BUSINESS ROUNDUP

Huntsman Corp. will expand urethanes capacity in Osnabrück, Germany, by investing in a new processing unit to make high-performance thermoplastic polyurethane grades. The unit, of undisclosed size and cost, is expected to open in the second half of 2008.

BASF will boost its capacity for higher oxo alcohols in Ludwigshafen, Germany, by about 25% to 390,000 metric tons per year. Most of the additional capacity is earmarked for production of C₉–C₁₀ alcohol-based plasticizers. The company is also expanding capacity for the plasticizers by 15% to 300,000 metric tons per year.

Dow Chemical is licensing Bayer's Impact technology for making polyether polyols, used to produce polyurethanes. The technology relies on special double metal cyanide catalysts to carry out polyoxyalkylation. Dow is evaluating the technology for use in a new polyols plant that would start up in 2010.

Texas Petrochemicals is building a new polyisobutylene plant at its Houston site that it says will more than double its current capacity of 65,000 metric tons per year. Polyisobutylene is used in lubricants and fuel additives.

Koppers has formed a joint venture with China's Kailuan Clean Coal. The venture, Tangshan Koppers Kailuan Carbon Chemical, will operate a new tar distillation facility in Hebei province. It will be able to distill 300,000 metric tons per year of tar into products such as carbon pitch, carbon black oils, and naphthalene.

Basell has agreed to acquire Solvay's engineering polymers business, a leading supplier of polypropylene compounds in North America. The companies say the sale will link the business with raw material polypropylene from Basell. Solvay sold its polypropylene business in 2001.

Ineos Nova, the new styrenics joint venture between Ineos and Nova Chemicals, will close its 220 million-lb-per-year polystyrene plant in Belpre, Ohio, by Jan. 31, 2008. The venture previously announced the closure of a polystyrene plant in Montreal.