BASF announced on Tuesday it will invest an undisclosed amount to build a neopentyl glycol plant with 80,000 metric tons per year capacity at its new petrochemical complex in Zhangjiang, China – its third such plant there.
Neopentyl glycols are chemical resins used mostly in production of powder coating resins but also to make synthetic lubricants, plasticizers and pharmaceuticals.
Expected to come on stream in the fourth quarter of 2025, the plant will boost BASF’s global neopentyl glycol capacity from 255,000 t/y to 335,000 t/y. The company now has neopentyl glycol production facilities in Ludwigshafen, Germany; in Freeport, Texas in the United States; and in Nanjing and Jilin, China.
The Zhangjiang facility is one of BASF’s Verbund complexes, which aim to maximize efficiency by intelligently linking production, energy flows and other infrastructure and which create value chains extending from basic chemicals to high-value-added products.
“Investing in an NPG plant at the Zhanjiang Verbund site will enable us to support the growing demand from customers in Asia,” Vasilios Galanos, BASF’s senior vice president for intermediates in Asia-Pacific, said in a news release.
Neopentyl glycol is a polyalcohol offering performance advantages in many end-use applications due to its high chemical and thermal stability. The powder coating resins made with the chemicals are in demand in the construction industry and for coating of household appliances.
In December 2017, a 40,000 metric tons per year neopentyl glycol expansion project was announced by BASF and Sinopec for their joint venture facility in Nanjing, China, doubling the JV plant’s capacity.
Other large manufacturers of neopentyl glycol include Germany-based OQ Chemicals, Sweden-based Perstorp, United States-based Eastman Chemical and Mitsubishi Gas Chemical of Japan.