Lyondell's technology center is the home of propylene oxide technology development.
The Newtown Square Technology Center, located just west of Philadelphia in Newtown Square, Pa., is home to research and development (R&D) programs for the company’s intermediates and performance chemicals businesses. The employees at this facility, consisting of chemists, engineers, commercial development professionals, technicians, operators, support staff and contractors maintain Lyondell’s role as the industry’s lowest-cost producer of propylene oxide (PO) and 1,4-butanediol (BDO). Our employees continuously improve our commercial technologies, develop new products and find new markets for existing products. These efforts hone Lyondell's competitive edge in the ever-growing PO and derivatives market.
Process Development
The Process Development Group collaborates with our engineering, manufacturing and business organizations to improve our propylene oxide/styrene monomer (PO/SM), propylene oxide/tert-butyl alcohol (PO/TBA) and BDO manufacturing technologies. Our goals are to reduce manufacturing costs, improve safety and achieve Operational Excellence at our plants. The group has helped to commercialize improved hydroformylation technology for a new BDO plant built in Botlek, the Netherlands. The group is also developing "direct-PO" technology, which provides PO without a co-product. In addition, the Process Development Group works closely with the Performance Chemicals Group to develop cost-effective technologies for new products.
Performance Chemicals
The Performance Chemicals Group develops, tests and markets PO-based products, including solvents, glycols, intermediate chemicals, allyl alcohol and BDO derivatives. By working closely with our customers to understand the needs of each specific market, our team formulates unique solutions for the coatings, deicers, inks, coolants, cleaning, health and beauty care, pharmaceuticals, agricultural chemicals, cement and optical resin markets. New products in this area include a non-HAP, VOC-exempt organic solvents for coatings, adhesives and inks, and a concrete shrinkage reducing admixture.
Support Groups
Lyondell Technology Center is also home to several support groups:
- Analytical provides analytical expertise, problem solving and methods development for R&D, manufacturing and the business centers.
- Health, Safety and Environmental oversees the health and safety of R&D employees and contractors at the Technology Center.
- Design Engineering provides mechanical designs for our pilot plants.
- The physical building and maintenance of our pilot plants is handled by Construction Services.
- The Intellectual Property (IP) Legal Department handles patent filings, prepares contracts and provides counseling on IP issues for R&D and business groups at Lyondell and Equistar.
- Other support groups include Human Resources and Information Technology.
Lyondell’s R&D work is performed in our state-of-the-art laboratories described below:
Process Laboratories
In the process laboratories, our team uses the latest tools including glass or metallic reactors equipped with sophisticated computerized process units, to conduct batch and continuous experiments aimed at measuring reaction kinetics and improving product consistency. Because many of our process units use on-line analytical equipment, we capture data quickly and efficiently. This helps us to design Lyondell’s pilot plants, also located at Newtown Square.
Product Laboratories
Whether it means developing PO-based additives for concrete or measuring the effects of -40º F on a deicing fluid, the solutions are found in our product laboratories. We create new products for the solvents, cleaners, coatings, resins, unsaturated polyester, concrete and health and beauty markets. Once developed and qualified, our ideas become customer solutions. In our state-of-the-art deicing fluid testing facility, we evaluate aerodynamic performance, fluid deicing, and anti-icing effectiveness under conditions that simulate winter precipitation.
High-Pressure Cells
Twenty-four "high-pressure cells" allow for minimum human contact when setting up and running chemical reactions, including high-pressure experiments. These self-contained rooms, which are protected by a foot or more of concrete, allow our research associates to safely and remotely monitor reactions. Here, we evaluate new catalysts or processes to better understand how they work and how they could be used in future chemical processing operations.
High Bays
In any of our 10 "high bays," we can construct a pilot unit (a smaller working model of a commercial plant). These units, which can run continuously for months at a time, help us understand the feasibility of investing in a new plant. The pilot units provide a wealth of data and help us to diagnose technical problems long before they occur. Additionally, they provide valuable information for making long-term decisions about the construction of future plants. Many of Lyondell’s commercial plant operations began as pilot units in one of these bays.
Analytical Laboratories
With more than 20 on-site analytical scientists and modern instrumentation, the analytical staff provides a broad range of expertise, problem solving and methods development capabilities to Lyondell and Equistar. Our team provides timely, expert service for catalyst characterization/microscopy, liquid chromatography, elemental analysis, gel permeation chromatography, chemical analysis, thermal analysis, nuclear magnetic resonance, gas chromatography, vibrational spectroscopy, mass spectroscopy and on-line analysis.
Process Safety and Physical Properties Laboratory
In our process safety and physical properties laboratory, experts perform chemical mixing calorimetry and measure thermodynamic properties. This data is used to design distillation columns, reactors and safety equipment, including the relief valves and quenching systems used at Lyondell’s plants. This laboratory also serves the R&D, engineering and manufacturing groups for both Lyondell and Equistar.