Plant Watch Top 10 Engineering Projects of December 2021

PROCESS Worldwide brings to you the ‘Top 10 plant engineering projects of December 2021’ from all over the world. Right from MOL Group and DCM Shriram digitalizing its plant operations to one of the world’s largest polymer production plants set for completion, find out all the projects making headlines here.

Related Vendors

Origin Materials

MOL Group Plc.

SIBUR

SINOPEC Int'l

Air Products & Chemicals, Inc.

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Haldor Topsoe A/S

Linde GmbH, Head Office Munich

ThyssenKrupp Uhde Engineering Services GmbH

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Kazakhstan: Tatneft, KazMunayGas to Develop 1 Billion Dollar Plant for Butadiene Rubber Production

Dec 02 – The companies have signed a corporate agreement on the operation of the Butadien joint venture for the project implementation of butadiene rubbers production. The document has been signed by Nail Maganov, General Director of Tatneft, and Alik Aidarbayev, Management Board Chairman of KazMunayGas.

According to their plans, production will be launched in 2026 at the territory of the SEZ ‘National Industrial Petrochemical Technopark’ (Free Economic Zone) in the Atyrau region of the Republic of Kazakhstan. There will be about 2,000 jobs created at the site of the new production facility at the construction period stage, and more than 700 job positions at the stage of the facility’s operation.

The planned capacity of the enterprise will reach up to 180 thousand tons of butadiene and butadiene rubbers per year. The shares of KazMunayGas and Tatneft in the project will amount to 25 percent and 75 percent, respectively. The preliminary cost of the project is estimated at about 1 billion dollars, and the parties are considering options for financing the project, including through borrowed funds.

It is assumed that raw materials will be supplied from the Tengiz and Korolev fields in Kazakhstan. The plans provide for finished products to be sent to a tyre manufacturing factory in the Karaganda region, as well as for export to European countries, Russia, China, Turkey, etc.

India: DCM Shriram is Digitalizing its Ammonia Facility

Dec 03 – Shriram Fertilizers & Chemicals (SFC), a unit of DCM Shriram, will use Topsoe’s ClearView solution for digitalizing its ammonia plant which is expected to be operational by early 2022. ClearView monitors the plant digitally in near real-time and generates a new level of detailed insights that will enable SFC to optimize plant performance on a continuous basis.

For almost half a century, the plant has kept itself at the cutting edge of ammonia technology via successful adoption of technological advancements and practices to improve on-stream days, energy efficiency, and low carbon feedstock changeover from Naphtha to natural gas. Digitalization is the next step in that pioneering journey.

Vinoo Mehta, Executive Director & Resident Head - Kota, DCM Shriram mentioned that it is looking forward to optimize the operations at its ammonia plant and aims towards digitalizing all its other businesses.

India: Coromandel to Invest 53 Million Dollars for Constructing New Sulphuric Acid Facility

Dec 03 – Coromandel International, claimed to be India’s second largest Phosphatic fertilizer player and part of the Murugappa Group, has announced the project initiation for setting up a new 1650 metric tons per day design capacity sulphuric acid plant at its fertilizer complex in Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh at a cost of 53 million dollars. The company has also signed technology partnership agreements with MECS (Monsanto Enviro-Chem Systems) and TKIS (ThyssenKrupp Industrial Solutions).

Commenting on the setup of the new sulphuric acid plant, Arun Alagappan, Executive Vice Chairman, Coromandel International said, “India is a net importer of sulphuric acid, and the 3rd largest importer globally, accounting for close to 2 million tons of imports. In line with the country’s ‘Atmanirbhar Bharat’ vision for import substitution and promotion of local manufacturing, Coromandel has announced the setting up of a new 1650 TPD sulphuric acid plant at Visakhapatnam. Considering the essential nature of fertilizers, this investment will improve the self-sufficiency and availability of phosphatic fertilizer in the country.”

The new sulphuric acid plant for which the investment has been announced will increase the sulphuric acid production capacity by a further 500,000 tons per annum from the current level of 600,000 tons per annum, thereby resulting in a combined capacity of 1.1 million tons. The investment is in line with Coromandel’s long-term objectives to secure key raw materials for its fertilizer production. The 1650 TPD sulphuric acid plant project will be setup within Coromandel’s existing Visakhapatnam plant premises.

