Peroxid-Chemie pilots metallocene catalyst plant

14 July 1997 00:00  [Source: ICB]

Laporte subsidiary Peroxid-Chemie has built a pilot plant to produce metallocene catalysts at its Pullach site in Germany.

Peroxid-Chemie, a subsidiary of speciality chemical company Laporte, has commissioned a DM4m ($2.3m) pilot plant at its Pullach site in Germany for the production of metallocene catalysts.

The new plant consists of two enamel-lined reactors in which processes are carded out at temperatures as low as 70°C and the entire system is permanently blanketed with inert gas at a slightly elevated pressure. The plant will have a capacity of around 2 tonne/year, according to Christoph Hartmann, manager of the applied catalyst business unit, who estimates that the current world output of metallocene catalysts is in the region of 4 tonne/year.

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'The key issue is that a number of joint ventures have been made in metallocenes recently. If these take off they will have a major impact on the development of metallocenes,' said Hartmann. This could see demand for metallocene catalysts rise to 20-30 tonne/year.

A test plant has also been built as an intermediate-scale facility between the laboratory and the main pilot plant. The DM4m investment in pilot and test plants is part of a total investment of DM20m by Laporte at Pullach. The remaining part of the investment has been made to support the company's organic peroxides production.

The research work underlying the metallocene catalysts being produced at Pullach was carried out within the framework of the Bavarian Catalysis Research & Development Association (Forkat) in cooperation with the Technical University of Munich-Garching. Work will be continued and expanded as part of the Forkat II project.

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