Roof-topping ceremony for Evonik’s new hydrogen peroxide plant in Jilin (China)

• Investment of more than €100 million, project on schedule
• Evonik capacity for hydrogen peroxide to increase by nearly 40 percent by the end of 2013
• Promising future for hydrogen peroxide as an eco-sensible oxidation agent for the chemicals industry

Evonik Industries marked the roof-topping phase of construction for its hydrogen peroxide plant in Jilin, China, with a ceremony on October 19, 2012. Situated in the northeast of the country, the plant is due to go online in late 2013 with an annual capacity for the production of 230,000 metric tons of hydrogen peroxide (H2O2). With this investment of more than €100 million, Evonik will increase its current overall capacity of 600,000 metric tons p.a. by nearly 40 percent.

"This investment will serve to further consolidate our leading position in the market for hydrogen peroxide and it sees us systematically pursuing our growth strategy in Asia," said Dr. Klaus Engel, the CEO of Evonik Industries, on the occasion of the ceremony.

A dedicated pipeline will enable Evonik to supply Jilin H2O2 directly to the neighboring Jishen Chemical Industry Co., Ltd. propylene oxide plant. A long-term supply contract has been entered into for the purpose. Jishen will use the hydrogen peroxide to make propylene oxide using the HPPO process. Propylene oxide is used primarily in the manufacture of polyurethane intermediates, and polyurethane in turn goes into the making of products such as upholstery for car seats and furniture or insulation materials for the construction and refrigeration equipment industry.

"We’re registering a high level of global demand for our efficient HPPO process," says Dr. Stefan Schulze, head of Innovation at Evonik’s Advanced Intermediates Business Unit. "The Jilin facility is a further milestone in the drive to establish hydrogen peroxide as an eco-friendly oxidation agent in chemical synthesis."

Evonik developed the HPPO process in cooperation with ThyssenKrupp Uhde GmbH. The new plant in Jilin will be the second one of this kind to use this technology. The first large-scale facility of this kind was set up by ThyssenKrupp Uhde and the licensee, a Korean chemicals enterprise, in Ulsan, Korea, back in 2008.

To date, hydrogen peroxide has been used mainly as a bleaching agent by the textile and cellulose industry. The HPPO process now enables the eco-friendly oxidation agent to also be used in the chemical direct synthesis of propylene oxide. The advantages of the HPPO technology include significantly lower investment requirements, a high degree of production efficiency, and excellent environmental tolerability.