Our site in Antwerp

The production site covers a total of 109 hectares, with construction being started in October 1968 on an artificially reclaimed island between the Schelde river and Antwerp harbor, Europe’s second-largest industrial port. The site was raised up to nine meters using silt. The major new production facility was established outside Germany because of the increased demand at the end of the sixties for the following important Evonik products: Hydrogen peroxide (bleaching and oxidizing agent), sodium perborate (bleaching agent), cyanuric chloride (starters for agrochemicals and optical brighteners for detergents, among others) plus AEROSIL®, one of whose uses is to optimize the properties of coatings, pastes, powders, paints.

Antwerp enjoys many locational advantages – especially its port and existing infrastructure which provide balanced transportation links for water, road and rail. Other important benefits Antwerp offers, include sufficient space and a large pool of qualified technicians.

Together with BASF, Bayer, Solvay and other chemical and petro-chemical companies also located there, Antwerp is the most important chemicals site in Europe, and the world’s second-largest after Houston in Texas.

After the official inauguration on October 7, 1970, the site grew steadily. In the same year, the first hydrocyanic acid plant was completed, followed by facilities for hydrogen peroxide, sodium perborate, cyanuric chloride and AEROSIL®. The periphery required, was built very quickly, because there was a pipeline network for raw materials and energy.

When the first methionine facility came on stream in 1974 with a capacity of 12,000 tonnes per annum, it marked a further milestone in the expansion of the site. Methionine is an essential amino acid, used for environmentally-friendly animal nutrition. Even back then, Evonik was investing in a steadily growing market, and was able as a result to meet the increasing demand for methionine.

Production of the chlorosilanes silicon tetrachloride and trichlorsilane began in 1975. Silicon tetrachloride is a raw material used to manufacture AEROSIL®. An additional production facility was built the same year for this product. In July 1976, Evonik began producing the organosilane Si 69®, using the raw material trichlorsilane, thereby setting the scene for a quantum leap in the technology of the rubber industry. Si 69® is used as a coupling agent between rubber and silica, greatly improving the properties of car tires. It helps reduce rolling resistance, for instance, and provides better road surface adhesion. Because the demand for organosilane as a raw material began to increase as a result, capacities were again expanded in 1996 and 2003. Moreover, an additional chlorosilane plant came on stream in 2003 to secure the supply of raw materials for silane and aerosil production.

A further major investment came in 1974, when construction began on a triazine plant to manufacture agrochemicals from cyanuric chloride. The multi-purpose facility was built in 1977, for producing intermediates for agrochemicals and for other uses. The triazine plant was later integrated into this facility. Evonik continued to invest in the manufacture of intermediates, establishing the acrolein cyanohydrine acetate facility in 1988, which likewise supplies a pre-product for plant protectants.

In 1982 work was begun on constructing a nicotinic-acid amide plant, which produces B3 vitamins as a feed additive. At the beginning of September 2003, Evonik announced the sale of its vitamin B3 business to Reilly (now Vertellus Specialties Belgium N.V.).

The biological wastewater treatment plant in 1990 was the start signal for a wide range of installations that benefit the environment. Then, a H2O2-washer (1998), an underground extinguishing water collector system (2001) and a buffer tank for Biology (2002) were started.

To produce steam with the highest possible energy efficiency Evonik Degussa Antwerpen NV took in 1999 a CHP (Combined Heat and Power) plant in operation in cooperation with Electrabel. This CHP plant generates 45 megawatts of electricity from natural gas, by which very hot combustion gases are formed. The heat of the combustion gases is largely recovered by producing steam with it. Such a combination of electricity and steam production consumes 30% less fuel than conventional separate production. Thereby the CO2 emissions are reduced in the same ratio, which is important in the Kyoto agreements.

A new C4 plant came on stream in Antwerp in 2002, the result of a 50-million euro investment. This plant manufactures products based on C4 raw materials, namely dibutene (a starter used in chemical processing) and MTBE (an additive that improves gasoline combustion). C4-based products from Antwerp are mainly used as chemical intermediates. After partial processing at OXENO in Marl and by our customers, C4 products can be used in applications covering areas ranging from cars to living rooms and leisure, to textiles and cosmetics. Evonik has a strong market and technology position in C4 products. Its production facilities in Marl and Antwerp mean the company has a C4 production system that utilizes modern methods while employing its own know-how.

On November 21, 2003, the groundbreaking ceremony took place for the construction of the second methionine plant in Antwerp. This is the biggest investment made yet by Evonik, and totals around 350 million euros. The plant, with a capacity of 120,000 tonnes per annum, was successfully started in October 2005. Complementary to this, the company built a production facility for the raw materials acrolein and methyl mercaptane, and expanded the hydrocyanic acid capacities. In 2006, Evonik already announced they wanted to restart the old methionine plant in Antwerp – after a considerable modernization. In October 2008 this was realized. In June 2009, an additional a capacity increase was announced.

The restart of the ME-1 production unit required additional quantities of steam. To meet this need with minimal additional CO2 emissions, Evonik Degussa Antwerpen NV made a contract with Lillo Energy NV for the construction and operation of a second CHP. The new plant was started up in 2010.

At its large site in Antwerp, Belgium, Evonik Industries built a new production facility for manufacturing isobutene by splitting MTBE. The facility, with a projected annual output of 110,000 metric tons, was taken into operation in the fourth quarter of 2010. The investment, in the high two-digit million-euro range, will triple Evonik’s isobutene capacity and will solidify the company’s position as one of Europe’s leading providers.

The new isobutene plant is part of an integrated C4 production facility in Antwerp that manufactures high-value source materials and intermediates from the C4 cuts obtained by processing petroleum. In the future, Evonik plans to provide its customers with ultrapure isobutene, as an indispensable raw material for their further growth, from the Antwerp plant.

Isobutene is used in the production of rubber for the tire industry as well as in manufacturing processes for plastics, antioxidants, and fine chemicals. Additionally, isobutene is the source material of polyisobutene, which is a precursor material for lubricant and fuel additives as well as adhesives and sealants.

The expansion of the site is also reflected in the number of employees – whereas Evonik began in Antwerp in 1969/70 with around 400 employees, there are approximately 1,015 people working there today.