Japan’s Mitsui Chemicals has no firm restart date for MIBK plant

15 May 2012 10:02  [Source: ICIS news]

MELBOURNE (ICIS)--Japan’s Mitsui Chemicals has yet to decide on a restart date for its 30,000 tonne/year methyl isobutyl ketone (MIBK) plant, a company source said on Tuesday.

The plant was shut along with all the other units at Iwakuni-Ohtake Works in Yamaguchi prefecture following a blast at its resorcinol facility on 22 April.

To meet the domestic supply shortfall, Mitsui Chemicals said it is in talks with other MIBK producers in Asia for supplies.

Mitsui Chemicals added that it has bought 1,200 tonnes of MIBK from South Korea for shipment between end April and mid-May.

The other producers are Mitsubishi Chemical and KH Neochem (formerly Kyowa Hakko Chemical) with nameplate capacities of 20,000 tonnes/year and 15,000 tonnes/year, respectively.

MIBK, which is derived from acetone, is used as a solvent for industrial paints and thinners, and to produce rubber chemicals.

By: Trisha Huang

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