BASF Monomers

That’s loopamid® in action: Together with our partners and at our site in China, we make the key process steps of our loopamid® technology visible. Find out about the seven steps that turn textile waste into new clothing 👇 #1: Sorting & Collection: This is where polyamide-based textiles are collected from clothing containers, home collection or in-store take-back systems and sorted by material to prepare them for recycling. One of our partners is China Textile Recycling - YJ-QS. #2: Pre-Processing: In this step, the sorted textiles with polyamide 6 content are cleared from disruptors, mechanically shredded and compacted, also by our trusted partner China Textile Recycling - YJ-QS. #3: Depolymerization: Now the chemical magic begins. At our production site in China, the long polyamide 6 molecular chains of the textiles are broken down into their individual building blocks, called monomers. #4: Purification: To obtain high-quality raw materials, all impurities are removed. The result: high-purity polyamide 6 with identical material characteristics to those of conventional virgin polyamide 6. #5 Polymerization: The purified polyamide monomers react and form new polyamide 6 polymers. We create polyamide chips with the desired properties for textile applications. #6: Spinning: By melting and extruding through micro-orifices, the polyamide filaments are obtained. Our partner Fulgar is spinning the continuous filaments, using its spinning machines. And the best about it, it works with every existing machinery for polyamides. And finally, during Step #7, new textiles can be produced - made entirely from recycled textiles and thus fully closing the loop. 

Together with BASF Performance Materials, we are the Materials Segment that connects innovations and sustainability in raw materials and applications. We are working on #OurPlasticsJourney which starts with the essential building blocks that form the backbone of materials like Ultramid® or Cellasto®. By improving resource efficiency and supporting circular solutions, we enable more sustainable plastics. 👉 Join the journey made of customized solutions with BASF Performance Materials.

What makes a strong material even stronger? Together with our colleagues from BASF Performance Materials, we run an integrated polyamide value chain – from essential chemical building blocks to high-performance applications. A great example: Ultramid® – BASF’s polyamide brand. Behind it lies close collaboration ensuring consistent quality, reliable supply, and a strong foundation for innovation. 👉 Discover how these materials come to life in real-world applications on BASF Performance Materials.

Together with BASF Performance Materials, we run some of BASF’s most essential value chains, for example the fully integrated polyurethane (PU) value chain. We ensure reliability and cost advantages for our customers with our world-scale plants and develop new, more sustainable high-performance materials and applications for industries ranging from automotive to construction and consumer goods. 👉 Make sure to follow BASF Performance Materials to stay up to date about customized solutions in engineering plastics, polyurethanes and thermoplastic polyurethanes, as well as special plastics and their unique co-creations with partners!

Dear BASF Monomers followers, it’s BASF Performance Materials here! For the first time here on LinkedIn, we’ve teamed up with our friends from BASF Monomers to tell a bigger story: what it really means to be the Materials Segment of BASF. And as we do in chemistry, we’re kicking things off with a little experiment here. A LinkedIn account swap. Let’s see what happens when we swap perspectives. In the meantime, drop a follow BASF Performance Materials!

On today’s International Biodiesel Day, let’s celebrate an often-unseen contributor to renewable fuels: sodium methylate. Produced by BASF Monomers in Ludwigshafen, Germany, and Guaratinguetá, Brazil, sodium methylate and potassium methylate are key catalysts in the production of biodiesel. They enable the efficient conversion of vegetable oils, animal fats and other renewable feedstocks into fatty acid methyl esters (FAME), commonly known as biodiesel. As demand for renewable fuels continues to grow, both methylates play an important role in supporting biodiesel producers around the world. Whether based on rapeseed oil in Europe, soybean oil in the Americas, or other regionally available feedstocks, biodiesel helps reduce greenhouse gas emissions in sectors where electrification remains challenging. To support growing biodiesel demand in South America, BASF has expanded its sodium methylate production capacity in Brazil twice in recent years, strengthening supply reliability for customers across the region. BASF is also investing a mid-double-digit-million-euro amount in a new, state-of-the-art alcoholates plant in Ludwigshafen. The plant will produce sodium methylate and potassium methylate solution and crystals for biodiesel, pharmaceutical and agricultural applications. Scheduled to start up in 2027, the new facility will strengthen our position as a reliable supplier and support a more efficient, future-oriented production process. At BASF Monomers, we are proud to provide the chemistry that enables more sustainable solutions and supports the transition towards lower-emission transportation.

New fleet for the melamine supply of our Ludwigshafen site: Together with our long-standing logistics partner GREIWING logistics group, we have implemented a pioneering supply concept for melamine. Greiwing handles the storage and supply of melamine for BASF Monomers. We are using this raw material to produce highly efficient adhesives for the wood processing industry like impregnating resins, coating raw materials, structural adhesives and MF powders.  We are particularly pleased with the new special silo trailers, which can be unloaded horizontally without the need for a tractor-trailor or driver. The concept is complemented by a so-called “milk run,” a regular supply route between Worms and Ludwigshafen. This way, we are ensuring flexible, on-demand delivery of melamine to the Ludwigshafen site and optimal supply reliability for production. So if you happen to spot one of these silo trucks between Worms and Ludwigshafen, now you know: There’s more to it than just a sleek vehicle. It’s actually a smart supply concept for tomorrow’s production. Thank you very much for the strong partnership and continuous innovation spirit, Greiwing! 🤝

From the lab to the market: Few people know Cavipor® as well as Dr. Frank Reuter. After contributing to the development of the innovative, mineral-based insulation system since more than a decade, he has served as Business Manager for Cavipor since 2022. In the interview, he explains what lies behind the innovation – and why it is ideal for the renovation of existing buildings.

There are material streams that are extremely hard to recycle. For us at BASF Monomers, that means: Challenge accepted!  Chemical recycling gives us the tool to turn rarely recycled waste streams like textile waste or end-of-life vehicle tires into virgin-like raw materials for e. g. new clothes. Our goal: less reliance on fossil-based inputs, more circularity.  Our solutions for a more sustainable fashion industry, loopamid® and Ultramid® Ccycled®, are featured by BBC StoryWorks, BBC Global News’s commercial content division 🥳  If you're still looking for something to read on vacation, why not check out the full story? https://lnkd.in/dPaKKMQb

Our experts in the BASF’s Monomers division specialize in all the different areas of our business to provide the best solutions for our customers. One of them is our product developer Dr. Rolf Minkwitz, who has spent more than a decade developing new polyamides. One of his latest achievements is Ultramid® H – the world’s first thermoplastic polyamide with high water permeability. Together with his team and supported by our partners Podanfol S.A. and Bema Packaging Group, he created a unique material that opens up entirely new possibilities, for example in food packaging. First customers like Excellpack are already amazed by the new product. Curious to learn more about how an idea is turned into a market-ready solution? Swipe to explore. #teamBASF #Polyamides