Maruzen Petrochemical wants to build 100,000 tons of methyl ethyl ketone plant

Japan Maruzen Petrochemical plans to complete its feasibility study for the construction of a 100,000-ton/year methyl ethyl ketone project in Southeast Asia this year, which will be the company’s first overseas methyl ethyl ketone production facility. Maruzen Petrochemical is the largest methyl ethyl ketone producer in Asia. The new construction project will increase the production of methyl ethyl ketone by more than 50%. The candidate location is basically determined in Thailand, Malaysia or Indonesia. It is predicted that due to the tight supply of raw materials for carbon tetra-distillate, there has been no new or expansion plan for methyl ethyl ketone in Asia in recent years, and there will be a shortage of methyl ethyl ketone in Asia in the next 2-3 years. At present, the demand for methyl ethyl ketone in Asia is 700,000 tons/year, and it is expected to continue to grow at an average annual growth rate of 5%. In addition, from the perspective of overseas development strategies, Maruzen Petrochemical also hopes to build new installations outside of Japan, which will bring it closer to the market and meet the rapid growth in demand of emerging economies such as China.