Introducing BASF’s new acetylene plant: Part 2 – the construction site
BASF officially opens its new acetylene plant at the Ludwigshafen site. The plant starts operations with a capacity of 90,000 metric tons per year. After a transition period of several months, it will finally replace the previous plant, which went into operation in 1964.
More than 35,000 cubic meters of concrete and 8,500 tons of steel were used on a 40,000 square meter area. At peak times, 1,500 employees were on site, laying almost 90 kilometers of pipes and 850 kilometers of cable.
440 customized fractionating columns, machines and technical equipment from twelve countries were assembled and installed. At the heart of the plant is a column 60 meters long and weighing 225 tons which was transported by ship from China to Ludwigshafen.