The Chinese Government has given its final approvals to the BP Global Petrochemicals and its partner Zhuhai Port for the construction of a third purified terephthalic acid (PTA) plant at Zhuhai, Guangdong.
Expected to start up in late 2014, the 'Zhuhai 3' plant will have a capacity of 1.25mt annually.
BP chief executive Nick Elmslie said the company aims to invest continuously in the right projects as well as to improve the competitiveness of its PTA sites and PTA joint ventures globally.
"This plant will be using BP's latest proprietary technology and should make BP Zhuhai the most competitive PTA producer in the world," Elmslie said.
By utilizing the PTA technology, Zhuhai 3 plant can reduce both greenhouse gas emissions and other waste streams considerably.
The plant is expected to achieve 75% lower water discharge, 65% lower greenhouse gas emissions, and 95% lower solid waste generation.
According to BP, the plant joins two earlier phases of PTA units at the same location, bringing the total capacity at the site to more than 2.7mt annually.
Once Zhuhai 3 starts up, the company's worldwide annual net PTA capacity will reach 8.25mt.
PTA is an important feedstock for polyester used worldwide in food packaging and textiles.
