Sinopec and BASF announced a $500 million agreement Monday to expand their joint chemical site in Nanjing, China. The second joint site, Yangzi-BASF Styrenics, will be integrated into the existing site, BASF-YPC Co. Ltd.
In June 2005, BASF and Sinopec started BASF-YPC Co. Ltd., which consists of a steam cracker and nine downstream plants that are interconnected in order to use products, by-products and energy as efficiently as possible to save cost and minimize environmental impact.
The new agreement will include expansion of the steam cracker from 600,000 to 750,000 metric tons of ethylene per year; expansion of the ethylene oxide (EO) plant and development of EO derivatives to strengthen the ethylene value chain producing nonionic surfactants for detergents and the solvent butylglycol ether; development of the C4 value chain including C4-specialties butadiene and isobutene as chemical raw materials, 2-propylheptanol for a new generation plasticizer and polyisobutene derivatives as fuel and lubricant additives; expansion of the acrylics value chain to produce super absorbent polymers (SAP) for hygiene and industrial applications.
Operations are expected to start in 2009.