "and incorporated Lurgi Zimmer's extensive experience in polyester technology to make the process more reliable and easier to operate."
Shell expects global PTT demand to exceed 1 million tons/year by 2010. Epperson said the Altamira site has excellent polyester infrastructure and good international logistics.
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