MOSCOW (MRC) -- Evonik Industries has started up new production plants for C4-based products in the Marl Chemical Park, Germany, said the company in its press release.
These were formally opened in the presence of Hannelore Kraft, Minister-President of North Rhine-Westphalia, and Klaus Engel, Chairman of the Executive Board of Evonik Industries. 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 EUR 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.
Klaus Engel, Chairman of the Executive Board of Evonik, says: "With the expansion of our C4 capacities we’re sustainably strengthening our market position. What’s more, the new technology for raw-material supply for the Marl plant and our excellent collaboration with BP demonstrate yet again the innovative strength of companies in the Ruhr district and their readiness to collaborate. We are confident, therefore, that there will continue to be a strong industrial base in the region."
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. Johann-Caspar Gammelin, Chairman of the Board of Management of Evonik Performance Materials GmbH, says: "Our investments are supporting the growth plans of our customers in Europe and worldwide. Market analyses show that global demand for these products is growing by up to 5 percent annually."
FCC stands for fluid catalytic cracking. With the help of this process, refineries transform heavy crude oil components in fuel components. Fluid catalytic cracking produces a C4 material stream that, besides the components that can be used for chemical processing (olefins), contains further accompanying substances. The industry has therefore so far not used this FCC-C4 material stream.
As MRC informed earlier, Evonik Industries is making an investment in the double-digit-million euro range in a new research center at the Rheinfelden site. Starting at the beginning of 2016, research into silanes will be carried out in modern laboratories in the four-story building.
Evonik, the creative industrial group from Germany, is one of the world leaders in specialty chemicals. Its activities focus on the key megatrends health, nutrition, resource efficiency and globalization. Evonik benefits specifically from its innovative prowess and integrated technology platforms. Evonik is active in over 100 countries around the world. In fiscal 2013 more than 33,500 employees generated sales of around EUR12.9 billion and an operating profit (adjusted EBITDA) of about EUR2.0 billion.