Lurgi awarded two contracts for production of plastics from coal in China

04-Jan-07

Lurgi AG has been awarded two contracts in China for the first commercial-scale plants based on its technology for the production of plastics from coal, at a total capital investment amount per project exceeding Euro one bln. Both plant complexes will produce around 500,000 tons of polypropylene per year from coal. Lurgi's customers are Datang International Power Generation Co. Ltd. and Shenhua Ningxia Coal Industry Group (SNCG). The plants are due to go on stream in late 2008 and early 2009, respectively. Lurgi's contract value alone exceeds the 100 million euro mark by far. Both projects comprise the technology license, engineering services as well as the supply of special equipment for building propylene plants. The Lurgi MegaMethanol® technology provides the feedstock for the latest process developed to commercial maturity by Lurgi, i.e. MTP®. MTP® complexes constitute the first step on the way to diversification into the field of coal to chemicals and fuels in China. This is the first of its kind application in China of Lurgi's key technology for the commercial production of plastics directly from coal. The technology is of high strategic value mainly for countries which have vast coal reserves. Countries with growing economies are faced with problem of rising oil prices and rapidly growing demand for energy. This makes the utilization of coal for the production of chemicals and fuels a central strategic necessity. The core concepts of the new plants in China comprise Lurgi's technologies for raw gas conditioning, methanol synthesis (5,000 tons of methanol per day with the Lurgi MegaMethanol® process) and for Methanol-to-Propylene (MTP®).