Basell has inaugurated the 45,000tpa plant in The Netherlands

Basell has inaugurated the 45,000tpa plant in The Netherlands

Basell inaugurated the world’s largest polybutene-1 plant last Friday. According to the company, the 45,000tpa plant in Moerdijk, The Netherlands, is the first dedicated PB-1 plant to be built in Europe in more than 30 years. Current demand for the material from this plant was said to be 30,000tpa; it is typically used in heating and plumbing pipework.

The plant uses a new process and catalyst technology that Basell claimed gives higher and more consistent product quality, a broader property and performance balance and the ability to tailor new product compositions. The company said there was a whole range of potential properties and product families. New PB-1 markets could include shipbuilding, industry and fire-sprinkling systems, Basell said.

President of Basell research and development Anton de Vries said: “The new process has considerable potential to facilitate the expansion of the property and application envelope of PB-1. We are exploring new possibilities with higher strength materials and new C4-based families of soft, elastomeric polyolefins.”