On January 24, BASF and China Petroleum & Chemical Corporation (Sinopec) broke ground on the construction of its world-scale isononanol (INA) plant in Maoming Hi-tech Industrial Development Zone, Maoming, China.
At start-up in 2015, the plant, which is said to be the first of its kind in China, will serve the increasing market demand for next-generation plasticizers, run by a newly-formed 50-50 joint venture company, BASF MPCC Company Limited.
“High quality and reliable plasticizers help underpin industrial growth, and with this plant we will be well positioned to serve China’s growing demands. Additionally, this project brings us a step closer to BASF’s strategic goal to better serve local industries with local production in Asia Pacific of approximately 75% by 2020.” says Dr Albert Heuser, President, Functions Asia Pacific, President and Chairman, Greater China, BASF.
“This project is the first of its kind to bring BASF’s advanced INA technology into China, and to build a world-scale INA plant at Maoming Hi-tech Industrial Development Zone. It not only fills the country’s INA production gap, but also opens a new chapter for the strategic alliance between SINOPEC and BASF. I hope both shareholders continue to broaden our co-operation, and to explore how to further utilize SINOPEC Maoming, this area’s refinery products, and the public infrastructure, so as to maximize the production of BASF MPCC Company Limited and both shareholders’ business interests,” said Dr Yu Xizhi, President of Sinopec Corp. Maoming Company.
INA is used as the feedstock for the production of next generation plasticizers, including diisononyl phthalate (DINP) and non-phthalate plasticizer Hexamoll DINCH, said BASF. DINP is widely used as a plasticizer in industrial applications such as automotive, wires, building and construction, while Hexamoll DINCH is BASF’s non-phthalate plasticizer for sensitive applications, including toys as well as food contact and medical applications.
