BASF-YPC completes plant revamp

China’s BASF-YPC Co., a 50-50 joint venture between BASF and Sinopec, has put back online its newly expanded steam cracker and nine existing downstream plants at Nanjing in Jiangsu province after about two months offline. The steam cracker’s ethylene capacity has been raised to 740,000 metric tons per year (MTPY) from 600,000 MTPY, and propylene yield has been boosted by 70,000 MTPY to 370,000 MTPY. The expansions also entailed a 55,000 MTPY expansion of an oxo chemical complex that can now produce 305,000 MTPY of 2-ethyl hexanol, normal butyl alcohol and isobutanol. The plants were idled in mid-April and returned online in phases starting from mid-June. (July 7, 2010)