th Asia - Formox 2007.pdf · 2015. 4. 23. · China’s huge MeOH consumption hasn’t had a...

THE FORMALDEHYDE NEWSLETTER FROM PERSTORP FORMOX spring/summer 2007

in this issue...

SPECIAL FEATURES • Formaldehyde Asia 2007 2-5• 100 years of formaldehyde

in Perstorp 10-12• Have plant, will travel 13-15

PROJECT NEWS • Lucite’s new route to MMA 7• Projects & start-ups 15

PROCESS & CATALYST NEWS • Teamwork 9• New labels 9

SAFETY & ENVIRONMENT • FormCare update 6• Safe handling of HTF 8

FACES & PLACES • New people 16• Training 15-16

OTHER NEWS • MeOH update 6• Seminar news 16

100 and counting...

Mikael EkbladGeneral ManagerPerstorp Formox

In the last issue of informally speakingwe had a photo of the presentation ofa plate commemorating the 100th

Perstorp Formox plant sold – a plantthat has now, by the way, beensuccessfully started.

This time there’s another 100 in ourbusiness. In 1907, the company nowknown as Perstorp – our parent com-pany – began producing formaldehyde.For the unique story of a century offormaldehyde production, we turnedto someone very many of our clientswill remember well: Max Henning –for decades (until his retirement) ourillustrious salesman, who also played abig role in introducing Perstorp Formoxon the Chinese market.

In both cases (the 100th plant and the100 years), we’re talking about 100 andcounting! Both 100s are very muchabout ongoing work-in-progress, be-cause both stories are also about long-term commitment – to our customersand to the further development ofevery aspect of the technology.

Speaking of commitment, this issuealso features an interview with two ofthe members of our project team. It’spartly to give formaldehyde producersa rough idea of what happens whenyou sign up for a Perstorp Formoxplant, but also to provide some insightinto the ups and downs of traveling allover the world, meeting new people,new cultures, new everything. It takesa lot of know-how – and an open mind– to make it work really well.

Finally, we are pleased to note that inspite of all the heat HCHO has taken,largely undeservedly, one of our cus-tomers has chosen HCHO as the bestand safest route to their end products –thus also improving HCHO’s growthprospects in the chemical sector.

HCHOAsia2007

A century of formaldehyde– special feature with Max Henning

SPECIAL FEATURE FORMALDEHYDE ASIA 2007

2 informally speaking – spring/summer 2007

Great daysin BangkokThis year’s Formaldehyde Conference washeld on 6-7 February in Bangkok, theexciting capital of Thailand, a city of greatcontrasts – from the sublimely peaceful tothe totally chaotic, from wealth to pover-ty, from ancient to modern, from sidewalkmerchants to big businesses and flourish-ing formaldehyde producers….

The following report is a rough sum-mary of the presentations. For a full ver-sion of the seminars we host – like all ofthe networking, individual discussionsand social contacts – you simply have tobe there. Don’t miss the next one!

DAY ONEIn customary fashion, the GeneralManager of Perstorp Formox, MikaelEkblad, opened the conference with

a welcome to allparticipants, a pre-sentation of theconference agendaand an update onthe situation at thePerstorp Group ingeneral and Pers-torp Formox in par-ticular. “Since the

last Asian conference, in Singapore,we’ve sold 15 new formaldehydeplants, representing 1.8 MMTPA. Newcapacity in South East Asia has alsobeen added through the CAP loadingplan and a number of pressurizationprojects.”

Mikael also noted that all variablecosts for formaldehyde producers had

also gone up since2004, averaging 100%for MeOH, 25% forpower per kWh, butonly 10% for catalyst,despite a five-fold in-crease in Mo prices.“As a result,” saysMikael, “it’s more important than everto produce with good yield and tolook at the economical lifetime of thecatalyst, not the technical lifetime!”

Mo prices peaked in May 2005, thendropped only 35% – much less thanexpected. And it looks difficult to pre-dict how big and how great futurefluctuations will be. “But it certainlyhelps keep catalyst prices under con-trol if spent catalyst is returned to uspromptly and in reasonably goodcondition. That way, we don’t have topurchase so much fresh molybde-num, which means we’re less affectedby fluctuations in metal prices.”

“The whole truth…”“…and nothing but the truth” was thetitle of the next presentation, by theillustrious Dato’ Siew Ka Wei. He isthe head of Perusahaan KimiaGemilang Sdn.Bhd., mercifully knownas PKG, a company that suppliesmuch of South East Asia withmethanol – as a trader, not a producer,“so you can’t blame us for the priceincreases!” PKG buys off-take frommany producers (600,000 MT lastyear), which, according to Dato’ Siew,is why PKG has never had to declareforce majeure.

Dato’ Siew shared the podium withMuhtar Hashim of Anton KimiaSdn.Bhd., who predicted that meth-

anol “capacities will more than satisfythe forecasted consumption figures”for South East Asia. Muhtar felt thatthe region can expect to see somerationalization of production, butreported that a “staggering” amount ofnew capacity has been announced,likely to result in an over-supply sce-nario. “But China will be a buffer –their demand is huge, even if con-struction is expected to peak thisyear.”

Dato’ Siew reminded the partici-pants that MeOH is purely a com-modity, with supply-demand as thesole determining factor. “How can wepredict the price of methanol? It’simpossible to predict!” He pointed outthat China is producing MeOH “like

What better way to start a conference than with an informal reception the evening before? Formaldehyde Asia 2007 was one

Mikael

Dato’ Siew

Muhtar

3informally speaking – spring/summer 2007


there’s no tomorrow” from its ownvast coal reserves, which is whyChina’s huge MeOH consumptionhasn’t had a greater impact on globaldemand and prices.

“For China, the lack of receivingfacilities is a limiting factor on imports– and a big advantage for local pro-duction.” The price trend is down-wards, according to Dato’ Siew, “butwill not drop to levels like $200 unless(or until) major new capacity is onstream.”

In closing, Dato’ Siew claimed thatMethanex’s hold on the market ismuch reduced. “It’s a more level play-ing field now – a different ball game,with Saudi, Petronas and China hav-ing all become big players.”

FormaldehydeupdateBob Crichtonwas next, witha further updatefrom his pre-sentation at For-maldehyde Europe 2006 in Helsing-borg (see informally speaking, spring/summer 2006 issue). Bob started with arundown of the world’s major HCHOproducers, pointing out that Krono-span has gone from its first plant(supplied by Perstorp Formox) in1983 to become the world’s 4th lead-ing producer.

