Dec 19 2005
Sasol has announced the commencement of the front-end engineering and design phase for construction of a second Methyl Isobutylketone (MiBK) production plant with a capacity of 30 000 tons per annum at Sasolburg, South Africa, to meet growing global demand.
MiBK is an excellent solvent for resins used in the production of surface coatings. It is also widely used in rubber chemicals for the production of vehicle tyres, as a solvent in the production of pharmaceuticals and adhesives, and for specialised metallurgical extraction. Demand for MiBK globally is estimated to exceed 300 000 tons per year.
“This new Sasol Solvents plant will double our MiBK output to almost 60 000 tons. Planned to come on stream early in 2008, it will significantly enhance our ability to support a growing customer base worldwide”, says Sasol CE Pat Davies.
In keeping with Sasol’s value of continuous improvement, the new plant will include important technical enhancements over the existing plant, which started production in 1995.
Sasol Solvents, a division of Sasol Limited, is a leading producer of a broad range of solvents including acetone, Methyl ethyl ketone, MiBK, Isopropyl alcohol, ethanol, butanol and ethyl acetate. All are widely used in the coatings industry.
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