Innovation cuts ties to naphtha

The competition between Japan's chemical companies to develop new olefin production processes is being heightened by the emergence of a steady stream of serious issues that they face. Loss of competitiveness is forcing an ongoing process of integration of naphtha crackers in Japan. The growing...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:ICIS Chemical Business 2014-10, Vol.286 (14), p.28
Main Author: Nakamura, Kogaku
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Chemical industry
Collaboration
Competition
Cost reduction
Energy consumption
Innovations
Online Access:Get full text
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Summary:The competition between Japan's chemical companies to develop new olefin production processes is being heightened by the emergence of a steady stream of serious issues that they face. Loss of competitiveness is forcing an ongoing process of integration of naphtha crackers in Japan. The growing role of shale gas-based feedstocks is raising concerns over the resulting shortages of specific fractions from crackers. And the need to conserve energy has become more pressing in Japan since the 2011 earthquake and tsunami and associated nuclear disaster at Fukushima led to the closure of the country's nuclear power industry. Japanese chemical producers have for years pursued novel chemical production processes offering lower costs and reduced energy consumption. Asahi Kasei Chemicals has started marketing its E-FLEX process in partnership with French engineering company Technip. Japanese companies are also collaborating with overseas research organizations. Showa Denko is making progress with a process to produce butadiene from acetaldehyde as raw material.
ISSN:1937-5786
1750-1512