LyondellBasell to produce bio-ETBE

Netherlands-based LyondellBasell Industries announced that a project to produce bio-ethyl tertiary butyl ether (bio-ETBE) at its Channelview, Texas, plant is on schedule to start up in the fourth quarter. Bio-ETBE is a high performance gasoline-blending component composed of ethanol produced from biomass and natural gas liquids. The high-octane additive will be shipped to Japan for blending at Japanese refineries to help meet clean-burning fuels requirements as part of the country’s Kyoto Protocol commitments. LyondellBasell will obtain the bio-ethanol from Brazil, where it is produced from sugar cane. LyondellBasell’s board of management approved the conversion project, which includes pipeline connections and site modifications that are now in progress. The ETBE will be used by Japanese refineries to meet clean-burning fuels requirements as part of Japan’s Kyoto Protocol commitments. The company, which already produces bio-based ETBE at Fos-sur-Mer, France and Botlek, the Netherlands, has the capacity to produce 3.2 million metric tons per year of ethers. (June 3, 2009)