Celanese Mulls US Acetic Acid Plant

Celanese is proposing to build an 800,000 t/y acetic acid plant at its Clear Lake site in Pasadena, Texas, USA. The facility, which would cost around $425 million, would be expandable to 1.2 million t/y.

The company filed a document with the Texas Comptroller in December 2018 outlining its plans. According to the application, Celanese was aiming to submit permits for construction this month and start construction in January 2020. Mechanical completion is scheduled for August 2021, with commercial production set to start in September 2021.

If the project proceeds, then the facility would be the third-largest acetic acid plant in the world, behind Celanese’s existing plant in Clear Lake and its other in Nanjing, China.

The company is also considering whether to build the new plant in Nanjing, where it said construction and labor costs are far less expensive, which coupled with feedstock and a growing Chinese market, made the country a very feasible and attractive location.

However, Celanese added that the availability of natural gas in the Gulf of Mexico and the availability of skilled and efficient labor in the US also made the Clear Lake site an attractive proposition. Nevertheless, it cited the cost of construction and property tax burden in the US as deterrents, stating that one of the key determining factors behind choosing Clear Lake was the ability to attain incentives.

The project could also include an expansion of methanol capacity to feed the new acetic acid output. Much of Celanese’s North American methanol needs are met from its existing plant in Clear Lake. As such, should the company proceed with the acetic acid build, then it might become necessary to increase methanol capacity to meet its expanded needs.

Earlier this month, Celanese agreed to acquire the 365,000 t/y syngas unit that feeds its Clear Lake acetyls complex from Linde.