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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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