Bob reported that capacity and pro-duction were running ahead of fore-casts. He attributed the unexpectedincreases to Asia – now heading theworld capacity league for the firsttime. “The error factor can besummed up in one word: China,” saysBob.The worldwide capacity utilization iscurrently 75%, according to Bob, “nor-mally a trigger for building newcapacity, and so it is. In fact, I think itwould be fair to say that PerstorpFormox is busier than at any time init’s history!” Bob noted that there’s a

greater wood consumption than ever,and a greater share of panels thanever – in China largely driven bydomestic demand. World wood usageaverages 100m3 per thousand of pop-ulation, but the share of panels isincreasing. Bob also pointed out thatin chemical consumption of HCHO,polyacetal (POM) has reclaimed thetop spot.

Overall, Bob sees continued growthfor formaldehyde, possibly rising to43 MMTPA by 2015. However, Bobfeels that 2007 will be fairly flat –“unless and until North Americandemand picks up. And we can expectto see more peaks and troughs alongthe way to 2015.”

Regulatory updateThe next speaker was Paul Walter,

who brought us up to speed on regu-latory issues, including info about therevised MSDS forcatalysts, as well aswhat’s new on thereclassification front(see also FormaCareupdate, page 7).“The MSDS has beenrevised as a result ofimproved accuracyof testing and measurements, notbecause the catalyst itself has beenchanged,” says Paul. “Since the cata-lyst contains molybdenum trioxide,we recommend reviewing all of yourhandling procedures to prevent expo-sure to dust, particularly during theunloading of catalyst – and to fulfillapplicable regulations. If you requiredocuments, e.g. on our permits torecover catalyst, please contact us andwe will do our best to assist you.”

Continuous progressMikael Ekblad returned to the podi-um to review the technical develop-ments since the previous Formal-dehyde Asia conference in 2004, aswell as a look at ongoing develop-

ment work, reported regularly ininformally speaking. One such pro-ject, presented by our steam turbineexpert, Andreas Magnusson, con-cerns trials withsteam turbines andturbo-chargers toharness the excesssteam from HCHOproduction for gen-erating electricity,thus offering con-siderable potentialfor cutting powercosts. “We have found several ways toreduce energy consumption informaldehyde plants,” say Andreas,“but what solution will best suit yoursite is probably not the same as foryour neighbor. During the spring wewill continue to work with principlesolutions for our standard plants, withfocus on direct-driven fans and theturbo-charger. Please keep a watchfuleye on the pressure drops in yourplant!”

CAP recappedPaul Walter returned with the lateston CAP (catalyst activity profile), the“magic” loading plans that allowincreased MeOHinlet and a 20%increase in plantproduction, whileactually decreas-ing power con-sumption – “high-er capacity andlower costs.” Paulfirst explained whatcould be donewith CAP, thenErik Timanderexplained how itworks in differentplants. “There aresome differencesin operating withCAP compared towithout, and it’s

of the best-attended seminars ever hosted by Perstorp Formox. And of course everyone needs a coffee break!

Bob

Paul

Andreas

Erik offered this proofthat skiing without acap is possible, buthe also pointed outthat operating with a“CAP” is likely to giveHCHO producers alot of benefits!



important to understand them clearly –because of both safety and operatingeconomy.”

If you have a plant design that issuitable for CAP (your PerstorpFormox representative can help youanswer that question), the correct pro-cess input is essential for designingthe optimum loading profile, as ishaving the correct amount of HTF inthe system (neither too much nor toolittle). “But that’s not enough either,”says Erik. “In order to prevent exces-sive temperatures, you have to makesure the heat transfer coefficient ismaintained.” Reductions in the heattransfer coefficient can be caused byrestrictions in oil circulation, depositsin tubes or coking of the oil. “A wirebrush is often enough to get cleantubes. If not, try water-blasting – andsee that you deal with your wastewa-ter properly.”

It’s all aboutflexibilityThe flexibility ofPerstorp Formoxplants is evi-denced by thefact that olderplants can besuccessfully up-graded to great-ly increase the

nominal capacity – without any majornew investment costs. But there’s alsoflexibility in the way you can run yourplant. Some producers want to runtheir plants flat out, others may wantto run at less than full capacity.Birgitta Marke showed how PerstorpFormox plants are designed to enableformaldehyde producers to do either– or both – with the greatest possibleeconomy. “To a certain extent, CAPhas turned everything upside-down.Yesterday’s operating laws no longerapply. If you want to run your plantoptimally at any speed, you need tore-educate yourself.

“The CAP loading plan can operatewithin a wide range, but to optimizeperformance, the loading plan shouldalways be designed for your normaloperating parameters. So if you onlyintend to operate at 8 vol% methanol,let us know – and don’t ask for aloading plan for 10%!”

Where are we now?Bob Crichton asked this rhetoricalquestion before outlining what plantsand capacities Perstorp Formox offerstoday – and what huge gains in pro-ductivity have been achieved over theyears, particularly since 1990. “In 2007we shall offer only three reactor sizes(or five, if you count the two half-sizes [see table])”, says Bob. “The

ability to operate flexibly is the keyfeature. The operating pressure, airrate and methanol inlet concentrationcan all be varied to match productionrequirements at any moment in time.”

Higher intensity operation is nowalso a reality. “The downside is high-er catalyst consumption, which hasbeen somewhat controversial,” admitsBob. “Though clients are more thanhappy to see plants work harder,there are sometimes complaints aboutshorter runs. So in the new designs,we’ve made longer tubes – andlonger-life catalysts are under develop-ment.”

Bob sums up the Perstorp Formoxapproach thus: “We build plants foran optimistic future – plants that giveyou the maximum flexibility to growwith your success and to operate overa wide range.”

DAY TWOFor the second day of FormaldehydeAsia 2007, the assembly split intogroups for licensees and non-licensees. The latter received furthergeneral information from OlleJohnsson about Perstorp Formox

plants, catalysts and technical service,while the licensees went into greaterdepth on information pertaining totheir plants.

The presentations for the licenseegroup started with a film presented byHua Qiufa of Huayan PetrochemicalMachinery aboutthe supply of entry-level oxide plantsbuilt in China.Then came a lookat how to achievegood control ofyour boiler feed-water (BFW) sys-tem as related byErik Timander. Next was informa-tion from Ong Eng Meng and Zhang

Breaks are for networking! After a long day’s work, time for an outing on the river. The river in Bangkok offers many amazing sights.

