BASF: New Paper Chemicals Plants Go On Stream

07-May-2001

Two new paper chemicals production plants will officially start operation at BASF Ludwigshafen in Germany today (May 3, 2001): One plant will produce coating binders for paper finishing, the second process chemicals used in paper production.

"These state-of-the-art production plants are another milestone for BASF in supplying our customers with even more competitive and innovative products and services," said Dr Andreas Kreimeyer, head of the Dispersions Operating Division. He regards this and other investment projects as a clear proof of the commitment to the Ludwigshafen site. "Last year the new dispersions center went on stream, at the end of this year the new plant for vinyl formamide and polyvinylamine will start operation. I think you could call Ludwigshafen our innovation center of acrylic acid technology due to its process and catalyst developments and the top state-of-the-art production plant." Kreimeyer regards the backward integration of production plants in the integrated structure, the so-called "Verbund", as well as being close to the customer in central Europe, as one of the specific advantages of the site. The only bitter pill to swallow are the 50 redundancies as a result of improved efficiency. But he pointed out that the job losses are part of the Employment Agreement 2000 and will be covered by a compensation scheme.

Basonal - not a standard product but tailor-made for customers' needs

The new coating binders plant has a capacity of 210,000 metric tons per year, total investments spent are € 50m. The new flexible production technology enables BASF to supply customers of the paper industry with a new binder concept under the trade name Basonal: Tailor-made coating binders with properties exactly matching customer requirements. Examples of the most important application properties are printability or preventing the so-called crease break. So the surface of top-quality cosmetics packaging made of finished cardboard will not break at the crease and look shabby.

The second plant going on stream today will produce high-molecular polyethylene imine (HM PEI). Total investment amounts to € 5 million, and total capacity is 20,000 metric tons per year. PEI belongs to the group of cationic polymers which have been used in paper production since BASF launched the product about 50 years ago. As more and more recycled paper is used as a raw material in paper production, the removal of foreign substances is gaining in importance in order to produce flawless, top-quality paper. BASF process engineers now succeeded in developing a process allowing for the production of high-molecular PEI with a higher degree of efficiency. Also BASF's newly developed polyvinylamine (PVAm) can bind foreign substances. A PVAm production plant is under construction at Ludwigshafen and scheduled for operation at the beginning of 2002. The two product categories of PEI and PVAm complement each other in their effect.

The Technical Paper Center - a Miniature "Paper Mill"

BASF uses its Technical Paper Center at Ludwigshafen to successfully market its products. This is a miniature paper mill for test purposes. In 2000, the state-of-the-art coating machine was extended, and now also the paper machine was updated, including the installation of a new process control system. The investment for both machines amounts to more than € 10 million. BASF customers use the Technical Center for tests which would be far too costly on their own, large paper machines.

https://www.chemeurope.com/en/news/3054/basf-new-paper-chemicals-plants-go-on-stream.html