Hydrocarbon Processing - September 2022 - 68

History of the HPI
(U.S.). The plant was commissioned in
early 1960. Upon the success of the Lima
plant, Standard Oil Co. began licensing
the Sohio process for the cost-effective
production of acrylonitrile.
Acrylonitrile is used in numerous applications
that touch the everyday lives
of people around the world. It is a key ingredient
in acrylic fibers (used in the production
of clothing, carpeting, industrial
yarns, blankets and drapes, among several
other applications); in acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene
to produce appliances, automobile
components, sports equipment,
telephone and computer casings; specialty
chemicals; polyols; nitrile rubber to
produce fuel hoses, automotive belts and
hoses; plastic resins; and adhesives and
coatings.114
The global acrylonitrile market
reached approximately $12 B in 2020,
with forecasts showing growth to more
than $16 B by the late 2020s.116,117
Kevlar. After graduating college in the
mid-1940s, American chemist Stephanie
Kwolek took a job with DuPont. During
the 1950s/1960s, Kwolek's focus was on
research and development of new synthetic
fibers capable of performing in extreme
conditions. Her initial researched
focused on aromatic
polyamides-a
type of polymer that can be made into
strong, stiff and flame-resistant fibers.118
This work extended into the study of the
polymers poly-p-phenylene terephthalate
and polybenzamide. The focus of her
team's research was to discover a new
lightweight, strong fiber to use for light,
strong tires (FIG. 4).119
During one experiment in 1965,
Kwolek noticed the solution she was
working on had a cloudy, thin and opalescent
look when stirred, along with a low
viscosity. According to literature, she also
noticed that under certain conditions,
many rodlike polyamides would line up in
parallel (i.e., form a liquid crystalline solution),
which could be spun into oriented
fibers.120
Upon testing the solution in a
FIG. 4. Stephanie Kwolek and others of the
DuPont group that developed Kevlar. From left
to right: Kwolek, Herbert Blades, Paul Morgan
and Joseph Rivers. Photo courtesy of DuPont.
spinneret, Kwolek noticed that the fibers
that were created were incredibly stiff and
strong-these fibers had a high tensile
strength-to-weight ratio (i.e., this new
substance was five times stronger than
steel on an equal weight basis).119
Her
discovery created a whole new field of
polymer chemistry, which eventually led
to the creation of modern Kevlar in 1971.
Kevlar's first commercial use was as a
replacement for steel in racing tires in the
1970s. Since then, Kevlar has been used
in more than 200 applications, including
sporting and safety equipment, cables/
ropes, boats, airplanes, motor vehicles,
satellites, household items, and, most notably,
in bullet-proof vests. In fact, on the
day Kwolek passed away (June 18, 2014),
DuPont announced that the one millionth
Kevlar bullet-proof vest had been
sold.121
For her contribution to polymer
research, Kwolek was the first woman to
earn the Lavoisier Medal for Technical
Achievement from DuPont.
LLDPE. In 1954, DuPont Canada was
split off from its parent company Canadian
Industries Ltd. The new company's
first objective was to establish a research
laboratory in Kingston, Ontario, Canada
to identify new growth businesses, one of
them being new applications for polyethylene
(PE) production. The Kingston Research
Center team focused on producing
low-density resins by incorporating large
amounts of alpha-olefin comonomers.122
However, the product produced from
pilot plant testing-which later became
known as LLDPE-behaved differently
than conventional low-density resin processes
at the time, along with several other
production challenges. Despite these setbacks,
DuPont Canada greenlighted an
investment in a new PE production plant.
Due to the economic market conditions
in the late 1950s, DuPont Canada
could only invest capital in one PE production
plant. This facility-located in
Corunna, Ontario (outside Sarnia)-
could produce both high- and low-density
PE (HDPE/LDPE).122
The 275MMlb/yr
St. Claire River (SCLAIR)
site-commissioned in 1960-used the
same process produced in pilot plant
testing by the Kingston Research Center
team; thus, establishing the first commercial
plant to produce LLDPE. The
resin-named SCLAIR after the production
site's location-was found to be
stiffer, more heat resistant and tougher
than conventional LDPE.123
Several
FIG. 5. The Bedford Associates group, who formed Modicon in 1968 after developing the
world's first PLC, the Modicon 084. Left to right: Dick Morley, Tom Boissevain, George Schwenk
and Jonas Landau. Photo courtesy of Schneider Electric.
68 SEPTEMBER 2022 | HydrocarbonProcessing.com
modifications to optimize the process
were completed over the next several
years, providing resins that would fetch
premiums beyond commodity market
prices.122
The plant was so successful that
DuPont Canada added a second PE production
line at the Corunna site in 1976,

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