No need for super-fractionation!
13 Nov 2001
A new technology for the production of linear alpha-olefins (LAO's) has been announced by its joint developers, the Saudi chemical company Sabic and process engineering specialists Linde.
Although Sabic already manufacture 1-butene from ethylene, this development will lead to the production of its first full range of LAO's.
This new process is being licensed under the trade name a-Sablin. According to Sabic, the process uses a single-stage reactor, producinghigh-purity products without the need for super-fractionation to remove side products. Product distribution flexibility is also said to be high, sothat process parameters can be adjusted to maximise the production of either light or heavy LAO's depending on market demands.
The first plant to make use of the new technology will be built by a subsidiary company of Sabic, United Petrochemical Company, that has been set up specifically for this purpose.
Start-up of the 150,000 tonne per year planton the Gulf coast of Saudi Arabia is expected in 2004. This is the third LAO plant under construction in the Middle East, with others in Qatar and Iran.
The a-Sablin technology will also be licensed to potential producers by both Linde and Sabic.
According to Brian Balmer, Industry Analyst with Frost & Sullivan, the technology represents the second major new production process for alpha olefins in recent years.
Union Carbide (now integrated into Dow) developed an oligomerisation catalyst in conjunction with process engineering specialists UOP.
This process is called Linear-1, and is alsosaid to offer good product distribution flexibility.
In addition to process development, global capacity for LAO's is on the rise, with new plants under construction on three continents.
End-uses of LAO's
The main applications for LAO's are for polymerisation, either alone for PAO synthetic lubricants or as copolymers with ethylene to improve the mechanical properties of HDPE and LLDPE.
Companies such as Chevron Philips are increasingly marketing their LAO's as intermediates for speciality and fine chemicals. Recent advertisements published in the European chemical press by Chevron Philips focus on syntheses using LAO's including hydrosilylation, epoxidation and organometallic synthesis. (It should, however, be noted that Chevron Philips markets alpha olefins as normal alpha olefins rather than linear alpha olefins.)
Likely impact on the LAO Market
Sabic's is the seventh LAO plant to be announced for completion between 2001 and 2005. Total capacity for these plants is estimated at 1 million tonnes per annum. Total global demand for alpha olefins was approximately 2.5 million tonnes in 2000.
Growth rates in Europe, the United States and China for PAO synthetic lubricants, one of the major applications for LAO's, are between 8.5 and 10% per annum. Global demand for LAO from these markets will therefore increase by over 100,000 tonnes, or 10% of this total planned expansion, in just 3 years.
With demand for LAO's also increasing in the polyethylene market, and demand often exceeding supply in recent years, it appears thatthese investments are merited. There are also potential hitches, however. For example, if metallocene catalysed process technology keeps increasing its market share in the polyolefin market, demand for LAO's could be hit as they are not used in metallocene-catalysed polyolefins.
Similarly, PAO lubricants could be hit by increasing popularity in cheaper PIO lubricant base oils, which rely on different raw materials.
Conclusions
The construction of another LAO plant appears justified given growth in demand from applications such as PAO synthetic lubricants and polyethylene co-monomers. This and the other six plants either under construction or recentlycompleted will add 1 million tonnes per annum to global capacity.
Therefore, unless this new technology can be used to upgrade existing facilities, the scope for Sabic and Linde to license a-Sablin appears limited in the short term.
