Dow Chemical Company has adopted Honeywell UOP's C(3) Oleflex technology to produce propylene at its petrochemicals production site in Texas, US.
Dow Texas Operations will deploy Oleflex technology at its new propane dehydrogenation unit to convert shale gas-derived propane to polymer-grade propylene, which is scheduled to start up in 2015.
The new unit is expected to annually produce 750,000t of propylene, which is used in the production of adhesives, coatings, cleaners, packaging and many other end-use applications.
The Oleflex process uses UOP CCR continuous catalyst regeneration technology to dehydrogenate propane to propylene over a platinum catalyst.
The Oleflex technology is expected to cut the cost of production and improve return on investment.
Dow Feedstocks & Energy and Corporate Development executive vice-president and president Jim Fitterling said the agreement represents another significant milestone in their comprehensive plan to further connect Dow's US operations with cost-advantaged ethane and propane feedstocks, based on the abundant shale gas deposits in the US.
"Dow remains committed to our transformational strategy, and we continue to invest aggressively to strengthen the competitiveness of our Performance Plastics, Performance Materials and Advanced Materials businesses," Fitterling said.
