BASF says it will invest in a new world-scale neopentyl glycol (NPG) plant with an annual production capacity of 80,000 metric tons at its new Zhanjiang site in China. With the new NPG plant expected to come on stream in the fourth quarter of 2025, BASF’s global NPG capacity reportedly will increase from 255,000 metric tons to 335,000 metric tons annually. Currently, BASF has NPG production facilities in Ludwigshafen, Germany; Freeport, Texas, and Nanjing and Jilin, China.
“We are responding to the growing demand of Chinese customers for environmentally friendly powder coatings,” says Anup Pandey, director, business management, acids and polyalcohols, BASF intermediates Asia Pacific, in a press release from the company.
Boasting high chemical and thermal stability, NPG is an intermediate mainly used in the production of powder coating resins, which are particularly successful in the construction industry and for coating of household appliances. Due to their low volatile organic compounds (VOC), powder coatings enable their users to comply with VOC emission standards by reducing the release of VOCs by up to 50% compared to liquid coatings, according to BASF. Other applications for NPG include the manufacture of lubricants, plasticizers and pharmaceuticals. For example, it is used as a building block in the synthesis of hormones, cardiovascular drugs and painkillers.
Read the press release at: www.basf.com
