SIBUR Selects Engineering Company for Construction of Ethyl Benzene Plant in Perm

Sibur-Khimprom CJSC (Perm) has signed a contract with Korean company TOYO for engineering, procurement and installation support for a planned new ethyl benzene plant with a capacity of 220,000 tonnes per annum (tpa). The facility is expected to come on stream in late 2010.

In 2007, US company Badger Licensing LLC was selected as licensor and designer of the new plant. It will use the most up-to-date technology based on zeolite catalysts, thereby completely eliminating atmospheric emissions of hydrogen chloride and aromatic hydrocarbons, as well as contamination of effluent by chlorides, aluminium salts and phenols.

The new ethyl benzene facility will supply feedstock for the planned increase in styrene and polystyrene production at the company’s plants. Sibur-Khimprom, in particular, plans to renovate its styrene facility, boosting production capacity from 100,000 to 135,000 tpa, and to build a new 50,000 tpa polystyrene plant that will be expanded in future to 100,000 tpa. Plastik OJCS plans to increase its styrene output from 45,000 to 60,000 tpa.

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TOYO Engineering Korea Ltd was incorporated in 1987 as a subsidiary of the Korean concern Global TOYO (www.toyokorea.com). It provides a wide range of services from planning to construction management in the petrochemicals, oil refining and mineral fertilizer sectors.

Ethyl benzene is an intermediate product made from benzene and ethylene. Over 90 per cent of ethyl benzene is used in the manufacture of styrene. Small quantities are also used as a solvent and additive for high-octane gasolines.