BASF Antwerp is Belgium’s largest Verbund site of chemistry and is also the second largest production site ofthe BASF group worldwide. The premises, located at the harbour in Antwerp, cover an area of 600 hectares and include 54 integrated production plants. At the end of 2014, a new production plant will commence operations – at its heart will be a VRa 736a made by AERZEN.
The compressor will be used for the extraction of butadiene, a raw material which is used, for example, in the production of synthetic rubber. The tire industry is one of the major customers of this rubber butadiene. Even the paper and plastics industry can make use of butadiene. BASF Antwerp extracts butadiene on the basis of raw C4, a product of the so-called steam cracker.
At the beginning of 2013, Aerzen Belgium received the order of the VRa 736a S and the unit was delivered in component form in August 2013. Technicians from Aerzen Belgium are currently completing the mechanical installation on site, while After-Sales and Quality Assurance specialists in Aerzen are engaged in the final jobs and tests concerning switch cabinets and software. Commissioning will take place in the summer of 2014.
