Corrected: Japan’s Mitsubishi Chemical to permanently shut BDO unit

28 March 2012 10:38  [Source: ICIS news]

Correction: In the ICIS story headlined "Japan’s Mitsubishi Chemical to permanently shut Yokkaichi BDO unit" dated 28 March 2012, please read in the first paragraph... the end of March 2013... instead of... the end of March 2012....  A corrected story follows.

TOKYO (ICIS)--Japanese chemical producer Mitsubishi Chemical will permanently shut its 30,000 tonne/year butanediol (BDO) facility, which produces 1,4-butanediol, at Yokkaichi in Mie prefecture by the end of March 2013, the company said on Wednesday.

The producer is shutting the plant to increase the competitive edge of its butylenes (C4) business, Mitsubishi Chemical said in a statement.

However, the company will only operate its 60,000 tonne/year BDO plant at the same site to improve its profits in the BDO sector, Mitsubishi Chemical said.

The production costs of BDO have risen because of the firming prices of feedstock butadiene (BD) in the recent years, led by the growth of synthetic rubber demand, the statement said.

By: Tomomi Yokomura
+65 6780 4359

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