Chevron Phillips Chemical has announced that it will construct a huge on-purpose 1-hexene facility at its Cedar Bayou Chemical Complex located in Texas.
This plant will have the potential to produce up to 250,000 t of 1-hexene annually. The company may start construction in the first half of 2012. It is expected that the project may begin during Q1 of 2014.
The contract signed between Chevron Phillips Chemical and S & B Engineers and Constructors has been carried out in order to engineer and construct the plant with the help of the on-purpose 1-hexene technology, generating highly purified comonomer grade 1-hexene from ethylene.
According to the General Manager of normal polyalphaolefins and alpha olefins for Chevron Phillips Chemical, Mitch Eichelberger, this 1-hexene project approval has been considered to be an important milestone in the company’s business. He said that this approval has supported the company’s growth plan of becoming a leader in the manufacturing of normal alpha olefins. This project construction is a significant phase in satisfying the increasing needs of the worldwide customer base, he stated.
The new 1-hexene plant to be built in Texas will get significant benefits of operational capability, feedstock availability, and infrastructure. 1-hexene is an essential element utilized in the production of polyethylene, which is a plastic resin converted into detergent bottles, beverage and food containers, pipe and film.
Qatar Chemical plant has been already using the on-purpose 1-hexene technology, which will be used at the Saudi Polymers Company plant located in Saudi Arabia at the earliest. These two plants are joint ventures of Chevron Phillips Chemical.