BASF to add on butadiene supply in Europe

In view of the tight supply and high prices of butadiene, due to the high demand from the tyre market, German firmBASF plans to build a plant at its site in Antwerp, Belgium. The 155,000 tonne/year-plant is scheduled to start up during 2014. The investment amount will be in the “high double-digit million euro range.”The butadiene will be extracted from crude C4, a product from the steam cracker. BASF already operates a butadiene extraction plant in Ludwigshafen, Germany, with a capacity of 105,000 tonnes/year.