09.04.15
Evonik Industries has started up new production plants for C4-based products in the Marl Chemical Park, Germany.
This expansion of production in Marl is part of a capacity expansion throughout Europe for C4-based products, in which Evonik has invested a three-digit million euro amount in total.
At the heart of the new plants at Evonik’s largest site is the widely visible 90-meter column, the highest within the specialty chemicals company. This is a symbol of a new technology that, for the first time anywhere in the world, utilizes special material streams from refineries for production of C4 chemicals. These streams are supplied by the neighboring BP refinery in Gelsenkirchen.
“With the expansion of our C4 capacities we’re sustainably strengthening our market position,” said Klaus Engel, chairman of the Executive Board of Evonik Industries.
In addition to the expansion in Marl, Evonik has also invested in the C4 activities in Antwerp, Belgium, where the plants in question went on stream in the second quarter of 2015. The new production facilities have resulted in capacity expansion for the plasticizer alcohol isononanol in Marl, butadiene in Antwerp, and the fuel additive MTBE in both Marl and Antwerp.
“Our investments are supporting the growth plans of our customers in Europe and worldwide,” Johann-Caspar Gammelin, Chairman of the Board of Management of Evonik Performance Materials GmbH, said. “Market analyses show that global demand for these products is growing by up to 5% annually.”
The Marl plant also marks a technological milestone for Evonik, as FCC-C4 material streams can be used for production of a wider range of chemicals. The steam or naphtha cracker has so far been the major source for extraction of basic petrochemicals. However, there are significantly more FCC (fluid catalytic cracking) crackers than steam crackers worldwide.
“The new technology significantly expands our raw-material base,” Gammelin said. “It gives us access to raw-material streams that have so far not been used for downstream chemical processing.”
This expansion of production in Marl is part of a capacity expansion throughout Europe for C4-based products, in which Evonik has invested a three-digit million euro amount in total.
At the heart of the new plants at Evonik’s largest site is the widely visible 90-meter column, the highest within the specialty chemicals company. This is a symbol of a new technology that, for the first time anywhere in the world, utilizes special material streams from refineries for production of C4 chemicals. These streams are supplied by the neighboring BP refinery in Gelsenkirchen.
“With the expansion of our C4 capacities we’re sustainably strengthening our market position,” said Klaus Engel, chairman of the Executive Board of Evonik Industries.
In addition to the expansion in Marl, Evonik has also invested in the C4 activities in Antwerp, Belgium, where the plants in question went on stream in the second quarter of 2015. The new production facilities have resulted in capacity expansion for the plasticizer alcohol isononanol in Marl, butadiene in Antwerp, and the fuel additive MTBE in both Marl and Antwerp.
“Our investments are supporting the growth plans of our customers in Europe and worldwide,” Johann-Caspar Gammelin, Chairman of the Board of Management of Evonik Performance Materials GmbH, said. “Market analyses show that global demand for these products is growing by up to 5% annually.”
The Marl plant also marks a technological milestone for Evonik, as FCC-C4 material streams can be used for production of a wider range of chemicals. The steam or naphtha cracker has so far been the major source for extraction of basic petrochemicals. However, there are significantly more FCC (fluid catalytic cracking) crackers than steam crackers worldwide.
“The new technology significantly expands our raw-material base,” Gammelin said. “It gives us access to raw-material streams that have so far not been used for downstream chemical processing.”