Dow announce first licence of more sustainable isononyl alcohol in China

ow and Johnson Matthey announced China-based company, Zibo Qixiang Tengda Chemical Company, Ltd. has selected LP Oxo Technology to produce isononyl alcohol (INA) at its new manufacturing facility.

“QXTD will be the first in the industry to take advantage of our process technology for more sustainable INA production,” said Donna Babcock, global business director for Industrial Solutions, a business segment of Dow. “This technology requires a smaller manufacturing footprint and less energy consumption compared to typical INA production processes, without a loss in efficiency and throughput.”

INA is often used to make plasticisers of Diisononyl Phthalate (DINP), Diisononyl Adipate (DINA), and Triisononyl Trimellitate (TINTM). Primarily used in the PVC industry, products made using INA can be found in automotive, wire, cable, and conducting applications, among others. Given the evolving health and environmental regulations associated with downstream applications, INA is well positioned to grow above industry average with its unique properties that meet these needs.

“We are happy to have been able to finalise our licence agreement despite the impacts of Covid-19”, said Zhang Jin, chairman of Cedar Holdings, the parent group of QXTD. “This licensed process will differentiate us in the industry as we are able to bring new INA volume online to enable downstream products with improved health and environmental profiles.”

The plant will be built at QXTD’s integrated petrochemical complex in Zibo City, China, and produce 200,000 metric tonnes of annual capacity. The plant operation is expected to come online in 2023.

To date, the suite of LP Oxo Technology has been licensed into a significant number of projects across 15 countries, representing a majority of the world's oxo alcohols capacity licensed over the past 45 years. Licensees are provided design and technical support at every step and performance warranties to ensure success.