BASF takes its alkylethanolamines stateside
(AEOA) plant at its US site in Louisiana, as increasing American
demand pushes the company to increase worldwide production
capacities for these important intermediates by 40 per cent.
The new facility, due to be operational in 2007, complements BASF's existing amine production facilities at its site in Geismar.
The site already manufactures some 20 different specialty amines and the new AEOAs will serve a number of markets including pharmaceuticals, water treatment, polyurethane catalysts and coatings.
The new factory will adhere to BASF's Verbund model of integration where value-adding chains of production are created in which by-products and waste from one plant serve as the raw materials in other plants.
Among the company's existing Verbund facilities is its site in Ludwigshafen, Germany, where AEOA are also made there.
"There is globally one-digit growth in the AEOA market and we see growth potential in the US where seek to increase availability for our clients," BASF spokesman Klaus-Peter Rieser told In-PharmaTechnologist.com.
"We will be integrating the new plant with our existing facilities in Geismar and this will result in a number of savings, including in raw materials, electricity and logistics."
AEOAs are mainly used as precursors for flocculants applied in water treatment.
In addition they are utilised in fabric softener production and in the coatings industry where they act as binders between pigments and resins.
BASF has the world's most diverse portfolio of amines, including chiral amines of high optical and chemical purity.
