As part of the second optimisation following the expansion it undertook at its propylene glycol (PG) plant in Stade / Germany in August 2012, Dow Chemical (Midland, Michigan / USA) in late November said it had completed another 10,000 t/y upgrade at the facility. The first optimisation had been completed in autumn last year. The move brings Dow’s overall PG output at the site to 290,000 t/y.
Commenting on the expansion, Vincent Lacoste, global strategic marketing manager for Dow Propylene Glycol, said, the added output would go towards meeting “the growing needs and demands of the pharmaceutical grade propylene glycol (PG USP/EP) market.”
Once the US chemical giant commissions its new 150,000 t/y propylene glycol plant in Map Ta Phut / Thailand, expected to start-up in Q1 2013, it will be capable of producing more than 900,000 t/y of PG at its global operating sites.