The World’s Largest Single-Unit PKN MTBE Project Completes Mechanical Completion Ahead of Schedule
Recently, the SABIC PKN MTBE Improvement Project, which is EPC contracted by CNCEC-TCC, has successfully reached the mechanical completion stage 4 days ahead of schedule, continuing to maintain its excellent record of completing projects on time.
As another major project of successful cooperation between CNCEC-TCC and SABIC, the project was officially signed in November 2022 and commenced construction in December of the same year. It mainly involves the capacity expansion and renovation of PKN's existing 700 KTA MTBE unit, increasing its capacity to 1 MTA.
It is reported that this project is the first project of SABIC to adopt its own proprietary technology. After completion, it will become the world's largest single-unit MTBE plant with 1 MTA capacity. The renovated unit will see significant improvements in economic benefits, environmental performance, and operational reliability: it can effectively utilize by-product low-pressure steam to generate 10MW of electricity, reduce catalyst consumption by approximately 6,300 tons annually, and extend the start-up and shutdown operation cycle of the MTBE synthesis unit from 8 months to 2 years.
