Cracking collaboration

and

, a subsidiary of Honeywell, have signed agreements for a joint development program that will demonstrate the integration of the Total Petrochemicals/UOP Olefin Cracking process with the UOP/HYDRO MTO process.

The program will include the construction of a full demonstration plant by Total Petrochemicals at its petrochemicals complex at Feluy, Belgium. The integrated MTO-Olefin Cracking process demonstration plant will feed an existing large-scale polymerisation pilot plant.

The basic engineering for the demonstration plant is complete and detailed Engineering, Procurement and Construction activities are scheduled to begin before the end of this year.

The integrated units are expected to come on stream in 2007. The program is anticipated to allow further optimisation of the combined processes that Total Petrochemicals intends to apply to a commercial plant.

The MTO process converts methanol, obtained in particular from natural gas, to ethylene and propylene along with some heavier olefins.

These heavier olefins can then be converted predominantly to propylene and some associated ethylene in the Olefin Cracking process.

Together, Total Petrochemicals and UOP believe they will demonstrate a very significant increase in the production of light olefins, specifically propylene, by the integration of these two processes.