(Evonik) -- Evonik Industries, Essen (Germany) has started up a new facility to produce high-purity isobutene at its site in Antwerp (Belgium). The new plant, which involved investment of tens of millions euros, can produce up to 110 KT isobutene p.a. and forms part of the site's integrated C4 production platform. The investment has tripled Evonik's production capacity for isobutene, which is used, for example, for butyl rubber for applications such as inner liners with low air permeability in automotive tires.
Evonik's integrated C4 production complex in Antwerp is on of the world's leading technology platforms in this field. As a specialty chemicals group, Evonik produces high-quality starting products and intermediates from crude C4, a by-product of ethylene and propylene production.