Egyptian Styrene and Polystyrene Company (E-Styrenics) has awarded a $460mn contract to local engineering firm ENPPI and local contractor Petrojet to build a 300,000 tons/year ethylbenzene/styrene monomer plant in Alexandria. The styrene plant will feed an existing on-site polystyrene plant which currently imports feedstock. Construction is expected to take 30 months.

E-Styrenics licensed the ethylbenzene and styrene process technologies from US firm Badger Licensing in 2011. Ethylene and benzene feedstocks will be combined to form ethylbenzene, which in turn is dehydrogenated to styrene over an iron oxide catalyst. Badger’s contract includes front end engineering design (FEED) and commissioning support. (CONTINUED - 256 WORDS)