BASF and Dow Advance the Development of New Propylene Oxide Production Process

07-Aug-2003

BASF and The Dow Chemical Company announced today that they have made significant progress in advancing the technology for the manufacture of propylene oxide using hydrogen peroxide as a key raw material (HPPO).

The two companies announced their intention to combine research efforts in August 2002. In the interim, the two companies have completed detailed evaluations of the technology possessed by each party and a contract for joint development was signed in July 2003.

"In the past year, we have made significant progress in defining the process technology for a world-scale HPPO facility. An HPPO facility would allow the production of propylene oxide without co-products and be expected to significantly lower capital costs, when compared to currently practiced technologies," said Bob Wood, Business Group President for Dow Thermosets, which includes Dow's Propylene Oxide/Proplyene Glycol business unit.

"Production plants using the new process will require less infrastructure, have a smaller footprint and be extremely cost-efficient even at lower capacity utilization," said Dr. John Feldmann, member of the Board of Executive Directors of BASF Aktiengesellschaft with responsibility for BASF's Plastics segment, which includes BASF's global Polyurethanes division.

BASF and Dow anticipate the completion of their pilot plant-scale research, by the end of 2003. The engineering for the first world-scale HPPO plant is expected to begin at that time. The two parties are evaluating options for an HPPO plant that could start-up as early as 2007, with an expected annual capacity of 300,000 metric tons. Integrated sites owned by BASF and Dow in the United States and in Europe are currently being reviewed as possible locations for a plant.

https://www.chemeurope.com/en/news/27509/basf-and-dow-advance-the-development-of-new-propylene-oxide-production-process.html