By OGJ editors
HOUSTON, July 17 -- BASF-YPC Co. Ltd., a 50-50 joint venture of BASF AG and China Petroleum & Chemical Corp. (Sinopec), plans to expand the capacity of a 600,000 tonne/year steam cracker and invest in additional downstream plants at the chemical Verbund site in Nanjing, China.
The $500 million project involves expanding the steam cracker's capacity to 750,000 tonnes/year of ethylene. Also, plans call for expansion of the ethylene oxide (EO) plant and development of EO derivatives, development of the C4 value chain including C4-specialties, and extension of the acrylics value chain to produce super-absorbent polymers.
The expanded facilities are expected to come on stream in 2009.
The JV also plans to integrate into BASF-YPC Co. its second joint operation—Yangzi-BASF Styrenics, also in Nanjing—to increase efficiency and make full use of existing synergies.