BASF on Thursday said it will increase annual capacity of low molecular weight, highly reactive polyisobutene by 25,000 metric tons between now and 2010 at its Ludwigshafen, Germany, site.
Marketed under the Glissopal trademark, it is an intermediate product which is used to manufacturer additives for fuels and lubricants. PIBs are used as base stocks in lubricants – sometimes as an alternative to bright stock – and as a component in metal forming fluids, gear oils, greases and two-cycle oils.
Hans Reiners, head of BASFs Performance Chemicals division, said the increased capacity would help reduce the companys carbon footprint by doing away with transports between different sites. Beyond that, we are making significantly higher quantities of HR PIB available to the market, Reiners added.
In March 2008, BASF increased Glissopal capacity at its site in Antwerp, Belgium, by 25,000 mt/y.