Birgitta

Hua

Ong

Zhang

MTPD 37%Size Rated capacity Peak MinimumFS1 160 190 70FS2.5 300 360 125FS3 360 425 150FT2.5 600 715 250FT3 720 850 300

Olle getting ready to go



Xue Ping (both from Emerson) ondigital automation and the RS3 life-cycle status. Emerson has a supportcommitmentfor RS3 for upto 10 years,but the clockhas been tick-ing since Octo-ber 2003, “soit’s time tostart planningthe replace-ment of yourRS3.”

Next came a presentation byIbrahim M. Al-Homoud of SAFCO

in Saudi Arabia. SAFCO has theworld’s largest ammonia-urea produc-tion facility for fertilizer, using aformaldehyde plant supplied andcommissioned by Perstorp Formox inApril 2006. He related a problem withbrownish vaporizer blowdown con-densate that could be resolved byoptimizing the start-up procedure. “Byfeeding urea and caustic almost simul-taneously with the MeOH, we got anon-spec product within 3-5 hours,compared to 3-4 days before.”

Finally, Birgitta Marke provided asafety update covering proper HTFlevels, special concerns related topressurized operation and dealing

with eddy currents (or was it EddyMurphy? Or Eddy Lee?!).

As always, these seminars are somuch more than the sum (or summa-ry) of the presentations. The opportu-nities for meeting and exchanginginformation with other formaldehydeproducers (and a few suppliers) arevery important, as is the chance tohave individual discussions and sim-ply get to know one another better. Ina word: worthwhile!

+ 11/2 days of trainingFormaldehyde Asia 2007 was immediatelyfollowed by a 1 1/2-day refresher trainingcourse. Many of the participants at theseminar took the opportunity to attend.

The Royal Orchid Sheraton Hotel by night. The riverboat tour was followed by a lovely outdoor dinner. And the conference ended with another finemeal – to go with all the food for thought!

Ibrahim

The well-attended refreshertraining course was headed byAndreas Magnusson and EddyLee (above). Eddy also bore themain burden of the practicalarrangements for FormaldehydeAsia 2007.


FormaCare is continuing its active efforts to assure thatEuropean and other decision-makers and legislators are pro-vided with balanced and science-based information anddocumentation relating to formaldehyde. FormaCare(www.formacare.org), like its North American counterpart FCI(www.formaldehyde.org), offers considerable and regularlyupdated information on its homepage. Readers of informallyspeaking will find some brief excerpts here, reprinted withthe permission of FormaCare.

International Formaldehyde Science Conference 2007This event should be of considerable interest to FormaCaremembers, which includes most of Europe’s formaldehyde pro-ducers (and for whom there is no admission fee). The confer-ence, 20-21 September in Barcelona, is being held to “gatherand discuss all newly available scientific research and studyresults on formaldehyde from the various fields of research.”FormaCare describes it thus:“The Conference aims to present and discuss two key aspectsof research into formaldehyde, which are of equal scientificrelevance. The programme is therefore divided into one sec-tion that focuses on the epidemiology and one that exploresthe toxicology of formaldehyde. Each session starts with sev-eral expert lectures and presentations, to be followed by anexpert panel discussion to summarise and complete the ses-sion. The lectures will be given by scientists who have recent-ly concluded or who are currently working on new researchinto formaldehyde on both sides of the Atlantic. Furthermore,there will be a brief session on Occupational Exposure Limits.

“The International Formaldehyde Science Conference willhelp to provide a discussion on the issue of formaldehydebetween scientists, regulators and those who will be affectedby the decision. It is therefore an important step on the way toachieve a knowledge-based decision on the reclassification offormaldehyde. Importantly, all of the relevant players fromnational competent authorities will be invited to join the dis-

cussion since it will be them to decide on a scientific recom-mendation for a classification at EU-level.”

Other newsThe FormaCare homepage also reports some news on thereclassification process. “The interesting news is that the firstmeeting of the Technical Committee on Classification &Labelling, originally planned for March, was cancelled alto-gether. Formaldehyde has therefore not been discussed by theTCC&L since November 2005. This, too, is a success of ouroverall advocacy and communication strategy. Even so, thereis no reason to slow down our activities or even scale downour efforts. On the contrary: with the Science Conference weaim to take the discussion up to a new level substantiating ourargument with scientifically sound evidence.

“Science is also key in our plan to intensify the dialoguewith the IARC. The institute has finally published the longoverdue monograph on the evaluation of formaldehyde andis now planning a scientific update on a number of their sub-stance evaluations, including formaldehyde, starting inOctober. It is our clear objective to convince the scientists atIARC to take all stakeholder opinions into account and toinclude all new scientific data from our recent research onformaldehyde in their update.”

FormaCare will be submitting a paper to SCOEL (theScientific Committee on Occupational Exposure Limits) clear-ly stating that the preferred-value approach “is not based onscientific considerations. In the specific case of formaldehydeindustry and downstream users, a 33 percent reduction of theOEL from 0.3 to a ‘preferred value’ of 0.2 ppm cannot beachieved. Therefore, FormaCare strongly proposes to refrainfrom the ‘preferred value approach’.”

MeOH updateThe following article was kindly contri-buted by JP Lotzkar of Methanex.

“During the second half of 2006, there wasa global shortage of methanol, caused byseveral significant unplanned industry out-ages. The major consequence of the short-age was a rapid escalation in the price of methanol. TheMethanex Non-Discounted Methanol Price (MNDRP) in Q4,2006 averaged $599/MT, while the Q1, 2007 MNDRP averaged$554/MT. Methanol prices were abnormally high and unsus-tainable, and subsequently, there have been a number ofchanges that had the effect of increasing supply and reducingdemand, which would be expected to lead to a more bal-anced environment. This is what happened during Q1, whichhas led to a return to pricing levels that prevailed before themethanol industry shortage.

“The methanol market changed in Q1, as high methanolprices over the last two quarters encouraged some high-costincremental supply and encouraged an increase in exports ofmethanol from China. China went from being a net importerof 300,000 MT of methanol in Q3, 2006 to becoming a netexporter of more than 200,000 MT in Q1, 2007. This wasalmost solely the result of price differentials between theChinese domestic market and export markets. There was a

huge incentive to export that we believe only exists in a high-priced environment. High prices also suppressed some de-mand, particularly in fuels applications. More supply and lessdemand are what led to a rebalancing of the global methanolmarket.

