The Dow Chemical Company (Dow) and Davy Process Technology (DPT) have announced the launch of Compress PTA, a streamlined technology for the production of purified terephthalic acid based on the breakthrough combination of demonstrated pressure filtration, solvent recovery and integrated water recycle processes.
PTA production is integral to the manufacture of PET (polyethylene terephthalate), a performance polymer used in fibre, film, packaging containers, engineering resins and binder resins.
This new technology process offers PTA producers an investment cost reduction of 15 per cent, higher reliability leading to higher capacity utilisation and conversion cost improvement of 20 per cent compared to competing technologies. It is also easier to operate due to its simplicity, and offers lower environmental impact with lower emissions and less liquid waste.
In 2008, Dow and DPT broadened their 35-year collaboration on LPOxo Process Technology, the world’s leading process technology for producing Oxo alcohols, to include the further development of the Dow’s PTA technology. The work of DPT’s engineering group with proven experience in licensing and process optimisation, supported by DPT staff, resulted in the introduction of the new Compress PTA technology. The technology is jointly licensed, with basic engineering being provided by DPT, which has built a reputation for developing and designing processes with high efficiency and reliability, based upon a strong combination of chemistry, chemical and mechanical engineering skills.
Longer-term improvements are being developed at DPT’s Technology Centre in the UK with the establishment of pilot facilities to enable the work on further cost reductions. An experienced team of professionals from both companies is assigned to each project on all phases and for the continued operation of the plant.
Davy Process Technology, a Johnson Matthey company, has a global business in petrochemicals technology development and technology licensing. The company has headquarters in London, and its Technology Centre is in Stockton-on-Tees. It owns a range of proprietary process technologies such as Methanol, Gas Conversion Technologies, Butanediol, Natural Detergent Alcohols, Oxo Alcohols, Industrial Amines, Ethyl Acetate and Propylene Glycol.
Dow, a diversified chemical company, offers a broad range of products and services to customers in more than 175 countries, helping them to provide everything from fresh water, food and pharmaceuticals to paints, packaging and personal care products.
