Braskem and Chemetry Build EDC Demo Plant
Green chemistry company Chemetry is collaborating with Brazilian petrochemicals producer Braskem to build and operate a plant demonstrating Chemetry’s eShuttle ethylene dichloride (EDC) technology. The facility will be installed at Braskem’s chlor-alkali site in Maceio, Alagoas, Brazil. The companies did not reveal when the plant would go into operation.
Using the same feedstocks and producing the same products (EDC, caustic soda and hydrogen) as conventional processes, eShuttle uses a unique metal halide ion process that does not generate chlorine gas. The route, said Chemetry, is ideal for both greenfield projects and retrofitting existing chlor-alkali/EDC plants.
The companies said the agreement leverages Chemetry’s expertise in electrolyzer design and halide chemistry with Braskem’s long-term strength in operating chlor-alkali and vinyls plants and marketing the output.
“Through our eShuttle platform, Chemetry is able to provide a safer and more environmentally friendly approach to the production of commodity chemicals while at the same time improving margins,” said Chemetry CEO Ryan Gilliam. “Through this collaboration with Braskem, along with our engineering scale-up partnership with TechnipFMC, we will validate the commercial viability of the eShuttle technology. This will well position the company and technology to meet the growing need for new EDC capacity.”
In December 2016, Chemetry entered into an exclusive cooperation agreement with TechnipFM for the licensing and engineering of the technology, which the US firm has already trialled at pilot scale at its facilities in Moss Landing, California.
According to Chemetry, eShuttle can reduce energy use by nearly half compared with older diaphragm or mercury-based processes. In addition, the technology is said to be ideally suited for integration with oxygen depolarized cathode technology, further increasing energy savings.
Author: Elaine Burridge, Freelance Journalist
