BASF broke ground on a new acrylic acid production complex at its Verbund site in Zhanjiang, China.
The complex includes plants for glacial acrylic acid (GAA), butyl acrylate (BA) and 2-ethylhexyl acrylate (2-EHA). BASF plans for the complex to be operational by 2025 and expects it to have an annual production capacity of approximately 400,000 metric tons of BA and 100,000 metric tons of 2-EHA.
“The groundbreaking marks a significant milestone in further expanding our production capacities in the acrylics value chain in China,” said Hartwig Michels, president of BASF’s Petrochemicals division. “These new world-scale facilities will enable us to meet the growing Chinese and Asian market demand for acrylics that are used in various industries like hygiene or paint and coatings.”
Acrylic acid is a precursor to producing superabsorbent polymers. BA, an ester of acrylic acid, is used, for example, in the production of adhesives and architectural and industrial coatings, and 2-EHA is an important raw material for adhesives and coatings.