Sumitomo Chemical plans MMA turnaround; skips spot MTBE buying

12 November 2010 06:47  [Source: ICIS news]

SINGAPORE (ICIS)--Japanese producer Sumitomo Chemical Co plans to shutdown its 90,000 tonne/year No. 3 methyl methacrylate (MMA) line on Singapore’s Jurong Island in early March 2011, said a company source on Friday.

The turnaround would take six to seven weeks and the line would be restarted in the middle of April 2011, he added.

Meanwhile, the 53,000 tonne/year No. 1 and the 80,000 tonne/year No. 2 MMA lines at the same site would also be shut for a month-long maintenance in the second half of 2011, although not at the same time, the source said.

Separately, another source close to Sumitomo Chemical said the company had been shunning spot purchases of methyl tertiary butyl ether (MTBE), although its MMA lines are operating at 100%.

Sky-high MTBE prices were the cause, the source added.

Sumitomo Chemical is a major MMA producer in Asia.

MMA is used to produce polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA) polymer, cast sheets and acrylic resins for coatings and emulsions.

Additional reporting by Junie Lin

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By: Felicia Loo

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