LyondellBasell starts making PO at new US plant in Channelview

HOUSTON (ICIS)–LyondellBasell has started to produce propylene oxide (PO) at its new PO/tertiary butyl alcohol (PO/TBA) plant in Channelview, Texas, the CEO said on Tuesday.

“Propylene oxide is coming out of it as we speak. We are up and running,” said Peter Vanacker, LyondellBasell CEO. He made his comments during the company’s Capital Markets Day investor presentation.

PO is used to make propylene glycol (PG) and polyols.

Earlier, the company expected to start production at the end of Q1.

The PO/TBA plant is one of two parts of a larger project.

The project also includes an ethers unit at LyondellBasell’s Bayport complex in Texas. The unit can produce ethyl tertiary butyl ether (ETBE), a high-octane gasoline component that is made from ethanol and isobutane.

In mid-2022, LyondellBasell said it had mechanically completed the ethers unit and had started commissioning the plant.

At the time, the company said the ramp-up of production at the project would not provide a full year of production. For the first year of operations, LyondellBasell expected to produce 50% of the annualised capacity of the plant.

For ETBE, LyondellBasell expects to have a cost advantage in obtaining isobutane because the US produces so much of it from its shale reserves.

Because ETBE is made with ethanol, refiners outside of the US can use it to meet their governments’ renewable fuel and carbon-emission mandates.

ETBE lacks the blending limits of ethanol, so refiners can freely add it to meet their fuels’ specifications.

Because of that flexibility, most countries rely on a combination of ethanol and ETBE blending to meet government mandates.

Thumbnail shows polyurethane spray foam. Polyurethanes are made of polyols, one of the main products made with propylene oxide. Image by Shutterstock.