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France's Seqens to supply from new IPA unit in Q1 2022: source

https://www.chemnet.com   Nov 26,2020 S&P Global Platts
French pharmaceutical and petrochemicals company Seqens will start supplying isopropanol from a new unit in the first quarter of 2022, a company source said Nov. 25.

The new unit will be based at the Roussillon platform in Isere, southeast France, and will have a capacity of 45,000 mt/year, expandable by up to 20%. Construction of the the new unit will start in early 2021 and will be completed within the year, in line with the company's initial announcement in April of the increased IPA production plan.
The second unit will add to the company's existing 70,000 mt/year of IPA supplies at the Roussillon site. Seqens, a major European player in high value oxygenated solvents, will see its global annual production capacity of IPA increase by around 65%, with plans to increase it further thereafter.

Seqens sees demand for IPA and derivatives such diisopropyl ether (DIPE) and isopropyl acetate (IPAC) rising in the coming years.

The company serves demand for oxygenated solvents used primarily in the pharma and cosmetics applications, as well as for disinfectants and hand sanitizers production, the source said.

This investment will improve the downstream integration, utilizing Seqens' acetone/phenol production and will boost the offering of IPA grades including pharmaceutical, cosmetic, technical, electronic and biocide.

Biocide grade is used for hand sanitizers, demand for which has soared during the coronavirus pandemic, which pushed prices to all-time highs earlier in 2020.

Europe is a net importer of IPA. The price for the spot IPA truck business was assessed flat week on week at Eur1,550/mt on Nov. 24, well above the Eur860/mt assessed on Nov. 26, 2019.
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