OREANDA-NEWS. In order to meet the fast growing global market demand for its innovative chelating agent, BASF will build a new Trilon(r) M (methylglycinediacetic acid) world scaleplant at Evonik's Theodore, Alabamasite. The investment will be about USD 90 million and create around 20 additional jobs. The new production facilityis planned to start up in the second half of 2015.

BASF's innovative chelating agent is readily biodegradable and improves the cleaning effect of detergents and cleaners inhome care and industrial and institutional (I&I) cleaning applications.It isemerging as the preferred alternative to phosphates in modern, high-performance, ecological dishwashing detergents.

"We continue to see rapid market growth for more eco-friendly cleaning products," saidGabriel Tanbourgi, President of BASF's Care Chemicals division. "With the expansion and globalization of our Trilon(r) M production capacity we will beable to serve the global demand for Trilon(r) M and supportour customers on their path towards sustainable cleaning solutions."

The investment in Theodore, Alabama, will free up capacity in Ludwigshafen, Germany, to serve the increasing European demand for Trilon(r) M triggered by the phosphate regulation for consumer automatic dishwashing detergents which is expected in 2017. In the United States, phosphates were already banned from consumer automatic dishwashing detergents in 16 states in 2010.

BASF brought a new world scale plant expansion for Trilon(r) M on stream in Ludwigshafen in 2010. Trilon(r) M  was approved by the Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) Design for the Environment (DfE) certification programin 2011.BASF currently manufactures its chelating agents at its Ludwigshafen site, in Lima, Ohio and in Guaratingueta, Brazil. Trilon(r) M is available worldwide in liquid and various solid forms.