Communicator

DOW Chemical’s industrial complex, in Terneuzen, The Netherlands

24^th Jan 2025

Dow's decision to indefinitely postpone the maintenance of its No. 3 ethylene cracker (LCH-3) at Terneuzen reflects the company's strategy to navigate challenging market conditions in Europe.

Initially planned for 2023 and later rescheduled for 2025, the maintenance has now been deferred indefinitely due to weak regional demand and cost-cutting measures.

The idling of this cracker, which has a nameplate capacity of 680,000 tons per year of ethylene, will help Dow reduce expenditures while maintaining its ability to meet customer commitments through its other two operational crackers (LCH-1, LCH-2) at the site.

This move highlights the broader struggles in Europe's petrochemical sector, where subdued demand and oversupply have pressured margins.

The closure of downstream derivative production facilities at the DOW Chemical’s industrial complex, in Terneuzen, such as Trinseo's ethylbenzene-styrene unit and Olin's cumene unit in 2023, has further exacerbated the challenges in placing cracker products in the market.

Dow's flexibility in feedstock usage at Terneuzen has historically supported profitability, but current conditions necessitate operational adjustments.

The timeline for restarting LCH-3 remains uncertain and will depend on market recovery and investment in required maintenance.

#terneuzen  #netherlands  #dowchemical  #steamcracker 

Dow Polyurethane Technologies

January 30, 2025 | Midland, Michigan (Dow Inc.)

Dow, a global chemical giant, has initiated a comprehensive review of its European assets, focusing primarily on its polyurethane business. This decision comes as the company navigates persistent economic challenges and a complex regulatory environment in the region.

The review will assess the competitiveness of key facilities producing methylene diphenyl diisocyanate (MDI), propylene oxide, and polyether polyols—assets that generated approximately $2.9 billion in annual sales in 2023. Dow aims to optimize value through its "best-owner" strategy, with plans to complete the evaluation by mid-2025.

Jim Fitterling, CEO of Dow, emphasized the importance of adapting to market conditions while maintaining a value-driven approach. He noted that selling assets rather than closing them could align better with the company's long-term objectives.

This move reflects broader industry trends as other chemical companies reevaluate their European operations due to high production costs and stringent regulations.

Despite these challenges, Dow remains committed to strengthening its global portfolio while addressing regional complexities, reporting stable performance globally with its third-quarter 2024 sales rising modestly by 1%.

#dow  #chemicals  #polyurethane  #polyols  #mdi  #europe  #assets 

The Univation UNIGILITY^TM High-Pressure Tubular Reactor process technology has been added.


#dow  #unioncarbide  #univation  #unigility  #highpressure  #tubularreactor  #lowdensitypolyethylene  #ldpe 

DOW petrochemical size in Terneuzen has been added.

#dow #terneuzen  #netherlands  #benelux  #europe  #petrochemicals 

The picture shows the panoramic view of 4# atmospheric and vacuum distillation unit

April 2010: The first million-ton ethylene plant of Zhenhai Refining and Chemical was completed and put into operation. (Source)

2020: China's first 100,000 tons/year bio-jet fuel unit was completed in Zhenhai Refining and Chemical. (Source)

Jan 2022: Zhenhai Refining and Chemical's 1.2 million tons/year ethylene unit produced qualified products. (Source)

28^th June 2021: The first phase of Sinopec Zhenhai Base project was completed in Zhenhai, Ningbo, Zhejiang. The commissioning of this project will add 1.2 million tons of ethylene annual production capacity and 4 million tons of refining annual capacity to Zhenhai Refining and Chemical. (Source)

27^th Sep 2021: The 4# atmospheric and vacuum unit was put into operation. In 2022, the energy (steam) consumption of the unit dropped from 11.51 kg of standard oil/ton at the initial start-up to 9.45 kg of standard oil/ton, with significant energy-saving and consumption-reducing effects.

18^th Nov 2021: The No. 2 coal-coke hydrogen production unit at the Zhenhai base was successfully put into operation. 
Over the past year (2022), the 2# coal-coke hydrogen production unit has supplied more than 100,000 tons of hydrogen and over 700,000 tons of fuel gas . It has successfully achieved 122 days of operation of the III series gasifier burner, more than 3 months of stable operation of the coal mill, and more than 80 days of wastewater stripping operation, creating the first domestic record of dual-unit operation of propylene compressors. (Source)

6^th Jan 2022; The No. 2 propylene oxide styrene (POSM) unit of Zhenhai Base was successfully put into trial operation. 
In the one year since the start of operation, the plant has achieved a stability rate of 99.42% and a product qualification rate of 100% . The plant achieved excellent results in annual PO production of 269,800 tons and SM production of 583,400 tons.  (Source)

2022: The tail oil products produced by the 3# hydrocracking unit are used as the raw materials for the 2# ethylene unit, and desulfurized dry gas is provided as the sulfur injection agent. 
As the largest single-series hydrocracking unit in China, the unit has now (6^th Jan 2023) processed a total of 2.2 million tons of wax oil, 1.64 million tons of diesel, and produced a total of 1.18 million tons of naphtha and 550,000 tons of jet fuel. (Source)

