Japan's Asahi Kasei and Marubeni Form Joint Venture with Thailand's PTT for Commercial Production of Acetonitrile

---

Researched by Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--The chemicals divisions of Asahi Kasei Corporation (TYO:3407) (Tokyo, Japan), PTT Public Company Limited (BAK:PTT) (Bangkok, Thailand) and Marubeni Corporation (TYO:8002) (Tokyo) have established a joint venture company, PTT Asahi Chemical Company Limited (PTTAC) (Bangkok), to investigate opportunities for commercial production of acetonitrile in Thailand.

Acetonitrile is a basic solvent used worldwide in the manufacture of pharmaceuticals and agricultural chemicals. The chemical is also used as an analytical reagent. There has been an especially strong growth in demand for the product within the pharmaceutical sector, with the result that current supply is insufficient to meet demand. Commercial grades of acetonitrile are normally obtained as a byproduct of the production of acrylonitrile.

In March 2008, the three companies announced plans to jointly construct plants at Map Ta Phut in Rayong to produce 200,000 tons per year of acrylonitrile and 70,000 tons per year of methyl methacrylate. The acrylonitrile plant is scheduled for startup by the end of next year. The plant will operate on a feedstock of propane--the world's first commercial application of the process--rather than the more costly production process based on propylene. With another acrylonitrile plant planned in the Middle East and scheduled for start-up in 2014, Asahi Kasei aims to become the world's leading supplier of acrylonitrile.

One of the byproducts from the production of acrylonitrile is hydrogen cyanide, which will be used as the feedstock for the methyl methacrylate production plant. The plant will operate on the acetone cyanohydrin process. The methyl methacrylate plant is scheduled for startup by the end of 2010 and will enable Asahi Kasei to increase its share in the growing Asian market. Methyl methacrylate is a monomer used in the production of acrylic resins and coating materials and is particularly useful in the production of light-guide panels in liquid crystal display (LCD) devices. In addition, the methyl methacrylate plant will produce about 160,000 tons per year of ammonium sulfate.

Plans for the new acetonitrile production facility will be based on PTTAC's acrylonitrile plant that is already under construction. The acetonitrile facility will have a production capacity of 12,000 tons per year and will use the crude acrylonitrile produced by the main plant. Selection of the engineering, procurement and construction contractor for the new facility is currently under way, and PTTAC is hopeful that contracts will be awarded this year. Startup of the plant is scheduled for the second half of 2011.

Asahi Kasei already has an acetonitrile production plant located in Kawasaki, Japan, which has a production capacity of 14,000 tons per year and supplies a wide range of customers in Europe, Japan, Southeast Asia and India. The new plant in Thailand will place Asahi Kasei in a very strong and strategic position as the world leader of the acetonitrile market.

PTT is a fully integrated gas company in Thailand, incorporated in 2001 from the Petroleum Authority of Thailand. The Chemicals division of Asahi Kasei is the core division for the group and handles all chemicals-related operations. Marubeni Corporation was incorporated in 1949 and has more than 30,000 employees.

Industrial Info Resources (IIR) is the leading provider of global market intelligence specializing in the industrial process, heavy manufacturing and energy related markets. For more than 26 years, Industrial Info has provided plant and project opportunity databases, market forecasts, high resolution maps, and daily industry news.