India Expands Presence in the PDH Market
Clariant Catalysts and its process partner Lummus Technology continue to expand their presence in the PDH market with a major contract award in India.
GAIL (India) Ltd. has selected Lummus Technology's CATOFIN process and Clariant's custom-designed catalysts for India's first PDH facility.
[caption id="attachment_129594" align="aligncenter"] Clariant's high-performance CATOFIN catalysts for selective dehydrogenation. (Photo: Clariant)[/caption]The upcoming 500 kiloton-per-year propane dehydrogenation facility in Usar, Maharashtra, will be integrated with a downstream polypropylene (PP) unit. The USD 1.2 billion PDH-PP project is expected to commence operations by 2024.
Since 2017, CATOFIN Technology has been selected for the majority of new PDH awards globally, representing 32 new PDH facilities or more than 22 million metric tons of propylene per year.
Stefan Heuser, Senior Vice President and General Manager of Clariant Catalysts, stated: "We are extremely proud of the continuous growing global demand for CATOFIN and would not have achieved this without our long-time partner Lummus Technology.
Through our collaboration, we can deliver outstanding performance and profitability to GAIL (India) Ltd. by combining best-in-class PDH expertise with catalyst innovation."
Leon de Bruyn, President and Chief Executive Officer of Lummus Technology, remarked: "Winning India's first PDH award is very exciting, given the anticipated growth of the petrochemical market here.
This award demonstrates the innovative power of the partnership between Lummus and Clariant. Lummus is grateful to GAIL for the selection and commits to providing one of the best PDH technologies that delivers a reliable, optimized and low-carbon path to propylene."
CATOFIN technology is a highly reliable and efficient method for light paraffin dehydrogenation. The process operates at thermodynamically favorable reactor pressure and temperature to maximize propane-to-propylene conversion while reducing capital and operating costs.
Selectivity and efficiency are further enhanced through Clariant's Heat-Generating Material (HGM), a metal oxide innovation that generates heat and drives the dehydrogenation reaction.
Due to its high reliability and productivity, CATOFIN delivers superior annual production output compared to alternative technologies.
These performance advantages were key factors in GAIL India's decision to select CATOFIN technology and catalysts following an international competitive tender process.
GAIL India Ltd is the country's largest natural gas company and one of seven Maharatna Public Sector Undertakings (PSUs) under the Government of India. Founded in 1984, the Delhi-based company operates across various segments in India and internationally, including transmission services, natural gas, petrochemicals, liquefied petroleum gas and other liquid hydrocarbons.
CATOFIN® is a registered trademark of Clariant in many countries.
