Air Liquide Global E&C Solutions announces successful start-up of butadiene extraction unit

Air Liquide Global E&C Solutions, the Engineering and Construction activity of the Air Liquide Group, announces successful start-up of a world scale butadiene extraction unit at Evonik’s facility in Antwerp, Belgium, and further strengthens its leading market position in Europe.

Butadiene is an important industrial chemical used as a monomer in many day-to-day products, mainly as synthetic rubber for the automotive market. Butadiene can also be used as a raw material for the production of products such as polymers, plastics and paper chemicals.

The butadiene extraction technology is licensed and engineered by Air Liquide Global E&C Solutions and is based on BASF’s n-methyl-pyrrolidone (NMP) process (a.k.a. BASF NMP butadiene extraction technology).

In recent decades, BASF's NMP technology and Air Liquide Global E&C Solutions' capabilities in custom-made design and engineering of Butadiene Units have been recognized as a benchmark in the industry, providing production reliability, low energy consumption and product quality.

Cristiano Tortelli, Vice President and Chairman, Air Liquide Global E&C Solutions, stated: “We are proud to have contributed to the successful delivery of this new butadiene extraction facility by providing the technology, engineering and technical assistance. This milestone further enhances Air Liquide Global E&C Solutions’ leadership in petrochemical technologies, in line with Air Liquide Group’s mission to create value over the long term by delivering cutting-edge solutions to customers.”