21-10-2021

Clariant Catalysts & Lummus Technology expand CATOFIN® footprint

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 chosen Lummus Technology’s CATOFIN process and Clariant’s tailor-made catalysts for India’s first PDH plant. Its upcoming 500 kiloton per annum propane dehydrogenation facility in Usar, Maharashtra, will be integrated with a downstream polypropylene (PP) unit. The US$1.2 billion PDH-PP project is expected to start operations by 2024.

Since 2017, CATOFIN Technology has now been selected for a majority of new PDH awards globally, representing 32 new PDH plants, or more than 22 million metric tons of propylene annually.

Stefan Heuser, Senior Vice President and General Manager of Clariant Catalysts, stated, “We are extremely proud of the ever-increasing global demand for CATOFIN — and we couldn’t have achieved this without our long-time partner, Lummus Technology. Thanks to our collaboration, we are able to offer GAIL (India) Ltd excellent performance and profitability by combining the best of PDH expertise with catalyst innovation.”

Leon de Bruyn, President and Chief Executive Officer of Lummus Technology, also commented, “Getting the first PDH award in India is very exciting, considering the anticipated growth of the petrochemicals market here. This award displays the innovative strength of the partnership between Lummus and Clariant. Lummus is grateful to GAIL for getting selected and is committed to providing one of the best PDH technologies that offers a reliable, optimized and low-carbon route to propylene.”

CATOFIN technology is a highly reliable and productive method for light paraffin dehydrogenation. The process operates at thermodynamically advantaged reactor pressure and temperature to maximize conversion of propane to propylene, while reducing investment and operating costs. Selectivity and yield are further enhanced with Clariant’s Heat Generating Material (HGM), its metal-oxide innovation which produces heat and drives the dehydrogenation reaction.

Thanks to its high reliability and productivity, CATOFIN delivers excellent annual production output compared to alternative technologies.

These performance advantages were key to GAIL India’s decision to select CATOFIN technology and catalysts after an international competitive bidding process.