US Celanese completes debottlenecking at engineered materials plants

HOUSTON (ICIS)–Celanese has completed debottlenecking projects and product transfers at its engineered materials plants in the US, Mexico, China and Germany, the US-based producer said on Wednesday.

The projects were undertaken over the past 12 months at ultra-high molecular weight polyethylene (UHMW-PE) plants in Bishop, Texas, and Nanjing, China; acetal copolymer (POM) facilities at Bishop and at Frankfurt, Germany; a thermoplastic polyester (PBT) plant in Silao, Mexico; and a polyphenylene sulphide (PPS) joint-venture facility in Wilmington, North Carolina.

The debottlenecks increased output by more than 10% at each unit, respectively, “and demonstrate a commitment and focus on meeting the demands of our global customers for specialty engineered materials,” said Scott Richardson, senior vice president at the company’s engineered materials business.

Celanese did not comment on costs and it did not disclose capacity data in terms of tonnes or pounds per year.