Clariant to support SECCO’s ethylene plant with catalyst performance services

Swiss chemical firm Clariant has signed a ten-year agreement with SECCO Petrochemicals to provide Clarity Prime digital services. The new customer will use the AI-powered catalyst performance monitoring platform to enhance production efficiency at its 900-KTA ethylene plant in Shanghai, Jinshan District.

Clarity Prime was previously only available to customers of Clariant’s ammonia, methanol, and hydrogen catalysts. The service was recently extended to also include ethylene producers. The services are developed with Navigance, a Clariant digital solutions company.

Gene Mueller, VP/Head of Ethylene at Clariant, commented, “The partnership expands our digital services footprint in China and reinforces our commitment to bringing innovation to the market – one of the world’s most important regions for petrochemical production.”

Established in 2001, Shanghai SECCO Petrochemical Co., Ltd. is a major Chinese petrochemicals producer with an annual output of approximately 4.2 million tonnes. The company’s single-line ethylene cracking unit is one of China’s largest, producing over 1 million tonnes/year of ethylene. SECCO is a joint venture between Sinopec, BP, and Sinopec Shanghai Petrochemical. BP’s stake is now held by Ineos.

Combining powerful AI with specialist support, Clarity Prime allows ethylene producers, like SECCO, to fine-tune catalyst performance for improved plant reliability, safety, and profitability.

A comprehensive suite of specialised tools—C2TE Cockpit, Virtual Hydrogen Analyzer, Upset Prediction, Operation Conditions Simulator, Advanced Alerting, and Performance Tracker—leverages real-time data and advanced analytics to provide 24-hour monitoring and fast technical support to optimize every aspect of catalyst operation.

The services are offered globally to any plant using Clariant’s syngas, PDH and ethylene catalysts, independent of process technology, Clariant adds.