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Shell Chemicals’ Pernis plant: new
GTL Solvents made here will use
natural-gas-based feedstock produced
in Shell’s Pearl GTL plant in Qatar
will beacham london
Shell Chemicals is bringing GTL-based feedstock
from its plant in Qatar to its Pernis site in the
Netherlands and aims to make its range of GTL
Solvents globally available in 2015
S
olvents form an incredibly useful
group of chemicals with applica-
tions across a wide range of end-use
markets, such as cleaning, paints
and coatings, crop protection, inks, adhe-
sives and sealants, and cosmetics.
But along with most other chemical prod-
uctstheyfaceanincreasinglycomplexregula-
tory framework and growing customer
demandsforawiderchoiceofqualityproducts
withimprovedenvironmentalperformance.
Until now the vast majority of solvents
have come from conventional oil-based
petrochemical feedstocks. These include
chemical solvents such as ketones, alcohols,
glycol ethers and acetates, as well as hydro-
carbon solvents such as isoparaffins, pen-
tanes, aliphatics, aromatics and blends and
special boiling point solvents.
Howeverarangeofsolventsproduced
using a novel route will soon become
availablegloballyonacommercialscale,offer-
ing unique product and superior environmen-
tal performance when compared to conven-
tionalpetroleum-derivedsolvents(seebox).
This is because they are synthesised from
natural gas, a cleaner feedstock, using Gas-
To-Liquids (GTL) technology. Consistency of
performance is the most important distin-
guishing factor between conventional
solvents and the GTL Solvent products now
offered by Shell.
consistent performance
The final performance of conventional prod-
ucts fluctuates with the quality of the crude oil
used to make them. But by the nature of the
natural gas feedstock and the GTL process,
theGTLSolventproductsaremoreconsistent.
Shell has been advancing its GTL technolo-
gy for over 40 years. Its Pearl GTL facility in
Qatar is currently the largest GTL plant in the
world, with capacity to produce 140,000 bbls/
day of GTL products and 120,000 bbls/day of
mental performance – something which cus-
tomers are always seeking.
He highlights key markets such as consum-
er goods, mobility, mining, drilling, agro-
chemicals and construction, where GTL
Solvents can offer advantages.
“End-users and customers are becoming
more sensitive to environmental performance.
We want to support our customers’ growth
with competitive products that also improve
environmental performance,” he explains.
He points out that regulatory agencies
globally have encouraged industry bodies
towards the cleanest possible solvents and he
sees GTL Solvents as a significant step in the
journey towards that aspiration.
superior qualities
Sriram Musunuri, global marketing manager
for Shell Chemicals Solvents, says Shell GTL
Solvents are practically free of sulphur and
very low in other impurities such as aromatics
or olefins. Because of their superior qualities
and lower environmental footprint, “GTL
Solvents can help our customers meet growing
demand while meeting regulatory require-
ments,” he says.
Headds:“GTLSolventswillimpactoureve-
ryday lives more than we think. As they are
readily biodegradable, there is no need to trade
off growth against environmental impact and
sustainability – we can have both.”
The new solvents will offer advantages to
many downstream sectors, says Musunuri,
citing the example of printing inks for pack-
aging, where GTL Solvents can offer
improved biodegradability and performance
improvements compared to conventional
petroleum-based products. This market
segment is fast-growing compared with
newsprint, which is in long-term decline.
“We are shifting to a more premium port-
folio following the trend away from high
aromatic/low flashpoint solvents. Customers
want to meet the latest envi-
ronmental standards and
need more sustainable
solutions as well as per-
formance improvement.”
In fact, GTL Solvents
should offer specific
advantages to many applica-
tions, adds Shell Chem-
icals Solvents glob-
al business development manager, Monica
Karamagi. In paints and coatings, for example,
lighter GTL Solvents are low-odour and
improve levelling and spreadability when
compared with conventional products. These
are all characteristics desired by formulators,
in addition to the possible advantages of lower
volatile organic compound (VOC) content and
lower solvent usage.
“We urge formulators to test GTL
Solvents,” she says, adding that they are
already being tested for more than 20 appli-
cations. In the Philippines, for example,
heavier GTL Solvents are being tested in
crop protection products where the solvent
remains on the crop to become a barrier
against insects and reduce leaf damage.
“Another exciting area is crop protection
sprays where GTL Solvents’ low odour has a
potential benefit because less fragrance is re-
quired to mask hydrocarbon smells,” she adds.
Inmetalworkingandotherapplicationswith
workerexposure,thereisgooddemandbecause
of reduced odour, higher flashpoint, and lower
viscositycomparedtoconventionalsolvents.
