BASF upgrades production facilities of hair care polymers

As part of the plans BASF will modernize and service its acetylene facility at the Ludwigshafen Verbund site, and also perform routine maintenance at its facility producing 1, 4-butanediol (BDO), which is based on acetylene.

Acetylene is a starting material for BDO, an intermediate that serves as a precursor for many other intermediates, including tetrahydrofuran (THF), Polytetrahydrofuran (PolyTHF), N-vinylpyrrolidone (NVP) and polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP).

Key components​

BASF's Luviskol powders are PVP polymers, which are key components in hair care products to give, for example styling gels and mousses their tightening properties.

The acetylene plant is one of the key production facilities at BASF’s Ludwigshafen site, particularly given the other applications for it, such as plastics.

The proposed upgrade will start at the end of the month and is expected to last six weeks. BASF plans to bring both facilities back on stream in mid-October.

Business as usual…​

The company will make sure that customers at the Ludwigshafen site and elsewhere will receive supplies as usual by building up stocks and by arranging product shipments from other BASF sites.

It also claims it will make use of this period to upgrade its plant technology, thereby securing the long-term supply of raw materials to meet the growing demand for BDO and its derivatives.

“In 2012 alone, the company is investing more than 20 million euros for this purpose​,” says a company statement.