In an overview of its recently realigned plastics activities ahead of the K 2013 trade fair in Düsseldorf, Germany, in October, BASF said that by bundling all specialty polymers in the new Performance Materials division, it has strengthened its focus on the customer.

After splitting the former Plastics segment's portfolio into upstream (monomers) and downstream (performance materials) businesses, at the beginning of this year, managing board member Martin Brudermüller said the German chemical giant is strengthening both sides of the portfolio through investment in new products, plant and equipment as well as technology.

Projects in progress include expanding production of engineering plastics in Ludwigshafen and lifting the group's profile in Latin America through the Brazilian Mazzaferro polyamide 6 business acquired in mid-2012. In what it bills as the largest single investment in the history of the site, worth "tens of thousands of euros," BASF is also widening capacity for thermoplastic polyurethanes at Lemförde, Germany, up to late 2014. At Ludwigshafen it is increasing output of the expandable polystyrene insulation material Neopor at by 60,000 t/y up to October 2013.

Production of polyurethane feedstocks is being upgraded at two locations with the construction of new world-scale MDI and TDI facilities. Reflecting strong Asian demand, a plant for 400,000 t/y of MDI is under construction at Chongqing, China, and will start up in 2014. At Ludwigshafen, a 300,000 t/y TDI plant is also due on stream next year.

Relatively new fields for the group that once had emphasized bulk chemicals are the high-end markets of wind energy and biopolymers. In addition to epoxy systems that speed up rotor blade manufacturing by as much as 30% and a PET-based structural foam designed to lend stability to the blade interior, BASF today produces coating systems for blades and towers, special grouting mortars and concrete additives for foundations and towers, along with lubricants for wind turbine gearboxes.

In the biopolymers spectrum, within its record group R&D budget of close to €2 billion, the Ludwigshafen group is looking toward development of a biodegradable, primarily bio-based foam with properties similar to those of polystyrene to be used in packaging of food and E&E components. In cooperation with the German technical inspection agency TÜV Süd, BASF has developed what it says is an "innovative mass balance approach" for flexible input of renewable feedstocks in its "Verbund" integrated production network.