Shenhua to launch alkene plant

Dalian Institute of Chemical Physics of the Chinese Academy of Sciences has signed an agreement with Chinas largest coal producer Shenhua Group to jointly launch an alkene plant in north China’s Baotou. The plant is designed to produce 600,000 tons of olefin by processing 1.8 million tons of methanol per year. In January, a 200,000-ton demonstration project was launched in Shaanxi Province using a proprietary dimethyl ether methanol-to-olefin (DMTO) technology. Ethylene and propylene can be produced from methanol derived from coal. (October 10, 2007)