BASF Unveils New Acrylics Production Facility in Zhanjiang, China to Meet Growing Demand in Asia

China: BASF has unveiled a new production facility at its Verbund site in Zhanjiang, China. Scheduled to come online by 2025, the complex will boast an annual capacity of 400,000 metric tons of butyl acrylate (BA) and 100,000 metric tons of 2-ethylhexyl acrylate (2-EHA), alongside plants for glacial acrylic acid (GAA).

“The ground-breaking marks a significant milestone in further expanding our production capacities in the acrylics value chain in China,” stated Hartwig Michels, President of BASF’s Petrochemicals division. “These new world-scale facilities will enable us to meet the growing Chinese and Asian market demand for acrylics that are used in various industries like hygiene or paint and coatings.”

“By strengthening our presence in key markets where our customers are located, we can more efficiently support our customers’ business growth. Being fully backward integrated in Zhanjiang Verbund site, the new acrylics facilities will provide our regional customers with a reliable supply of high-quality products with short lead times,” stated Haibo Tian, Vice President, Industrial Petrochemicals Asia Pacific, at BASF.

Acrylic acid is an essential ingredient to produce superabsorbent polymers. Butyl acrylate, which is an ester of acrylic acid, finds application in the production of adhesives and architectural/industrial coatings. Similarly, 2-ethylhexyl acrylate serves as a raw material for adhesive and coating manufacturing.