RELEASED ON 23/06/13 (DD/MM/YY)

China’s Shanghai Huayi Acrylic Acid has shut all of its units following an explosion at its second acrylic acid (AA) reactor at about 11:00 local time (03:00 GMT) on 23 June, market sources said on Monday. The fire was extinguished at around 13:50 on the same day, and there were no injuries or fatalities in the accident, according to a statement on the company’s website.

A tube at the company’s second AA reactor cracked, leading to the explosion, the statement added. Investigations of the cause of the crack are still ongoing. The specific restart date is not yet known and the company has declined to comment.

Shanghai Huayi is one of the largest AA producers in China, with a production capacity of 230,000 tonnes/year.

SOURCE Icis News