BASF and Sinopec have broken ground for the world-scale isonanonol (INA) plant the two groups are building at Maoming, China and scheduled for start-up in 2015. The facility, which will be operated in a 50:50 joint venture, MPCC Company Limited, will supply starting materials for next-generation plasticizers. Capacity details have not been provided.

The project is being billed as the first of its kind to bring BASF's advanced INA technology into China and also fills the country's production gap, said Yu Xizhi, president of Sinopec Corp Maoming Company.

INA is used as a feedstock for plasticizers such as diisononyl phthalate (DINP) and non-phthalate plasticizer Hexamoll DINCH. The former is used in industrial applications such as automotive, wires, building and construction, while the latter is BASF's non-phthalate plasticizer for sensitive applications such as toys, food contact and medical applications.