SHANGHAI, May 23, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Honeywell
(NYSE: HON) announced today that its Honeywell UOP business
broke ground on a new manufacturing capacity outside Shanghai to produce materials used to convert
methanol from coal into feedstocks for making plastics, a
significant milestone to enable China to meet the growing demand for
plastics.
When it enters production in 2017, the catalyst production line
in Zhangjiagang City in Jiangsu
Province will produce state-of-the-art catalysts used in
Honeywell UOP's Advanced Methanol-to-Olefins (MTO) process
technology.
Honeywell UOP developed the MTO process to convert methanol,
which can readily be produced from coal or natural gas, into the
olefins ethylene and propylene that are the primary chemicals used
to manufacture plastics. The heart of the MTO process is a
proprietary catalyst that facilitates the conversion of methanol
into olefins.
"MTO is an innovative, proven technology that enables countries
such as China that are rich in
coal, but which have had to import petroleum, to make plastics,"
said Rajeev Gautam, president and
CEO of Honeywell's Performance Materials and Technologies business
group. "Honeywell UOP has licensed eight MTO units in China in just the last three years, and this
new facility will allow us for the first time to fully manufacture
MTO catalysts in China for our
Chinese customers."
In 2011, Wison Clean Energy Company became the first company to
license the Honeywell UOP MTO process, which entered commercial
production in 2013. Since that time, seven other companies
concluded MTO licensing agreements with Honeywell UOP. The most
recent of these was Luxi Chemical Group last December.
While global demand for ethylene and propylene is growing by 4
to 5 percent per year, China is
expected to invest more than $100
billion in coal-to-chemicals technology by 2020. This would
reduce China's dependence on
imported oil for the manufacture of plastic resins, films and
fibers that are used to make millions of different products.
"The Zhangjiagang facility makes it possible for Chinese
manufacturers to meet the growing demand for petrochemicals with
Honeywell UOP technology," said Rebecca
Liebert, president and CEO of Honeywell UOP. "In addition,
the operations use local raw materials, supporting economic
development in Jiangsu Province,
and incorporate zero-discharge wastewater treatment."
Honeywell's facility in Zhangjiagang opened in 2015. It produces
other types of catalysts that are used in Honeywell UOP's
Oleflex™ process, which converts propane into
propylene, and in continuous catalyst regeneration (CCR)
Platforming™, which is used to produce high-octane
gasoline. Over the past five years, Honeywell UOP has licensed its
Oleflex technology to 30 producers globally, including 23 in
China.
The Zhangjiagang facility is located in a modern industrial park
about 85 miles northwest of Shanghai. In addition to Oleflex and MTO
catalysts, the site produces adsorbent materials used in refining
and petrochemical production and natural gas processing. Honeywell
also is planning production of materials for other fast-growing
technologies at the site.
Honeywell UOP has an 80-year history in China, beginning in 1937 when it built one of
China's first refineries in Yumen.
It was one of the first American companies invited back to
China during the 1970s, to help
modernize the Chinese petroleum industry. More recently, Honeywell
UOP hydroprocessing and Platforming™ technology has
helped China develop
cleaner-burning transportation fuels to combat air pollution.
Honeywell Performance Materials and Technologies (PMT) is a
global leader in developing advanced materials, oil and gas
processing technologies and industrial automation solutions. PMT's
Advanced Materials businesses manufacture a variety of
high-performance products, including environmentally friendlier
refrigerants and materials used to manufacture products such as
bullet-resistant armor, nylon, computer chips and pharmaceutical
packaging. Process technologies and equipment from PMT's Honeywell
UOP business (www.uop.com) are the foundation for the world's oil
and gas industry, efficiently producing gasoline, diesel, jet fuel,
petrochemicals, natural gas and renewable fuels. PMT's Process
Solutions business (www.honeywellprocess.com) is a pioneer in
automation control, instrumentation and services for the oil and
gas, refining, pulp and paper, industrial power generation,
chemicals and petrochemicals, biofuels, life sciences, and metals,
minerals and mining industries.
Honeywell (www.honeywell.com) is a Fortune 100 diversified
technology and manufacturing leader, serving customers worldwide
with aerospace products and services; control technologies for
buildings, homes, and industry; turbochargers; and
performance materials. For more news and information on Honeywell,
please visit www.honeywellnow.com.
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"forward-looking statements" within the meaning of Section 21E of
the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. All statements, other than
statements of historical fact, that address activities, events or
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SOURCE Honeywell