The Intermediates Video Library

The time has come: BASF takes on stream its new acetylene plant at the Ludwigshafen Verbund site. It starts production with an annual capacity of 90,000 metric tons. After a transition period of several months, it will finally replace the previous plant, which went into operation in 1964.

Propionic acid is a high-quality intermediate that is used for example as an eco-efficient feed grain preservative. Together with its Chinese partner SINOPEC, BASF is expanding the capacity of its existing propionic acid production to 69,000 metric tons per year in Nanjing, China. 

During the Winter of 2015, BASF and Nachurs Alpine Solutions (NASl) - a major manufacturer of chemicals and liquid ice melt solutions - joined forces to conduct a trial at Morristown Municipal Airport in New Jersey. The trial tested how liquid potassium formate, a derivative of formic acid, would perform as a runway deicing fluid during winter storm activity. This video describes the results of this eco-friendlier and cost effective method.

Acetylene is multifaceted and intriguing. Produced from natural gas in a complex chemical process in the acetylene plant, it is a valuable starting material at the BASF Verbund site in Ludwigshafen: Around 20 BASF plants use acetylene to produce various chemicals, which BASF customers in turn need to manufacture their products.

High-quality longboard wheels of the kind produced by the Californian manufacturer AEND Industries, for example, are made from polyurethane cast elastomers. These plastic systems combine resilient elasticity, mechanical load bearing capacity and high abrasion resistance in an almost ideal manner. Watch here how the Californian specialists unite the apparently contrasting properties and what difference PolyTHF® makes. 

The production and further processing of acetylene is closely connected to the name of BASF chemist Walter Reppe (1892-1969). The chemistry pioneer set the course for the production of previously unknown chemical compounds and paved the way for creating a myriad of products that enhance the quality of life.

Formic acid enables environmentally friendly deicing of runways and roads – and is successful in many other applications.