MARKET PROSPECTS

CHEMICALS

BASF builds production

capability

ASF has inaugurated two new

manufacturing plants at its site
in Freeport, Texas a production
line for polyamide 6 and a plant for
superabsorbent polymers (SAP).
The polyamide production line replaces a
facility in Enka, North Carolina. The new
line has an annual capacity of 120 000 metric tons per year. The new SAP plant has
a capacity of 180 000 metric tons per year
and replaces existing facilities in Aberdeen,
Mississippi and Portsmouth, Virginia.
BASF will expand its plant for low molecular weight, highly reactive polyisobutene,
which is marketed under the Glissopal
trademark, at its site in Antwerp, Belgium.
BASF will increase its capacity for Glissopal
in Antwerp by 25 000 tonnes to 100 000
tonnes per year. The start up of the expanded
capacity is planned for March 2008.
BASF Coatings is expanding its production and laboratory capacities for the manufacture of eco-efficient waterborne coatings
at its Wrzburg site. This is in response
to growing demand in the European and
Asian markets, especially from the automotive industry. In Mnster-Hiltrup, BASF
Coatings is also investing in the construction
of a new polyurethane reactor to produce resins for the manufacture of waterborne coatings. The combined 29 million investment
is one of the largest in the companys history.
The mothballed BASF plant for the
manufacture of tetrahydrofuran (THF) at the
Caojing site near Shanghai, China, is ready to
go back on stream. The plant is now equipped
with a new production unit enabling the alternative use of butane diol as a raw material for
THF production in addition to butane.

Bayer to build worldscale polymer polyols

plant

ayer MaterialScience is planning

to build a world-scale plant for
the manufacture of polymer-filled
polyether polyols (PMPO) at its
Antwerp site in Belgium.
The 40 million plant will have an annual
capacity of 60 000 tons and is scheduled

November 2007

PIAnov07_p01_09.indd 3

for commissioning in late 2008. Bayer

MaterialScience already manufactures polyether polyols, one of the starting materials
for polymer polyols, at the Antwerp site.

Solvay reinforces its

presence in China

olvay Solexis, a 100% subsidiary

of the Solvay Group, has confirmed that its new polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) micronized powder
plant currently under construction in
Changshu, China, will be operational
in the first quarter of 2008.
Solvay Solexis has also confirmed its intention to further develop its activities on the
site, where it is considering producing other
high value added fluorinated polymers.
The new PTFE plant is located in
the Jiangsu High-Tech Fluorochemical
Industrial Park in Changshu, 100 kms west
of Shanghai. Among the subsequent development projects considered in Changshu,
Solvay Solexis is planning to build an integrated production plant for the manufacturing of polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) for
coating applications and related monomers.

Evonik to increase
alkoxide capacity

vonik Industries AG will build an

alkoxide production facility at its
Mobile, Alabama, site in the USA.
The plant, designed for a capacity of
60 000 metric tons, is expected to come on
stream in early 2009 and will supply customers throughout the NAFTA region. A second
facility in Brazil is scheduled to start operation in 2010 and will supply the entire South
American continent.

and results in the closure of two sites

(Texarkana, Arkansas and Tracy, California).
Both facilities produce rigid polyiso foam
insulation for general insulation applications,
such as walls and roofing.

DSM invests in
capacity increases

oyal DSM NV has decided to

invest in capacity expansion and
modernization of the caprolactam
plant at the Chemelot Industrial Park
in Geleen, the Netherlands. This 25
million investment will allow DSM to
gradually expand the capacity of the
plant according to market demands.
Caprolactam is the key raw material for
Nylon-6, a highly versatile material that is
used to make not only textile, carpet and
technical fibres, but also engineering plastics
and packaging films. Nylon-6 is found in
numerous applications ranging from conveyor belts, parachutes and lingerie to automotive air-inlets and packaging for fresh food
products.
DSM will also invest to expand Dyneema
UD (UniDirectional bullet resistant sheet)
production by 25% in its Greenville, North
Carolina, USA manufacturing facility.
The investment is driven by the increasing
demand for Dyneema UD in the US market
for personal and especially vehicle security
and protection against terrorism. Production
in Greenville has a strong focus on supplying
the US army and law enforcement agencies.
The new line is expected to come on stream
in mid 2008.

Expansion for
aromatics plant

E
Dow reorganises
polyisocyanurate
production

ow Building Solutions will

reconfigure its polyisocyanurate
(polyiso) assets in North America.
The reconfiguration positions two sites
(Charleston, Illinois and Pennsauken, New
Jersey) for growth and technology upgrades;

xxonMobil Chemical is expanding its Rotterdam Aromatics

Plant, making this world-scale plant
ExxonMobils largest paraxylene
production facility, increasing its
paraxylene production capacity by
25% and benzene production capacity by 20%.
The new unit will employ ExxonMobils
proprietary PxMax technology to produce
paraxylene and benzene. The PxMax process
improves selectivity, generates less waste and
reduces energy requirements versus existing
technologies.

Pump Industry Analyst

19/11/2007 10:28:16