Celanese announces expansion program

Celanese unveiled a series of ambitious capital projects during its investor day March 25. The company says it has the financial flexibility to put $6 billion toward capital spending, acquisitions, and share repurchases. In one of the most notable projects, Celanese’s Clear Lake, Texas, methanol joint venture with Mitsui & Co. intends to capture waste carbon dioxide and convert it into methanol. The effort will add about 300,000 metric tons (t) per year of methanol capacity. Celanese plans to expand vinyl acetate capacity at its Nanjing, China, facility by 90,000 t per year through the use of what it calls a “next-generation” Celanese catalyst. By 2023, it will expand capacity for vinyl acetate ethylene emulsions by 65,000 t in Nanjing and by 45,000 t in Frankfurt, Germany. The company is also looking for a European site for an ultra-high-molecular-weight polyethylene plant with 34,000 t of capacity that would open in 2024. The polymer is experiencing strong demand as a raw material for lithium-ion battery separator films.