English
Sumitomo Chemical has initiated the construction of a pilot facility to establish a process for directly producing propylene from ethanol, a sustainable chemical raw material gaining significant attention. This development is supported by the New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organization (NEDO) Green Innovation (GI) Fund. The company is committed to completing the construction of the pilot facility at its Chiba Works’ Sodegaura site in Japan by the first half of 2025, accelerating the technology’s societal implementation.
Propylene, an indispensable chemical product, is primarily derived from cracking fossil resources like naphtha, categorizing it as an upstream petrochemical. Conversely, ethanol can be produced from biomass sources such as sugarcane and corn, with future expectations for its large-scale production from combustible waste, waste plastics, or CO2. This positions ethanol as a promising sustainable essential chemical raw material.
In light of these developments, Sumitomo Chemical has established a pilot facility at its Chiba Works to produce ethylene using ethanol as a raw material. Additionally, the company is actively developing a proprietary new process for propylene production from ethanol. This direct process offers advantages over existing multi-step processes, such as compactness and lower costs. Moreover, while producing propylene, which maintains steady demand, it simultaneously generates hydrogen as a valuable byproduct.
The pilot facility will provide essential data for scaling up the process for commercial production. Sumitomo Chemical also plans to distribute polypropylene samples, produced using propylene from the pilot facility, to customers for evaluation. The company aims to commence commercial production and technology licensing to other companies by the early 2030s.