LEHIGH VALLEY, Pa., Jan. 13 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Air Products (NYSE: APD), a leading supplier of industrial gases and equipment, has completed the manufacturing of a world-scale carbon monoxide (CO) coldbox at its cryogenic equipment manufacturing facility in Caojing, Shanghai for Yangzi Petrochemical Corporation, a subsidiary of Sinopec Corporation. It is the largest CO coldbox and the largest workshop-built CO coldbox that Air Products has ever constructed for its customers globally. A completion ceremony was held today at the Caojing Manufacturing Facility.

Weighing over 300 tons and measuring over 70,000 cubic feet, the CO coldbox for Yangzi Petrochemical was designed with Air Products world class cryogenic technologies. It was completely manufactured at the Caojing Manufacturing Facility in Shanghai, one of Air Products' three global manufacturing centers to build various types of industrial gas separation equipment. Building coldboxes in the workshop increases safety, reliability, and quality of the manufacturing process, and hence the equipment quality.

"The Caojing Manufacturing Facility is part of Air Products' strategic business blueprint to serve our customers in China and Asia with local manufacturing capabilities by bringing our world class technologies and standards to the region," said Li Bing, general manager of Air Products' Caojing Manufacturing Facility. "We have already built many oxygen and nitrogen coldboxes for our customers throughout Asia. The CO coldbox for Yangzi Petrochemical is a new milestone for us in scale, scope and technologies."

The coldbox will produce over 300,000 tons per year of CO and will be used in the 500,000 ton per year acetic acid factory of Yangzi Petrochemical. In addition to CO, the coldbox will produce hydrogen and syngas, a mix of carbon monoxide and hydrogen, to produce methanol, fuel, acetic acid and other products. Acetic acid is a basic chemical used in paints, adhesives, plastic bottles, foods, construction materials and hundreds of other consumer products.

Air Products will ship the CO coldbox via the Yangtze River and work with Yangzi Petrochemical for the road transportation to deliver the coldbox to its facility at the Nanjing Petrochemical Complex in Jiangsu Province, a journey totaling over 150 miles from Shanghai. Air Products will supervise the installation of the CO coldbox at the Nanjing site.

Strategically located adjacent to the Shanghai Chemicals Industry Park and connected with harbor and highways, the Air Products' Caojing Manufacturing Facility builds equipment to diverse specifications to support projects in China, Taiwan, Korea, Southeast Asia, India, and other parts of the world. The facility is one of Air Products' three global distillation column and coldbox manufacturing centers, the others located in the United States in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, and in the United Kingdom in Acrefair.

A subsidiary of Sinopec Corporation, one of the largest crude oil and petrochemical companies in China and Asia, Yangzi Petrochemical is a state-owned petrochemical enterprise that processes crude oil and produces petrochemical products used in a variety of sectors including light industry, textile, electronics, food processing, automobile, aviation and agriculture.

Air Products (NYSE: APD) serves customers in industrial, energy, technology and healthcare markets worldwide with a unique portfolio of atmospheric gases, process and specialty gases, performance materials, and equipment and services. Founded in 1940, Air Products has built leading positions in key growth markets such as semiconductor materials, refinery hydrogen, home healthcare services, natural gas liquefaction, and advanced coatings and adhesives. The company is recognized for its innovative culture, operational excellence and commitment to safety and the environment. Air Products has annual revenues of over $10 billion, operations in over 40 countries, and 21,000 employees around the globe. For more information, visit www.airproducts.com.

***NOTE: This release may contain forward-looking statements. Actual results could vary materially, due to changes in current expectations.

SOURCE  Air Products
    -0-                           01/13/2009
    /CONTACT:  Media Inquiries: Jessica Cheng of Air Products-Asia,
852-2863-0585, chengjs@airproducts.com, or Art George of Air Products-U.S.,
+1-610-481-1340, georgeaf@airproducts.com, or Investor Inquiries, Nelson
Squires of Air Products, +1-610-481-7461, squirenj@airproducts.com/
    /Web Site:  http://www.airproducts.com /
    (APD)

CO:  Air Products; Yangzi Petrochemical Corporation; Sinopec Corporation

ST:  Pennsylvania, China
IN:  CHM
SU:

PR
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2180 01/13/2009 12:29 EST http://www.prnewswire.com