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Technical Session:
Lyondell Chemical Company and Introduction to the Petrochemical Industry
Hosted by: Equistar, a Lyondell Chemical Company
Several Chicago area Young Professionals visited Equistar’s Morris,
IL production facility on April 30 to not only learn about the petrochemical
industry but also to tour the largest inland petrochemical facility. The
day consisted of a presentation providing an introduction to the petrochemical
industry, an overview of Lyondell Chemical Company and it’s Morris,
IL operations as well as look into an engineer’s role at the complex.
Overall the event was a success with three area organizations represented.
David Wishnick, Chicago YPAB Lead, commented, “For me it was interesting
to see production on such a large scale. I especially liked the presentation
which gave an overview of the petrochemical markets and the different
process that use this as a feed to produce other plastic, vinyl plastics,
styrene plastics etc.”
Products derived from oil and natural gas are the backbone of the petrochemical
industry. There are almost 200 chemicals that can be described as a part
of the industry. The largest-volume petrochemical product is ethylene
which is used as a building block to many of the commercial products we
use today- polyethylene, vinyl plastics, solvents, cleaning agents, antifreeze
and many more.
The world ethylene industry has a capacity of approximately 247 billion
pounds per year. The US is the largest regional producer with a a capacity
of approximately 78 billion pounds per year or 31% of the total.
The ethylene industry is a mature but cyclical industry that faces challenges
of it’s own. The US and European industries are well established
although no additional new capacity is being planned, companies continue
to grow through improving efficiency, restructuring and adding capacity
with their existing operations to keep up with demand. The Asian and Middle
Eastern markets, on the other hand, continue to grow rapidly. New capacity
is expected to be consumed by growth in those areas and should not have
a global effect on the market.
The industry will continue to be challenged in moving forward as demand
for chemicals grow in other parts of the world. A key part of those challenges
include, high energy prices, advancement in regulatory requirements and
the speculation of the chemical industry becoming a “rust belt”
industry.
Thank you to the following Equistar employees who helped make this event
a success: Mike Behr, Jessica Macke, Matt Kessing, Steve Stoker and Mark
Metzdorf. Either through presenting or leading the group on the tour,
each had a unique role to ensure the event went off without a hitch.
Equistar, a Lyondell Chemical Company, (www.lyondell.com ), headquartered
in Houston, Texas, is North America's third-largest independent, publicly
traded chemical company. Lyondell is a major global manufacturer of basic
chemicals and derivatives including ethylene, propylene, titanium dioxide,
styrene, polyethylene, propylene oxide and acetyls. It also is a significant
producer of gasoline blending components. The company has a 58.75 percent
interest in LYONDELL- CITGO Refining LP, a refiner of heavy, high sulfur
crude oil. Lyondell is a global company operating on five continents and
employs approximately 10,000 people worldwide.
The Morris Equistar Plant produces Ethylene, Propylene, Polyethylene
Resins (low density (LDPE) and linear low density (LLDPE), and Polypropylene
Resins (PP). Following are details regarding type of technology, annual
capacity and primary products produced.
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