Mitsubishi scraps US acrylic plant

Mitsubishi Chemical Group is canceling plans to build a methyl methacrylate (MMA) plant in Geismar, Louisiana. The plant was to have 350,000 metric tons per year of capacity and use a technology that derives the acrylic resin raw material from ethylene. Mitsubishi has intended to build a big MMA plant in the US since 2014. It shelved its original project, which would have involved Mitsui & Co. as a partner, but resuscitated it in 2020. The company now says it can meet demand from existing plants and couldn’t obtain commitments from customers. The cancellation will result in Mitsubishi posting a charge of $125 million in its third fiscal quarter..