May 11, 2015: Nippon Shokubai has confirmed plans to expand superabsorbent polymer (SAP) production and to build a acrylic acid unit at the company’s site at Zwijndrecht, Belgium  (close to the Ineos Oxide Site)

 

Nippon Shokubai will invest a total of €350 million to build the SAP andacrylic acid plants. The company's board of directors, in a meeting held on 11 May, approved the investment.

SAP capacity at the site will be increased by 100 kt/yr to 160 kt/yr and theacrylic acid plant will have a capacity of 100 kt/yr.

 

Completion of the projects is expected in October 2017, and commercial production is expected to begin in May 2018.

 

Nippon Shokubai expects demand for SAP in Europe, especially in Central and Eastern Europe, will grow steadily.

Last October, Nippon Shokubai announced plans to expand SAP productionat the company’s Himeji (Japan), site by 50 kt/yr to 370 kt/yr.

https://engage-solvay.jiveon.com/groups/blog-competitive-intelligence/blog/2014/ 10/03/nippon-shokubai-confirms-plan-to-expand-sap-superabsorbent-polymers-capac i ty-at-himeji-japan

 

With these expansions of SAP capacity, Nippon Shokubai’s global SAP production capacity will increase to 710 kt/yr, including:

  • 370 kt/yr at Himeji (Japan)
  • 160 kt/yr in Belgium
  • 90 kt/yr in Indonesia
  • 60 kt/yr in the US
  • 30 kt/yr in China

With the new acrylic acid capacity in Belgium, Nippon Shokubai’s total global acrylic acid production capacity will increase to 880 kt/yr, including:

  • 540 kt/yr in Japan
  • 340 kt/yr overseas

 

The surprise for some was that Nippon Shokubai did not decide to form a joint venture or supply agreement with an existing acrylic acid producer in Europe for its SAP project (Reminder:  we assume that the Glacial Acrylic Acid required by the existing 60 kT Antwerp SAP plant of Nippon Shokubai is supplied by the nearby Acrylic Acid plant of BASF-Antwerp)

 

It will be also interesting to follow developments in Russia in light of this new announcement as there is an existing plan to build an 80 kT acrylic acid plant in Russia. As previously reported, this Gazprom Neftekhim Salavat project is already rumoured to be delayed beyond its announced 2016 completion date due to the tightening of credit in Russia.

 

Sources: Competitive Intelligence Blog-Jerome Spiel  (from Nippon Shokubai, Chemweek data) + Tecnon Orbichem Comments