Evonik (Essen / Germany; www.evonik.com) is pressing ahead with plans for a world-scale MMA plant using its new production process “Aveneer”. A location for the new facility, which would have capacity to produce 150,000 - 200,000 t/y of the starting material for acrylic polymer PMMA, will be decided next year. Both an existing location and a greenfield site in Europe, North America or Asia will be considered. The investment cost will depend on the location. Evonik’s most recent MMA start-up, a 100,000 t/y integrated production complex for acrylic polymers, plastics intermediates and coatings systems at Shanghai / China, cost EUR 250m.

The Aveneer process, which consists of various catalytic reactions steps, has been tested since 2007 in a pilot plant at Evonik Röhm’s acrylics production complex in Worms / Germany. Like the C1 sulfo process employed in 80% of the company’s production facilities but not at Shanghai, Aveneer uses acetone cyanohydrin (ACH) as a starting material. However, in contrast to the older route it gets by without sulphuric acid. This reduces operating costs as it eliminates the need to operate an acid recovery plant.

Another bonus according to Thomas Müller, head of the acrylic monomers business line, is that Aveneer can use starting materials available at any production site with “attractive C-1 based feedstock opportunities.” Existing plants can be refitted to use the process. Evonik regards itself as world’s number two producer of MMA, with 580,000 t/y of capacity, and the leading player in PMMA.