Agrochemicals

Oxea completes n-propanol plant at Bay City

Oxea (Monheim am Rhein, Germany) says it has completed construction of Propanol 2, a 100,000 metric tons/year n-propanol manufacturing facility located in Bay City, Texas. Oxea expects to begin production in the new plant during the third quarter. Oxea announced the project in 2014, and began construction early last year.

“Propanol 2 has been constructed in line with our long-term selective growth strategy driven by our CEO, Dr. Salim Al Huthaili, and will be a game changer to the markets,” says Naoko Roth, marketing director/US oxo intermediates.

N-propanol is produced by the hydrogenation of propionaldehyde, an oxo-derivative of ethylene. It is a colourless oxo-alcohol widely used as a solvent in flexographic and other printing ink applications. Growth in the chemicals, agriculture and cosmetics & personal care industry is likely to drive the global propanol market in the next few years. Other US producers are Dow Chemical and Eastman Chemical.