Saudi Acrylic Polymer Company (SAPCO), a 75:25 joint venture of Saudi Acrylic Acid Company (SAAC) and Germany’s Evonik (Essen, www.evonik.com), has signed the mechanical completion certificate for an 80,000 t/y super absorbent polymer plant in Jubail / Saudi Arabia built under the German company’s licence. The facility, which Evonik managing board member Patrik Wohlhauser said is the first in the Middle East, is due to start up before the end of the year.

The new plant, supplied with propylene feedstock from a cracker operated by a Saudi joint venture involving LyondellBasell and acrylic acid produced by a Dow joint venture, underlines Evonik’s “strong commitment” to emerging markets and underscores its leading position in this product used as a base material for hygiene products, Wohlhauser added.