Linde PLC announced it has commissioned a new air separation unit (ASU) in Freeport, Texas, as part of a long-term agreement to supply MEGlobal Americas Inc.’s new monoethylene glycol (MEG) plant at Oyster Creek petrochemical complex in Freeport.
The new ASU will supply oxygen and nitrogen to MEGlobal Oyster Creek for use in its MEG manufacturing process. The ASU also will supply Linde’s industrial gas pipeline system, adding new argon capacity, Linde said.
In addition to the ASU, Linde started a new carbon dioxide (CO2) plant in Freeport that will recycle crude CO2 supplied from an unidentified MEGlobal process.
“The new ASU and the expansion of our Gulf Coast pipeline system further strengthen Linde’s ability to reliably supply customers throughout the region and positions us for future growth in the USGC,” said Jeff Barnhard, Linde’s vice-president for the US South region.
The details regarding capacities of either the ASU or CO2 plant were not disclosed.
MEGlobal Americas officially began production at its 750,000 ton per year MEG plant in October last year to meet the growing demand for ethylene glycol products in the US and Asia-Pacific markets, as well as its strategy to expand globally.
MEGlobal Americas is a subsidiary of Equate Petrochemical Co. of Kuwait’s Dubai-based MEGlobal International FZE.
Equate Petrochemical is an international JV of Kuwait’s state-owned Petrochemical Industries Co. (42.5%), Dow (42.5%), Boubyan Petrochemical Co. (9%) and Qurain Petrochemical Industries Co. (6%).