Paraxylene plant nears completion in Skikda, eastern Algeria

Naftec SPA, a unit of Algeria’s hydrocarbons state-run company Sonatrach, is nearing mechanical completion on a paraxylene (PX) production plant in Skikda, in eastern Algeria, according to technology licensor GTC Technology, Houston.

• Expected to be fully operational later this year, the Skikda plant will incorporate CrystPX technology, licensed by GTC Technology, to recover PX from reformate feedstock, and GT-IsomPX, a process using ISOXYL catalyst from Sud-Chemie AG, a subsidiary of Clariant, to isomerize the C₈ aromatics into additional PX.