BASF: Secure long-term supply of maleic anhydride from Feluy
BASF will continue to operate the maleic anhydride plant at its Feluy, Belgium, site as intended. The plants producing fumaric acid and butanediol derivatives will be closed down as scheduled. The company management and the workforce representatives recently agreed on this. The integrated Ludwigshafen 'Verbund' site will in future ensure the supply of butanediol derivatives to the market.
With its capacity unchanged at 115,000 metric tons per year, the maleic anhydride plant remains the largest of the world and, after some changes, now also counts among the most modern of its kind. This BASF plant produces the intermediate maleic anhydride in a highly efficient manner using butane as a raw material. The plant ships the intermediate mainly to European customers. A good year ago, the company also started exporting maleic anhydride to other regions of the world.
Maleic anhydride serves mainly as a building block to produce unsaturated polyester resins. These resins are widely used in the form of composite materials, above all in the shipbuilding, construction and automobile industries. Parts made of these resins stand out for their high strength and particularly light weight. Maleic anhydride is used for many other applications, too, and notably for producing water-soluble polymers and lubricants.
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