Sibur is considering the construction of a PO plant that uses the new HPPO process, which produces propylene oxide from hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) and propylene in a low-cost and ecologically sound manner. Evonik and the engineering company Uhde, Dortmund, Germany, jointly developed this HPPO process and are now licensing it to other chemical companies.

Dmitry Konov, President of Sibur, commented: “Possible partnership with Evonik will allow to serve the quickly expanding market for propylene oxide in Russia with this innovative process.” Propylene oxide is a precursor material for polyurethane, which is used, for example, in cushioning and instrument panels for cars.

Evonik is a company that can provide the process technology for the HPPO process to produce propylene oxide, the necessary special catalyst, and the raw material, hydrogen peroxide, from a single source. If it receives approval Evonik and Sibur will review the establishment of a joint venture for the production of hydrogen peroxide with Evonik’s own technology to supply a potential HPPO plant with the hydrogen peroxide. The H2O2 plant, to be constructed at the same location as the HPPO plant in the Russian Federation, would supply the planned PO production of Sibur with hydrogen peroxide. Furthermore, the estimated capacity is to be sufficiently large that the joint venture would supply the growing market in the Russian Federation and the Commonwealth of Independent States with H2O2 for conventional applications, primarily in paper and pulp bleaching processes.

In mid-January, Evonik had started the operation of a significantly expanded hydrogen peroxide facility in Ulsan, Korea, in conjunction with its American joint venture partner, Headwaters of South Jordan, Utah. This facility will supply the Korean H2O2 market, while providing the Korean company SKC in Seoul with hydrogen peroxide, directly “over the fence” from the Ulsan site. In the coming months, SKC will begin operating one of the first facilities for producing propylene oxide to use the new HPPO process under license from Evonik and Uhde.