UOP MTO Methanol to Olefins process. Click to enlarge.

This solution, which combines the UOP/Hydro MTO process and the Total Petrochemicals/UOP Olefin Cracking Process, allows producers in countries with limited supplies of crude oil, but plentiful quantities of coal or natural gas, to produce high-value petrochemicals. UOP and Total announced their partnership on this in 2005.

Honeywell UOP will provide technology licenses, basic engineering, catalysts, adsorbents, specialty equipment and technical services for the plant, which is expected to start up in 2013.

Located in Nanjing, China, the facility will be one of the world’s first methanol-to-olefin production facilities. It is projected to produce 295,000 metric tons per year of ethylene and propylene for conversion to chemical products.

The MTO process, jointly developed by Honeywell UOP and INEOS (formerly Hydro), converts methanol from non-crude oil sources such as coal or natural gas to ethylene and propylene primarily. The facility will also employ the Olefin Cracking Process (OCP), which further converts olefins produced during the MTO process to boost the total yield of usable ethylene and propylene.

The solution, based on proprietary UOP catalysts, provides high yields with minimal byproducts, according to UOP. It also offers flexibility in the quantity of propylene and ethylene produced, so producers can adjust their plant design to most effectively address market demands.

The MTO process technology has been successfully demonstrated in a semi-commercial-scale unit built by Total Petrochemicals in Feluy, Belgium. Total Petrochemicals and UOP announced the successful conversion of ethylene and propylene from the demonstration unit to polyethylene and polypropylene in 2010.

The demonstration unit has run consistently for more than 150 days since its start-up last year and has met product yield expectations. The unit has processed up to 10 metric tonnes per day of methanol to produce the light olefins ethylene and propylene, which are basic building blocks for many petrochemicals, including plastics.

Wison (Nanjing) Clean Energy Co., Ltd, located in Nanjing Chemical Industrial Park and fully owned by Wison Group Holding Limited headquartered in Shanghai, China, adopts coal technologies to product high-quality chemicals—including carbon monoxide, hydrogen, synthetic gas, methanol and sulfur—for use in Chinese industry.