Petrokemya Acrylonitrile Butadiene Styrene Plant Start-up

SABIC is a global industry leader in the production of a wide range of polymers. One of these is ABS (Acrylonitrile-Butadiene-Styrene), a key thermoplastic used in the electronics, appliances, construction, and transportation industries. Globally, SABIC currently operates multiple world-scale ABS facilities. Recently, SABIC built a new ABS plant within the Petrokemya complex in Al-Jubail, Saudi Arabia. Two distinct polymerization processes are used in these plants, emulsion and bulk/mass, with plant configurations at each site optimized to maximize process productivity and product quality, reduce capital and operating costs, and minimize environmental impacts. SABIC’s technology is supported by state-of-the-art pilot-scale facilities within its main technology center in USA. These research facilities serve as an invaluable incubator for effecting process integration and performance enhancements, developing new products to meet emerging customers’ needs, and supporting SABIC’s technology licensing efforts globally. This paper talks about the start-up of the new plant and the approach that was followed to achieve safe and smooth start-up followed by the performance test run leading to the successful commercialization of the product.