BASF to establish world-scale production of water treatment and paper chemicals in Nanjing

BASF SE (Ludwigshafen, Germany; www.basf.com) has decided to establish a wholly-owned world-scale production base for water treatment and paper chemicals in Nanjing, China, with the construction of a 40,000-ton/yr quaternized-cationic monomers plant and a 20,000-ton/yr cationic-polyacrylamides plant. The two BASF plants, which are designed to high international standards of safety and energy efficiency, are expected to start up production in the third quarter of 2012. They mark the first Asian manufacturing of these products for BASF. “This investment underlines our long-term commitment to China both in economic and environmental terms,” saysAlbert Heuser, president Market and Business Development Asia Pacific. “The establishment of these plants is part of our growth strategy for Asia Pacific to double our sales by 2020 while contributing to a sustainable future.” Cationic monomers are a key feedstock for cationic polyacrylamides. Cationic polyacrylamides are used as organic flocculants in the water treatment industry and as retention aids in the paper industry. The water treatment and papermaking industries are growing at a high rate in Asia, particularly in China. This is a result of substantial investment…