INEOS (UK) invests in Flanders-based aromatics plant
British multinational chemical group INEOS is investing more than EUR 20 million in its Geel plant in Flanders, further anchoring itself in the region’s chart-topping chemical industry. A large part of this investment amount will be channeled into setting up additional water purification processes.
Locally anchored to say the least
INEOS is one of the largest employers in Belgium’s and Flanders’ chemical business and research ecosystem. The multinational group has twelve local production and research sites – including the site of its massive Project ONE investment in Antwerp (Flanders) – and directly employs some 3,000 people in Belgium and Flanders.
One of the lesser-known sites is INEOS Aromatics in Geel, Flanders. The plant produces paraxylene and converts it into terephthalic acid, a raw material of polyester.
Promising cobalt removal techniques
In Geel, most of the more than EUR 20 million in planned investments in the coming years will go to water purification, including the removal of cobalt from the company’s discharged water. INEOS recently tested a range of technologies at laboratory scale for the efficiency of cobalt removal. The most promising techniques will be further evaluated in 2023 and 2024 in a pilot plant that’s yet to be built.
Reported by
newspaper De Tijd
