Changji, Xinjiang – Chinese fine chemical firm Blue Ridge Tunhe Energy successfully trialled its 104kT/year BDO facility in Changji, Xinjiang on December 30, said the company.
The project, contracted by China Chengda Engineering, broke ground in July 2018. Construction ended in September 2019. Blue Ridge Tunhe claims the plant was completed over the shortest period of time among projects of its kind.
The project covers 175,000 m2 and is located in the company’s existing site at Lama Huliang Industrial Park in Qitai County, Changji, Xinjiang. The plant cost CNY1.4bn ($203m) and created 290 new jobs.
Blue Ridge already has 104kT/year BDO capacity and 46kT/year PTMEG capacity at the site. It uses use the Reppe method for BDO production purchased from Invista.
The company is a subsidiary of state controlled conglomerate Blue Ridge Tunhe Chemical Industry. It has 2,000 total employees and 770kT/year total capacity for a range of chemical products.