Uhde Inventa-Fischer Secures Technology Contract for Petrovietnam-Vinatex's Polyester Plant

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Researched by Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--Uhde Inventa-Fischer GmbH (Berlin, Germany), one of the world's leading firms in the design and construction of industrial polyester and polyamide plants, has secured a contract to construct a textile-grade polyester plant in Vietnam for Petrovietnam-Vinatex Dinh Vu Petrochemical and Fiber JSC.

Uhde Inventa is a member of ThyssenKrupp AG (ETR:TKA) (Dusseldorf, Germany) and is the licensor of the polyester technology that is based in its 2-Reactor system. Under the terms of the contract, the firm will supply a 2-Reactor polyester polycondensation plant equipped with the ESPREE and DISCAGE reactors. The turnkey complex also will include direct filament and fiber spinning units, as well as staple fiber lines and utility plants.

Uhde Inventa will supply the license for the process, and basic and detailed engineering for the melt lines from the ESPREE via the DISCAGE reactors. Ugde also will handle melt distribution to several connected spinning lines, supervise construction and commissioning of the plant, and impart training to operating personnel.

The main contractor for the complex is a consortium of Hyundai Engineering Company Limited (Seoul, South Korea), which is a subsidiary of Hyundai Engineering and Construction Company (SEO:000720) (Seoul, South Korea); LG International Corporation (SEO:001120) (Seoul, South Korea); and Petrovietnam Construction JSC (HST:PVX) (Hanoi, Vietnam).

Construction of the $324 million plant is expected to begin in July next year on a 15-hectare site in the Dinh Vu industrial zone in Hai Phong City in Vietnam. The plant is scheduled to begin producing 500 tons per day of polyester fibers and filaments in July 2011. Total production will be about 180,000 tons per year. This will be the first project in Vietnam to produce polyester fiber from purified terephthalic acid (TPA) and mono ethylene glycol (MEG) using advanced technology. Liquid MEG will be transported through a pipeline directly from the Dinh Vu industrial zone to the plant.

The Vietnamese government is supporting the investment in the plant, and the domestic textile industry views the proposed plant as an important step toward more autonomy in this sector. Production from the plant will be able to supply up to 40% of the local demand for textile polyester.

Development of the 2-Reactor technology began in 1995. The technology's abilities have been proven in several commercial plants producing polyethylene terephthalate (PET) polymer from TPA and MEG. In this process, TPA is esterified with MEG at a temperature between 250 degrees Celsius (482 degrees Fahrenheit) and 270 degrees Celsius (518 degrees Fahrenheit) under increased pressures to produce a pre-polymer and water, the latter being removed by distillation.

The second phase, which is the polycondensation reaction, is performed at a higher temperature between 280 degrees Celsius (536 degrees Fahrenheit) and 290 degrees Celsius (554 degrees Fahrenheit) and reduced pressure, during which the pre-polymer is converted to a high molecular polymer. This compound is then suitable for transfer to the technical yarn direct spinning machines.

Inventa-Fischer was responsible for the development of the first industrial PET plant using PTA and has longstanding experience in the PET process. The company has supplied over 150 PET plants worldwide.

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