Evonik Industries (Essen, Germany; www.evonik.com) started up a new plant for manufacturing biodiesel-production catalysts in Argentina. With a capacity of over 60,000 metric tons per year (m.t./yr), the new production plant will supply ready-to-use alkoxides for use as catalysts in biodiesel production from renewable raw materials. The new facilities will primarily serve the Argentine and Brazilian markets. Evonik located the plant on the same site as Terminal 6 S.A., which operates a large biodiesel facility.
In 2009, the company started up a new production facility in Mobile, Alabama, USA, with a capacity of 60,000 m.t./yr. Evonik products from this plant meet the demand for biodiesel on the North American market. Following the success of the new production technology in the United States, the same type of plant was built in Argentina. The new technology involves directly reacting alcohol with sodium hydroxide to produce alkoxides.