Nippon Shokubai Co. (Osaka, Japan; www.shokubai.co.jp) has announced that its subsidiary PT.NIPPON SHOKUBAI INDONESIA (NSI) held a groundbreaking ceremony for a new Acrylic Acid (AA) plant in Cilegon, Banten, Indonesia, which will have a production capacity of 100,000 metric tons per year (m.t./yr). Currently, the site can produce 140,000 m.t./yr of AA. Mechanical completion is expected in March 2021. The investment in the new plant is approximately $200 million.
AA, one of Nippon Shokubai’s core businesses, shows steady growth of demand as a key material for superabsorbent polymers (SAP) and acrylates (AES). In recent years, the demand and supply balance of AA is highly tight, especially in Asia. To accommodate the demand and fulfill its responsibility to supply products, Nippon Shokubai announced intent to expand the capacity of NSI in October 2018.
Currently, Nippon Shokubai group’s global AA production capacity is around.
880,000 metric tons per year (m.t./yr). This capacity will rise to 980,000 m.t./yr by November 2021 with the start of commercial operations at the new AA plant.