BASF, Dow and Solvay launch HPPO plant.BASF AG and Dow Chemical launched a long-term venture to produce propylene propylene glycol a colorless viscous liquid used as a humectant and solvent in pharmaceutical preparations. pro·pyl·ene (pr   p oxide (PO) at the world's first commercial-scale hydrogen peroxide propylene oxide (HPPO) plant at BASF's site in Antwerp Antwerp, province, BelgiumAntwerp (ăn`twûrp), Du. Antwerpen, Fr. Anvers, province (1991 pop. 1,605,167), 1,104 sq mi (2,859 sq km), N Belgium, bordering on the Netherlands in the north. Antwerp (the provincial capital) and Mechelen are the chief cities., Belgium. This plant uses a new technology developed jointly by BASF and Dow. PO is a core ingredient for the $21 billion a year polyurethane industry. Solvay S.A. will be a key supplier to the new facility. The HPPO plant will be fed with hydrogen peroxide hydrogen peroxide, chemical compound, H2O2, a colorless, syrupy liquid that is a strong oxidizing agent and, in water solution, a weak acid. It is miscible with cold water and is soluble in alcohol and ether. Although pure hydrogen peroxide is fairly stable, it decomposes into water and oxygen when heated above about 80°C;; it also decomposes in the presence of numerous catalysts, e.g., most metals, acids, or oxidizable organic materials. from a second new plant at the Antwerp site. The HP plant will have a capacity of 230,000 metric tons per year and will be constructed by Solvay, BASF and Dow. The 300,000 metric tons per year HPPO plant, which is being built jointly by BASF and Dow, is scheduled to start up in early 2008. |
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