BASF plans capacity expansion at Geismar petrochemicals plant

Jan. 22, 2015
BASF Corp., the North American affiliate of BASF SE, Ludwigshafen, Germany, plans to boost production of 1, 4-butanediol (BDO) at its Geismar, La., petrochemicals plant by next year.

BASF Corp., the North American affiliate of BASF SE, Ludwigshafen, Germany, plans to boost production of 1, 4-butanediol (BDO) at its Geismar, La., petrochemicals plant by next year.

The Geismar plant will increase its BDO production capacity by 10% as of 2016, lifting the company’s global BDO production to 670,000 tonnes/year, BASF said.

The Geismar expansion comes amid steadily growing customer demand for the chemical intermediate, which has prompted BASF to examine additional measures to further strengthen and expand the site’s BDO value chain, the company said.

In addition to the Geismar and Ludwigshafen plants, BASF also produces BDO at its operations in Kuantan, Malaysia; Caojing, China; and Chiba, Japan.

Along with its joint venture partner Xinjiang Markor Chemical Industry Co. Ltd., BASF also plans to commission in 2015 a 100,000-tpy BDO plant in Korla, China, according to a July 9, 2013, release from the company.

A chemical intermediate made from feedstocks of natural gas, goal, butane, butadiene, and propylene BDO is used in the production of plastics, solvents, electronic chemical components, elastic fibers, and biodegradable plastics.