BASF Announces Plans to Establish Global Scale Acetylene Plant

Germany: BASF, a leading global chemical manufacturer and distributor, is set to replace its existing acetylene production plant with the world’s most efficient world scale acetylene production facility at Ludwigshafen, Germany. The new production unit is expected to start by the end of 2019 and would use state of the art technology to produce around 90,000 metric tons of acetylene per annum. Acetylene is used as feedstock for the production of various intermediates. At the Ludwigshafen facility, acetylene is used as a raw material in around 20 production lines. The company presently operates two acetylene production plants and incorporation of the new efficient process would strengthen its competitiveness in acetylene market by ensuring increased supply of acetylene for application as a raw material in production of other products.

TechSci Research depicts that the set-up of the new acetylene production plant will boost the production of acetylene and other derivatives such as acetylene black, one of the major type of speciality carbon black. Additionally, efficient production process will boost the supply of acetylene and positively impact the speciality carbon black market in the coming years.

According to the report by TechSci Research, “Global Specialty Carbon Black Market By Type, By Application, By Region, Competition Forecast and Opportunities, 2011-2021”, the global specialty carbon black market is poised to surpass US$ 2.9 billion by 2021 on the back of surge in demand for specialty carbon black in emerging economies, especially China and India. On the basis of type, global specialty carbon black market has been segmented into lamp black, acetylene black, conductive blacks and others. In 2015, lamp black accounted for the largest share in global specialty carbon black market due to its extensive range of applications. Globally, plastics is the largest application area for specialty carbon blacks owing to increasing demand for plastic compounds with high jetness and enhanced UV stability. Over the next five years, plastics industry is expected to continue its dominance in global specialty carbon black market on account of expanding plastics industry in Asia-Pacific and Middle East & Africa region.