There is considerable industry effort directed toward the development of PTT and the identification of its future market.  Beyond performance, its price will play a critical role in defining its volume in the marketplace.

    Shell, the leader, has completed construction of a 100+MMlb/yr PDO plant and is exploring PTT opportunities worldwide.  

        It has a 45MMlb/yr interim PTT unit in the USA and is constructing a 230MMlb plant in Mexico. However, this plant has been delayed for reasons that are not totally clear – perhaps financial as Shell is reported to have made a change in its corporate direction.

    Additionally, it has reached agreement with SK Group for product and market development in textiles in the Far East.

    DuPont, catching up, is working on a new biotechnology route to PDO and has signed a supply contract with Degussa for 20 MM lb of PDO. It is reported that DuPont is developing a PTT elastic fiber and that they have a 50MMlb/yr PTT plant in the USA.

    Union Carbide has a number of patents relating to an ethylene oxide route to PDO and we would expect that they may be pursued as they join DOW.

    PTT is expected to impact PET, PBT, 6 nylon 6,6 nylon and their raw materials, perhaps in a major way. The potential volume of PTT, depending on price, could be very large, perhaps the next major polymer ranking in volume with the current polyesters and nylons. Thus, this study will be of interest to producers of these products as well as producers of the raw materials for these products — caprolactam, hexamethylenediamine, adipic acid, and butanediol.

    Note that we have chosen to designate the 3GT polymer as polytrimethylene terephthalate (PTT).  Some designate it as polypropylene terephthalate (PPT).  While this nomenclature is consistent with polyethylene terephthalate (PET) and polybutylene terephthalate (PBT), we decided to stay with PTT since it seemed to be the preferred designation in the literature and among our experts.

Objective

    The original objective of this study was to do a complete economic examination of PTT from its key raw material, PDO, through polymerization of PTT and the establishment of its selling price in comparison to PET and nylon.  We think that presenting PDO economics and PTT conversion economics will provide a sufficient basis for others to establish the PTT selling price.  A third report will not be forthcoming.

    CONDUX expertise in conducting this study results from its group of leading scientists, engineers, application, market and business specialists formerly employed by AMOCO Chemical, BASF, DOW Chemical, DuPont, Hoechst/Celanese, Rhone Poulenc, Oxychem and others. You may wish to examine the range of CONDUX expertise in the Fibers Area.

Study Team 

Former Senior Research Associate, Polyester Fibers, DuPont.

Former Senior Investment Consultant, DuPont.

Former Principal Consultant, Comparative Process Economics, DuPont.

Former Engineering Manager, PBT and Copolyesters, DuPont.

Vice President, CONDUX, former General Manager, Fibers, BASF.

Vice President, CONDUX, former Manager, Project Engineering Design, DuPont.

Vice President, CONDUX, former Product Manager, Polyester Resins, DuPont.

President, CONDUX, former Global Manager, Copolyesters, DuPont.