Ashland Ramps Up Capacity for Benecel Cellulose Ethers

Ashland has begun to significantly increase the production capacity of Benecel cellulose ethers at its Doel plant in Belgium. Upon completion in 2023, capacity will increase by more than 50% and support growing demand for products sold into pharmaceutical, nutritional and performance specialty applications.

"This investment underscores our commitment to our customers and is a key element of our growth strategy," said Ashok Kalyana, senior vice president and general manager, Ashland Life Sciences. “We recently launched a new controlled release grade of Benecel for the pharmaceutical market and we are seeing rapid growth of Benecel as a plant protein binder.”

High-purity Benecel cellulose ethers, such as methylcellulose ( 9004 67 5 ) and methylhydroxyethylcellulose ( 9004 65 3 ), are used in a variety of pharmaceutical, nutritional, and personal care applications. In addition, the expansion will add capacity for a number of other special grades for the high-end industrial market.