“It was our observation of these changes that led us toreduce prices back to a level where we felt supply anddemand were likely to be in better balance. Over the last fewmonths we have seen the announced shutdown of about 1.3million MT of methanol supply which is no longer economicalat reduced prices, and we have seen announcements ofincreased demand for methanol in energy applications likeMTBE and biodiesel, that are the result of lower prices. Thelower prices have reduced supply and increased demand.And while it is normal that there will be some volatility in pric-ing, we would expect prices to remain at a high level relativeto historical norms.

“Contract pricing in all regions in May is about $330/MT, andwe would expect stability in contract pricing for the balanceof the quarter. Several significant planned and unplannedindustry outages have contributed to low industry operatingrates and have tightened the market during Q2. Current spotavailabilities are minimal and spot prices have been increasingrecently. Additional unplanned outages would be expected tofurther tighten supply availability.”

Update from FormaCare

SAFETY & ENVIRONMENT

JP Lotzkar

Did you know……that formaldehyde can be the saferpath to making many of our favoriteproducts?! See next page.


PROJECT NEWS

Lucite International is a global leaderin the design, development and ma-nufacture of acrylic-based products,particularly those based on PMMA(polymethyl methacrylate), betterknown by their brand names Lucite®and Perspex®.

Lucite has a 25% market share inMMA (methyl methacrylate), which isthe foundation for a wide variety ofproducts from mobile phone screens,through solid surfaces for kitchensand bathrooms to coatings for use inboth home and industrial environ-ments. MMA polymerizes easily toform resins and polymers with highperformance characteristics, e.g. great optical clarity,strength and durability – even in aggressive weather orcorrosive environments. MMA can also be co-polymerizedwith other monomers for use in paints, coatings andadhesives.

MMA is actually the monomer that is the intermediatewhich is subsequently processed, via polymerization, byproducers of PMMA, polymethyl methacrylate. SinceLucite as a company is the result of the combination ofthe former MMA divisions of ICI (via Ineos) and Du Pont,Lucite’s PMMA goes under two widely known commer-cial brands, “Perspex” (originally from ICI) and “Lucite”(originally from Du Pont).

The conventional route to MMA begins with hydrogencyanide and involves the use of significant quantities ofconcentrated sulphuric acid. Owing partly to theextremely toxic and corrosive nature of these chemicals,production and handling costs are very high.Consequently, Lucite launched a development programto explore another path using completely different feed-stocks including formaldehyde. Lucite’s new route,

termed Alpha Technology, has undergone successfulpiloting at their Research and Development facilities atWilton in North East England. Lucite claims that thistechnology has significant advantages over existingroutes including attractive savings inmanufacturing cost.

The first step in the implementa-tion of Lucite’s Alpha Technologywill be at the company’s facility inSingapore, more specifically onJurong Island. Lucite, the globalleader in its field, is critically dependent on the integrityof its feedstock stream (formaldehyde). In rolling out acutting-edge technology for the first time on an industri-al scale, Lucite chose Perstorp Formox to supply theformaldehyde technology and plant, which will have anameplate capacity of 360 MTPD 37% formaldehyde(peak 425 MTPD).

Electrical power distribution and control philosophywill be foundation fieldbus – the first-ever HCHO plantto be integrated within this environment.

Lucite goes for new routeto MMA

The site of Lucite’s new Alphatechnology project – to include aplant from Perstorp Formox. Below: From a space-age aquari-um to fashion-house runways andall the way to the golf course, afew of the Lucite’s many products.

The photos on this page are courtesy of Lucite International.

HTF – heat transfer fluid – is a vital ingredient in the opera-tion of our formaldehyde plants. It enables efficient heattransfer, but also requires certain safety and environmentalconsiderations. Here’s a brief summary of what you shouldbear in mind.

What it isThe HTF used in our process is a kind of oil. The mostcommonly used HTF oil is a eutectic mixture of two verystable organic compounds, biphenyl and diphenyl oxide.These compounds have practically the same vapor pres-sure, so the mixture can be handled as if it were a singlecompound.

The normal application range for HTF oil is from 15°C to400°C, and its pressure range is from atmospheric to 10.6bar. In the vapor phase it may be used from 257°C to400°C. The maximum recommended film temperature is425°C.

The right tempImproper use of HTF oil can cause thermal degradation, sowe recommend taking samples from your oil and sendingthem to your supplier to check for thermal degradation orcontamination about once a year. In other words, it helpsto have good relations with your HTF oil supplier.

HTF oil has a freezing point of 12°C and it is thereforeimportant to keep the temperature above this level to pre-vent hardening in pipes and equipment, which would thenhave to be thawed before reuse.

For storing the HTF oil, the recommended temperature inthe storage tank is 20-40°C. Another matter of the greatestimportance is to not exceed the flashpoint (113°C), whichis the lowest temperature when any spark or open flamecan cause ignition of the vapor phase over the liquid phase.

Safety firstAlways handle HTF with caution! Prolonged or frequentlyrepeated contact with the fluid, e.g. in connection withmaintenance work, should be done with proper protectiveclothing. The recommended equipment is a face shield,safety glasses, gloves, boots and body suit, depending onthe risk of exposure during the operation in question. Andif the maintenance or other work involves exposure to highconcentrations of fumes, a gas mask should also be worn.

The HTF fluid has a striking odor that becomes quite dis-agreeable even at very low concentrations. Inhalation of astrong concentration of the vapors may cause headacheand nausea, and can also be irritating to the eyes and nosedue to the smell. The good side is that if you have a leak-age of HTF in your plant, the odor can serve as a warningand make it easier to discover problem. Another goodthing is that despite the foul smell, HTF oil has only a loworder of inhalation toxicity and studies show no significanteffects from long-term exposure.

But eye contact with HTF oil – whether in vapor or fluidform – can be very painful, even though it reportedly doesnot damage the cornea. Upon eye contact, wash the eyesunder running water for at least five minutes, then visit aphysician to make sure that no irritation remains. If yoususpect that the oil might be contaminated with other sub-stances, you might require other treatment.

Occasional skin contact with HTF oil is not a problem

(unless it’s hot!), but repeated contact can cause skin irrita-tion. So be certain to wash with soap and water, at once ifpossible.

Damage controlPerstorp Formox strongly recommends that everyformaldehyde plant should have containment (e.g.bunds/dikes) to prevent any oil spills or leaks from pollut-ing the surroundings. Pay close attention to the plant draineach time surface water is released from the plant to thedrain system, to make sure that no HTF is present. SinceHTF is heavier than water, with very low water solubility(14 ppm), the HTF will be found as a ”lump” in the bottomof the drain.

