Startup

The Dow Chemical Co. has successfully started the Solution Linear Low Density Polyethylene II train (SPE II). SPE II is owned by Siam Polyethylene Co., Ltd., a joint venture of Dow and Siam Cement Group, and is located at the existing Map-Ta-Phut manufacturing facility in Rayong Province, Thailand. Products from SPE II are expected to be commercially available this month.

Acrylics Plant

Dow Advanced Materials, a division of The Dow Chemical Co., has broken ground on a new manufacturing facility in Dong Nai Province, Vietman for the production of acrylic and styrene-acrylic polymers used in the paint, coatings, construction, packaging, home and personal care industries. The new plant is scheduled to go on stream in September 2011. It will be shared by three Dow Advanced Materials businesses – Dow Coatings Materials, Dow Building & Construction, and Dow Adhesives & Functional Polymers.

Coal-to-Olefins Project

Total and China Power Investment Corporation (CPI) have announced their intention to build a coal-based petrochemical plant in China. The two companies signed a letter of understanding (LOU) to study the construction of a world-scale plant in coal-rich Inner Mongolia. Total will bring is expertise in the Methanol to Olefins (MTO) and the Olefin Cracking Process (OCP) technology to the partnership. The companies will now launch a feasibility study on a project of 1 Mt/year polyolefins production site, based on methanol produced from the gasification of coal. The plant will result from an estimated 2 to 3 billion Euro investment and is expected to start production after 2015.     

Middle East First