The La Porte Complex of LyondellBasell (NYSE: LYB), one of the largest plastics, chemicals and refining companies in the world, today announced key pieces of equipment, including a multi-zone circulating reactor, extruder and gas phase reactor have all been successfully installed at its new Hyperzone polyethylene (PE) plant, currently under construction. Additionally, the complex hosted an exclusive tour of the new plant for a select group of business and community leaders.
“We are about 18 months into construction and our team has safely achieved several key milestones,” said Chris Cain, LyondellBasell La Porte site manager. “It has been phenomenal watching the progress of this project that is unlike any other in our company and speaks to the talent, capability and innovation of our employees.”
Site Manager of LyondellBasell, Chris Cain spoke to BIC's Jeremy Osterberger regarding their new Hyperzone polyethylene plant in La Porte, Texas, why La Porte was chosen as the location for this project, how many jobs it's created and the commercial benefits it provides.
Among the key equipment installed since the start of construction in May 2017 are two reactors,the heaviest of which is a gas phase reactor weighing more than 500 tons. The second reactor,a 200-foot-tall multi-zone circulating reactor, is exclusively designed for the Hyperzone PE technology. Teams have also safely installed a 146-foot-tall flushing silo for ensuring polymer particles are dry prior to extruding them into pellets and laid nearly 19 miles of pipe and 38 miles of wire/cable.
As modeled by Impact Data Source, the $725 million project will have a capacity of 1.1 billion pounds each year of high density polyethylene (HDPE) and is expected to generate more than$67 million in tax benefits for the state, county, school district, community college and other local taxing districts over a 10-year period following construction. Additionally, the project will create up to more than 1,000 jobs at the peak of construction and 75 permanent positions.
“The Hyperzone PE plant is bringing growth and jobs to our area,” said La Porte Mayor Louis Rigby. “Strong corporate partners like LyondellBasell who continually invest in our city are key to improving opportunities and quality of life for our residents.”
Integration Manager at LyondellBasell's new Hyperzone PE plant, James Guynes spoke with BIC Magazine's Jeremy Osterberger on the inner-workings of how the plant was designed, the commission date and who helped bring this all together.
LyondellBasell chose to build the new plant at its existing La Porte Complex because of its proximity to price-advantaged U.S. feedstocks and the transportation infrastructure needed to ship product to markets across the globe.
In the past six years, the company has announced $5 billion of investments to expand and build new manufacturing facilities in the U.S., including the construction of Hyperzone PE and the world’s largest propylene oxide (PO) and tertiary butyl alcohol (TBA) plant, co-located at its Channelview and Bayport facilities.
Hyperzone PE is the first commercial plant of its kind and the next evolution in polyethylene technology for the plastics industry. The technology, which provides enhanced material performance that will help create lighter weight products that are still stronger and more durable,took years to advance to commercialization and was a product of LyondellBasell’s global research and development teams in Ferrara, Italy; Frankfurt, Germany; Cincinnati, Ohio; and Houston, Texas.
For more information about LyondellBasell’s Hyperzone PE plant, visit. www.lyb.com/hyperzone
