BASF ups reaction capacity at Antwerp site

BASF is to increase its capacity for cyclohexane oxidation at its Antwerp Verbund site by about 50,000t per year with an investment of €10 million to improve its polyamide 6 and polyamide 6.6 value chain.

The chemical company said cyclohexane oxidation products are important intermediates for caprolactam and adipic acid, starting materials for polyamide 6 (PA 6) and polyamide 6.6 (PA 6.6). PA 6 and PA 6.6 are used in lightweight components for flexible food packaging, as well as cars, fishing lines and nets through to textile fibers for outdoor sportswear and carpets.
 
BASF said the expansion will be implemented as part of two long-term planned turnarounds and is intended to be completed by the end of 2014.
 
Hermann Althoff, head of the polyamide and intermediates global business unit at BASF, said: ‘By expanding the cyclohexane oxidation capacity, we are further increasing backward integration of the polyamide value chain at the Antwerp Verbund site. This de-bottlenecking project will help us to reduce our dependency on external suppliers of cyclohexane oxidation products.’