We also recommend a second bunding line, inside theplant bund, around the HTF tank. This bund should beequipped either with a valve to the plant’s surface-waterdrain or to a sump where spillage and surface water canbe pumped out.

In case of leakage, it is crucial to keep the spilled oilinside the plant’s entrainment dike. Although HTF oil haslow inhalation toxicity, as mentioned above, it is highlytoxic to aquatic organisms. In fact, levels below 1 mg/L canprove fatal to the most sensitive species. Consequently, allcontamination – of soil, surface water or ground water –must be prevented.

Any leakage within the bunding should be cleaned upand removed – preferably with some form of oil-absorbentmaterial – and then sent for destruction in accordance withlocal regulations and environmentally responsible operations.


Safe handling of HTF

SAFETY & ENVIRONMENT

Your callEach site is different – the layout, the drainage system, thedemands of the authorities etc. The arrangements youmake at your site to assure that you are prepared for worst-case leakage are, of course up to you. As suppliers of safeformaldehyde plants, we seek to alert our customers topotential hazards and encourage our customers to takesteps to prevent them. After all, the prevention of accidentsat chemical plants is clearly in the interest of everyone inthe world!

If you have an extra bund around the HTF tank, with a capacity equal toor greater than the volume of the HTF tank, then in a worst-case sce-nario, where all HTF leaks out, you will not risk getting HTF into theplant’s surface-water drain. In other words, see that volume y is equal toor greater than volume x!

HTF volume = x

BundedArea forHTF only

Volume = y


As you will have seen elsewhere in this issue, this year’sseminar was in South East Asia. It seemed a long time sincethe last Formaldehyde Asia Seminar in 2004, and evenlonger since the event was last held in Thailand (1998). Itwas great to be back in the region and to see so many oldfriends.

South East Asia is special in that it saw one of the firstplants ever licensed by Perstorp Formox (to Norsechem in1972) as well as the first sale (again to Norsechem, this timein 1992) of the new range of plants designed and suppliedby Perstorp Formox.

Clients in the region were very quick to see the benefitsof the new concept, so we sold a lot of plants in quick suc-cession. And the remarkable thing is that all these plants,as well as most of the older plants, are still operating – andoperating well. What is even more remarkable is thatmany of the plants sold in this area all those years ago cannow produce up to 50% more. Indeed, the reactor sizeused in the 1992 sale referenced above is still in use today– rated at 160 MTPD but with a peak capacity of 190 MTPD– almost double the rated capacity of the original 1992design.

So why are these plants now capable of so much more?You have read in informally speaking about pressuriza-tion, higher methanol inlets and CAP, but in truth, thesedevelopments are only part of the story. To take a simpleexample, if you were simply to increase the inlet on one ofthe older plants you would not get the expected result,because the catalyst loading plan (CAP) has to be matchedto the inlet. In other words, the loading plan is the key toovercoming the limitations of the old design.

This is where another key ingredient in the PerstorpFormox formula enters the picture: technical support. Fulltechnical support requires a full view of the big picture –catalyst, process and plant – so that changes and improve-ments can be successfully implemented and adapted to theneeds of each particular client.

Pressurization is another example; simply adding a fresh

air blower and increasing the pressure is not sufficient. Aswith high inlet, the capability of each component in thedesign needs to be assessed and the correct CAP selected.The driving force is a long-term commitment to each client– even to catalyst customers using their own or anotheroxide process. It’s about helping each customer to get themost out of each plant or load, year after year, decade afterdecade.

But knowledge of catalyst and process parameters byitself is not enough either. This fact was brought home tome in Bangkok, at Formaldehyde Asia 2007. Yet anotherfactor is needed – one that emerges from the interaction ofthe first three: teamwork. Increased productivity was madepossible – in South East Asia and around the world – byclose cooperation among the different disciplines withinPerstorp Formox and by building long and strong teamrelationships with clients. It is these long-term client rela-tionships that led to the teamwork so evident in Bangkok.Teamwork has kept plants running profitably for more than20 years. Teamwork has given the upgrades that deliveredthe productivity gains. And the good news from theBangkok seminar was that we can expect the same team-work to deliver even more productivity gains in the not-too-distant future.

TeamworkWORKS! By Bob Crichton

PROCESS & CATALYST NEWS

New drum labelsTo facilitate reloading a bit by making it easier toquickly identify which drums contain what,Perstorp Formox is introducing a color codingsystem as follows:

• BLACK – CATALYST ONLY• RED – INERTS ONLY• BLUE – MIXED• GREEN – ECS CATALYST (PPt-47)

Now, as long as you’re not color-blind….


SPECIAL FEATURE A CENTURY OF FORMALDEHYDE

Formaldehyde was accidentally discovered somewhere be-tween 1859 and 1867 by Alexander Mikhailovich Butlerov,a Russian chemist who was actually trying to producemethylene glycol by reacting methylene iodide and silvernitrate. In 1868, the German chemist August Wilhelm vonHoffmann managed to produce HCHO by leading a mixtureof methanol vapor and air through a test tube containing aglowing platinum wire. He also managed to identify the sub-stance as the previously missing aldehyde with just one car-bon atom. His method would be the startingpoint for all subsequent large-scale production.And 100 years ago – in 1907 – began the pro-duction of HCHO in the small village of Perstorp,in southern Sweden.

How did Perstorp get involved?The company now known as Perstorp wasfounded in 1881, initially with dry distillation ofbeech wood (from the surrounding forest) forthe iron industry and carbon black. From thestack gases it was also possible to extract aceticacid, acetone and wood alcohol – usuallyreferred to as methanol.

In 1902, Perstorp began using the heavier tarsto make creosote, used for treating typhus and

TB, and by the Japanese army forgastrointestinal disorders duringtheir war with Russia in 1904-05.During that same war, largeamounts of formalin were being used as a disinfectant, soPerstorp’s founder, Wilhelm Wendt, decided to start mak-ing the stuff. Dr Julius Schwyzer was hired from Germanyin 1905 to build and run the plant.

The first processThat first plant had two reactors, each contain-ing four rather large metal tubes into whichwere placed copper rods wound with copperwire. These devices were called “contacts”.Today we’d call them catalysts. Not much elseis known about the other equipment, exceptthat it was largely made of copper by a cleverlocal coppersmith.

