The United Jubail Petrochemical Company (United), a manufacturing affiliate of the Saudi Basic Industries Corporation (SABIC), has awarded the engineering, procurement and construction contract for its carbon dioxide utilization project to Germany's The Linde Group to build the world's largest CO2 purification and liquefaction plant.

The plant will be designed to compress and purify about 1,500 tons per day of raw carbon dioxide coming from ethylene glycol plants. The purified gaseous CO2 will be supplied through pipes to three SABIC-affiliated companies for enhanced methanol and urea production. Methanol is a basic commodity for the chemical industry, and urea is used for fertilizer production. An estimated 500,000 tons of CO2 emissions will be saved each year.

Yousef Al-Zamel, SABIC Executive Vice President, Chemicals Strategic Business Unit, said "the project will contribute significantly to SABIC's growth strategy. It will add to SABIC's business portfolio of industrial gas products. This is the first of many other similar projects to be executed next year."

The plant will also be capable of producing 200 tons per day of liquid CO2 with food grade quality which will be stored and thereafter supplied by truck to the beverage and food industry. It is the first carbon capture and utilization (CCU) project to be realized in Saudi Arabia. The reduction of CO2 emissions is an important aim in SABIC's sustainability strategy.