New PTA plant in Portugal

Artenius has awarded Aker Kvaerner a £20m contract for engineering, procurement services and construction management for a new purified terephthalic acid (PTA) plant to be built in Sines, Portugal.

The plant, designed to produce 700,000 tonnes per annum of PTA, is scheduled to be completed in 2009 and to enter operations in the first half of 2010.

Aker Kvaerner Powergas India, Mumbai, will provide the detailed engineering, and Aker Kvaerner has also sub-contracted Technoedif, Portugal, to provide engineering and construction management support.

PTA, a raw material for polyester, is used as a key ingredient in the manufacture of polyester fibres, resins and films and in the manufacture of polyethylene terephthalate (PET).