New Ethylene Plant Commences Production in Korla, China

Dushanzi Petrochemical Co., Ltd., a subsidiary of China’s oil and gas producing company, Petro China has started operation at its newly commissioned ethylene plant in Korla, Xinjiang. The ethylene facility is a USD 1.24 billion capital project that began construction in April 2019. The plant, exhibiting the total installed capacity of 600 KTPA ethylene, is said to be outfitted with cutting-edge process technology that is capable of emitting oxynitrides sufficiently lower than the permissible limit and facilitates recycling of wastewater to up to 95% efficiency.

Ethylene, obtained from the thermal cracking of oil and natural gas feedstocks, is the most vital petrochemical that acts as a building block for the burgeoning of the plastics industry. Ethylene is widely used as a raw material to produce industrially important chemicals, the most notable being Polyethene and Polyethene Terephthalate majorly used in the production of household commodities and in the packaging industry.

Ethylene is also used in the production of Ethylene glycol (used as in automotive antifreeze, inks, and paints), Polyvinyl Chloride (used in plumbing and construction), Polystyrene (used in textiles and rubber-producing industries) and many other organic materials.

Dushanzi Petrochemical Co., Ltd. is a leading company of petrochemical products such as polyolefins, aromatics, alcohols, petroleum acids and salts, rubbers etc. With the commencement of the ethylene plant, the company aims to earn USD 7.75 billion annually in revenue from the generated volumes of ethylene. 

As per ChemAnalyst, the Asia Pacific region, owing to its huge population strength exhibits highest demand for ethylene. During the last few years, the ethylene market has seen steady growth and is expected to retain this growth rate over the next five years, facing constraints only from the strong environmental laws. In recent years, China has emerged as a huge petrochemical hub owing to the easy access to raw materials and strong finances.

Towards its aim to stay on the list of top-notch players, China is adapting to technologies that are environment friendly and fall under the government-approved specifications. The ethylene plant in Korla will be a major contributor in strengthening the country’s petrochemical base and will also ease out the local demand in end-user sectors.