Rheinische Olefinwerke

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Rheinische Olefinwerke GmbH (ROW) was the name of the first German company in Wesseling near Cologne that was exclusively active in the petrochemical industry . It is now a permanent establishment of Lyondellbasell .

Rheinische Olefinwerke GmbH (1967)

founding

After lengthy contract negotiations, the cooperation agreement between Shell and BASF was finalized in September 1952. The foundation of the ROW was made on 27 August 1953 as part of a joint venture by BASF AG, Ludwigshafen, and the German Shell AG, Hamburg, which is a registered capital of 16 million DM and an equally high shareholder loans earned (50% stake) . The joint venture represented a complementary addition to the know-how of both shareholders , because Shell was able to secure the raw material supply for the plant from its refineries , while BASF brought in its experience in the manufacture and application of plastics. The purpose of the company was the production of ethylene and its processing into polyethylene , which was sold under the trade name "Lupolen". During the construction period, the partners agreed on an initial capacity of 10,000 tons, as no negative repercussions on BASF's Styrofoam business were expected.

Production process

The plant area of ​​2.7 km² extends on both sides of the federal motorway 555 (Cologne-Bonn). When the plant started production in September 1955, the share capital was already 30 million DM, the shareholder loan 26 million DM. The petrochemical plants were built in order to participate in the immense growth in the plastics sector. In 1955 only 10,000 tons of plastics were produced nationwide, in 1996 it was around 1 million tons. The “Lupolen” product accounted for over 700,000 tons. Small polyethene spheres, known as granules, are produced as waste from the ethene gas . These granules are processed by other companies into a wide variety of objects. The ROW used both the high pressure and the low pressure process to convert ethylene to polyethylene; In the high-pressure process, the ethylene building blocks are linked under extremely high pressure of up to 3000 bar and at high temperatures of around 250 ° C. In order for the reaction to take place, reaction accelerators, known as initiators , must be added . This requires a huge complex of steel towers, boilers and pipes that is difficult to see for the layperson. Important systems that are used here are called intruders and crackers . The latter are at the heart of the plant, as they separate the large molecular chains into smaller gaseous molecules (e.g. ethylene ) - a process that is essential for plastics production. ROW uses the Godorf harbor for the raw materials and the manufactured products .

In 1961, ROW were among the world's largest manufacturers with an annual capacity of 125,000 t of polyethylene and 150,000 t of ethylene; the world market share was 10%. From 1969 the plant also produced polypropylene . From 1988 ROW invested in a further increase in the capacity of the ethylene plant, the annual production of which was 230,000 t. In 1997, the last independent year, ROW had a turnover of 2.469 billion DM with a workforce of 2,428. On January 18, 1985, after a major cold spell on the premises, there was a serious explosion in the ethylene plant with 29 injured, which led to a prolonged production downtime ( business interruption ). Windows shattered and roofs were covered within a ten kilometer radius.

Corporate changes

In March 1998, ROW was split up, with the polyethylene sector going to Elenac GmbH and polypropylene to Targor GmbH . The merger of Elenac , Targor and Montell NV led to the creation of Basell in October 2000 , making this company one of the world's largest polyolefin manufacturers. After the American conglomerate Access Industries took over the Basell Group in May 2005 , it combined it with the chemical company Lyondell to form Lyondellbasell in November 2007 .

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Werner Abelshauser, Die BASF: Eine Unternehmensgeschichte , 2002, p. 443 ff.
  2. ↑ Werner Abelshauser, Die BASF: Eine Unternehmensgeschichte , 2002, p. 452.
  3. ↑ JF Lehmanns-Verlag, Kunststoffe , Volume 59, 1969, p. 530.
  4. ^ Deutscher Verlag für Grundstoffindindustrie, Chemical Technology , Volume 14, 1962, p. 491.
  5. ↑ DER SPIEGEL 47/1986 of November 17, 1986, We should wake up and think about it , p. 146.

Coordinates: 50 ° 49 ′ 59 ″  N , 6 ° 58 ′ 1.1 ″  E