Roehm says new Texas MMA plant to consume 'roughly' twice as much methanol

This content is part of the WPC 2025 series, which explores key themes from the 40th annual World Petrochemical Conference.

Roehm's new methyl methacrylate facility in Texas is "confirmed" to start commercial production in the first quarter of 2025, a spokesperson told Platts March 5, adding that the plant will consume about twice the amount of methanol feedstock.

The new 250,000 mt/year plant will use Roehm's proprietary LiMA technology, which consumes ethylene feedstock in place of acetone.

The C2 process will use "roughly double the amount of methanol" as compared to the acetone cyanohydrin process, the spokesperson said.

US spot prices for MMA have remained rangebound at 90-93 cents/lb ($1,984-$2,050/mt) DDP USG from Feb. 4 to March 5, 2025, according to historical Platts data.

March spot prices were heard "flat to slightly down" on March 5, according to a trader, due to demand heard weak and "unchanged" from late February.

However, MMA contract prices are expected to rise due to an 8-cent increase in the March acetone contract price, the trader said.

MMA spot trucks were heard available from 80-90 cents/lb FCA USG in late February, according to a second trader, with a distributor corroborating that spot prices are on a downward trend due to poor demand.

March pricing for spot cargoes will "depend on how fast Roehm comes up in Texas," the distributor added.

Platts assessed US spot MMA at 93 cents/lb DDP USG on March 5, stable on the day.

Platts is part of S&P Global Energy.