BASF will significantly increase the production capacity at Ludwigshafen for its high-temperature resistant plastics based on polysulfone and polysulfone ether. The current level of 3000 metric tpa is to be raised to 5000 tpa by the autumn of 2002. “By expanding the Ultrason plant, BASF will strengthen its position in the increasingly growing market for high-temperature resistant plastics,” explains Roberto Gualdoni, head of the new Engineering Plastics Europe Business Unit. The high performance plastics Ultrason S and Ultrason E are distinguished primarily by their high resistance to heat. Application-related properties such as dimensional stability and resistance to water and oily materials are retained even at high temperatures. Ultrason E grades, for example, can be used continuously at 190 °C and withstand processing temperatures up to 390 °C. Ultrason is used in automobile oil circulation systems and in headlight reflectors and housings; in households it is used in microwave dishes and infant formula bottles, in mechanical engineering in structural parts exposed to high stresses. Further applications are in electrical engineering and in medicine.
