Propane-to-propylene technology grows on Gulf Coast

Ascend Performance Materials Operations LLC plans to install Honeywell’s UOP C3 Oleflex process technology to convert propane to propylene, a key ingredient in the production of materials such as nylon, films and packaging.

Petrochemical makers are installing additional propylene capacity to meet growing demand and to make up for the shortage of propylene production from traditional refining and petrochemical sources.

“Global propylene demand is growing at about 4-5 percent per year. The U.S. is seeing an increase in on-purpose propylene production because of the abundance of low-cost propane from shale gas,” says Pete Piotrowski, senior vice president and general manager of Honeywell’s UOP Process Technology and Equipment business unit, in a press release.

Ascend will install the Oleflex technology at a facility on the U.S. Gulf Coast to produce more than 1 million metric tons of propylene per year beginning in 2015.