Evonik erects isobutene plant at Antwerp site

Following an investment of “tens of millions” of euros, Evonik Industries has added a high-purity isobutene plant to its facility in Antwerp, Belgium. The new plant can produce up to 110,000 tonnes of isobutene per annum and forms part of the site’s integrated C4 production platform. The investment has tripled Evonik’s production capacity for isobutene, which is used in butyl rubber of applications such as reducing air permeability in tyres.

“The new production plant strengthens our position as one of Europe’s leading suppliers of isobutene,” said Dr. Thomas Haeberle of Evonik’s Executive Board. The company says isobutene from Antwerp enables Evonik to reliably meet rising customer demand. Jan Van den Bergh, who heads up Evonik’s Advanced Intermediates Business Unit, adds: “At the same time, it further increases our efficiency and flexibility in the management of product streams in our integrated C4 production.”

Evonik’s integrated C4 production complex in Antwerp produces starting products and intermediates from crude C4, a by-product of ethylene and propylene production. The end products include isobutene, butadiene, the anti-knock agents MTBE and butene-1, oxo-alcohols and plasticisers.