BASF Gets Approval To Build THF And PolyTHF® Plants In Shanghai

BASF, Germany, has received permission from the Chinese State Council to build a new production facility for polytetrahydrofuran (PolyTHF®) and tetrahydrofuran (THF) in the Shanghai Chemical Industry Park in Shanghai.

This will be the first wholly owned investment project by BASF in China. In Asia, BASF also has THF and PolyTHF production facilities in Korea and Japan. The facility, scheduled to open in 2004, will be the largest PolyTHF production facility in the world, with an annual capacity of 60,000 metric tons of PolyTHF and 80,000 metric tons of THF.

The facility’s plants will convert butane directly to THF and then to PolyTHF. The plants are expected to supply the expanding spandex fibers market in China, following its accession to the World Trade Organization (WTO) in 2005.

August 2002