A new ethylene complex from Lyondell Basell and its Chinese joint venture partner has officially been put into operation. The petrochemical complex has started manufacturing the first end products with an annual capacity of 1.1 million tonnes of ethylene at the Panjin site in the northern Chinese province of Liaoning.

PROCESS Worldwide brings to you the ‘Top 10 plant engineering projects of May 2022’ from all over the world. Right from developing a world scale ethylene plant in Europe to building one of the world’s largest PDH units in China, find out all the projects making headlines here.

China has published new important guidelines for further development of its chemical industry. The ‘Guidelines of the 14th Five-Year Plan for the Petrochemical and Chemical Industry’, were presented in a live internet broadcast on July 30. In it, the main guidelines of the 14th Five-Year Plan are specified in detail. Here are some important insights.

The production capacity of crude oil in China's refineries climbed to a new record high in June. Analysts see this as a sign of the rapid recovery of the Chinese economy. However, market observers and Chinese officials see the current overcapacities and the corona crisis as increased pressure to reform the country's oil processing industry.

Zhejiang Petroleum & Chemical Co. has selected Lyondell Basell’s technology once again for its facility in China. With the help of this technologies, the company aims to produce ethylene vinyl acetate copolymers (EVA) and low-density polyethylene (LDPE) homo polymers.

An article in the Science magazine describes a new and compact approach to producing syngas. The technology from Haldor Topsoe is based on steam methane reforming and could have a significant positive effect on CO2 emissions globally.

Stablising climate change is more important than ever and oil & gas companies are up for the challenge. Innovative processes and efficient technologies capable of decarbonising industrial processes and delivering net-zero emissions are being used by the industry to reduce their carbon footprint.

Under a contract, China’s Shandong Eco Chemical Co. will license Versalis’ proprietary continuous mass technology for its 210 KTPY Acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS) plant in China.

Renewable Carbon Initiative (RCI), CO2 Value Europe (CVE) and nova-Institute have recently published a study which showcases the chemical industry’s CO2 reduction potential via carbon capture and utilization (CCU).

The proprietary ‘Star’ dehydrogenation process which can produce propylene from propane feedstocks or iso-butylene from iso-butane feedstocks has been optimized by thyssenkrupp Uhde and BASF. The technology is now capable of reducing CO2 emissions and operating costs through lower energy consumption by up to 30 %.