Borealis achieves an important milestone in the construction of the company’s propane dehydrogenation (PDH) plant in Kallo, Belgium. The propylene splitter is delivered to the port of Antwerp in one piece by ship, has been successfully transported from the quay to the Borealis site in Kallo.
Borealis' Equipment to Split Propane
The propylene splitter is a distillation column needed to split propane from propylene produced in the new PDH plant. The splitter has a length of 105 meters, a width of 10 meters and a weight of 1,600 tons. It is an important element of Borealis’ new PDH plant and will eventually define the location’s skyline.
The new PDH plant represents Borealis’ most significant investment in Europe. The plant will have a targeted annual production capacity of 750 kilotons p.a. The production is expected to start by the end of 2022.
PDH Plant - Backbone of Borealis’ Product Portfolio
Flexible, integrated steam crackers as well as the PDH plant and their associated production units, form the backbone of the Borealis olefins and polyolefins portfolio in Europe. Borealis sources basic feedstock, such as propane, naphtha, butane and ethane from the oil and gas industry and converts these into ethylene, propylene and other high-value hydrocarbons. Recently Borealis has also started sourcing renewable propane as feedstock to develop and produce renewable propylene and polypropylene.
Ethylene and propylene are the most important building blocks in the petrochemical industry, serving as raw materials for a wide variety of products. Propylene is used for the production of the plastics raw material polypropylene, as well as for the production of important chemicals, such as propylene oxide, acrylonitrile, cumene and acrylic acid.
Source: Borealis