Air Liquide to engineer, license coal-to-propylene project in China

The engineering and construction division of Air Liquide signed a contract with the Shenhua Ningxia Coal Industry Group (SNCG) in China to build a 500,000 tpy methanol-to-propylene (MTP) plant, following the successful commissioning of the first industrial scale unit built with the same client.

The contract comprises the basic engineering, license and supply of proprietary equipment as well as services for procurement and technical advisory services at the site.

This will be the third large-scale MTP plant licensed by Air Liquide’s Lurgi technology.

SNCG and Air Liquide signed a cooperation agreement that includes the continuous improvement and further development of the Lurgi MTP technology, they said.

Moreover, SNCG agreed to support the marketing of this technology in China and to support Air Liquide’s engineering and construction division with its own start-up and operational expertise.

Air Liquide will remain the sole owner and licensor of the Lurgi MTP technology.

The unit to be built in Ningdong, in the Chinese province of Ningxia, will have the capacity to produce around 500,000 tpy propylene from coal.

The engineering phase for the contract is to be completed within about eight months, officials said.

François Venet, chairman of the E&C committee, said: “The MTP technology offers very promising perspectives to fight the world´s dependency on crude oil. Today, thanks to its cost-efficient and state-of-the-art technology Air Liquide is well positioned to play a major role mastering environmental challenges.”