S Korea's Hanwha Chemical shuts ECH plant on pipe leakage

19 May 2010 04:44  [Source: ICIS news]

SINGAPORE (ICIS news)--South Korea’s Hanwha Chemical shut its 25,000 tonne/year epichlorohydrin (ECH) plant in Yeosu on Tuesday due to a pipe leakage, a company source said on Wednesday.

“Chlorine and propylene [that] leaked out from the pipe resulted in a small explosion, which forced the whole line to shut immediately,” the source said.

Hanwha Chemical is South Korea’s second-largest ECH producer.

The company is currently evaluating the damage to the plant, the source said, adding that no firm timetable was set for the plant’s restart.

Hanwha Chemical had recently completed a five-day maintenance at the ECH plant last month.

Spot ECH prices surged to a 30-month high of $2,100-2,150/tonne (€1,722-1,763/tonne) CFR (cost and freight) China Main Port (CMP) on Tuesday, up $300-320/tonne (€243-259/tonne) from late March, according to global chemical market intelligence service, ICIS pricing.

The strong prices were due to continued robust demand for epoxy resins coming from the electronics sector, amid tight supply, market sources said.

ECH is one of the feedstocks used for manufacturing epoxy resins.

($1 = €0.82)

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By: Becky Zhang
+65 6780 4359

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