The plant will reduce the import dependence considerably and ensure sustainable production of phosphoric acid, one of the key raw materials for phosphatic fertilizer manufacturing. The plant is also being built on par with globally best technology standards to control emissions. The steam generated from the process shall also be used for captive power generation.

Russia: Sibur to Develop Carbon Neutral Facility by 2025

Dec 06 – Sibur’s Board of Directors has approved amendments to its 2025 Sustainable Development Strategy. The Company maintains focus on mitigating the climate impact and developing circular economy, while also taking on more ambitious green commitments and expanding the range of diversity and inclusiveness goals.

One of the new goals is to make at least one Sibur facility carbon neutral by 2025. To this end, the firm will improve the energy efficiency of processes and increase the share of renewables in the energy mix, introduce CO2 capture, removal, and storage technologies, and run sequestration projects. As the Company makes progress towards this goal, it will be able to test and assess the efficiency of existing and planned projects.

The updated strategy translates the goal to reuse plastic waste in the production cycle into specific figures. By 2025, Sibur plans to facilitate recycling of at least 100 kt of polymer waste annually as part of its own investment projects and joint projects with partners. The key driver in delivering this goal will be the production of green PET granules – Vivilen rPET – containing recycled materials to be launched at the Polief site in Blagoveshchensk in 2022. By 2030, Sibur plans to make at least 250 kt of low-carbon products and those containing recycled or bio feedstock annually.

Canada: Key Production Modules Installed at Origin Materials’ First Plant

Dec 06 – Koch Modular Process Systems (Koch Modular) has recently announced that its fabricated process modules have been installed in support of the first manufacturing plant for Origin Materials (Origin), located in Sarnia, Canada. Installation of the key production modules of the plant (Origin 1) was completed in October of 2021, six months ahead of their schedule.

The front end of Origin’s process was a primary focus, converting biomass to sustainable materials including chloromethylfurfural (CMF) and hydrothermal carbon (HTC). Downstream of Koch Modular’s system, Origin’s process involved the conversion of CMF into PET (polyethylene terephthalate); a strong and lightweight thermoplastic material commonly used in packaging, textiles, and many other products.

Koch Modular designed and manufactured the plant’s 17 core process modules which were delivered to site on schedule. Module installation of Origin 1 was set to be completed by the end of Q4 of 2021 as announced in April 2021. Module installation took place well ahead of schedule, in October 2021, significantly de-risking the project. The plant remains on track for completion by the end of 2022, with commissioning and production start-up thereafter.

Origin’s technology will turn carbon found in biomass, such as wood residue, into useful materials such as plastic. The technology eliminates the need for fossil resources and captures carbon in the process. The carbon negative products created with this technology are expected to be cost competitive with petroleum-based products and recyclables.

China: China Launches its Largest Commercial GMP Plasmid Manufacturing Plant

Dec 13 – Genscript Probio recently announced the inauguration of China's largest commercial GMP plasmid manufacturing facility during a ceremony at the site in Zhenjiang, Jiangsu Province. The 6,400-square-meter manufacturing plant enables the firm to offer global customers a one-stop service for plasmids - from preclinical study (IIT), to investigational new drug (IND) filing, to clinical trial and commercial manufacturing - to accelerate the innovation and development of high-quality cell and gene therapy mRNA drugs.

As Genscript Probio's second GMP plasmid manufacturing facility, the plant more than doubles the company's production capacity and strengthens its position as a leading CDMO. It enables the company to offer services including off-the-shelf LentiHelp plasmids, Pro grade plasmids for preclinical development, plasmids CMC study for IND filing, clinical GMP plasmids for early clinical trials, and cGMP plasmids for late-phase and commercialization.

The facility also expands the company’s operations, which already included the largest commercial GMP plasmid manufacturing facility in China.

Saudi Arabia: One of the World’s Largest Green Hydrogen Projects to Install 2GW Plus Electrolysis Plant

Dec 14 – Air Products has awarded thyssenkrupp Uhde Chlorine Engineers a contract to supply a more than two-gigawatt (2 GW) electrolysis plant for one of the world’s largest green hydrogen projects at NEOM in Saudi Arabia. Under this contract, thyssenkrupp will engineer, procure and fabricate the plant based on their large-scale 20 megawatt (MW) alkaline water electrolysis module.

