Davy licenses Butanediol plant to China

Edited by the Processingtalk editorial team Dec 27, 2006

Davy Process Technology has licensed to Shanxi Sanwei Group Co, in Shanxi Province, PR China, a plant for producing 75,000 metric tons per year of Butanediol equivalent

Davy Process Technology (DPT) has licensed to Shanxi Sanwei Group Co a plant for producing 75,000 metric tons per year of Butanediol equivalent product as a mixture of 1,4 Butanediol (BDO), Tetrahydrofuran (THF) and Gamma Butyrolactone (GBL).

Shanxi Sanwei will build the plant at their existing petrochemical complex at Hongtong, Shanxi Province, PR China.

The plant is scheduled to come into operation in the 4Q 2007.

DPT has already started the engineering of the Process Design Package in its London office.The plant will use DPT ester hydrogenation technology to produce BDO and its co-products THF and GBL from a maleic anhydride feedstock.

The DPT ester hydrogenation technology can offer a full range of product splits between BDO, THF and GBL.

The technology was chosen by Shanxi Sanwei as it provides the product quality and product split they require and it is the most cost efficient route to BDO, THF and GBL from maleic anhydride feedstock.

Shanxi Sanwei will source the maleic anhydride feedstock, produced from native coke oven light oil based benzene technology, from manufacturers situated in the locality of the Shanxi Sanwei site.The Shanxi Sanwei 75,000 mtpy BDO Plant is the 14th project DPT has licensed using their ester hydrogenation technology.

More specifically it is the 7th project using the ester hydrogenation technology for production of BDO and its co-products THF and GBL.

DPT is able to tailor the plant design to suit customer preferences as market dynamics shift.

The DPT ester hydrogenation technology is also licensed to produce natural detergent alcohols (NDA) from fatty acid feedstock.

Davy Process Technology has a global business in petrochemicals technology development and technology licensing.

The company has headquarters in London, and its Technology Centre in Stockton-on-Tees.

It owns a range of proprietary process technologies such as Methanol, Gas Conversion Technologies, Butanediol, Natural Detergent Alcohols, Oxo Alcohols, Industrial Amines, Ethyl Acetate and Fertilisers.