Clariant’s Catalysts business has been awarded three new contracts by China’s Lihuayi Group for its upcoming petrochemicals production units. The agreements include three of Clariant’s high-performance catalysts for the production of ethylene, styrene, and propylene.

From Clariant’s ethylene catalyst line, Lihuayi chose the OleMax 101 catalyst for its 1000 KTA olefins plant for high-value olefins recovery from cracked gas and off-gas streams. The OleMax 100 series is used to purify gas streams for acetylene, dienes, oxygen, nitrogen oxides, and heavy metals, in a single reactor, enabling highly cost-efficient olefins production.

Lihuayi’s new 720 KTA styrene plant will rely on Clariant’s StyroMax UL 3 rib-shaped styrene catalyst. The catalyst is able to produce styrene monomer extremely efficiently due to its high activity, excellent selectivity, and reliable performance at ultra-low steam-to-oil conditions. Combined, these factors provide a greater yield of high-quality styrene with higher efficiency, as well as reduced energy consumption and lower CO2 emissions.

The third Lihuayi plant for propane dehydrogenation will have a design capacity of 600 KTA and operate with Clariant’s tailor-made CATOFIN catalysts and heat generating material. CATOFIN is a proven, highly reliable dehydrogenation catalyst used for the production of olefins, such as propylene or isobutylene, from light paraffin feedstocks. Since 2017, CATOFIN technology and catalysts have been selected for 33 new projects, representing more than 23,000 KTA of new propylene capacity globally. Over half of them are or will be constructed in China.

Stefan Heuser, Senior Vice President & General Manager at Clariant Catalysts, said, “We are extremely honored to be awarded this major assignment by Lihuayi Group. We owe this success to our strong commitment to customer needs and our broad catalyst portfolio, which optimally supports our new customer’s petrochemical production processes.”

Yan Chuanliang, Head of Engineering Department at Lihuayi Group, said, “We were very satisfied with Clariant’s complete solutions package, and are convinced that their combination of catalysts, services, and expertise will ensure a high return on our investment. We look forward to the successful start-up of the first plants.”