The methanol-air mixture was ignited andburned as an open flame until the copper contactsstarted glowing, whereupon the flames wereextinguished by quickly cutting off the flow of gas.Shortly thereafter, a flow of gas was resumed andthe copper contacts were kept glowing by theheat of the exothermic reaction. (The “no smok-ing” signs at today’s plants come to mind…!)

The formaldehyde was absorbed in water and col-lected in a large copper vessel. Unreacted methanolwas distilled out in batches for reuse. The losses wereconsiderable, and a couple of years later, a continu-ous distillation process was installed.

Work was split into two 12-hour shifts, six days aweek. This allowed a production volume of 450kg/day, i.e. about 150 tons a year. It’s reported that aworker would sometimes work a 24-hour shift so thata co-worker could have a day off.

A notation from the Perstorp ledger in 1907 liststhe sale of a small quantity of formalin to a nearbyleather factory. And thus begins Perstorp’s 100-yearhistory of formaldehyde production. The copper pro-cess lived on for 15 years.

The next stepIn 1909, Leo Baekeland, a Belgian chemist who hademigrated to the US, invented the first true plastic, athermoset that came to be known as Bakelite. In1917, Innanendra Das Gupta, a student from Indiawho had just completed his doctorate in chemistry inBerlin and was hired to develop pharmaceuticals inPerstorp, discovered that he could make a similarthermoset by reacting creosote with formalin, plussome fillers. Perstorp was entering the plastic business– and with it grew the demand for formalin.

To meet the need, a completely new HCHO plantwas built in 1921, under the leadership of an engineernamed Karl Cederqvist. The plant had many small,parallel-connected reactors (contacts) with a catalystof silver mesh. (Silver granules were also used.) The

100 years of formaldehydeby Max Henning

A photo from the early daysof Perstorp, a budding chemical industry in the middle of a Swedish beechwood forest.

Inset: Wilhelm Wendt, thefounder of the company.

A photo from the early daysof Perstorp, a budding chemical industry in the middle of a Swedish beechwood forest.

Inset: Wilhelm Wendt, thefounder of the company.

Mr Butlerov in bronze



capacity was 3.5-4 TPD, about 1200 TPA, i.e. nearly 10times bigger than its predecessor.

A second plant was built in 1941, doubling the numberof reactors, and by 1946, Perstorp was producing some6000 TPA. However, the catalyst was highly sensitive toimpurities, and since the process uses a surplus ofmethanol, it works above the explosion limit formethanol/air. This process also contains relatively highquantities of methanol, so an extra distillation step isrequired. And it probably took more than 500 kg ofmethanol to make one MT of HCHO. Still, it was the bestavailable technology of its time, and Perstorp used thisprocess for nearly 30 years.

Time for the oxide processWhen Perstorp began producing polyols in the 50s, pri-marily Penta and TMP, the demand for formalin as a rawmaterial really took off, and the quest for a new, improvedprocess was on.

Reichhold Chemicals, a US company, had a lot in com-mon with Perstorp. Both were family-owned, both hadbegun producing Penta, both were using the silver processto meet their formalin needs, and both were looking forsomething better.

But Reichhold had gone a step further, and in 1953 hadset up a pilot plant with a new type of catalyst: iron-molyb-denum oxide. The new process came to be calledFormox® – formaldehyde through oxidation.

Reichhold, via its VP Pat Ryan, was looking to improveits Penta process and an agreement was reached that it

would be mutually beneficial for the two companies toexchange technical information.

After a visit to the Reichhold site in Tacoma, WA,Perstorp’s Bengt Wetterling and Sten-Åke Bergstrand,working closely with others, particularly Reichhold’s BobWalker, developed the design for a full-scale Formox plant,to be built in Perstorp. The reactor was twice the size ofthe pilot reactor, but the absorber was dimensioned tohandle four such reactors.

The first start-up, with just the one reactor, took place inAugust 1959. It was so successful that it was decided tobuild the other three reactors without delay – and to shutdown the silver plant. Even then, the yield from theFormox plant was about 89% (the silver plant had onlybeen giving 84%).

By 1966, Perstorp’s ca-pacity was up to 70,000TPA.

Available to othersBy the 60s, Perstorp waslargely dependent onexport markets. Sinceexports often encount-ered difficulties in theform of tariffs, highfreight costs and otherrestrictions, the compa-ny began looking intothe idea of overseas pro-duction. And about licensing certain technologies to othercompanies. The focus was on formaldehyde, and PerstorpFormox was born.

Why formaldehyde? One of the main reasons is thatformaldehyde must normally produced near to where it isused, since HCHO is invariably stored as formalin, involvinghuge quantities of water and huge transport costs. It alsoneeds to be heated, so storing huge quantities is not feasible.

Perstorp Formox sold the first technology licenses tocompanies in Spain, the UK and Chile, and had also under-taken to supply the entire plant, built on the customer’ssite. Arne Andersson was sent out to oversee the first pro-jects – which took quite a bit longer than expected. Thiswas the 60s, and we didn’t have enough experience toknow what to expect….

It was at about this time – in the mid-70s – that I beganselling licenses for Perstorp Formox, something I continueddoing whole-heartedly until my retirement in 2003 (and abit beyond).

Ignitionhatch

Reactor

Absorber

Coppercollectingvessel

The principle of the first HCHOproduction in Perstorp in 1907.Copper vessels, copper catalyst.

MeOH sources

By the mid 1920s, wood alco-hol was being replaced by syn-thetic methanol – produced byreacting a mixture of CO andhydrogen. For many years coalwas used to produce the syn-thesis gas, but in the 1960ssteam reforming of natural gasbegan to take over. These pro-cesses greatly increased theavailability of methanol – amajor contributing factor inmaking formalin more easilyavailable on the market.

Perstorp’s old ”silver” process wasgood for its time – in the 1940s….


Increasing supportInitially, a license only entailed the “basic engineering”(drawings, flowsheets, instructions, training etc), and thecustomer was responsible for his own “detailed engineer-ing” (detail drawings, purchasing of all equipment andactual construction). Over the course of 22 years, some 40plants were supplied in this manner. Construction waseither done by the customer or by a contractor. More than15 of these plants were built by a Spanish firm, Adaibra,until they went out of business (for other reasons, mindyou!) in 1992, and we felt obliged to adopt a newapproach.

Perstorp Formox decided to take the big step to supplyeverything – all drawings, purchasing of all equipment, andsite supervision throughout the project. This went hand inhand with Perstorp Formox’s growing awareness of theimportance of full, long-term support for its customers. Atthe same time, we also began the work of standardizingplant sizes and designs in order to reduce the number ofengineering hours and achieve scale benefits on equip-ment purchases. Bob Crichton, a formaldehyde consultant

who had previously worked with Adaibra, played a bigrole in this.

