Sasol Chemicals' inorganics and catalyst division has completed a 15 000 t/y expansion of alumina capacity at its Brunsbuettel site, in Germany, enabling the company to meet growing global demand.
The expansion involved debottlenecking the alumina slurry feed capacity by installing an additional on-purpose alumina unit and building two new drum dryers, as well as a new spray dryer.
The new units were commissioned and started up over the past six months, with the last unit having reached beneficial operation during October 2017.
"This expansion is an important milestone in the development of our production capabilities for high-purity and dispersible aluminas that are sold into a variety of applications worldwide," said Sasol inorganics and catalyst VP Dr Cronje Grove.
"We plan to start up additional alumina production in Lake Charles, in the US, as part of the Lake Charles chemical project at the end of 2019 to continue to meet the escalating demands of our customers. Further expansion of our alumina capacity from the Brunsbuettel site is also being considered."
The products from the new plants would be sold into a number of markets and used in various end markets, including abrasives and selected catalyst applications.