LG Chem starts up Daesan butadiene unit

South Korean petrochemical producer LG Chemical achieved on-specification production at its new 55,000 t/yr butadiene (BD) unit in mid-September.

The start-up of the unit located at Daesan was slightly ahead of the company's earlier plan at the end of September. The operating rate at the new unit is about 50pc this week and LG plans to increase this in phases in the coming month. It will lift LG's total BD output capacity to 350,000 t/yr.

The new BD unit adopts LG Chemical's proprietary dehydrogenation process, with it the first to use the technology.

The start-up will help ease the supply tightness of BD in October in South Korea, with Kumho and Lotte Daesan taking 230,000 t/yr of capacity down for maintenance.