BASF to build butadiene extraction plant in Belgium

Wouter de Geest, CEO, BASF Antwerpen NV.

LUDWIGSHAFEN, GERMANY/ANTWERP, BELGIUM: BASF plans to build a butadiene extraction plant at its Verbund site in Antwerp, Belgium. The plant will have an annual production capacity of 155,000 metric tonne and is scheduled to start up during 2014. The investment amount will be in the high double-digit million euro range. The butadiene will be extracted from crude C4, a product from the steam cracker.

In recent years, the volumes of butadiene available on the market have declined sharply. At the same time, demand from the tire industry and other industries has been rising. This has led to a considerable increase in prices. “This plant strengthens our Verbund production in Antwerp and is a very important investment at the site. By improving the integration of the C4 value chain, we will also be able to reduce the need for logistics as well as traffic,” said Wouter de Geest, CEO, BASF Antwerpen NV.

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