Whether as a propellant in hairspray, anti-knocking agent in gasoline, process raw material for the tire industry, plasticizer for PVC applications, or as a compotent for latex mattresses: The products of C4 chemistry can be found everywhere in our everyday life. However, their manufacture is anything but ordinary.

The name C4 stands for by-products of crude oil processing which contain four carbon molecules in their chains. In contrast to other types of production, C4 chemistry deals with a mixed set of raw materials from which diverse products are manufactured. For some time now, Evonik has been able to master the processing of by-products using the fluid catalytic cracking method (FCC). These FCC-C4 gases are very difficult to process as they contain unwanted accompanying substances and impurities that can poison catalysts, for example.

In Marl, Evonik has constructed a plant which can process these gases in such a way that they can be further processed as part of regular C4 operations. This means Evonik has ensured a broader base of raw materials.