BASF to Increase Copper, Copper-Chrome Catalyst Capacity

BASF has announced a new round of capital investment projects to increase its production capacity and further enhance its global manufacturing operations for copper and copper-chrome catalysts. The company said the investments are aimed at improving catalyst manufacturing efficiency to meet increased global demand. They follow an earlier round of process improvement and capacity enhancement projects for the copper-chrome product line that were completed earlier this year.

"The market response to our high-performance copper-chrome catalysts remains outstanding," said Dr. Michael Baier, BASF vice president, Chemical Market Catalysts. "As a result, we are investing to further enhance our manufacturing capacity and production efficiency for these products globally."

BASF produces a wide variety of base-metal catalysts, which are primarily used in petrochemical and oleochemical processing. Typical catalyst applications include guard beds; hydrogenation processes, such as solvent and gasoline dearomatization; dehydrogenation processes; monomer production; and manufacturing of specialty and detergent alcohols.