Mitsubishi to invest in MMA in Korea

Mitsubishi Rayon will start construction of a production facility at its South Korean subsidiary Daesan MMA that will help it to establish an integrated production set-up for methyl methacrylate, from monomer to polymer, at the end of 2008. Daesan MMA is a joint venture with local company Honam Petrochemical. The facility, located in Daesan, will procure raw material isobutylene from Honam Petrochemical to manufacture 90,000 tons per year (TPA) of MMA monomer and 10,000 TPA of methacrylic acid. Meanwhile 40,000 TPA of polymethylmethacrylate using the continuous bulk polymerization method will be manufactured in Yeosu. Construction of a manufacturing plant for PMMA has already started. The company intends to meet growing demand for the product for use in light guide plates for liquid crystal displays. It also will use the plant as a supply base for the expanding Chinese market. The investment follows Mitsubishi Rayon’s MMA project in China, which began operations at the end of 2006. The company has further investment plans lined up for MMA: a project in Thailand; a second round of investment for monomer and acrylic resin plates; and a U.S. monomer project. It aims to raise its total output capacity of MMA monomer in Asia to about 580,000 TPA in 2010. (September 27, 2007)