BASF Plans U.S. Chelants Facility

BASF will spend $90 million to build a facility in Theodore, Ala., for the chelating agent methylglycinediacetic acid. Set to open in 2015, the plant will complement a similar plant the firm opened in Ludwigshafen, Germany, in 2010. The Theodore site is owned by Evonik Industries, which will supply the raw material hydrogen cyanide. BASF says it is experiencing growth for the chelating agent, trade named Trilon M, as a replacement for phosphates in automatic dishwasher detergents. Phosphates were largely eliminated in the U.S. in 2010 and are set to be regulated in Europe in 2017.