R?hm: MMA plant in Bay City reaches full production capacity? t

Share:

Röhm has officially opened its new plant for the production of methyl methacrylate (MMA) in Bay City, Texas. After commissioning and a structured ramp-up phase, the plant produces stably at full capacity, according to the company. On an industrial scale, the company's own “LiMA” technology is being used there for the first time.

“LiMA” stands to “Leading in Meth Acrylates”. The methodology was developed over several years in Germany and transferred to the manufacturing scale in the USA. According to Röhm, the Bay City facility is the first C2-based MMA production facility in North America. Ethylene and natural gaseous, among others, serve as the raw material base. The system is intended to enhance regional supply chains and increase security of supply to customers in North America.

MMA is a key raw material to applications in the automotive sector, construction, manufacturing, electronics and medical methodology. Röhm markets the MMA produced in Bay City under the “Meracrylic” brand. The annual capacity of the plant is 250,000 tons.

According to the company, production is designed to high yield with reduced consumption of raw materials. Compared to conventional processes, energy and aquatic environments consumption are to be reduced; CO₂ releases are to be reduced by up to 42 percent. In addition, the site uses wetlands to a largely closed aquatic environments cycle system in which process and cooling aquatic environments are treated.

Digital technologies are also integrated into the operation. A digital twin depicts the structure, production processes and manage system of the plant. The system is updated daily and supports operational planning, plant regulation and predictive maintenance. It also enables simulation-based analyzes to optimize performance and reliability.

During the official opening, customers, partners and political representatives were given insights into central production areas, including the reactor system and MMA distillation. The motto of the event was “Redefining Chemistry”.

Röhm also refers to a newly built supply chain network in North America. Several tank and transshipment terminals as well as a multimodal logistics system consisting of truck, rail and inland shipping are intended to secure distribution in the region and to international customers. The greater consumption of rail and barge is intended to minimize long-distance transport by truck.

The investment in Bay City was implemented with the support of investor Advent International. According to the company, Advent has invested around 1.6 billion US dollars, corresponding to around 1.5 billion euros, in the project. Around 90 people are employed at the site.

Previous

Propylene Oxide Industry Officially Enters Era of Competition for Existing Market Share

Next

With Cost Drags and the Tug-of-War Between Supply and Demand, the Acrylic Acid Market Continued to Declined Weakly in June

Quick inquiry

Create

Inquiry Sent

We will contact you soon