BASF and thyssenkrupp have signed a joint development agreement to expand their cooperation on the STAR process.
This proprietary dehydrogenation process from thyssenkrupp produces propylene from propane feedstocks, or iso-butylene from iso-butane feedstocks, using an exceptionally stable catalyst.
thyssenkrupp and BASF jointly develop STAR process® dehydrogenation technology
thyssenkrupp, focusing on process development, and BASF, focusing on catalyst development, together aim to significantly increase the resource and energy efficiency of the process through targeted improvements in catalyst and plant design.
The companies believe plant operators can benefit from lower investment and operating costs as well as lower CO2 emissions in the future.
“This project is a good example of how technology development can be accelerated through cross-sector collaboration,” says Adrian Steinmetz, Vice President Global Chemical Catalysts & Adsorbents at BASF.
“We will specifically address topics like reducing precious metal content. This lowers catalyst costs and additionally reduces feedstock and energy consumption through increased selectivity. This will contribute significantly to a reduction of the CO2 footprint.”
Propylene is one of the largest volume chemicals produced globally with projected further growth. A common use is as raw material for polypropylene, a component that is mainly used in the automotive, textile and packaging industries. Thyssenkrupp’s Steam Active Reforming STAR process offers an extremely reliable process with a proven plant availability of 98%, which means more than 8,500 hours per year.