BASF is to build a new butadiene extraction plant
BASF the German chemical giant is planning to build a new butadiene extraction plant at its combined site in Antwerp (B) to secure internal supply of butadiene in Europe and to make use of the future opportunities of external markets
The new plant will have a capacity of 155000 metric tons annually and start-up should take place in 2014. The investment will be in the high double-digit EUR millions.
The investment decision was taken due to the increasingly tight supplies of butadiene on the global markets and because the volumes of available butadiene has declined sharply and on the other hand demand from the tire industry and other industrial segments has been rising and these factors led to considerable increases in price.
Butadiene is extracted from crude C4, a product from the steam cracker and it the announced investment is important for the combined site in Antwerp and will create 15 to 20 new jobs. At the same time by improving the integration of the C4 value chain it leads to less costs for logistics and transports involved.
BASF operates already a butadiene extraction plant at its combined site of Ludwigshafen, Germany, with an annual capacity of 10500 metric tons. The raw material Butadiene is applied to produce synthetic rubber, among other applications. The tyre industry is the main destination for Butadiene, other applications include paper chemicals and plastic production.