BASF set to complete turnaround at Geismar, LA plant

15 March 2012 21:33  [Source: ICIS news]

HOUSTON (ICIS)--Germany-based BASF said it has not yet brought its Geismar complex in Louisiana complex fully on line from a major turnaround, but a source close to the company said on Thursday the facility should be fully operational in about a week.  

The turnaround, which was scheduled to last for 30 days, began on 15 February.
The company planned to perform preventive maintenance, inspect equipment and install new equipment. Most of the plants at the complex were shut down for the turnaround, which is the first major one since 2008.

BASF spokesman John Schmidt said he did not know when the complex would be fully on line.

However, a source close to the company said the plant should be fully operational in about a week.

The complex includes units that produce 290,000 tonnes/year of methyl dei-p-phenylene (MDI); 160,000 tonnes/year of toluene di-isocyanate (TDI); and 135,000 tonnes/year of butanediol (BDO), according to ICIS plants and projects.

The site also produces 160,000 tonnes/year of hydrochloric acid (HCl) as a by-product of its isocyanates production.

BASF makes the following products at Geismar, according to ICIS plants and projects:

 

Product	Capacity
Acetylene	50,000	tonnes/year
Aniline	265,000	tonnes/year
Butanediol	135,000	tonnes/year
Butyrolactone	30,000	tonnes/year
Ethylene oxide	220,000	tonnes/year
Hydrochloric acid	160,000	tonnes/year
Methylene di-p-phenylene isocyanate	290,000	tonnes/year
Nitrobenzene	275,000	tonnes/year
Polytetrahydrofuran	25,000	tonnes/year
Toluene diisocyanate	160,000	tonnes/year

($1 = €0.77)

Additional reporting by Brian Balboa

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By: Ken Fountain

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