PLANTS AND PROJECTS

Solvay Branches Out in Sulfone Specialty Polymers

Solvay Advanced Polymers, LLC (Alpharetta, GA; www.solvay-advancedpolymers.com) is planning to construct a sulfone polymers plant that will nearly triple the company's existing polyethersulfone (PES) capacity. The facility, which is expected to cost around $50 million, is slated to be commissioned in 2006, at which time it will produce the full suite of Radel PES and polyphenylsulfone (PPS) products.

Polypropylene Production Site Slated for Middle East

Sahara Petrochemical (Riyadh, Saudi Arabia; www.zamil.com) and Basell NV (Hoofddorp, Netherlands; www.basell.com) have signed an agreement to construct a 450-kton/yr polypropylene plant and propane dehydrogenation unit in Al-Jubail, Saudi Arabia. The facilities will be operated by a joint venture that the partners plan to establish this year. This agreement includes a license for Sahara Petrochemical to use Basell's Spherizone process, which features a multi-zone circulating reactor system that creates polypropylene. The polypropylene will be marketed globally by Basell. The propane dehydrogenation unit will feature UOP's (Des Plaines, IL; www.uop.com) Oleflex, a catalytic dehydrogenation technology that makes propylene from propane and isobutylene from isobutane. Startup of the new plant is targeted for the end of 2007.

BP to Close U.S. Linear Alpha Olefin Production Plant in Texas

BP Plc (London, U.K.; www.bp.com) is planning to shut down its linear alpha olefin (LAO) production facility in Pasadena, TX, by the end of this year, cutting its global LAO capacity by 500,000 metric ton (m.t.)/yr. The closure is the result of sluggish product demands, high feedstock and energy costs and overcapacity of LAO in the marketplace. This abundance is attributed to recent plant expansions by BP and other producers, which have added over 450,000 m.t./yr to global LAO output. BP will continue to supply customers with LAO from its Joffre, Alberta, Canada, and Feluy, Belgium, facilities, which have respective outputs of 250,000 m.t./yr and 300,000 m.t./yr.

Degussa's Catalyst Center Offers Cradle-to-Grave Manufacturing

Degussa AG (D�sseldorf, Germany; www.degussa.com) has opened a new catalyst development center that accommodates R&D through production activities for homogeneous, heterogeneous and biological catalysts. The $12.6 million facility, located at Degussa's Hanau-Wolfgang site near Frankfurt, houses the Biocatalysis Service Center, the Synthesis and Catalysts business unit, and a new internal start-up company called Degussa Homogeneous Catalysts. These operations will handle projects ranging from screening for the best substance to catalyze a particular reaction, to developing the manufacturing process, to supplying that catalyst for commercial use. Products can currently be supplied in kilogram-scale quantities.

New Akzo Nobel Factory Boosts Coatings Coverage in Vietnam

Just seven months after construction work began on a 40,000-m^sup 2^ greenfield site in Dong Nai, Vietnam, for Akzo Nobel N.V.'s (Arnhem, the Netherlands; www.akzonobel.com) new decorative coatings plant, paint has officially started to flow off the production line. Operated by the company's Decorative Coatings International (DCI) business, the factory is expected to increase Akzo Nobel's coatings market share in that region and position the firm to launch production of its full product range of decorative coatings by yearend.

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BASF Unveils Coatings Plant in Monterrey, Mexico

BASF AG's (Ludwigshafen, Germany; www.basf.com) coil coatings customers in the Nuevo Leon, Mexico, region will benefit from faster product delivery and an enhanced level of service, thanks to a new paint-on-demand (POD) manufacturing plant in Monterrey. This facility, a satellite operation of BASF's site in Tultitlan, Mexico, will provide customers with small-batch (1,000 L or less) production and delivery of products, as well as laboratory and technical services. A variety of technologies will be used to meet customer specifications for a wide range of products (e.g., Fluoroceram PVDF coatings and Superl SP II ULTRA-Cool siliconized polyester - a "cool" coating that offers high reflectivity in a wide range of colors).