BASF and Sinopec inaugurated two new
plants for acrylic acid and superabsor-bent polymers (SAP) at their Verbund
site, BASF-YPC Co., Ltd., a 50-50 joint
venture in Nanjing, China. Additionally,
a new butyl acrylate plant will begin production later this year. The new plants
will further strengthen the C3 (
propylene) value chain and serve the growing
downstream demand, BASF stated. With
an annual capacity of 60,000 metric
tons, the new SAP plant will serve growing demand in China for baby diapers,
adult incontinence products and feminine care products.
“BASF is investing in Asia Pacific to
produce 75 percent of our Asia Pacific
sales locally, in order to ensure faster,
more energy-efficient, more reliable supply. With the start-up of these projects,
we continue to build on the success of
our strong partnership with Sinopec, and
reinforce our commitment to serving the
hygiene industry in China and Asia as
well as around the world,” said Albert
Heuser, president, Greater China and
Functions Asia Pacific, BASF. “The start-up of these projects will continuously improve the company’s ability to meet the
demands of our customers. It will create
new opportunities for sustainability and
will make a positive contribution to clean
production. It will also enhance industrial development,” said Chang Zhenyong,
vice chief engineer, director of chemical
department, Sinopec Corporation.
BASF’s “Verbund” system creates efficient value chains that extend from
basic chemicals right through to high-value-added products. In addition, the
by-products of one plant can be used as
the starting materials of another. At the
BASF-YPC Verbund site in Nanjing, SAP,
butyl acrylate and acrylic acid production will be backward integrated into the
manufacturing of C3. This ensures greater supply reliability, energy efficiency, and
cost effectiveness, while minimizing energy use and environmental impact.
Ashland Launches New
Service for the Coatings
Industry
Ashland Specialty Ingredients rolled out
a new service to help coatings chemists
objectively determine paint application
“feel” according to key parameters.
Paint application feel refers to how it
feels to roll paint onto a surface. Typically,
a trained evaluator relies on experience
to characterize subjective impressions of
a paint rollout. Ashland has created a device that objectively measures the parameters that comprise paint application feel.
Created by Ashland researchers, the
paint application feel device is called the
Application Reader Technology, (ART).
The ART process includes a portable
frame, a mounting panel and a force
plate. To determine an objective measure
of paint feel, technicians first roll paint
in several directions on to the ART force
plate. The ART captures the details of
each paint stroke, speed of roller movement, the work of rolling and the normal
and shear forces generated during the rollout process. The weight applied, painting
time and distance are also recorded.
Using these measurements and in-house developed software, the ART calculates the total work of rolling, which
is expressed in W, the general designation
for work, expressed as J, for Joules; average speed of rolling; normalized work of
rolling; and average painting force.
“These factors reflect how the paint
feel affects how an individual paints,” said
Abe Vaynberg, senior scientist, Ashland
Specialty Ingredients. “We can see how
one changes his or her style in response
to paint choice and application feel.”
Vaynberg noted that the parameters
of paint application feel can be used
as a baseline to help coatings manu-
facturers maintain consistency in their
formulations.
“We encourage the coatings com-
munity to bring us their formulations,
whether in progress or completed
coatings,” said Vaynberg. “Using the
ART, we will quantify the parameters
that determine the paint application feel.
Then we will help select the appropriate
rheology modifier to maintain that paint
feel, or to adjust one of the parameters
as necessary to meet or achieve our cus-
tomers’ desired outcomes.”
Bayer Boosts HDI
Production for Coatings in
Asia Pacific with New Plant
in Shanghai
Bayer MaterialScience is increasing its
production capacities in the Asia Pacific
region to meet the continued growth in
demand for raw materials for coatings
and adhesives. Ground was broken at the
site in Shanghai, China, recently for a new
plant for the production of the precursor
hexamethylene diisocyanate (HDI). With
an annual capacity of 50,000 metric tons,
it will be the one of the largest facilities
of its kind in the world. Completion is
scheduled for 2016.
Bayer already has one HDI plant in
Shanghai, which was expanded in 2013
from its original annual capacity of
30,000 metric tons.
There is considerable demand in the
region and China, in particular, for coatings and adhesives, which are used in the
automotive industry, the construction
sector and the textile and shoe industries, among others. This growth is being
driven to a large extent by the growing
middle class, which has an increasing appetite for high-quality end products.
“The construction of our new HDI
plant documents our confidence in the
Asia/Pacific market and China, in particular,” said Daniel Meyer, who heads the
Coatings, Adhesives, Specialties (CAS)
Business Unit at Bayer MaterialScience.
“We are determined to continue to
grow here in harmony with the rising
demand in the region for innovative solutions for polyurethane-based coatings
and adhesives.” CW
BASF and Sinopec Inaugurate
Acrylic Acid and SAP Plants in Nanjing
