Mitsubishi Chemical to build MMA plant in U.S.

, Mitsubishi Chemical Group's direct procurement business manager, Lucite International, said Mitsubishi Chemical plans to announce details of its methamphetamine (MMA) project on the U.SGulf Coast in the first quarter of 2020The MMA plant, with a capacity of 250,000 to 350,000 tons per year, will be built between Houston, Texas, and Gesser, Louisiana, and is expected to start production in 2024currently, the world's total demand for MMA is about 3.8 million tons/year, the global MMA overcapacity is about 500,000 tons/year, and the excess is expected to shrink to 250,000 tons/year in 2023North America is a net importer of MMA and will continue to expand by 2023MMA in Northeast Asia and the Middle East has large surpluses, which are exported to other regionsthe U.Swill become a net exporter of methanol, mmA's key raw material, by 2020The alpha-MMA production technology has been developed by Accies International, which consumes large quantities of methanol, ethylene and carbon monoxideMr Frederick said a 350,000-tonne-year alpha-MMA plant would consume 273,000 tonnes of methanol a yearMitsubishi Chemical has been considering building a new MMA plant along the U.SGulf Coast for some timeIn 2014, the company signed a memorandum of understanding with Mitsui to jointly build a 250,000-ton/year MMA installation