Chevron Phillips Chemical Company LP announced last Monday it has successfully completed a low viscosity polyalphaolefins (PAO) capacity expansion at its Cedar Bayou plant in Baytown, Texas.
The 20 percent capacity expansion enables the company to meet the increasing demand for high-performance lubricants in automotive and industrial applications. Chevron Phillips Chemical produces PAOs, marketed under the brand name Synfluid® PAO, which are used for a variety of applications including engine oils, gear oils and greases.
The project improves process safety and overall unit efficiencies while reducing waste generation for Cedar Bayous PAO unit. The feedstock for the new unit will be provided from Cedar Bayous recent 100,000-metric-tons-per-year expansion of its normal alpha olefins capacity.
Construction began in April 2016 and supported up to 135 construction and engineering jobs.