31-10-2016

Braskem select UNIPOL® PP process technology from Grace

W. R. Grace & Co, the leading supplier of polyolefin catalyst technology and polypropylene (PP) process technology, has announced that it will provide its UNIPOL® PP process technology and services to Braskem America’s newest planned facility in La Porte, TX, which could begin operations in early 2019.

Braskem is the largest producer of thermoplastic resins in the Americas and the leading producer of PP in the United States, with five existing U.S. production plants located in Texas, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia, as well as an Innovation and Technology Center in Pittsburgh.

Grace’s UNIPOL® PP process technology is an all gas-phase technology that is the most economical in investment and has the broadest product capabilities with stable and predictable operation. It is designed with fewer moving parts and less equipment than any competing technology. UNIPOL® PP Technology is the simplest process of all PP technologies, with a process design that leads to lower capital costs and lower operating costs while maximizing reliability and lowering maintenance costs. Although mechanically simple, the underlying technology enables the production of the broadest, most advanced homopolymers, random copolymers, and impact copolymers in the industry.

Braskem’s La Porte facility is designed to produce 450 kilotons per year of homopolymer, random copolymers, and impact copolymers in a single reactor line, for which the UNIPOL® PP process technology enables the production of the broadest, most advanced product slate. This is the fifth UNIPOL® PP reactor line for Braskem, joining existing facilities at Marcus Hook, PA (two reactor lines); Seadrift, TX; and Wesseling, Germany.

Mark Nikolich, CEO of Braskem America, said, “The focus for our new PP plant is to meet the growing PP market demand with the most economical investment and with broad product capability. We are glad to work with Grace to meet our business objectives using the UNIPOL® PP technology.”

Al Beninati, President of Grace’s Specialty Catalysts business segment, said, “Grace is thrilled to be the technology of choice for Braskem’s new PP plant in La Porte. Given the objectives for this new facility, we are confident that the UNIPOL® PP process technology will provide the most cost effective solution for Braskem’s production needs.”

For more information, please visit https://grace.com/en-us/our-businesses/Pages/grace-catalyst-technologies.aspx