The new process is being applied to Keyuan’s BTX light aromatics, which account for 200,000 metric tons (MT) of the company’s total BTX aromatic production capacity of 345,000MT a year.
BTX Aromatic products include benzene, toluene, xylene and other chemical components for further processing into oil resin, gasoline and solvent materials used in paint, ink, construction coating and pesticides.
The company said that growing demand driven by China’s economic growth, coupled with under-developed domestic production capacity, has led to an imbalance in supply and demand for refined petrochemical products that is likely to persist for many years. Due to the imbalance, Keyuan’s customer order requests for 2010 have exceeded its current annual production capacity.
At March 31, 2010, Keyuan had annual petrochemical manufacturing capacity of 550,000MT of a variety of petrochemical products, including BTX aromatics.
In order to grow its business to meet its backlog and increasing customer demand, Keyuan plans to expand its petrochemical manufacturing capacity to 600,000MT in 2011. The company also plans to double its storage capacity to 200,000MT by the end of 2011, and to add a new raw material pre-treatment facility and an asphalt production facility in 2012.
