Construction of the Delta polypropylene production unit, located in La Porte, in the state of Texas is complete. The new production line is the first built by Braskem in the USA and reinforces the global capacity of Brazilian petrochemicals, both in serving the American domestic market and in exporting to the entire world.
The new production unit
The new unit has an estimated production capacity of more than 450 thousand tons (kt) per year, being able to produce the entire portfolio of polypropylene (PP), including a wide variety of products, such as homopolymer, impact copolymer and random copolymers. The company has five other PP plants in the US, three in Texas, one in Pennsylvania and one in West Virginia. Together, the six units have an annual production capacity of almost 2 million kta.
According to Mark Nikolich, Vice President Braskem in North America, Delta’s commercial operation should start in 2020 and its production will reinforce the supply of American domestic demand, which currently imports polypropylene to fill the deficit in the domestic market. The unit will also directly assist Braskem’s global export capacity for its customers in North America, South America, Europe and Asia.
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The commissioning process is underway and Braskem is committed to completing all the steps necessary to ensure a safe and successful start, which includes the implementation of improved health and safety guidelines for Covid-19, to protect members and others involved in the company’s operation.
During this phase, the company will complete functional and process assessments to verify the performance of integrated security systems and controls. The initial execution of the production tests should start in July, with the first commercial scale production activity scheduled for the third quarter of 2020.
