Clariant announced that its Catofin catalyst will be used in a new grassroots iso-butane dehydrogenation unit commissioned by Shandong Chengtai Chemical Industry Co., Ltd. CB&I has been awarded the contract for the license and engineering design of the new unit to be built in Changyi, Shandong Province, China.

The unit will use the Catofin dehydrogenation technology offered from CB&I and Clariant's tailor made Catofin catalyst to process iso-butane feed for the production of 114,000 t/y of isobutylene.

"The Catofin technology has been selected for 20 projects in the last five years," said Daniel McCarthy, President of CB&I's Technology operating group. "This award is further testament to the success of the Catofin technology and catalyst in allowing customers to process various feedstocks at ideal conditions for the highest yields."

"Catofin technology is a reliable and well proven technology. The first commercial propane dehydrogenation unit in China was based on Catofin technology and has been in successful operation since October 2013," highlights Stefan Heuser, Senior Vice President and Head of Business Unit Catalysts of Clariant.

Isobutylene is used as a building block to produce MTBE and other downstream products.