Project Profile
Value: US$253 million
Location: Antwerp, Belgium
Start-up Year: January 2000
Production: 180,000t/y of benzene
BASF commissioned the aromatics plant at its Antwerp site in Belgium in January 2000. The plant currently produces 180,000t/y of benzene, making it far bigger than the other BASF plant, situated in Germany, which only produces just over 75,000t/y.
In December 2009, a fire at the ethylene cracker forced BASF to shut down the unit. BASF restarted the unit in January 2010.
The engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contract was awarded to Krupp Uhde, the well-known German process contractor. Krupp Uhde proprietary Morphylane® process is used at the Antwerp plant in conjunction with the BASF proprietary Selop process.
BASF also expanded its capacity at the Antwerp site in other directions. It decided on a 5,000t/y boost to its ethylene amines capacity, which enabled the plant to produce 40,000t/y. Ethanol amine and ammonia, the two constituent products, were also made at the Antwerp site. This is one example of the economies of scale which can be achieved by integrating several plants at one complex.
This expansion came online in 2001. The plant also saw its polyetherols capacity go up by 70,000t/y, which can be used in the manufacture of polyurethanes. The price of all of these chemicals is on the increase, particularly in the light of the current increase in the price of crude oil.
In August 2005 BASF announced the expansion of the naphtha steam cracker at Antwerp from 800,000t/y to 1.08m t/y. The investment into the plant was €200m and was carried out in the fourth quarter of 2007.
Operators:
BASF: Operator with 100% interest
Contractors:
Jacobs Engineering Group: Engineering services
Krupp Uhde: EPC contract