Technip Energies has been awarded a contract by Ningbo Juhua Chemical & Science Co., Ltd. (Juhua) for a 1,3-propanediol (PDO) plant with a capacity of 72 kta(1) and a 150 kta polytrimethylene terephthalate (PTT) plant in Ningbo, Zhejiang, China.
These two products are based on Technip Energies’ proprietary Zimmer PDO and PTT technologies to strengthen and expand Juhua’s petrochemical new materials business. PDO technology was originally developed by Shell and Shell Catalysts & Technologies will be the catalyst supplier to the PDO plant.
For Technip Energies, this is the first commercial scale application of the Zimmer PDO technology. PDO is a colourless, odourless organic chemical that can be used in the pharmaceutical, cosmetics and plastics manufacturing fields. It is also the feedstock for PTT, a high performance and versatile polyester, used in the manufacturing of high quality carpet and textiles.
Bhaskar Patel, SVP sustainable fuels, chemicals and circularity of Technip Energies, says: ‘We are very pleased that Juhua has selected two of our polymer technologies for the expansion of their facility in Ningbo. This is the first commercial scale application of our PDO technology, which produces a high quality monomer with excellent raw material utilisation as feedstock for our PTT technology.’
