Aither Chemicals LLC is developing plans for product production volumes based on the response to its open season, which solicited market interest in chemicals and plastics that would be produced in the Kanawha Valley by an Aither catalytic ethane cracker.

The company has received a positive response from potential purchasers of Aither products, technology licensors, engineering procurement & construction companies (EPCs), potential licensees who wish to operate outside the United States, and companies considering relocation to the Kanawha Valley so their commercial plants could use Aither products.

Based on the positive response from its open season, Aither has decided to focus commercial production facility planning on volumes of the following products:

• Ethylene Oxide (EO)
• Ethylene Glycol (EG)
• Polyethylene (PE)
• Acetic Acid (AA)
• Ethylene

As previously reported, Bayer MaterialScience LLC is assisting in evaluating market interest in the chemicals and plastics listed above.

Aither CEO Leonard Dolhert noted, “I am very pleased with the market response, which shows strong interest in the products that can be made using Aither’s catalytic ethane cracking technology. Aither has the ideal process to build an ethane cracker in the Kanawha Valley, and elsewhere in the world where ethane is available.”

Aither Marketing Director Steven Cohen added, “I am especially pleased with the response from multinationals headquartered outside the U.S. interested in licensing the technology for use in their markets.”

Aither Chemicals LLC today signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to launch an “Open Season” for ethylene from a potential catalytic ethane cracker in the Kanawha Valley region of West Virginia.

Aither’s agreement with Bayer MaterialScience LLC includes a non-binding Open Season to determine market interest for chemicals and plastics that would be produced by such a cracker. This could include ethylene, acetic acid, carbon dioxide, and carbon monoxide for sale at competitive market pricing or use in making downstream derivatives and other products such as ethylene oxide (EO). As part of the agreement Bayer would assist in the effort to evaluate third party interest in the chemicals stated above. Several ethane suppliers have expressed interest in supplying ethane to the project.

The Open Season will run from June 22 through July 20, 2012. Inquiries can be made by contacting Steven Cohen at Aither Chemicals, 614-336-7956 or steven.cohen@aitherchemicals.com.

After the Open Season, Aither Chemicals will evaluate the market’s response and decide on next steps by August 31, 2012. The Open Season process is commonly used in the midstream energy business to determine market interest in new business opportunities.

If Aither decides to proceed with the proposed catalytic ethane cracker, production could begin in early 2015.

“The Memorandum of Understanding is a first step towards building a catalytic ethane cracker in the Kanawha Valley region and we are optimistic that the market will respond,” said Aither CEO Leonard Dolhert.

Aither Chemicals brings its proprietary, scalable technology to crack ethane and convert it into other products. Aither’s technology was developed to take better advantage of ethane from shale gas, and to simultaneously lower the cost of producing ethylene, acetic acid, ethylene derivatives and/or acetic acid derivatives and other chemicals and plastics. Unlike steam cracking, which uses heat and steam to crack ethane, Aither’s process is a catalytic cracking process that uses 80 percent less energy and produces 90 percent less carbon dioxide (CO2) output. Much of that CO2 and/or CO output can be captured as a pure gas and utilized for the manufacturing of chemical and polymer products or used in other applications. Products that can be made from an Aither cracker and associated downstream derivative operations include: ethylene, acetic acid, carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide, ethylene derivatives such as ethylene oxide (EO), ethylene glycol (EG), polyethylene (PE, LLDPE, HDPE), acetic acid derivatives such as acetic anhydride, ethylene-acetic-acid derivatives such as vinyl acetate monomer (VAM), ethyl vinyl acetate (EVA), and other ethylene derivatives and/or acetic acid derivatives. Aither is in the process of selecting a location to build its catalytic cracker.

Aither Chemicals plans to offer up to the following annual product volumes, or more if there is additional interest: 600 million pounds of ethylene, 300 million pounds of acetic acid, 80 million pounds of carbon dioxide, and 40 million pounds of carbon monoxide.

Renewable Manufacturing Gateway, a Pittsburgh-based financial advisory non-profit, will advise Aither on evaluating market response to the Open Season and financing production of the commercial catalytic cracker production plant.

Aither Commercial Contact:
Steven Cohen, 614-336-7956, steven.cohen@aitherchemicals.com

Company Contacts:

Aither Chemicals: Jason Keeling, 304-720-1463, jason.keeling@aitherchemicals.com
Bayer: Ron Foster, 412-777-7618, ronald.foster1@bayer.com

Industry is taking notice of Aither Chemicals and the potential of its technology. Chief Executive Officer Leonard Dolhert has been selected as keynote speaker for Pittsburgh Chemical Day, Sept. 25.

Themed “Connecting Resources of the Future — Today! Promoting Petrochemical and Gas Liquids Industry Advancement,” the event is projected to draw over 400 attendees.

The program will feature a comprehensive look at the market dynamics of increasing shale gas availability, from the perspective of drillers, midstream suppliers, and petrochemical producers.

Dolhert will address the role of Aither Chemicals’ ethane cracker technology, and its advantages for locating at the source of natural gas supplies, reducing transportation costs, offering scalability according to need, and better energy efficiency during production.

Pittsburgh Chemical Day has been held annually since 1968, with previous keynotes offered by various experts, such as leaders of the American Chemical Society, American Chemistry Council, and various Fortune 500 chemical companies.

A panel of experts has selected Aither Chemicals as a finalist in the Shale Gas Innovation Contest, which will recognize the top two emerging technologies, product ideas or service concepts most likely to have a significant impact within the natural gas industry.

The contest is organized by the Ben Franklin Shale Gas Innovation and Commercialization Center, an organization “focused on the development of environmentally sound processes for the extraction, utilization, and safe transportation of natural gas resources.” Co-sponsors of the challenge include the Marcellus Shale Coalition, Little Pine Resources, Chesapeake Energy, First National Bank and Schlumberger.

“We’ve developed an ethane processing technology that is more cost effective and energy efficient. It’s exciting to see the natural gas industry and business leaders recognize the potential,” said Parvez Wadia, Aither’s chief scientific officer.

Aither Chemicals, which has developed a proprietary ethane “cracker” technology, has acquired new partners in support of its effort to fund and build petrochemical plants within the region containing Marcellus shale natural gas reserves.

The nonprofit organization Renewable Manufacturing Gateway (RMG) announced it would work with Aither over the next five years to raise as much as $750 million in capital. The project is expected to create over 2,000 construction jobs, 200 permanent direct production jobs, and several thousand indirect jobs.

From RMG’s press release:

Aither’s technology uses a patent-pending catalytic cracking method instead of steam cracking to make ethylene. Aither will then convert the ethylene to higher-value chemicals which are easier to ship to customers locally and worldwide. The advantages of Aither’s catalytic cracking technology (compared to steam cracking and other chemical processes) include: lower capital cost, lower operating cost, shorter time to commercial operation, better scalability, and an overall simpler process to produce higher-value products. In compliance with the principles of “green chemistry,” clean catalytic cracking technology consumes 80 percent less energy than steam cracking technology, and produces 60 percent less CO2 output.

Additionally, the INNOVA Commercialization Group recently provided funding to Aither, which has previously received investments from the West Virginia Jobs Investment Trust and TechConnectWV.