Insulation industry news from Global Insulation

Hungary: MOL Group and ThyssenKrupp Industrial Solutions have laid the foundation stone at a new polyol plant being built at Tiszaújváros. MOL Group is investing Euro1.2bn in the project. It is expected to be commissioned in 2021 and will produce around 200,000t/yr of polyols.

The new Tiszaújváros complex will produce polyether polyols using technologies such as the HPPO process (propylene oxide from hydrogen peroxide) developed by ThyssenKrupp and Evonik. Polyols produced at the new plant will be potentially used as a precursor chemical in many industries, including polyurethane building insulation.

“This investment project will make MOL Group one of the most important players in the region’s chemical industry, with MOL being the only Central and Eastern European company to control the entire value chain from crude oil extraction to polyol production,” said Zsolt Hernádi, the chairman and chief executive officer (CEO) of MOL.

China/Germany: German companies Evonik and ThyssenKrupp Industrial Solutions have granted a licence to Zibo Qixiang Tengda Chemical for the use of its hydrogen peroxide to propylene oxide (HPPO) technology in China. Qixiang Tengda Chemical will build a propylene oxide plant in Shandong province and Evonik has licensed the production of hydrogen peroxide for the exclusive supply of the plant. Evonik and ThyssenKrupp Industrial Solutions have also entered into a long-term agreement for the supply of the respective HPPO catalyst. Propylene oxide is used mainly for the production of polyurethane foams, including those used in insulation for buildings.

“We’re proud of having gained Qixiang as a new strategic partner. With environmental awareness on the rise in China, HPPO is the technology of choice for sustainable production of propylene oxide because it produces no major by-products apart from water,” said Claus Rettig, the chairman of the board of Evonik’s Resource Efficiency division.

Planning work for the new Qixiang Tengda plant is scheduled to start in mid-August 2019 with commissioning expected for the first half of 2022. Qixiang Tengda, a chemical manufacturer, is part of Cedar Holdings Group.