Linde and BASF to co-develop butadiene technology

ERJ staff report (TP)

Pullach and Ludwigshafen, Germany – The Linde Group and BASF SE intend to cooperate in developing and licensing processes for the on-purpose production of linear butenes and butadiene.

BASF has developed process technology and catalysts as well as the extraction technologies, while Linde is providing its expertise for the integration, optimisation and commercialisation of the process.

The new process will deliver an on-purpose route from butane to butadiene via butenes. Currently, the industry relies mainly on butadiene as a co-product from naphtha-cracking to ethylene. The shift to lighter cracker feedstock results in reduced volumes of co-products. Therefore the on-purpose production of higher olefins is gaining more and more importance.

In the 2013 financial year, The Linde Group generated revenue of €16.655 billion, making it the “largest gases and engineering company in the world” with approximately 63,500 employees working in more than 100 countries worldwide.

BASF has a portfolio ranging from chemicals, plastics, performance products and crop protection products to oil and gas. BASF had sales of about €74 billion in 2013 and over 112,000 employees as of the end of the year.