Thyssenkrupp Uhde Wins Contract for BASF’s Surfactant Plant in Thailand
The Thailand branch of German engineering contractor Thyssenkrupp Uhde has won a contract by BASF to provide engineering services and proprietary equipment supply for its new non-ionic surfactant (NIS) plant at its Zhanjiang Verbund Site Project in Guangdong Province, China.
Thyssenkrupp Uhde said that BASF's plant will employ its proprietary jet loop reactor technology.
Non-ionic surfactants are typically produced from an alcohol starter and oxides by alkoxylation. Surfactants are widely used as emulsifiers in cosmetics, pharmaceuticals, and many other applications such as grease removers, household cleaners, washing-up liquid or herbicides.
According to Thyssenkrupp Uhde, its jet loop reactor represents advanced reactor technology specifically suitable for heterogeneous and highly exothermic reactions. The absence of moving parts in the reactor brings with it superior features in terms of safety. The venturi-type jet mixer has been optimized to ensure intimate contact and a superior interface between reactants. The continuous circulation of both liquid and gas phase is said to result in perfect mixture homogeneity and avoidance of hot spots.
Due to Thyssenkrupp Uhde’s modularized plant concept, the complete plant will come in prefabricated skids which are delivered to the construction site and installed in complete blocks, the company stated. This approach is expected to significantly improve quality and safety while reducing overall risk to the project schedule by minimizing on-site construction activities.
