Gaoqiao to start up 80,000t/y polyols unit in Oct

20 March 2008 16:07  [Source: ICIS news]

GUANGZHOU, China (ICIS news)--Sinopec subsidiary Gaoqiao Co plans to start up an 80,000 tonne/year polyether polyols plant in October and is considering building a 300,000 tonne/year polyether polyols plant in Caojing, Shanghai, in 2010-2015, a company executive said on Thursday.

China’s total polyols capacity was estimated to have reached about 1.5m tonnes last year but additional capacities were needed to meet domestic and overseas demand, said Gaoqiao’s vice-director of polyurethane division, Cheng Feng Qiu, at the two-day Asian Polyurethane Conference ending on Friday.

China’s polyols demand was estimated to grow at an average of 10% each year in the next five years, and China exported 138,000 tonnes of polyols last year, 38% more than the previous year, he said.

The producer would have a total polyols capacity of 260,000 tonnes/year when its new plant in Gaoqiao, Shanghai, started up, he added.

It would need more propylene oxide (PO) feedstock after its new polyols came on stream in October, and part of the increased requirements would be met by Zhenhai Refining and Chemical Co’s 285,000 tonne/year joint venture plant in Ningbo, Zhejiang province, he added.

“We will still need to import PO by then,” said Chen, adding that its PO requirements were currently met by local supply and imports from Singapore and Japan.

By: Chow Bee Lin
+65 6780 4359

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