COVESTRO
EUR 200 mn chlorine plant onstream in Spain / European MDI network strengthened / Energy saving by up to 25%
 The new chlorine plant in Tarragona, Spain (Photo: Covestro) |
At its site in Tarragona, Spain, German engineering plastics producer Covestro (Leverkusen; www.covestro.com) has started up a new EUR 200 mn chlorine plant to feed its on-site 220,00 t/y MDI production (PIE 04.03.2022). Capacity details for chlorine were not disclosed. However, Plasteurope.com estimates it to be around 150,000 t/y in view of the MDI capacity.
The company said the investment that creates 50 new jobs is designed to ensure an efficient, sustainable, and independent supply of both chlorine and caustic soda to the Spanish site and will strengthen the company’s European production network for the rigid-polyurethane precursor.
According to Covestro, this is the first world-scale chlorine plant to use the “highly innovative and energy efficient” oxygen depolarized cathode (ODP) technology it developed together with engineering group Thyssenkrupp nucera (Dortmund, Germany; www.thyssenkrupp-nucera.com). Compared to the traditional chlor-alkali electrolysis process still commonly used in the industry, the company said the new process requires a lower voltage and thus allows energy savings of up to 25%.
Related: Covestro puts major new MDI plant on ice again
Employing the technology at Tarragona is expected to save up to 22,000 t of CO2 emissions annually, compared with existing processes, based on the energy mix in use at the start of construction planning in 2018. It is also expected to make an important contribution to Covestro’s goal of being operationally climate-neutral by 2035.
“The successful start-up of the new plant is good news, both economically and ecologically, for Covestro as well as for our site in Tarragona,” said CEO Markus Steilemann. “The plant demonstrates how new technologies enable us to advance our vision of the circular economy and further reduce resource consumption while increasing the robustness and efficiency of our production network.” Covestro estimates the global MDI market to have a current production volume of around 7.5 mn t/y, and Steilemann said it can look forward to long-term growth.
Commenting on the start-up, Andrea Firenze, general manager of Covestro in Spain, said that having its own, independent supply of chlorine not only enhances the efficiency and competitiveness of the Tarragona MDI plant but also promotes the economic and social development of the area, generating both direct and indirect new jobs.
The company said the investment that creates 50 new jobs is designed to ensure an efficient, sustainable, and independent supply of both chlorine and caustic soda to the Spanish site and will strengthen the company’s European production network for the rigid-polyurethane precursor.
According to Covestro, this is the first world-scale chlorine plant to use the “highly innovative and energy efficient” oxygen depolarized cathode (ODP) technology it developed together with engineering group Thyssenkrupp nucera (Dortmund, Germany; www.thyssenkrupp-nucera.com). Compared to the traditional chlor-alkali electrolysis process still commonly used in the industry, the company said the new process requires a lower voltage and thus allows energy savings of up to 25%.
Related: Covestro puts major new MDI plant on ice again
Employing the technology at Tarragona is expected to save up to 22,000 t of CO2 emissions annually, compared with existing processes, based on the energy mix in use at the start of construction planning in 2018. It is also expected to make an important contribution to Covestro’s goal of being operationally climate-neutral by 2035.
“The successful start-up of the new plant is good news, both economically and ecologically, for Covestro as well as for our site in Tarragona,” said CEO Markus Steilemann. “The plant demonstrates how new technologies enable us to advance our vision of the circular economy and further reduce resource consumption while increasing the robustness and efficiency of our production network.” Covestro estimates the global MDI market to have a current production volume of around 7.5 mn t/y, and Steilemann said it can look forward to long-term growth.
Commenting on the start-up, Andrea Firenze, general manager of Covestro in Spain, said that having its own, independent supply of chlorine not only enhances the efficiency and competitiveness of the Tarragona MDI plant but also promotes the economic and social development of the area, generating both direct and indirect new jobs.
16.02.2023 Plasteurope.com [252186-0]
Published on 16.02.2023
German version of this article...