UOP, Total in Technology Pact

UOP and Total Petrochemicals have agreed to a joint development program aimed at integrating methanol-to-olefin and olefin-cracking technologies. To this end, Total will open a pilot plant in Feluy, Belgium, in 2007 that incorporates both. The UOP/Hydro methanol-to-olefins process converts methanol derived from natural gas into ethylene, propylene, and some heavier olefins. The Total/UOP cracking process turns the heavier olefins into propylene and ethylene. "We believe that gas-to-olefins will play an important role in the future production of petrochemicals in a high-price oil world," says Jean-Bernard Lartigue, president of Total Petrochemicals.