7^th Jan 2023: 
▪️ Today, on the first anniversary of the successful start-up of the ethylene unit, the unit's automatic control rate reached 97% and the stability rate reached 99.5%, the output of ethylene products was 997,500 tons, and the comprehensive energy consumption of the ethylene cracking furnace ranked first in Sinopec.
▪️ As an important downstream unit of ethylene, the 2# ethylene glycol (2# EOEG) unit actively explored the lower limit of the unit's operating load.
▪️ The National Four Units (2# butadiene extraction unit, 3# aromatics extraction unit, 2# MTBE/butene-1 unit, 2# pyrolysis gasoline hydrogenation unit) have made positive contributions to the company's optimization of ethylene production capacity structure, processing C4 to C9 cracking components and integrating them into high value-added economic value products.
(Source)

24^th Nov 2023: The 1.5 million tons/year ethylene and downstream high-end new materials industry cluster project of Zhenhai Refining and Chemical started. The project involves 2*200,000 tons/year of polyolefin elastomer (POE/α-olefin) combination, 400,000 tons/year of low-density polyethylene (LDPE)/ ethylene-vinyl acetate copolymer (EVA) (vinyl acetate (VA)), 200,000 tons/year of adiponitrile and other popular materials. (Source)

18^th Oct 2024: Sinopec Ningbo Project EPC General Contracting, Zhenhai Base Phase II Project Double Hydrogenation Unit Delivery! The 1.5 million tons/year jet fuel hydrogenation and 4 million tons/year wax oil hydrogenation units at Sinopec Zhenhai Base have passed the acceptance inspection. (Source)

21^st October 2024: The mechanical completion of the 11 million tons/year atmospheric and vacuum distillation unit of the second phase of the Zhenhai base was achieved. This project is the leading unit of the second phase of the base's refining project, and it is also the atmospheric and vacuum distillation unit with the largest crude oil processing capacity of Zhenhai Refining and Chemical. (Source)

30^th August 2024: The first batch of main and supporting projects of the Zhenhai Base Phase II - aromatics extraction, catalytic gasoline hydrogenation, and pressure tank area - achieved mechanical completion. So far, the overall schedule of the Zhenhai Base Phase II project has been completed by 95%, and the project construction is stable and orderly. (Source)

23^rd Nov 2024: The 1.5 million tons/year No. 2 aviation kerosene hydrogenation unit of the second phase of Zhenhai Base successfully introduced raw aviation kerosene, marking that the first unit of the second phase of the base has entered the feeding test run stage. (Source)


#ZRCC  #zhejiang  #sinopec  #refining  #chemical  #downstream 

Description of the HPPO process has been update.


#hppo  #propyleneoxide  #propylene  #hydrogenperoxide  #dow  #basf 

Existing FS1 steam cracker technology was developed inhouse by DOW, and the existing three PE trains are Dow solution process according to the Path2NetZero map. Cracker capacity is estimated based on capacity expansion indications.

#dow  #solutionprocess  #polyethylene  #steamcracking  #canada  #fortsaskatchewan 

DOW METEOR Ethylene Oxide process description has been updated.

#dow #ethyleneglycol  #monoethyleneglycol  #deg  #teg  #meg  #mixedglycols  #pet  #polyester  #meteor 

DOW Ethylene Oxide only process (METEOR HEXTEO) description has been updated.

#dow  #hexteo  #ethyleneoxide  #ethylene  #meteor  #ethyleneglycol 

MEGlobal Prentiss site has been added.

#meglobal #dow  #canada  #prentiss  #reddear  #ethyleneglycol  #eoeg 

MEGlobal Canada ULC details have been updated.

#meglobal  #dow  #equate  #eoeg  #ethyleneglycol  #meteor  #canada 

The Mass Balance of the Unipol PE plant is completed.

#dow  #canada  #reddear  #prentiss  #alberta  #unipol  #polyethylene 

The Mass Balance of Joffre chemical site has been completed, which also includes onsite INEOS LAO plant, the onsite DOW-Nova Ethane Cracker E3 JV and ethylene shipment to nearby DOW Prentiss site from the E3 plant.

#dow  #nova  #canada  #steamcracker  #ethylene  #polyethylene  #unipol  #sclairtech  #technip 

DOW Prentiss site in Canada has been added.

#dowchemical  #canada  #reddear  #polyethylene  #ethyleneglycol  #ethylene 

The site has one ethane cracker and its mass balance has been determined.

#steamcracking  #ethane  #ethylene  #dow  #nova 

The Ethylene 3 JV between DOW Chemicals Canada ULC and NOVA Chemicals Corporation has been added ,as well as the corresponding production site in Joffre, Canada. 

#canada  #dow  #nova  #joffre  #e3  #ethylene3  #steamcracker  #ethyleneplant