ExxonMobil Chemical announced on Nov. 30 the completion and start-up of an expansion at its Rotterdam Aromatics plant. The expansion has made this plant ExxonMobil's largest paraxylene production facility.
Paraxylene capacity at the plant has been increased by 25% to 700,000 tons, and benzene capacity increased by 20% to 830,000 tons per annum.
The expansion is part of ExxonMobil Chemical's strategy to develop world-scale, highly integrated chemical facilities with globally competitive cost structures. The new unit in Rotterdam benefits from integration with existing facilities and captures a number of synergies with the base plant.
The new unit employs ExxonMobil's proprietary PxMaxSM technology to produce paraxylene and benzene. The PxMax process improves selectivity, generates less waste and reduces energy requirements versus existing technologies.
