ESSEN, Germany – An explosion and fire that broke out March 31, 2012, at Evonik’s CDT plant on the grounds of the Marl Chemicals Park, Marl, Germany, killed two Evonik employees and threatens to disrupt the supply of CDT-based products. Evonik announced that it is supporting the authorities investigating the cause of the fire and has started its own examination through an independent expert.
The company also announced that the incident will likely affect the supply of CDT-based products, specifically the VESTAMID®, VESTAMELT®, VESTOSINT®, and VESTENAMER®product families. Plastic parts made of PA12 are key components in automobile production, in the photovoltaic industry and in offshore pipelines.
In a press release regarding the incident, the company said, “At the moment we still do not have any indication as to the full extent of the damage. While we do expect there to be substantial constraints with respect to our ability to provide supplies of CDT-based products, we are nonetheless confident that we will be able to provide alternative solutions in the form of substitutes such as VESTAMID®Terra. It is possible to modify these bio-based polymers as required for many of the relevant applications to achieve much the same material attributes as PA12. We are already making every effort to ensure the facility is repaired and running and that we will be able to re-establish full supply capability as soon as possible.”
The company also stated that there are no restrictions on the supply of non-laurolactam-based high-performance polymers: TROGAMID®(PA 6-3-T molding compounds), VESTAMID HTplus (polyphthalamide), VESTODUR®(polybutylene terephthalate), VESTORAN®(modified polyphenylene ether) and VESTAKEEP®PEEK (polyetheretherketone).
