MOSCOW (MRC) -- BASF SE is moving forward with its previously announced plan to expand production capacity of ethylene oxide (EO) and EO derivatives at subsidiary BASF Antwerpen NV’s Verbund manufacturing site in Antwerp, Belgium, reported Oil&Gal Journal.
At a total investment amounting to more than EUR500 million, the expansion will add a second large EO plant at the site to increase production capacity by about 400,000 tonnes/year, as well as involve additional investments in various installations for EO derivatives, including nonionic surfactants, glycol ethers for automotive applications, and other alkoxylates, BASF said.
Phased start-up of the expansion is scheduled for 2022, according to the operator.
The expansions come as part of BASF’s plan to further strengthen its backward integration into EO to support continued growth of its customers in downstream markets.
In Europe, BASF - the largest producer of EO derivatives in the region - operates EO plants with a combined capacity of 845,000 tonnes/year in Antwerp and Ludwigshafen in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany.
As MRC informed before, in early September 2019, SIBUR, the largest petrochemical comples in Russia and Eastern Europe, and BASF, Geman petrochemical major, agreed to closely cooperate on sustainable development to share their best practices. SIBUR held a design session on sustainable development in the petrochemical industry. At the event, BASF shared details on its new sustainability strategy and its integration into the company's overall strategy. The participants were also presented with the company's methods of environmental impact assessment and approach to the circular economy, which embraces opportunities for chemical recycling of plastics, such as the ChemCycling project. With chemical recycling, fossil resources for chemical production can be replaced with recycled material from plastic waste.
Ethylene and propylene are feedstocks for producing polyethylene (PE) and polypropylene (PP).
According to MRC's ScanPlast report, Russia's estimated PE consumption totalled 1,589,580 tonnes in the first nine months of 2019, up by 7% year on year. Shipments of all PE grades increased. The estimated PP consumption in the Russian market was 976,790 tonnes in January-September 2019, up by 4% year on year. Shipments of PP block copolymer and homopolymer PP increased.
BASF is the leading chemical company. It produces a wide range of chemicals, for example solvents, amines, resins, glues, electronic-grade chemicals, industrial gases, basic petrochemicals and inorganic chemicals. The most important customers for this segment are the pharmaceutical, construction, textile and automotive industries.
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