JAPAN DISASTER: Kuraray keeps Kashima formaldehyde unit shut

25 March 2011 02:19  [Source: ICIS news]

SINGAPORE (ICIS)--Japan's Kuraray is keeping its 25,000 tonne/year formaldehyde unit at Kashima in Ibraraki prefecture off line after it was shut following the 11 March earthquake and tsunami, a company source said on Friday.

Company officials are checking the damage and restoring the facilities, according to Kuraray's website.

The plant should use 12,000 tonnes of methanol in a year, given that 0.45 tonnes of methanol makes 1 tonne of formaldehyde, said a source close to the company.

There were no definite dates about when production will be restarted, sources said.

“There seems little impact so far since it’s just 1,000 tonnes of methanol per month of downtime, which is quite little,” said a source close to the company.

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By: Heng Hui
+65 6780 4359

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