Egypt's Ethydco has started up a 26,000 tons/year butadiene unit at its polyethylene complex near Alexandria. The plant isolates butadiene, which is used in producing synthetic rubber, from other by-products of ethylene production in Ethydco's 460,000 t/y cracker. This recently started up, producing ethylene feedstock for the 400,000 t/y polyethylene plant alongside.
The cracker requires 45mn cfd of ethane feedstock to run at full capacity, taking Egypt’s ethane requirement to 75mn cfd from two crackers, increasing pressure on Egypt’s already overstretched gas supplies (MEES, 7 October). Other Egyptian petchems plants require up to 110mn cfd of methane and 520,000 t/y of propane. (CONTINUED - 190 WORDS)
