OREANDA-NEWS. December 28, 2012. Tchaikovsky, Perm Territory, 28December2012.SIBUR has expanded its methyl tertiary butyl ether (MTBE) designed capacity in Tchaikovsky, Perm Territory, from 200,000 to 220,000 tonnes per year.

The expansion provided for installation of additional heat exchangers and MTBE synthesis equipment. It took a year to implement the project, without interrupting production. All necessary connections to the process system, equipment installation, and industrial automation were completed during a turnaround maintenance event.

General information:

Methyl tertiary butyl ether is a fuel additive used in motor gasoline to increase its octane number and prevent its detonation in the combustion chamber.MTBE is produced at facilities of petrochemical companies as well as at refineries.

Current domestic production of MTBE exceeds its consumption, so the excess amounts are exported.However, the demand for MTBE is constantly growing, partly because of more stringent quality requirements for gasoline.Within a programme to expand its existing MTBE production capacity, SIBUR’s project to increase the production capacity in Tobolsk from 120,000 to 150,000tonnes per year was completed in 2011. In 2011 SIBUR produced over 400,000tonnes of MTBE.