BASF Plans Worldwide Expansion of PVP Production

BASF plans to invest up to €56 million in the expansion of its Polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP) value chain over the next four years. PVP is a polymer which is used in diverse industries, for example the pharmaceutical or the personal and home care sector, mainly due to its binding properties. Through revamping existing plants in Ludwigshafen, Germany and Geismar, Louisiana and introducing the PVP technology at BASF’s site in Shanghai, China, the company will increase its global PVP production capacities by up to 6,000 metric tons. All plants will operate under the highest possible quality standards (current Good Manufacturing Practice). BASF is the inventor of the market leaders for PVP.

“Our global production network and technology leadership enable us to obtain the highest levels of supply reliability and quality for our customers in multiple industries,” said Michael Heinz, Member of the Board of Executive Directors, BASF SE. “With this investment we are actively participating in the strongly growing PVP market, especially within the pharmaceutical industry,” added Saori Dubourg, President of BASF’s Nutrition & Health division.

The polymer PVP can be used in a broad range of applications due to its varied features: It is water soluble, but can also absorb large quantities of water; it is non-irritant to the skin and does not pose a health hazard; it is temperature-resistant, pH-stable, non-ionic and colorless. A majority of BASF’s PVP capacities are destined for the pharmaceutical industry. Under the name  Kollidon, PVP is mainly used as an excipient in tablets with binding and disintegrant functionality. As a binder, it enables the individual  active ingredients of a tablet to form a homogenous entity and as a disintegrant it ensures that the tablets break up in liquid and release the  active ingredient quickly. The excipient can furthermore be deployed as lyophilisation agent, suspension stabilizer and thickener.

PVP has a long tradition at BASF: 75 years ago the chemist Walter Reppe, working in a BASF laboratory in Ludwigshafen invented and patented the production process for this multi-industry polymer. The precursor of PVP, N-vinylpyrrolidone (NVP), has been produced in Ludwigshafen since 1939 and at BASF’s Geismar site since 1992.