French engineering contractor Technip has won a contract from China’s SP Olefins (Taixing) to supply its proprietary technology, process design as well as technical services and equipment for a proposed ethylene plant.

The project at Taixing in Jiangsu province comprises a 650,000 t/y cracker to be based on low-cost ethane and propane feedstock sourced from North America. It will be the first gas cracking ethylene plant in China.

The key components being supplied include Technip’s Ultra Selective Conversion furnaces, its Heat-Integrated Rectifier System, which recovers ethylene from residue gas, and Ripple Trays designed to increase production by improving distillation, absorption, stripping and heat transfer.

In addition, Technip will provide its Wet Air Oxidation technology. This technology processes the spent caustic from the ethylene unit, producing an environmentally friendly discharge that can be treated in conventional waste treatment facilities.

A timeframe for the project was not disclosed. SP Olefins (Taixing) is a subsidiary of Singapore-based company SP Chemicals, one of the largest chlor-alkali and aniline producers in China.