Dow Hikes Louisiana Methyl Acrylate Capacity
Dow is investing an undisclosed sum in its methyl acrylate production to meet growing demand both in North America and worldwide. The project at its St Charles operations in Hahnville, Louisiana, USA, will add 50,000 t/y of capacity by the first half of 2022. Dow said the extra output will “enable global growth with a focus on supplying North American demand.”
“Methyl acrylate is a critical component of a wide range of applications where we are seeing a rise in market demand, from water treatment and thermoplastic products to inks, resins and packaging materials,” said Jim Knaub, global business director, Dow Performance Monomers & Plastics Additives.
Once the capacity increase is on stream, Dow said its St Charles operations will focus primarily on producing methyl acrylate and 2-ethyl-hexyl acrylate. Ethyl acrylate production will be fully supported by operations in Deer Park, Texas, which Dow said has capacity to manage existing customer demand.
Last month, Dow announced a series of global “incremental, high-return” capacity expansions to support fast-growing demand across key end-markets, while in June it revealed plans to build an integrated MDI distillation and pre-polymers facility in Freeport, Texas, to go on stream in 2023.
Author: Elaine Burridge, Freelance Journalist
