Jiutai Energy to License UNIPOL™ Polypropylene Process Technology from Dow

12-Sep-12

Jiutai Energy (Zhungeer) Co., Ltd., a subsidiary of Jiutai Energy Group, has signed a license agreement with Union Carbide Chemicals & Plastics Technology LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of The Dow Chemical Company (Dow) for a 350,000 tpa methanol-to-olefin based polypropylene plant. Jiutai will license UNIPOL™ Polypropylene Process Technology from Dow Licensing & Catalysts to produce homopolymers, random copolymers and impact copolymers. Jiutai Energy is the eleventh UNIPOL™ Polypropylene Technology licensee signed in China since 2006. The plant is targeted to start-up in 2015 in Zhungeer Qi, Ordos City, Inner Mongolia, P.R.C. Methanol-to-olefin polypropylene production is gaining popularity in China due to the region's abundant coal reserves. In addition, Chemical Market Associates, Inc. (CMAI) reports that China is experiencing a polypropylene market growth rate of 7% pa-compared to a 5.2% pa global market growth rate-due to a fast growing economy and a drive to become less reliant on imported raw materials. Resins produced by UNIPOL™ Polypropylene Technology from Dow account for 17% of global polypropylene output. Polypropylene is a versatile plastic used in packaging, durable goods, automotive parts, non-wovens, fibers and consumer applications. "We chose Dow's UNIPOL™ PP Process because it offers broad product capability at low investment and operation cost along with Dow's long-term support and continuous technology improvements," said Mr. Cui Lianguo, Chairman of the Board and President of Jiutai. "With UNIPOL™ PP Process Technology, we will produce polypropylene products to expand our existing business. UNIPOL's superior quality of impact copolymer capability provides us the opportunity to reduce the imports of impact copolymer products." There are currently 47 operating lines worldwide using UNIPOL™ Polypropylene Technology from Dow Performance Plastics Licensing and Catalysts. The UNIPOL™ Polypropylene Process is an all gas-phase process for producing the broadest range of polypropylene resins. Its simple design is consistent in terms of product quality and energy efficiency, requiring no equipment for handling, separating or recycling solvents. The system's fluidized-bed reactors and high performance CONSISTA™ and SHAC™ Catalyst Systems give manufacturers the flexibility to produce homopolymers, random copolymers and impact copolymers.