Celanese receives approval for industrial ethanol facility in Nanjing, China

Celanese Corp., a global technology and specialty materials company, said it has received key government approvals necessary to proceed with its previously announced plans to modify and enhance its existing integrated acetyl facility at the Nanjing Chemical Industrial Park to produce ethanol for industrial uses. The unit is expected to start up in mid-2013. Its TCX ethanol process technology is expected to increase the overall profitability of the facility by enhancing the mix of products manufactured with the current capacity of certain critical raw materials available at the site. Total investment for the project is expected to be a fraction of the required capital for a greenfield facility. The company said it now expects to have approximately 30% to 40% additional ethanol production capacity than the originally announced 200,000 tons, based upon continued advancements to its TCX ethanol process technology, with no increase in capital investment for the modification and enhancement. This additional capacity will enable the company to meet growing demand for industrial ethanol in China, it said. (March 24, 2012)