Zhejiang Petroleum & Chemical Co. Ltd. (ZPC) has let a contract to Lummus Technology LLC to license its proprietary propane dehydrogenation (PDH) technology for a new unit to be installed at the operator’s 40-million tonne/year (tpy) integrated refining and petrochemical complex at the Zhoushan Green Petrochemical Base on Yushan Island, Zhoushan, Zhejiang Province, China.

Set to become the world’s largest licensed PDH unit upon startup, the proposed 1.2-million tpy unit will produce propylene for conversion into higher-value petrochemical products, Lummus and catalyst supplier Clariant Ltd., said in separate releases Sept. 10.

ZPC also expects to draw on additional propane supplies generated through ongoing expansions of the integrated refining complex, according to the service providers.

Clariant confirmed it will provide its CATOFIN catalyst and heat-generating material (HGM) for the planned project.

Neither Lummus nor Clariant revealed a value of the contract or a proposed commissioning timeline for the project.

This latest award marks ZPC’s first selection of Lummus’ CATOFIN PDH process technology. ZPC previously used another PDH technology, according to Lummus.

Lummus and Clariant jointly market the CATOFIN process, combining Lummus’ process technology with Clariant’s catalyst system. The companies said the technology is designed to support high propylene yields, stable operation, and production at or above design capacity.

Complex growth

The planned PDH project will expand an already large refining and petrochemical platform at ZPC’s Zhoushan Green Petrochemical Base on Yushan Island.

Lummus said ZPC has previously used its proprietary technologies elsewhere in the complex, including the licensor’s CDAlky alkylation, ISOCRACKING, DPC, and butadiene extraction processes.

In 2021, Lummus reported startup of ZPC’s second CDAlky unit at the Zhoushan manufacturing site. The unit produces 45,000 b/d of alkylate, bringing the complex’s combined CDAlky capacity to 59,000 b/d.

The first 400,000-b/d phase of ZPC’s integrated complex entered service in late 2018, with a second phase nearly doubling the site’s refining and production capabilities by yearend 2022.

The latest award follows a previous July 2026 contract under which ABB Ltd. will supply Ethernet-Advanced Physical Layer-enabled electromagnetic flowmeters for ZPC’s 450,000-tpy adipic acid plant. That project is intended to support process monitoring, diagnostics, and operations at the chemical unit.