Praxair China Starts Up Its Flagship Plant at SOPO      

On December 7th, Praxair China, a subsidiary of Praxair, Inc. (NYSE: PX), announced that it has successfully started up its large air separation plant for Jiangsu SOPO (Group) Co., Ltd. located in Zhenjiang, Jiangsu Province northwest of Shanghai and is supplying gases to the customer.
   This large plant supplies industrial gas for the 600 000 t/a acetic acid plant of SOPO, the largest acetic acid producer in China with a 30% market share. Acetic acid is widely used in the production of adhesives, textiles, paint, paper, polyester fiber and plastic bottles.
    Following the contract signing with SOPO in early 2007, Praxair China designed and constructed the plant with a state-of-the-art, large air separation unit (ASU).  The ASU has a capacity of 3 000 tons of oxygen per day and is the largest single plant for sale of gas as well as the largest single-train ASU in Asia to date. The plant is integrated with a modern, low-cost coal-gasification process for SOPO's acetic acid plant.  
   David Chow, president of Praxair China, disclosed that Praxair will also be constructing another 3 000 tons of oxygen per day plant for a similar gasification application for HuaYi in Wuwei, Anhui province. This plant is due to begin operation in early 2011.
    Praxair (China) Investment Co., Ltd is a leading industrial gas provider in China.  It is headquartered in Shanghai.