Sasol Ltd improves the production capacity of its Sasolburg cracker by installing a new ethylene splitter unit, known as Ethylene Purification Unit-5, or EPU5, that was inaugurated Tuesday. With this Sasol has expanded the ethylene production capacity of its 90,000 mt/year ethylene cracker at Sasolburg by debottlenecking cracker.

The move will lead to a downstream rise in production of 47,000 mt/year of polyethylene, Sasol said. The company currently operates a 150,000 mt/year low density polyethylene and 220,000 mt/year linear low density polyethylene plant at its Sasolburg complex.

Its global ethylene production capacity -- from operations in Asia, Europe, and the US -- is 1.19 million mt/year of ethylene, 472,000 mt/year of low density polyethylene, 150,000 mt/year of medium and high density polyethylene, and 150,000 mt/year of linear low density polyethylene.

EPU5 is already in operation phase. Half of the additional 47,000 mt/year of polyethylene will be reached within the next six months, while the plant is expected to reach full capacity by 2017, Sasol said.