Saudi Basic Industries Corporation (SABIC) and German-based The Linde Group announced recently the first successful commercialization of Linear Alpha Olefins (LAO), using ?-SABLIN® technology developed jointly by SABIC and Linde. “This first commercialization of LAOs at Jubail is very much in keeping with SABIC's continuous search for innovative technologies that can be employed to bring new and better product solutions to the marketplace,” said Dr Abdulrahman Al-Ubaid, SABIC's Vice-President Technology and Innovation. "The commercialization of this technology is a big success for SABIC and Linde by using this technology in new commercial solutions and applications in global markets. The ? SABLIN® process is the first and only commercially proven LAO technology which is available for licensing to third parties," said Dr Markus Raab, Managing Director of Linde"s Engineering Division. The ? SABLIN® manufacturing process uses ethylene as a feedstock for a one-stage homogeneous reaction that produces a full range of high-purity LAOs, according to a latest report carried by SABIC-Web site. LAOs have a large variety of applications, such as light-cut production of Butene-1, Hexene-1 and Octene-1 used in the growing polyethylene market. Medium cuts such as Decene-1, Dodecene-1 and Tetradecene-1 are used for synthetic oils, detergents and shampoos. Heavy cuts are used in lube oil additives, surfactants, oil field chemicals and wax product applications.
