W.R. Grace announces PP plant startups and license awards in China
W.R. Grace & Co announced the start-up of a 500,000-tpy polypropylene (PP) reactor line by PetroChina GuangDong PetroChemical Company, a subsidiary of PetroChina Group, the world’s second-largest petroleum company. The plant will produce homopolymer, random copolymer, and impact copolymer PP resins, catering to the growing demand for high-quality PP resins in the Chinese market.
This marks the fourth UNIPOL PP technology plant start-up for PetroChina, which includes PetroChina Guangxi (200,000 tpy), PetroChina Fushun (300,000 tpy) and PetroChina Sichuan (450,000 tpy).
The combination of Grace’s PP process design with the CONSISTA catalyst system provided a reaction within minutes after the catalyst was injected, a benefit of UNIPOL PP technology.
In China, this is the largest UNIPOL PP technology single-extruder reactor line. The successful start-up further underscores UNIPOL PP technology's strong reputation in the country.
"Grace is honored to have been chosen once again by PetroChina for this groundbreaking project," said Laura Schwinn, President of Grace's Specialty Catalysts business. "The successful start-up of the 500,000-tpy reactor line is a testament to Grace's expertise and commitment to delivering innovative solutions that meet the needs of our customers around the world.”
Grace has been at the forefront of PP catalyst technology for more than 50 years, and the company's UNIPOL PP technology is widely recognized as one of the most advanced and reliable processes in the industry. PetroChina GuangDong selected Grace as its partner due to its broad catalyst and product capabilities, advanced PP technology and robust production.
Grace also announced the successful start-up of two additional PP reactor lines in China by Dongguan Grand Resource Science & Technology Co., Ltd. This is the second plant for Dongguan Grand Resource using UNIPOL PP technology and will add 600,000-tpy of PP resin capacity and increase its total nameplate capacity to 1.2 MM tpy.
The two reactor lines started up seamlessly within 30 days of each other, which exemplifies the technology’s ease of commissioning. In addition, Dongguan Grand Resource is utilizing Grace's CONSISTA catalysts in both of its UNIPOL PP technology lines. By combining UNIPOL PP process technology with CONSISTA catalyst systems, Dongguan Grand Resource is producing material of high quality, efficiently and consistently.
Grace has also announced a new license with PetroChina Guangxi Petrochemical Company to develop a 400,000-tpy single reactor line using its UNIPOL PP technology. The anticipated startup is in 2026.
This marked the second UNIPOL PP technology reactor line that PetroChina Guangxi has licensed and the fifth that PetroChina Group has licensed from Grace for a total licensed capacity of 1.850 MMtpy. This UNIPOL PP technology line in China can take advantage of the full product capabilities to produce homopolymer, ethylene random copolymer, impact copolymer, butene random copolymer, and terpolymer polypropylene resins. As a result, PetroChina Guangxi will be at the forefront of advanced PP production in China.
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