New ethylene plant proposed for Louisiana

Shintech Inc., the US subsidiary of Shin-Etsu Chemical Co. Ltd., Tokyo, has applied to the Louisiana Department of Environment Quality (LDEQ) for a permit to build a grassroots ethylene plant.

The company intends to build the plant, which would have a production capacity of 500,000 tonnes/year of ethylene, on land for industrial use that it already owns, Shintech said.

Concurrently with carrying out the required processes to secure a building permit, Shintech will continue its feasibility study with regard to the amount to be invested for the proposed plant construction, the profitability of the project, and the amount of time that will take for construction to be completed, the company said.

Neither a timetable for the final investment decision on the project nor a specific location for the proposed plant was disclosed.

Following its implementation of an in-house production system for chlorine, Shintech said the proposed plant aligns with its strategy of setting up in-house production of ethylene starting from its own raw materials to ensure a stable supply and further strengthen its integrated PVC production system.