Braskem laying foundation for 'green' PE plant in Brazil

22 April 2009 18:22  [Source: ICIS news]

SAO PAULO (ICIS news)--Brazil’s major chemical producer Braskem was laying the foundation on Wednesday for its ethanol-based polyethylene (PE) plant in Rio Grande do Sul state, the company said.

Braskem’s 200,000 tonnes/year “green” PE facility will cost reais (R) 500m ($223m, €172m) and is expected to start operations in 2011, the company said.   

Braskem will shoulder 30% of the total investment, while the other 70% will come from financing sources.

According to Braskem, the unit will be the first in the world to produce ethylene at a commercial scale using a renewable source - sugarcane - as feedstock.  

Braskem also announced that it signed a partnership with Brazilian firm Cromex to develop products using the company’s “green” PE.

Braskem operates 18 plants in Brazil and produces more than 11m tonnes/year of thermoplastic resins and other petrochemical products. 

($1 = R2.24 = €0.77)

Will green chemistry save the world or is it hype? Doris de Guzman investigates in her Green Chemicals blog
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By: Hellen Berger
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