BASF has announced plans to build a new specialty amines plant at its site in the Nanjing Chemical Industry Park in China. The facility will have a capacity of 21,000 t/y, mostly producing 1,2-propylenediamine (1,2-PDA), n-octylamine (n-OA) and polyetheramine (PEA), and will go on stream in 2019. Investment costs were not disclosed.

“This investment will help us to meet the increasing Asia-Pacific demand for specialty amines used as intermediates in a  diverse range of industries and applications, such as epoxy formulations, crop protection agents, spandex and  biocides for the coatings industry,”  said Narayan Krishnamohan, BASF’s senior vice president, Intermediates Asia-Pacific.

The German major, which claims to have the world’s most diverse portfolio of specialty amines, also produces 1,2-PDA and n-OA at Ludwigshafen, Germany, while PEA is made at Ludwigshafen, Gesimar in the US and Nanjing, China.

In March, BASF announced it would build a 42,000 t/y antioxidants plant in China. The new facility will be located at Caojing in Shanghai with production also scheduled to start in 2019.