A Methanol-to-olefins (MTO) gas chemical complex in Central Asia, known for its innovative leadership in polymer production, has signed an agreement with Air Products to process industrial gases to build a methanol plant, Dunyo news agency reported.
The facility, known as Methanol Island, will have a capacity of 1.34 million tons per year and will be part of a gas chemical complex in Uzbekistan to produce olefins from methanol. It will be built on an area of 15 hectares in the Karakul Free Economic Zone in the Bukhara region. The planned start-up date is 2025 and the expected operational life is 25 years.
Advanced innovative technologies applied at the gas chemical complex allow the processing of Uzbekistan-specific natural gas with low content of valuable components into polymer products with high added value and production capacity of more than 1 million 110 thousand tons per year.
The MHP will produce polypropylene (250,000 tons per year), low-density polyethylene (80,000 tons per year), ethylene vinyl acetate (100,000 tons per year), polyethylene terephthalate (300,000 tons per year) and high-density polyethylene (280,000 tons per year), all of which are used in the production of products ranging from man-made fibers to pipes and packaging film.
The methanol plant will also ensure a steady supply of methanol, hydrogen and other technical gases that are required for the production processes of the gas chemical complex of the ITO.
When completed, the Methanol Island facilities will include a hydrogen production facility and air separation plant, as well as a methanol plant for the production of synthesis gas and its further conversion to methanol. The process is based on Haldor Topsoe technology.
