MOL Group has signed a new contract with thyssenkrupp to produce polyether polyols and propylene glycol. Following the announcement made in July about entering into contracts with Evonik and thyssenkrupp to produce propylene oxide, MOL Group has reached the next milestone in its key strategic investment. The additional agreement signed with thyssenkrupp Industrial Solutions (Thailand) Ltd will cover technological steps to convert propylene-oxide into polyether polyols and propylene glycols, the company announced.
The contract concerns the purchase of technology licenses, process design packages and front-end engineering design of the production units that convert propylene-oxide into polyether polyols and propylene glycols. Upon completion of the investment MOL Group is expected to become the main polyether polyol and propylene glycol producer in Central Europe.
The thyssenkrupp Polyol technology is based on its state of the art Jet Reactor design, which provides MOL the best available safety, quality, operability, flexibility and productivity. Front-end Engineering including necessary product testing will be delivered from thyssenkrupp’s technology and R&D centre for Oleochemicals in Thailand. The contract also contains a pre-agreement for thyssenkrupp to supply and install the Polyether Polyol plant.
In line with its 2030 strategy, MOL Group will move further along the petrochemical value chain towards semi-commodity and specialty chemicals products, transforming into a leading chemical group in CEE. Polyether polyols, which serve as feedstock for polyurethane foam, were identified as the main direction in MOL’s petrochemical expansion due to their wide applications in the automotive, construction, packaging and furniture industries. Through this key investment MOL will become the only integrated polyol producer in CEE.
Propylene glycols, which constitute an additional product line in the project scope, are propylene oxide derivatives produced by most of the major forward integrated propylene oxide producers. Propylene glycols have a wide range of applications including the production of unsaturated polyester resins (UPR), personal care and pharmaceutical additives and other industrial applications.
By signing this contract, MOL Group has secured all technology licenses and engineering resources for each production unit of the Polyol Project. The contracts previously signed in July concerned the purchase of technology licenses and process design packages for the HPPO (hydrogen peroxide to propylene oxide) technology of propylene oxide production.