The Dow Chemical Company (Dow) and BASF announced today that they have received the Institution of Chemical Engineers' Innovation and Excellence Award in Core Engineering for the ir jointly developed Hydrogen Peroxide to Propylene Oxide (HPPO) production technology. The annual award - presented on November 3 in York, United Kingdom - recognizes the project or process that best demonstrates a chemical engineering solution to improve resource efficiency, lifetime value and/or process optimization.
The HPPO plant jointly operated by BASF and Dow at BASF’s site in Antwerp, Belgium.
The Dow-BASF innovation offers distinct economic and environmental benefits when compared to conventional propylene oxide (PO) process technologies. A joint eco-efficiency study conducted by the two companies in 2007 revealed the new HPPO process reduces wastewater by 70 to 80 percent and energy use by approximately 35 percent, compared with existing PO technology. PO plants using the HPPO technology also require up to 25 percent less capital to build than conventional technologies, as they have reduced infrastructure, a smaller physical footprint and simpler raw materials integration.
"We see two very important factors required to solve world challenges - innovation and collaboration - coming together in this example," said Neil Hawkins, Dow's vice president of Sustainability and EH&S. "It will require new technology and partnering like this between companies, governments, NGOs and communities to secure our sustainable future. "
"We are proud to have such an outstanding example of research and development," said Stefan Deibel, vice president of BASF's Polyurethanes division. "This state-of-the-art technology combines economic success with improved environmental performance."
n 2008, Dow and BASF successfully started up the first commercial-scale production plant based on the novel BASF/Dow-developed HPPO technology at BASF's Antwerp, Belgium, facility. A second plant based on this technology is scheduled to begin production in Map Ta Phut, Thailand, in the first half of 2011.