Clariant Catalysts Support Start-Up of Zhongjing Petrochemical's World's Largest Alkane Integrated Complex

The inauguration ceremony of Zhongjing Petrochemical's globally largest integrated alkane production base, located in the Jiangyin Port City Economic Zone of Fuzhou, was grandly held recently.

The completion of this milestone project marks a key step forward in the integrated, large-scale, intensive, and green development of Zhongjing Petrochemical industry, and reshapes the global competitive landscape of the alkane industry chain with multiple indicators ranking first worldwide.

The total investment in this project amounts to 30 billion RMB. Both the Phase II and Phase III propane dehydrogenation (PDH) units, each with an annual production capacity of 1 million tons, adopt the CATOFIN process and utilize tailor-made catalyst technology from Clariant. In terms of single-unit scale, individual plant output, and total base capacity, the facility ranks among the world’s largest in its category. To ensure the project’s success, Clariant’s Applied Catalyst Technology (ACT) team provided comprehensive technical support throughout the process and personally supervised the loading and start-up of the CATOFIN™ catalysts. Currently, Zhongjing Petrochemical has established the world’s largest integrated alkane production base, with an annual capacity of 2.8 million tons of propylene and 3.8 million tons of polypropylene, generating an annual output value of up to 60 billion RMB.

Jianji Wang, Global Vice President of Clariant's Propylene Business Unit, said: "We are honored to support Zhongjing Petrochemical in the successful commissioning of this world-class alkane dehydrogenation production facility through CATOFIN catalyst technology. Clariant's innovative catalyst solutions significantly enhance production efficiency and plant reliability, ensuring customers achieve high capacity and optimal return on investment. We look forward to Zhongjing Petrochemical's outstanding performance in later operations, leading the development of China's petrochemical industry."

Weng Shengjin, Chairman of the Board of Zhongjing Petrochemical Group Co., Ltd., stated: "CATOFIN is the only PDH technology that has been successfully commercially validated for large-scale production over one million tons, perfectly aligning with our strategic needs to build a world-class alkane integration base. In the future, we will continue to increase investment in technological innovation, continuously optimize the industrial chain structure, enhance product added value, actively fulfill social responsibilities, strengthen environmental protection and safety production management, strive to rank among world-class chemical companies, and contribute to promoting the sustainable development of the global chemical industry."

CATOFIN technology combines Lummus' advanced propane dehydrogenation process with Clariant's customized catalyst (CATOFIN) and heat-generating material (HGM) to convert liquefied petroleum gas into proprietary olefins with unparalleled reliability. The process has a strong track record of improving productivity, often exceeding design capacity (up to 110%), significantly enhancing producers' return on investment and achieving higher daily operating profits. Since 2017, CATOFIN has been adopted by 43 new projects worldwide, adding over 28 million tons of propylene capacity. More than 60% of these units are located in China.

As a long-term partner of Zhongjing Petrochemical, Clariant will continue to expand and deepen its cooperation with Zhongjing Petrochemical. With its leading catalyst technology, Clariant will support Zhongjing Petrochemical in becoming the world's largest and best-performing petrochemical enterprise across the entire alkane industry chain.