The message must have gone home, because over thenext seven years, up to Perstorp Formox’s 40th anniversaryin 1999, another 40 plants were sold, i.e. as many in 7 yearsas during the first 22. And since 1999, there have beenanother 27. Plants built with Perstorp Formox technologynow account for over 7 million MTPA of capacity in 35countries, on all continents except Antarctica.

In closingHaving supplied more than 100 plants has obviously givenPerstorp Formox unique experience. Add to this the factthat we’ve developed and supplied catalysts to even more– including for other oxide processes [Formox is a trade-mark that now belongs to Perstorp]. And that we havedirect experience of the actual production aspects, withfive formalin plants “at home”. And finally, that we keep onbuilding close and supportive relations with our customersover decades. No wonder I liked my job so much. I won-der if they’ll take me back…?


It came to this: state-of-the-art oxideplants like this one that PerstorpFormox built to supply formaldehydeto DuPont in Holland.

Half full?!There’s the old story about theoptimist who sees a glass as halffull, while the pessimist sees it ashalf empty. Your friendly editor,who is known by some to tell astory or two, had heard about afurther improvement on the opti-mist and pessimist: the engineer,who sees the glass as being twicethe size it needs to be. When Irelated this story to Mark Jelpke of Lucite International atthe conference in Bangkok, he immediately took it yetanother step, and asked me “Do you know how thePerstorp Formox engineer sees it? The glass offers 100%capacity expansion opportunities!”

That’s Max, in the middle of things (and this picture), in his early days with Perstorp Max the pensioner would rather be tending hislovely garden nowadays. Or would he?


How’s your first contact with and/or visit to the customer?Erland: “I normally participate in the contract negotiationsand discussions of the technical appendices. If the scope ofsupply is complicated, we have a kick-off meeting to besure that we get off to a good start. In our meetings withthe customer’s team, there are many questions from bothsides, but the main thing is to build mutual trust.”Gert: “Sometimes our first contact is during the contract-signing phase, when we assist our sales people. Otherwise,we usually introduce ourselves via email. But the first meet-ing – normally at the customer’s site – is an exiting momentfor us and I believe also for our customer. There are newpeople to meet, different cultures for both sides, differentlanguages, finding out how to proceed in a way that meetsthe customer’s expectation etc. Both sides learn a little

about each other,which helps assure asmooth and effectiveproject.”

How do you make aschedule for the pro-ject?Erland: “We try toleave as little as possi-ble to chance, but stillremain flexible andadaptable to specialwishes and circum-stances. And we puttogether an experi-enced team of peopleresponsible for electri-cals, instruments, eachaspect of the project.”[See box with Erland’s16 steps]. Gert: “The generalschedule is normallydrafted when the con-tract is made. The

detailed schedule must take several points into considera-tion, e.g. contract conditions, engineering resources, equip-ment delivery times etc. When we have all this input, thenall parameters can be balanced into a detailed projectschedule. And of course we follow the steps and criteriastipulated in our quality system as well, to insure goodquality for our customers.”

What are the most common obstacles /problems you face?Erland: “If there are delayed deliveries, or if the customeris in the hands of a powerful contractor.”Gert: “All kinds of unforeseen problems can occur, such aslate delivery of equipment or communication problems,but our project management team tends to solve themquickly in the best interests of our customers.”

How often do you visit the customer and for how long?Erland/Gert: “During a project, we make 6-8 visits, includ-ing engineering meetings, installation and commissioning.The kick-off and engineering meetings are 2-5 days each.Our site representative makes about 4 visits of 2 weeks upto a month, depending on the site situation. And our com-missioning team spends 4-6 weeks at the site.”

Are there any difficulties in spending so much time away from home?Erland: “Professionally, no, because everyone knows theirtasks before they get there. And of course it’s exciting totackle a new project and meet new people – or old friends,when we build a second or third plant for a client. Butthere are all the time changes, jet lag, waiting at airports –and being away from the family a lot. And you’ve got to beprepared to work whenever it’s needed – but it’s worth itwhen you make the customer happy! ”Gert: “You learn the meaning of the old saying ‘There’s noplace like home’! But in a way, the job is rewarding onboth ends: it’s fun heading out to help build the world’sbest formaldehyde plants and it’s fun to come home topeople who’ve missed you. Like most things in life thatgive you valuable experience, there’s a lot of hard workinvolved.”

Are there any difficulties or challenges in meeting newcultures and traditions?Erland: “We’ve had some intercultural courses, but in myopinion, the main thing is that you’re very professional,serious and polite – that you have an open mind and areprepared to respect different ways of doing things.”

Have plant,will travelYou’ve just signed a contract to purchase a state-of-the-art formaldehyde plant from Perstorp Formox.Now what? The next step is that the purchasebecomes a project, and our project team steps in totake you on a journey from the drawing board andinto production. Two of our highly experienced teammembers – Erland Andersson and Gert Svensson – tellabout the process, and what it’s like to move aroundall over the world, setting up formaldehyde plants.

SPECIAL FEATURE

Erland Gert

Erland’s 16 project steps1. Contract review at Perstorp

Formox HQ2. Purchase of long-lead-time

equipment.3. Plan kick-off meeting internally.4. Start engineering.5. Kick-off meeting with customer

within a month.6. Process review meeting with

customer within 4 months.7. Purchasing.8. Engineering review meeting with

customer in Sweden, visit tosub-suppliers.

9. Inspection of vessels andequipment before delivery.

10. Shipping.11. Open-case inspection (OCI).12. Site supervision by our specialists13. Pre-commissioning inspections14. Commissioning15. Start-up.16. Preliminary performance test.


Gert: “Yes, it’s important to quickly learn how to work withdifferent cultures so the project will run smoothly. Wesometimes discover that we have different ways to dothings, but in most cases everything is resolved in a goodatmosphere.”

What is the most fun and/or rewarding aspect of a project?Erland: “Creative, positive and constructive meetings withthe customer! Then, in the end, very nice celebrations andthe start of long-term relationships.”Gert: “It’s working with people from different countries,and working with people in our team, jointly making a suc-cessful project. It’s also exciting and rewarding to be ableto solve problems.”

