BASF to build new formic acid plant in the USA

(basf) -- BASF announced its plans to build a world scale production plant for formic acid at its integrated "Verbund" site in Geismar, Louisiana.

The new plant will create 20 new jobs and have an annual capacity of more than 50,000 tons. It will be the only formic acid production plant in North America and will allow BASF to better serve strategic markets in North and South America including applications for pharmaceuticals, energy, animal nutrition, leather and cleaning products. Start-up of the new plant is expected in the 2nd quarter 2014.

BASF currently operates two formic acid production plants located at the company's integrated Verbund sites in Ludwigshafen, Germany, and Nanjing, China, with a total annual capacity of more than 255,000 tons.

BASF's customers use formic acid as an eco-friendly solution in a wide range of applications such as in animal feed where it provides protection of the feed and supports the health of the animal itself. Potassium formate, a salt of formic acid, is an environmentally friendly and highly efficient de-icing agent used on roads and airport runways. It is easily biodegradable thereby protecting aquatic wildlife in nearby rivers and watersheds.


MRC

Chevron Phillips studied location for two new PE lines

(plasteurope) -- Chevron Phillips Chemical (CPChem, The Woodlands, Texas / USA) has wrapped up the study of where to locate two new polyethylene lines - part of the group's US Gulf Coast Petrochemicals Project.


At the beginning of May 2012, the US petrochemical giant announced that the two lines, with an estimated capacity of 500,000 t/y each, would be built near its existing Sweeny / Old Ocean facility in Texas. CPChem also said the lines, which will be designed by Jacobs Engineering Group (Pasadena, California / USA), will utilise its proprietary Loop Slurry Technology. CPChem's current cracker capacity in Sweeny stands at almost 1.9m t/y.


The US group simultaneously announced that it had reached a front-end engineering and design (FEED) agreement with Shaw Energy & Chemicals, part of Shaw Group (Baton Rouge, Louisiana / USA), whereby the latter will design CPChem's 1.5m t/y ethane cracker in Cedar Bayou, Texas. The group said it expects to complete its entire Gulf Coast petrochemicals hub - which will create about 400 long-term and an estimated 10,000 construction jobs - by 2017.
MRC

Evonik establishes JV in South Africa

(evonik) -- Evonik Industries established a joint venture, Evonik Acrylics Africa (EAA), with the South African plastics processor Ampaglas Plastics Group for extrusion of PLEXIGLAS sheet products. The new company is headquartered in Elandsfontein, Johannesburg.

The goal of the joint venture, in which Evonik holds a 51 percent stake, is the production of high-quality PLEXIGLAS sheeting and its marketing, particularly in the growth markets of the African continent. The focus here lies on the building and architecture market segments, the design-oriented lighting technologies segment, and furniture, shopfitting, and exhibition booth construction.

"The new company combines the advantages of both its parents: production of innovative products by high international quality standards, coupled with high flexibility and short response times as a result of local production," says Michael Traxler, head of Evonik's Acrylic Polymers Business Line. Evonik ensures a continuous supply of raw materials from its production sites for molding compounds in Germany, China, and the U.S.
MRC

Jakob Muller to build new plant in China

(textination) -- The producer of textile machinery, Jakob Muller AG, Frick/Switzerland, opened its first production site in China in 1997. Now, 15 years later, a new, larger plant is going online in Suzhou.

Meanwhile, the number of machines sold and produced in China annually is well above 1,000 units. Additionally, the Raschelina warp crochet knitting system, produced exclusively in China, has been successfully exported throughout the world for many years.

The new Muller base in Suzhou can be viewed during an Open House from June 4-7, 2012. The official opening ceremony will take place on June 8, 2012.

MRC

Some major chemical suppliers reported good start in 2012

(canplastics) -- Despite the odd bump, some of the major global chemical suppliers are reporting promising starts to 2012.

LyondellBasell's net income for the first quarter dropped 9.2% year on year to USD599 million on weak European and Asian sales of olefins and polymers (O&P), the company said in a press release.

But O&P earnings in the Americas were up 23.6% year on year at USD598 million and up strongly on the USD407 million reported for the 2011 fourth quarter.

BASF is also reporting a solid start to 2012. According to the company, first quarter 2012 sales rose 6% to 20.6 billion euro, but income before special items decreased to 2.5 billion euro, down 7% compared to the same period in 2011.

In the company's plastics segment, sales were slightly reduced compared with the first quarter of 2011. ⌠Higher prices and currency effects made a positive contribution to sales development; sales volumes were weaker. Lower margins led to a significant decline in earnings, the Germany-based company said in a press release.
MRC