Karamagi adds: “These products will be
available across the globe with uniform speci-
fications. This will be valued by large, multi-
national customers.”
Geoff Stamper, marketing channels manager
for Shell Chemicals Solvents, explains the key
to success now for the company’s GTL Sol-
vents is market development activity by Shell
distributors to open up new applications.
Around half of the Shell solvents business is
currently handled via distribution channels.
Stamper says growth is faster through distri-
bution channels than via direct sales, and Shell
wants to harness that potential. “Distributors
canprovideblendingandsophisticatedservice
offerings.Thebiggerdistributorsarealsogetting
into an application focus with, for example,
coatingsandpharmaceuticals.”
distribution channel
Distributors have traditionally been used by
chemical producers as a way of reaching large
numbers of smaller customers. For Shell the
distribution channel also allows it to signifi-
cantly reduce the complexity and costs in its
supply chain, allowing the company to focus
on its core base of large customers.
At the recent Fecc (European Association
of Chemical Distributors) conference in
Athens there was a debate about whether “big
is beautiful” or it is better for a distributor to
be small and nimble. Stamper is adamant that
big is better for the Shell solvents business.
“We want to work with bigger distributors
which have key skills as well as a focus on
compliance and ethical standards. When a dis-
tributor has coverage across a region it is very
positive as that is how we run our business.” ■
For more information on the new solvents,
go to: www.shell.com/chemicals/solvents
Novel GTL Solvents
for global markets
There is an increasing range
of Gas-To-Liquids (GTL) prod-
ucts which,based on recent
global notifications,have been
shown to have favourable envi-
ronmental properties.
This includes the latest
range of GTL Solvents from
Shell Chemicals. These have a
good pedigree in that they are
derived from GTL feedstock,
which has been subjected to an
extensive array of environmen-
tal hazard assessment tests.
These confirm that it has a
favourable environmental pro-
file compared to its petroleum-
derived equivalents. This,
combined with the fact that GTL
feedstock is virtually aromatic-
free (<0.02% by mass),makes
it the ideal starting product
from which to distil solvents.
In environmental terms,the
so-called PBT (Persistence,
Bioaccumulation and Toxicity)
properties are used to assess
the environmental hazard and
ultimately the risk profile of
substances. The low levels of
aromatics and simplicity of the
branching of the GTL Solvents
give these advantages over
many of their conventionally
petroleum-derived counterparts
in terms of their PBT profile.
For example,based on their
structures GTL Solvents are
considered to be more biode-
gradable than conventional
solvents and this has been
confirmed in a series of bio-
degradation tests. All the GTL
Solvent grades are readily bio-
degradable in water and stud-
ies with the parent substance
provide evidence that no com-
ponents of these solvents are
likely to persist in the soil.
In a nutshell GTL Solvents
have a more favourable PBT
profile than most solvents be-
cause they are more biode-
gradable and have a similar
potential to bio-accumulate.
The lighter GTL Solvents are
also less toxic than conven-
tional (including dearomatised)
petroleum-derived solvents. ■
solvent safety Graham Whale senior eco-toxicologist, Shell Health
Environmental advantages of Shell’s GTL
“End-users and customers are
becoming more sensitive to
environmental performance.
We want to support our
customers’ growth...”
kalyan ram Madabhushi
Global general manager, Solvents, Shell Chemicals
GTL Solvents are useful in
metalworking and other
applications with worker
exposure
natural gas liquids (NGLs) and ethane.
Shell has also been developing and testing
the technology as well as putting the infra-
structure in place to transport the GTL liquid
hydrocarbonsfromQatartoitsPernis,Nether-
lands, site for refining into solvents and other
products. From this hub it aims to service
Europe,theAmericasandAsia.
Since late 2014 the company has been pro-
ducing and selling small volumes into Europe
andAsiaforcustomertesting,withtheAmeri-
cas targeted for 2015. Commercial-scale
production for GTL Solvents in Pernis is
scheduledforlate2015.
According to Kalyan Ram Madabhushi,
global general manager Solvents for Shell
Chemicals,developingarangeofsolventsthat
offerreducedenvironmentalimpactandbetter
performance when compared to conventional
solventsisveryimportanttothecompanyand
Shell Chemicals has been investing significant
resourcesintoR&Dandproductdevelopment.
There is, he says, an oppor-
tunity to serve growing mar-
kets linked to global mega-
trends through innovative
offerings that enhance
product performance
whilst simultaneously
improving environ-
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