BASF, Dow and Solvay in HPPO Technology partnership in Antwerp

30-Sep-06

BASF Aktiengesellschaft (BASF) and The Dow Chemical Company (Dow) have embarked on a long-term venture to produce propylene oxide (PO), a core ingredient for the US$21 billion a year polyurethane industry. The PO plant is to be located at the world's first commercial-scale hydrogen peroxide propylene oxide (HPPO) plant at BASF's site in Antwerp, using a new technology developed jointly by BASF and Dow. The site will be supplied with hydrogen peroxide (HP) from a second new plant at the Antwerp site, with a capacity of 230,000 tpa and will be constructed by Solvay, BASF and Dow. The 300,000 tpa HPPO plant, jointly built by BASF and Dow, is scheduled to start up in early 2008. The innovative process technology offers a number of benefits over conventional PO technology including better economics, improved environmental performance and flexibility for locating new plants. Dow and BASF commenced their joint process research program to develop and commercialize the HPPO technology in 2003. This partnership gave room to the two companies to combine their innovation strengths and commercialize the technology more rapidly than would have been possible by either partner alone. Dow and BASF are considering the development of additional HPPO projects in other regions, including Asia. BASF also plans to utilize the HPPO technology with a project at its Geismar, Louisiana, site in the United States.