Dow EPDM and elastomer units in line for startup
Launched on 21 Sept, the 1,500 kilotonnes per annum (ktpa) ethylene unit and 400ktpa ‘enhanced’ PE unit will leverage increasing supplies of US shale gas, said the DowDuPont division that is to be named Dow.
The ethylene facility is to be expanded to 2,000ktpa – making it the world’s largest ethylene facility – while the PE facility is the first of four new derivative units at Dow sites in Texas and Louisiana.
Among the other Dow polymer facilities set to come online in the US Gulf Coast is a 200ktpa ‘next generation’ Nordel metallocene EPDM for infrastructure and consumer durables end-markets.
The EPDM rubber unit is expected to start-up in early 2018, confirmed the DowDuPont Materials Science statement.
Dow also plans to launch a 320ktpa unit for the production of high melt index speciality and conventional polyolefin elastomers in late 2018.
The capacity additions are ”a monumental moment for Dow as we advance our global growth strategy by fully deploying our unmatched molecular and physical integration,” claimed Andrew Liveris, executive chairman of DowDuPont, and chairman and CEO of Dow.
“These facilities are an integral part of Dow’s investments on the US Gulf Coast to meet increasing consumer-led demand in our core market verticals of packaging, infrastructure and consumer care, and will enable our next level of earnings and cash flow growth,” Liviris added.
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