Technology Start-ups

Plastics China Technologies, Markets and Growth Strategies to 2008 51 

Company and Location Year founded Technology Source Product Technology Global Revenue (2002) 

Beijing Yuande Bio Medical (Beijing) 1999 Beijing Medical University Ultrasound tumour therapy device N/A 

Datang Micro- electronics (Beijing) 1998 Telecommunication Research Institute Integrated circuit design and manufacture US 36 million 

Innova Super- conductor (Beijing) 2000 Applied S u percond uctivity Research Center, Tsinghua University Superconductors and superconductor wires N/A 

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These disadvantages should be overcome by miniplants, generally defined similar as in [1, 60], strictly based on a modular design. In order to adapt to varying needs, several modules may be operated in parallel. Typical module capacities range from 100,000 to 1,000,000 lb/yr. Operation of the miniplants should be so reliable and simple that the majority of these plants can be operated by personnel not specially skilled in process technology. Start-up and shutdown have to be performed fast to allow just-in-time production. The entire plant should be transportable including footprint and containment volume. 

Commercial plants Thirty plants worldwide have been built or are now under construction with a total phenol capacity over 2.8 MMtpy. Three grassroots phenol plants, using KBR s phenol technology started up in 1999/2000 100,000-tpy for Aristech Chemical, Ohio 225,000-tpy for Shell Chemical, Texas and 37,500-tpy for Shanghai Gaogiao Petrochemicals, Shanghai, China. An additional three plants are in design. More than 50% of the world s phenol is produced via this process. 

Keinz, P. and Pru, R. (2010), "A User Community-Based Approach to Leveraging Technological Competences An Exploratory Case Study of a Technology Start-Up from MIT," Creativity and Irmovation Management 19 (3), 269-89. 

Company/location Capacity Reactor Technology Start-up... 

Refinery Location EB Technology Start-Up Date Design Capacity (BPSD) Feedstock... 

Because of projected nylon-6,6 growth of 4—10% (167) per year in the Far East, several companies have announced plans for that area. A Rhc ne-Poulenc/Oriental Chemical Industry joint venture (Kofran) announced a 1991 startup for a 50,000-t/yr plant in Onsan, South Korea (168,169). Asahi announced plans for a 15,000-t/yr expansion of adipic acid capacity at their Nobeoka complex in late 1989, accompanied by a 60,000-t/yr cyclohexanol plant at Mizushima based on their new cyclohexene hydration technology (170). In early 1990 the Du Pont Company announced plans for a major nylon-6,6 complex for Singapore, including a 90,000-t/yr adipic acid plant due to start up in 1993 (167). Plans or negotiations for other adipic acid capacity in the area include Formosa Plastics (Taiwan) (171) and BASF-Hyundai Petrochemical (South Korea) (167). Adipic acid is a truly worldwide... 

Data for the production and sales of maleic anhydride and fumaric acid ia the United States between 1979 and 1992 are shown ia Table 5. Production of maleic anhydride during this time grew - 2% on average per year. Production of fumaric acid has declined during the same period as customers have switched to the less cosdy maleic anhydride when possible. All production of maleic anhydride in the United States in 1992 was from butane-based plants which used fixed-bed reactor technology as shown in Table 6. The number of fumaric acid producers has been reduced considerably since the early 1980s with only two producers left in the United States in 1992 as shown in Table 6. Pfizer shut down its fumaric acid plant at the end of 1993. However, Bartek of Canada will start up an expanded fumaric acid faciUty to supply the North American market for both their own and Huntsman s requirements. 

Gymene. Methyhsopropylben2ene [25155-15-1] can be produced over a number of different acid catalysts by alkylation of toluene with propylene (63—66). Although the demand for cymene is much lower than for cumene, one commercial plant was started up in 1987 at the Yan Shan Petrochemical Company in the People s RepubHc of China. The operation of this plant is based on SPA technology offered by UOP for cumene. The cymene is an intermediate for the production of y -cresol (3-methylphenol) [108-59-4]. 

Unproven Technology. When a project involves new or unproven technology, the capital estimates tend to understate the development, constmction, and start-up costs. A quantitative approach to account for the capital cost and performance shortfalls associated with unproven technology has been reported (14), but the data are meager. 

Bisphenol A Polycarbonate Resins. These resins are manufactured by interfacial polymerization (84,85). A small amount of resin is produced by melt-polymerization of bisphenol with diphenyl carbonate in Russia and the People s RepubHc of China. Melt technology continues to be developmental in Japan and the West, but no commercial activities have started-up to date, although some were active in the late 1960s. No reports of solvent-based PC manufacture have been received. 

Facilities Reviews There are many lands of facilities reviews that are useful in detec ting and preventing process safety problems. They include pre-start-up reviews (before the plant operates), new-plant reviews (the plant has started, but is stiU new), reviews of existing plants (safety, technology, and operations audits and reviews), management reviews, critical instrument reviews, and hazardous materials transportation reviews. 

Status of Indirect Liquefaction Technology The only commercial indirect coal liquefaction plants for the production of transportation fuels are operated by SASOL in South Africa. Construction of the original plant was begun in 1950, and operations began in 1955. This plant employs both fixed-bed (Arge) and entrained-bed (Synthol) reactors. Two additional plants were later constructed with start-ups in 1980 and 1983. These latter plants employ dry-ash Lurgi Mark IV coal gasifiers and entrained-bed (Synthol) reactors for synthesis gas conversion. These plants currently produce 45 percent of South Africa s transportation fuel requirements, and, in addition, they produce more than 120 other products from coal. 

Mikroreaktorenfur die chemische Synthese, Nachrichten aus der Chemie, May 2000 Chip technology initiates quest for small structures better temperature control on the small scale fast mixing by diffusion several kg productivity per day no novel, but better chemistry perfect control over process parameters corresponding increase in selectivity basic micro-reactor functions selected examples of use micro reactors as routine tools in the laboratory first start-up companies [113],... 

Small but environrrientallyjnendly. The Chemical Engineer, March 1993 Huge increases in technology in the past distributed manufacturing in small-scale plants miniaturization of processes domestic methanol plant point-of-sale chlorine simpler and cheaper plants economy of plant manufacture process control and automation start-up and shut-down sensor demand [145],... 

The development of start-up companies in the field of micro-systems technology, including microfluidics, has been reviewed by Wicht et al. [244]. Different types of business models are presented as well as the corresponding growth models. The development of start-ups in Germany in the last 10 years is presented and the product offer is discussed. This is compared with the situation in other European countries. Finally, information on problems and opportimities for the start-ups is provided. 

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