India to build its first large-scale maleic anhydride plant!

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On November 2, Indian media reported that the state-owned company Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) will establish India’s first large-scale maleic anhydride (MAH) plant at its Panipat refinery and Petrochemical Complex (PRPC), in order to produce value-added chemical products. The project is planned to produce 120,000 tons of maleic anhydride and 20,000 tons of BDO per year. Starting from the approval of the investment in the first phase, the project will be put into use within 54 months, with an investment amount of 36.81 billion rupees (approximately 3.2 billion yuan). The project is planned to produce 120,000 tons of maleic anhydride per year, which will be used to manufacture specialty products such as polyester resins, surface coatings, plasticizers, agrochemicals, and lubricant additives. The plant will also produce 20,000 tons per year of 1,4-butanediol (BDO), which is used to manufacture polyurethanes, polybutylene terephthalate (PBT) – an engineering plastic – and biodegradable fibers. The plant will also produce another value-added chemical, **tetrahydrofuran (THF)**, to accelerate the growth of the pharmaceutical industry. **Furan is also widely used in adhesives and vinyl films. This project will turn the Panipat refinery into one of the world’s most advanced integrated chemical and petrochemical complexes. Maleic anhydride is a colorless compound that appears as white flaky crystals and has a strongly irritating odor. This compound is soluble in propane, ether, etc. The main applications of maleic anhydride include unsaturated polyester resins (UPR) used in bathroom fixtures and automobiles. Other applications of maleic anhydride are BDO and THF. Maleic anhydride is produced commercially through the oxidation of benzene or butane. By the 2021 fiscal year, India’s total demand for maleic anhydride was approximately 83,000 tons, and it is expected to grow at a compound annual growth rate of 5.83% in the coming years. Analysts believe that Indian oil companies’ investment in increasing the production capacity of maleic anhydride and its derivatives is aimed at meeting India’s growing demand for this substance, a demand that is on the rise due to the increasing need for unsaturated polyester resins. Since India mainly imports maleic anhydride, the import dependence is expected to drop significantly with the commissioning of the additional 120,000 tons of production capacity. The 2021 Industry Forum on Maleic Anhydride, Succinic Acid/Esters, and PBS-Based Degradable Materials will be held in Fuzhou from November 30th to December 1st. Topics such as the planning of new PBS-based degradable material projects and PBS technologies using different raw material routes will be among the key subjects of discussion. Experts from institutions such as Sinopec Dalian Petrochemical Research Institute, Beijing Research Institute of Chemical Technology, Sinochem International, Zongshen Wanfeng, Huisheng Engineering, Shanxi University/Diyang Chemical, Shandong Landian, Dou’s Chemical, and CNOOC Tianjin Design Institute will deliver keynote speeches at the conference. The conference will include a visit to the main facility of the world’s largest BOPP film manufacturer, as well as the planned facility for biodegradable materials—the Zhongjing Petrochemical Technology Park.