Germany's BASF boosting ethylene capacity

NANJING, China, Sept. 29 (UPI) -- Germany's BASF AG and Yangzi Petrochemical Co. will expand their Chinese ethylene cracking by 25 percent.

The venture between BASF and YPC, a unit of China Petroleum & Chemical Corp., will expand ethylene capacity at a recently built $2.9 billion petrochemical complex in Nanjing, the Shanghai Daily reported Thursday.

The cost of the ethylene expansion project was not disclosed.

Ethylene production, or "cracking" as it is known in the industry, is the source of many textile, construction and packaging products such as synthetic rubbers and plastics.