Clariant Catalysts and Lummus Technology win contract for new CATOFIN® plant in China

• Qingyang Tongxin Petroleum Technology has chosen the CATOFIN process and catalysts for its first propane and isobutane co-processing plant
• The customer will upgrade liquefied petroleum gas feedstock to produce chemicals and refined products
• Lummus’s CATOFIN technology and Clariant’s tailor-made catalysts lead the market for on-purpose propylene and isobutylene production, offering superior productivity and reliability

MUNICH, JUNE 12, 2024 – Clariant, a sustainability-focused specialty chemical company, today announced that it was awarded a contract to supply CATOFIN catalysts for Qingyang Tongxin Petroleum Technology’s first-ever paraffin dehydrogenation plant. The unit will be based in Qingyang City, Gansu Province, China, and designed to process 300 KTA of combined propane and isobutane from liquefied petroleum gas feedstock to produce chemicals and refined products. For the project, Clariant will be collaborating with its long-standing process partner, Lummus Technology. 

Jace Wang, Head of Propylene, Vice President BU Catalyst at Clariant, commented, “We are pleased to join forces again with Lummus on this milestone CATOFIN project for Qingyang Tongxin. Together, we continue to lead the market of on-purpose olefin production with a unique solution that is highly productive and profitable for our customers. We look forward to a successful start of operations, and excellent results for Qingyang Tongxin.”

Romain Lemoine, Chief Business Officer of Polymers and Petrochemicals at Lummus Technology, stated, “Qingyang Tongxin’s selection of CATOFIN for their first plant is a testament to the confidence our customers place in the technology. It shows continued recognition of CATOFIN's exceptional reliability, robustness, and feed flexibility.” 

The CATOFIN process combines Lummus’s advanced PDH technology with Clariant’s tailor-made catalysts and Heat Generating Material (HGM) to convert liquefied petroleum gas to on-purpose olefins with unsurpassed reliability. The process has a proven track record of increasing productivity, often beyond design capacity (up to 110% on average), giving producers a significantly higher return on investments, and enabling more profitable daily operations. 

The Qingyang Tongxin project marks the 40th plant since 2017 to employ CATOFIN technology and catalysts for paraffin dehydrogenation. 

Learn more about Clariant’s high-performance CATOFIN catalysts.