Catalyst and superabsorbent polymer specialist Nippon Shokubai (Osaka / Japan; www.shokubai.co.jp) is to invest EUR 350m in the expansion of production of superabsorbent polymer (SAP) and the construction of an acrylic acid plant in Belgium. Located at the company’s site in Antwerp, the new facility will add 100,000 t/y to the company’s present SAP capacity of 60,000 t/y at the complex. Mechanical completion of the project is expected in October 2017, with commercial operation planned to commence in May 2018.

The project will increase Nippon Shokubai's global SAP and acrylic acid annual production capacities to 710,000 t and 880,000 t respectively. The company is also working on a SAP production facility in Himeji / Japan, scheduled to be completed in June 2016 and designed to produce 50,000 t/y.