HPPO by 2008

BASF and Dow are proceeding with plans to construct a new plant at BASF's Verbund site in Antwerp, Belgium that will make use of their Hydrogen Peroxide to Propylene Oxide (HPPO) technology.

An advantage of the new HPPO technology is that co-products are avoided and nothing but the end product, Propylene Oxide, and water is generated. The companies also claim that production plants using the process have a smaller footprint, need less infrastructure and require a significantly lower investment compared with conventional PO production processes.

Construction is scheduled to start in 2006, and the plant is expected to come on stream in 2008 with an annual capacity of 300,000 metric tonnes.

BASF is also working with Solvay to create a joint venture on the BASF site in Antwerp that will be responsible for the production of the Hydrogen Peroxide needed for the plant; it will make use of Solvay's high-yield Hydrogen Peroxide production process.

The scaling and timing of their new Hydrogen Peroxide plant will meet the needs of the HPPO unit, coming on stream in 2008 with an annual capacity of more than 200,000 metric tonnes. The largest part of the production will be dedicated to feed the HPPO unit and a portion will be sold by Solvay on the Hydrogen Peroxide market.

The new plant will serve the growing demand for PO derivatives, in particular in the polyurethane industry. Propylene oxide is used in the production of polyurethanes, propylene glycol, chemical intermediates, flame retardants, synthetic lubricants, oil field drilling chemicals and textile surfactants.