How do your relations with the customer typically developduring a project?Erland: “I always become very good friends with my cus-

tomers, so they are more like friends!”Gert: “During a project, you can feel how the understand-ing, the respect, the cooperation and the knowledge justkeep growing. This – and the great plant performance ourcustomers get – is probably why a number of our cus-tomers have bought several plants from us.”

How is the team spirit among the people from PerstorpFormox?Erland: “Very good. We often have to work Saturdays andSundays, many times in pretty remote areas, so it’s impor-tant to have a very good relationship and also have funtogether.” Gert: “Enthusiasm and the will to do a professional job iswhat the Perstorp Formox team is all about. It’s a great feel-ing to work in a team like that! And starting up a new plantis a great thrill – to know that the long efforts have suc-ceeded.”

SPECIAL FEATURE


Do you maintain any contact with the customer after the start-up?Erland: “Many of my customers are friends I will have con-tact with as long as I’m working for Perstorp Formox. Andsince we do so many ‘repeat projects’ – a new plant for anold customer – it’s always easier each time.”Gert: “Yes, we can maintain contact for years, even if we’renot running any projects, like friends.”

What are the most important qualifications/personality traitsfor a person working on these projects?Erland: “The most important qualification is knowing what

you’re doing and being flexible and polite. Listening to thecustomer so you can learn, being friendly and sociable –these things are highly appreciated!”Gert: “You need to have good knowledge and experiencein how to run international projects. It’s good if you can seethe possibilities in every situation you face and are flexibleand have patience. You have to like to work with people– people from different cultures.”

SPECIAL FEATURE

Projects & start-upsWe have a distinct impression that formaldehyde produc-ers all over the world are recognizing the exceptionalperformance of Perstorp Formox technology. Read belowand you’ll understand why….

New projectsWe are pleased to announce the signing of four new pro-jects since the last issue of informally speaking. (Thetwo new plants for China will mean a total of 14 PerstorpFormox plants in that country.)

Please note that Perstorp Formox respects clients’wishes for anonymity, i.e. we endeavor not to publishany information about a client that has not beenapproved for such purposes by the client in question. • A project for a new formaldehyde plant for a client in

Europe is now underway. • An FS1 plant, with the possibility to produce HCHO

and UFC85 simultaneously, has been sold to a client inthe Middle East.

• Contracts have just been signed for two new formalde-hyde plants for clients in China. Pending these clients’approval, further information about these projects willappear in the next issue of informally speaking.

Ongoing projectsOur customers are certainly keeping us busy! In additionto the four new projects mentioned above, we have nine(9!) ongoing projects!• The project for the FT3 plant for Yunnan Yuntianhua,

to be located outside Chongqing, is running on sched-ule and is expected to start up in early 2008.

• The project for Lucite International in Singapore con-

cerning the installation of a new formaldehyde plant tosupport Lucite’s new proprietary MMA technology(Alpha technology) is on track. See separate article,page 7.

• The plant for Faplac S.A., the first Perstorp Formoxplant in Argentina, is expected to go on stream thisautumn.

• The plant for S.K. Petrochemical in South Korea isproceeding as planned. The new formaldehyde plantwill support SKP’s production of BDO.

• Ningbo Wanhua, China, will start up the second lineof their FT3 plant sometime this autumn.

• The project for Togliattiazot in Russia is in the finalinstallation phase and start-up is also expected thisautumn.

• The plant for Kuraray, Japan is scheduled to go onstream this summer. It will be the first-ever PerstorpFormox plant in Japan.

• Work on the new plant for Nafta Lendava in Slovenia– another new country for Perstorp Formox – is underway.

• The formaldehyde plant for the chemical complex forXinjiang Markor Chemical Industry in northwesternChina is proceeding as planned.

Start-upsTwo plants have been started since the last issue ofinformally speaking:• The plant for Nantong Jiangtian Chemical Ltd in

China – the 100th Perstorp Formox plant sold – wassuccessfully started in February.

• The plant for Shaanxi Sanwei Group, also in China,also went on stream in February.

Training

This group of trainees from SK Petrochemical in South Korea arrived in Perstorp in the end of November – just too late for the press deadline forthe previous issue of informally speaking. To make up for the omission, here’s a trio of photos from their week in Sweden.


aims to provide information about formaldehy-de in an informal forum and is published twiceannually by Perstorp Formox for its customersand contacts in the formaldehyde business. Theinformation included herein is part of our custo-mer service and in no way entails or implies anyundertakings, legal responsibilities or liabilities.Additional copies are available from:

Perstorp FormoxSE-284 80 Perstorp, SwedenPhone: +46 435 38 000Fax: +46 435 388 90E-mail: [email protected]

Editor: Stan ErismanPublisher: Mikael Ekblad

The name Formox®, and the name and logoinformally speaking™ are protected by trade-marks.

Layout: Gösta Mårtensson

Printer: Perstorps Tryckeri

Seminar newsThe new seminar schedule is now effective, meaning one (1) con-ference each year, with the venue rotating annually between theAmericas, Europe and Asia. Since we’ve just had the Asian con-ference, the next round will be in the Americas. But please note thatall of our customers are welcome to attend any or all of these semi-nars, whether the venue is in your region or not.

The next round, as from now, looks like this:

• Formaldehyde Americas 2008 – to be held in Toronto on April21-23. For those of you who like or need to plan ahead, youmight want to mark your calendar now. Further information willbe forthcoming in the next issue of informally speaking, on ourwebsite and directly from us to you.

• Formaldehyde Europe 2009 – most likely to be held inHelsingborg and Perstorp, Sweden, as is customary, to enable avisit to our own plants in connection with the seminar and so thatparticipants can meet most of the Perstorp Formox team.

• Formaldehyde Asia 2010 – still a long way off, since we’ve just hadFormaldehyde Asia 2007. But we are known to think long-term….

Watch our website (www.formaldehyde.com) for further details!

Faces & Places

Bengt-Åke Stig Allan Ronny

The only team changessince the last issue ofinformally speaking:involve our crew of

Training

This group (left) of trainees from Shanxi Sanwei Group in China spent some time with us in January, followed by these three guys from Kuraray in Japan.

“roving reloaders”. Mats Börjesson has retired, as heindicated he would in the spring/summer 2006 issue. Hehas been replaced by Stig Hansson. The crew is head-

ed by Bengt-Åke Hansson and the other members areAllan Larsen and Ronny Andersson. Watch for themin a reactor near you!

th Asia - Formox 2007.pdf · 2015. 4. 23. · China’s huge MeOH consumption hasn’t had a...

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