Upon commissioning, the project partners – NEOM, ACWA Power and Air Products (NEOM Green Hydrogen Company) – will operate the facility, which will produce hydrogen to be synthesized into carbon-free ammonia for export exclusively by Air Products to global markets. Engineering and procurement activities have been initiated, and the start of production is scheduled for 2026.

Russia: One of the World’s Largest Polymer Production Plants is Set for Completion

Dec 17 – Amur Gas Chemical Complex (AGCC) has agreed and signed loan documents to finance the completion of AGCC’s construction. AGCC will act as the borrower; Sibur and Sinopec will be sponsors proportional to their stakes (60/40, respectively) in the joint venture (JV).

Upon completion of standard conditions precedent, AGCC will begin to draw on the loan which will total 9.1 billion dollars and has a final maturity of 2035. Project costs in excess of 9.1 billion dollars will be covered by the JV parties pro rata. The credit facilities are provided by international banks under coverage from Italian (SACE) and German (Euler Hermes) export credit agencies and also from Chinese and Russian banks on a commercial basis. The total amounts of ECA-backed and commercial credit facilities will equal 2.6 billion dollars and 6.5 billion dollars, respectively.

The Amur GCC is set for launch in 2024 and will produce 2.3 MM tons of polyethylene and 400,000 t/a of polypropylene, processing gas fractions from Gazprom's gas processing plant. The project is set to contribute much-needed additional supply of polyethylene and polypropylene to global markets to address the needs of modern consumers.

Germany: RWE Collaborates with Linde to Build 200 MW Electrolyzer Plant

Dec 21 – As part of its ‘Growing Green’ strategy, RWE announced in November that it aimed to create electrolyzer capacity of at least 2 gigawatt (GW) to generate green hydrogen by 2030. By preselecting the technical provider for two 100 megawatt (MW) electrolyzer plants in Lingen, Germany, RWE is now taking an important step in this direction: It has signed an agreement with Linde to deliver the permit planning for the project.

The permit planning is part of the pre-project development phase. The subsequent detailed engineering, procurement and construction phases are expressly subject to the award of state aid through the Federal Republic of Germany. The envisaged 200 MW plant is part of RWE’s ambition to erect a 300 MW electrolyzer by 2026 at the Lingen location within the framework of the project GET H2. RWE plans to scale the total electrolyzer capacity at Lingen to potentially 2 GW by 2030. The ambition of the GET H2 project is to create – together with national and European partners – the critical mass required to kick-start the creation of a cross-regional European hydrogen infrastructure and to develop a strong European hydrogen market.

In the initial stage the proposed new plant will consist of two 100 MW Proton Exchange Membrane (PEM) electrolyzers and will be powered by offshore wind power from the North Sea to produce green hydrogen. It is anticipated that the green hydrogen produced at Lingen will help avoid emission of significant volumes of carbon dioxide. The first 100 MW electrolyzer is planned to be operational in 2024, with the second due to be completed by early 2025 provided that public funding under the IPCEI mechanism is awarded in due time.

Hungary: Digital Twin to Optimize MOL’s Steam Cracker Plant Operations

Dec 22 – Linde Engineering and MOL Group have signed a contract for the digitalization of MOL’s steam cracker plant operations at MOL Petrochemicals in Tiszaújváros, Hungary. Linde will deploy its technology and expertise to help MOL optimize the plant operations and improve its energy efficiency.

Linde Engineering will install the software solution Linde Virtual Furnace on MOL’s steam crackers. The solution allows operators to benchmark actual operations against the optimum in real-time. MOL steam cracker plant’s virtual twin will monitor the plant’s operation performance and provide guidance to optimize production efficiency in real-time. As a result, Linde’s virtual steam cracker plant will help MOL to increase capacity and product quality while reducing energy consumption and emissions.

Thomas Heinzerling, Senior VP Advanced Operations Services, Linde Engineering says, “This collaboration will allow us to help MOL improve its operations and to fulfill its ambitious emission reduction goals.” The two companies are evaluating further opportunities to leverage digital solutions for MOL’s process operations in Tiszaújváros.

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