Germany’s PCC has announced plans to expand production of monochloracetic acid (MCAA) at its site in Brzeg Dolny, Poland, in order to meet strong customer demand.

Current capacity of 42,000 t/y will rise by an initial 25%, with further increases up to 100,000 t/y planned over the medium term. The company did not say when the additional capacity would go on stream.

Sister company PCC Rokita – also located at Brzeg Dolny – supplies chlorine and hydrogen directly by pipeline to the MCAA plant, which the company said will provide a competitive source of feedstocks over the long term.

In 2015, PCC Rokita switched its chlorine plant from mercury to membrane technology, boosting capacity at the same time. The company said the surplus output is now primarily being taken up by PCC MCAA.

Waldemar Preussner, chairman of the administrative board of PCC, said it expects demand for MCAA to continue rising and is aiming for subsidiary PCC MCAA to become the partner of choice for customers worldwide. The most important market at the moment for PCC MAA is Europe, but the company is making plans to expand into North and South America as well as Asia.

MCAA is used as an intermediate to make a wide range of consumer items as well as in industries such as crop protection and construction. It is also used as an intermediate in the production of PVC plasticizers and adhesives and its ultra-pure grade is used for further processing in pharmaceutical synthesis.

Headquartered in Duisburg, PCC has direct and indirect participating interests in more than 70 companies in Germany and abroad.