South Korea: Smart Factory Lotte Chemical Expands EOA Production Capacity in South Korea

Lotte Chemical has expanded its production line for EOA (Ethylene Oxide Adduct) at its manufacturing site in Yeosu, South Korea. The expansion has added 100,000 tons a year thus, bringing the company’s EOA production to 330,000 tons annually at the site.

Related Companies

MG2 s.r.l.

TRM Filter d.o.o.

Weka AG

South Korea – Lotte Chemical has expanded the production line for EOA (Ethylene Oxide Adduct), the specialty material for architecture, within its Yeosu Factory in South Korea.

EOA, produced based on ethylene, is an ingredient for concrete water-reducing agent that is used for the construction of large structures, such as skyscrapers, piers, and dams. Water usage is reduced by 30 % with the water-reducing agent containing EOA in concrete and it also strengthens the durability of concrete. It is a high value-added specialty material that allows long-distance transportation of concrete while keeping its fluidity.

The expanded EOA line is located within Yeosu Factory 4 and added 100,000 tons a year. The construction began in August 2019 and commercial production was made available in January this year. Lotte Chemical’s previous EOA production was a total of 230,000 tons a year, with 130,000 tons from the Yeosu Factory, 50,000 tons from the Daesan Factory, and 50,000 tons from the Jiaxing Factory in China, and the new capacity is 330,000 tons with the expansion of the Yeosu Factory.

PROCESS Insights 2020-05
Challenges for EPC Contractors

With an influx of largescale petrochemical construction projects, EPC Contractors will have to be confronted with challenges such as finding enough capacity and quality of construction manpower, delayed permits etc. which require an EPC strategy to stay competitive in this ever-growing market.

This 12-page Process Insight will discuss the current changes in the EPC business and the impact of these changes on EPC projects. Besides the effect of the Coronavirus as well as the current oil price crash on the contracting industry will also be analyzed and an outlook for the industry will be given.

The new EOA factory is a smart factory and its operations are based on an automated control system. It allows real-time monitoring and control of the entire process from raw and sub-material control to production and storage. It has remarkably enhanced the consistency of productivity and quality by adopting the facilities to inject the right amount of catalyst automatically, earlier it used to take an average of 4-5 hours a day to inject them.

In addition, it includes the systems for analyzing facility data and correcting any risk factors and abnormalities in the process, thus creating a production environment for quality and safety control and reducing the cost of maintenance repair.

“EOA is a high value-added specialty material that is expected to increase in demand by an average of 5 % a year around the world,” said CEO Jin Goo Hwang of Basic Materials Division. “We will constantly enhance competitiveness through stable market supply and development of products that fit the purpose of customers through a vertical hierarchy of ingredients and products.”

(ID:47126841)