Increased ethylene oxide and ethylene glycol production at Shell Moerdijk

06-17-2004: Rein Willems, President of Shell Nederland BV, and Bill Rothwell, Vice President EO/Glycols, officially inaugurated the third ethylene oxide (EO) reactor in the MEOD plant of Shell Nederland Chemie BV at Moerdijk.

Besides the construction of the new EO reactor, the ethylene glycol plant was also expanded. This means the annual production capacity of ethylene oxide and monoethylene glycol has increased to 305 and 155 thousand tonnes respectively. A new compressor was also installed and the control and safeguarding systems were modernised.

"The conclusion of this project and next year's scheduled production launch in Nanhai, China, enable Shell chemicals companies to strengthen their leading positions in the manufacture and sale of ethylene oxide and ethylene glycol," Bill Rothwell said.

Most of the new construction work was realised while the plant was operating normally, while odifications were made during the annual catalyst replacement and maintenance shutdown. With preparation time the project spanned three years.

The extra ethylene glycol and ethylene oxide will be used to meet the growing demand in the European market.