Clariant announced that it has been awarded a major contract by Jiangsu Shenghong Petrochemical Co., Ltd., to use Clariant’s SynDane 3142 LA catalyst for its new maleic anhydride (MA) production plant in Lianyungang, Jiangsu province, China. With a production capacity of 200 000 tons per year, the new plant slated for start of production in 2025, will be one of the largest production plants for MA worldwide. 

The plant in Lianyungang will produce maleic anhydride as an intermediate product for polybutylene adipate terephthalate (PBAT), which in turn will function as a base product for biodegradable plastics. Using the SynDane catalyst, Shenghong Petrochemical will be able to improve production efficiency and reduce power consumption, leading to annual energy savings of up to RMB24 million.

With its unique shape design, SynDane 3142 LA reduces the pressure drop by 30%-35%,  thereby significantly lowering compressor energy consumption. Moreover, it can operate under high n-butane load, which reduces energy consumption even further, because less air needs to be compressed to a lower pressure to achieve the same productivity level. The catalyst’s special structure and chemical composition also increases selectivity towards MA which enhances product yield and reduces by-product formation, meaning less downtime for equipment cleaning. Production efficiency is further boosted by SynDane’s exceptionally long lifetime of up to 5 years. Lastly, its wide range of space velocity up to an excellent value of 2100 h-1 improves Shenghong’s flexibility in MA production volume, allowing the company to react to market demand fluctuations more quickly.