BASF: China cracker for petchems to start-up by year end; Catalyst installation at Taiwan’s Nan Ya Plastics allows for sustainability

German chemical firm BASF says it has reached two milestones at its Zhanjiang site: the start-up of the butyl acrylate (BA) plant and the mechanical completion of the steam cracker and all integrated petrochemical plants. These achievements mark steady progress toward the site’s full operational start-up by the end of 2025.

The butyl acrylate plant commenced operations in August. It has an annual capacity of approximately 400,000 tonnes, and will cater to customers in the adhesives, industrial coatings, and architectural coatings industries.

Moreover, BASF has achieved mechanical completion of the steam cracker and all downstream petrochemical plants, including ethylene oxide, oxo alcohols, syngas, and high-density polyethylene (HDPE), at the Zhanjiang site, paving the way for commissioning and start-up activities scheduled for the end of 2025.

Strategically located close to customers, the Zhanjiang site is a cornerstone of BASF’s strategy to drive growth in the petrochemicals industry across Asia Pacific. As a fully backward integrated complex, the site includes a steam cracker with an annual capacity of 1 million tonnes of ethylene, along with downstream petrochemical plants. These facilities are scheduled to begin operations by the end of 2025, providing a wide range of petrochemical products to cater to the diverse needs of industries across the region.

Meanwhile in other news, Taiwan’s Nan Ya Plastics Corporation says the installation of BASF’s Synspire G1-110 catalyst at its 2-Ethylhexanol (2-EH) Mailiao site has resulted in the reduction of annual steam consumption of the site by approximately 40,000 tonnes, avoiding 38,000 tonnes of CO2 emissions.

The 2-EH site is part of Nan Ya’s facilities dedicated to producing high-performance 2-EH from n-butyraldehyde via condensation, hydrogenation, distillation and refinement. 2-EH is an important raw material for numerous downstream products.

BASF says its Synspire catalyst G1-110 is designed to reform methane and CO2 under significantly dryer conditions than steam methane reforming processes. The catalyst is engineered to maintain peak performance over prolonged operating cycles, owing to its resistance to carbon-induced deactivation. This allows customers to lower steam consumption while realising high CO2 uptake and conversion rates.

Nan Ya Plastics Corporation, established in 1958, is a subsidiary of Formosa Plastics Group. It specialises in plastic processing, plastic raw materials, electronic materials, and polyester fibres.

SUBSCRIBE to Get the Latest Updates from PRA    Click Here»