Unigel to double Brazil’s output capacity in 2009

07 May 2009 21:19  [Source: ICIS news]

SAO PAULO (ICIS news)--Brazil’s Unigel plans to double its domestic chemical production capacity by September, a company executive said on Thursday.

“The project is part of a $200m investment plan that aims to boost output capacity of acrylates, methacrylates, sulphates and styrene monomers produced by Unigel,” said Unigel strategic planning director Fabio Terzian on the sidelines of the Brasilplast trade show.

Unigel will increase capacity for various chemicals to more than 1m tonnes/year combined from 590,000 tonnes/year of chemicals, Terzian said.   

Production capacity at Unigel’s ammonium sulphate plant in Candeias, Bahia, for example, will jump to 400,000 tonnes/year from 200,000 tonnes last year, he said.

Capacity at Unigel’s styrene monomer units in the states of Bahia and Sao Paulo is also being raised to 280,000 tonnes/year from 120,000 tonnes last year, added Terzian.

Unigel’s capacities of acrylates and methacrlylates produced in Bahia will reach 115,000 tonnes/year in 2009, compared with 50,000 tonnes in 2009.

Unigel added it will start production of hydrogen cyanide (HCN) and acetone cyanohydrin (ACH) at its Candeias unit by September. The materials will be used as feedstocks for its methacrylates products, but did not offer volume details. 

Unigel’s plants in Brazil are located in the states of Bahia and Sao Paulo.

Brasilplast continues through Friday.

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By: Hellen Berger
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