MOSCOW (MRC) -- BASF, the world's petrochemical major, has announced plans for a major investment in a pioneering superabsorbent technology platform of its hygiene business, reported the company on its site.
BASF will invest up to EUR500 million (USD625 million) over the next 2 to 3 years to establish droplet polymerization capacities worldwide by revamping existing plants. The rollout of the new technology underlines BASF’s technology leadership and leading position in the market for superabsorbent polymers.
Superabsorbent polymers are polymers that can absorb and retain extremely large amounts of liquid relative to their own mass. They are used as a main component in baby diapers, incontinence products and feminine hygiene products. BASF researchers have worked intensively in the last decade to develop a new technology and optimize the corresponding production processes. BASF will launch a new generation of highly innovative superabsorbent polymers under the trademark SAVIVATM. The launch is scheduled sequentially, starting end of 2016.
Based on its round-shaped particles with micro-pores, SAVIVATM has an innovative liquid distribution mechanism, making it a highly efficient superabsorbent polymer in a diaper core. It has been tested comprehensively in laboratories, in diaper prototypes and with end consumers in home-use tests, confirming its outstanding properties and its performance in diapers. Selected customers have already given positive feedback.
"To launch this breakthrough innovation in a fast and efficient way, BASF has developed a revamp strategy. In order to keep time-to-market as short as possible, BASF will extend and modify already existing production sites," said Michael Heinz, Member of the Board of Executive Directors, BASF SE. Existing facilities will in future be able to produce both SAVIVATM and the current product HySorb a.
The first wave of revamping existing plants will be kicked off in Europe, closely followed by plants in Asia and the Americas. This underlines the business approach BASF is taking, investing close to its customers and providing a global footprint for a reliable, global supply.
As MRC informed before, in September 2014, BASF announced the start-up of a new butadiene extraction plant at its Verbund site in Antwerp, Belgium. The plant has an annual production capacity of 155,000 metric tons. The plant in Antwerp is BASF’s second butadiene extraction plant in Europe. BASF already operates a butadiene extraction plant at its Verbund site in Ludwigshafen, Germany, with an annual production capacity of 105,000 metric tons. With the plant in Antwerp, BASF is more than doubling its production capacity for butadiene in Europe.
BASF is the world’s leading chemical company. Its portfolio ranges from chemicals, plastics, performance products and crop protection products to oil and gas. BASF had sales of about EUR74 billion in 2013 and over 112,000 employees as of the end of the year.
MRC