Heartland Polymers has successfully completed its polypropylene (PP) plant and has begun initial production at the Heartland Petrochemical Complex in Alberta, Canada, where railcars are currently being loaded with North America’s newest source of polypropylene using Alberta-based propylene feedstock.

“A safe commissioning of our polypropylene plant is a crucial step towards commercial production of Heartland Polymers,” says Jim Madro, senior vice president, Petrochemicals. “The polypropylene plant has been producing pellets since late June with polymer grade propylene (PGP) from our storage cavern. The entire Heartland Complex remains on schedule for an integrated start-up in the third quarter of this year, at which point Heartland will begin commercial production.”

Heartland Polymers will initially produce homopolymers with plans to add random copolymers in 2023. Once commercial production is underway, Heartland is expected to produce 525,000 tons of polypropylene annually, filling approximately 18 rail cars per day, seven days a week.

“Heartland Polymers is anticipated to be one of the most reliable, service-oriented polypropylene producers in the industry,” says Yonas Kebede, director, Polypropylene Sales and Marketing. “We have rail connections to every major shipping hub in North America, storage-in-transit to expedite delivery times, real-time GPS shipment tracking, and our geographic location means we are less vulnerable to extreme weather incidents that can cause downtime, additionally we have reliable access to one of the world’s largest sources of propane feedstock.”

The plant was commissioned using PGP feedstock from a cavern at its parent company, Inter Pipeline’s Redwater Olefinic Fractionator. The primary source of feedstock will be an on-site PDH plant, which is expected to enter integrated service with the polypropylene plant in the third quarter of this year making it the first integrated complex of its kind in North America. The optionality of both the storage caverns and direct on-site production of PGP ensures Heartland Polymers customers exceptional reliability on a go-forward basis.