Lucite International Selects Singapore for New Methyl Methacrylate Plant

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Researched by Industrialinfo.com (Industrial Information Resources, Incorporated; Houston, Texas). Lucite International, Limited (Redcar, England) has finalized site plans for a new methyl methacrylate (MMA) plant by selecting a location on Jurong Island in Singapore. The plant will produce an expected capacity of 120,000 metric tons per year of MMA and Lucite will sell the product to Mitsubishi Rayon Company, Limited (TSE:3404) as part of an "off-take" agreement, see related Industry Alert titled: < a href="http://www.industrialinfo.com/showNews.jsp?newsitemID=68094" target="_blank">Plans for a Grassroot MMA Plant in Texas Continue to Make Progress. Construction on the $100 million site is expected to commence by the summer of 2006 and commercial operation is expected by June of 2008. Currently, Lucite is evaluating bids submitted by "large, well-known firms" for the engineering, procurement and construction package and the selection of an E+P+C firm should be complete by December of this year.

Lucite will utilize its proprietary Alpha process technology for the production of the methyl methacrylate. Lucite and Aker Kvaerner developed the technology in 2002 to produce methyl methacrylate from ethylene by a two-step reaction process. Carbon monoxide and methanol are mixed with ethylene to cause a reaction that produces methyl propionate. The methyl propionate is then mixed with formaldehyde and thus produces methyl methacrylate in an efficient and environmentally friendly method. The Alpha process is implemented in plants that produce 100,000 metric tons a year or more, whereas the Beta process is optimum for plants producing 50,000 metric tons or less and only uses a single step reaction of methyl propadiene.

Industrialinfo.com’s chemical processing industry (CPI) researchers are currently tracking nine separate methyl methacrylate projects (grassroot, additions, and debottlenecks), with a combined total investment value (TIV) of approximately $760 million. The international projects are located in Singapore, Thailand and China, and the domestic projects are located along the Gulf Coast.

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