biobased succinic acid at a 3,000
MT capacity plant in France.
Succinic acid is a renewable,
non-toxic specialty chemical that can be
further modified to make a wide range of
products including automotive parts,
biodegradable coffee cup lids and disposable cutlery, spandex, shoe soles, ingredients for food, flavors and fragrances,
cosmetics, construction materials, phtha-late-free plasticizers, engine coolants, salts
that melt ice and snow and plastics used in
various durable goods.
BioAmber plans to double capacity in
Sarnia by 2014 through the introduction of
a next-generation yeast being developed
with Cargill. BioAmber also plans to produce 1,4-Butanediol (BDO) on the site, using
technology exclusively licensed from
DuPont that converts succinic acid to BDO,
a chemical with a $4 billion existing market.
Evonik expands production
capabilities of MMA
Evonik Industries, one of the leading suppliers of methacrylate chemistry, is increasing the production capabilities of its
methyl methacrylate plants throughout the
world, to meet the rising demand. Evonik
will increase its production capabilities of
methyl methacrylate through debottlenecking and plant expansion projects in
their existing plants in Europe (Worms
and Wesseling, Germany), Asia (Shanghai,
China), and the United States (Fortier,
Louisiana) in 2011 and 2012. Upon completion of the projects Evonik industries
will be able to produce approximately
50,000 additional metric tons of methyl
methacrylate. Methyl methacrylate is primarily used for polymethylmethacrylate
resins and surface coatings. Evonik Industries produces and markets methyl
methacrylate, methacrylic acid, n- and i-butyl methacrylate, hydroxy methacrylates, and special methacrylic monomers
under the trademark VISIOMER.
Momentive to expand
production of silanes
Momentive Performance Materials Inc.
will expand production capacity for
silanes at its manufacturing facilities in
Sistersville, West Virginia and Termoli,
Italy to help meet growing demand from
its global customer base, particularly in
China, for these versatile products.
Momentive's silanes, marketed under
the trademarks Silquest, CoatOSil, NXT
and XL-PEarl, and silane-based SPUR+ pre-polymers have a diverse range of specialty
applications. They are used in a number of
industries, including automotive, tire, coatings, adhesives and sealants, construction,
durable goods and electronics.
Capacity for amino silanes will be increased at the Sistersville location and capacity for vinyl silanes will be increased at
Termoli. Also, Momentive will resume
production for trimethoxysilane (TMS),
Silquest A-187 epoxy silane and Silquest
A-174™methacryl silane at the Sistersville
location before the end of the year. Projects are underway at both sites, and completion is expected in 2012. In addition to
the Sistersville and Termoli manufacturing
facilities, Momentive produces silane additives in Japan, Germany, Brazil and Waterford, New York.
"These investments in manufacturing capacity will enable us to bring innovative
silane technologies and products to the industry more quickly and better serve our
customers' growing need for these materi-als," said Rich Owins, global business director - Silanes, Momentive Performance
Materials."Our customers in the plastic additives, adhesives, sealants, tire and coatings
and other industries are increasingly turning
to our cutting-edge silanes formulations to
provide enhanced performance characteristics in their end products."
Croda invests in NA lubricant
ester production facilities
Croda Inc has opened its new, state-of-the-art facility for the production of lubricant esters at its Atlas Point
manufacturing site in New Castle, DE.
This expansion will enable Croda to
better supply its value added technologies
to the North American market. The Atlas
Point manufacturing site will now be able
to manufacture lubricant quality esters,
targeting growth in high end lubricant applications, which are being driven by increasing market demands for
improvements in fuel economy and sustainability. Food-grade esters for lubricant
base fluids and additives will be supplied
in addition to water-soluble lubricity additives for stamping and drawing lubricants. A further advantage is that the
expansion will facilitate the manufacture
of new innovations for the marketplace.
This investment improves the ester capacity at Croda by 15 percent, specifically
allowing the company to manufacture various grades for the lubricant ester market.
Synaqua 4804 alkyd emulsion
awarded Ringier Technology
Innovation prize in "paint
resin" category
Cray Valley Resins, an activity that is now
part of Arkema Coating Resins, was
awarded the Ringier Technology Innovation prize for its Synaqua 4804 alkyd emulsion in China in June. This waterborne
paint binder is an innovative alkyd emulsion that helps produce top quality gloss paint
with application characteristics very close to
those of solvent paint, the company said.
The Synaqua 4804 alkyd emulsion technology allows the formulation of solvent-free
waterborne paint with application performances that are very similar to those of traditional solvent-based paint and lacquer, in
particular in terms of gloss and film resistance. It also ensures adhesion onto old alkyd
paint, and can be used indoors and outdoors
both in primers and in topcoats on most supports, including wood and metal, due to its
stability with anti-corrosion pigments.
Partly based on raw materials of plant
origin ( 41 percent biosourced carbon
from total carbon), Synaqua 4804 also
produces very low VOC glossy paint, and
can be used in paint carrying the European eco-label.
Synaqua 4804 has been developed in
France (Verneuil-en-Halatte R&D Center), and is manufactured in France and in
Germany.
Launched in 2006, the Ringier Technology Award rewards companies that contribute to improvements in the paint and
coating industry in China thanks to their
innovations in terms of technology, material, enhanced productivity and efficiency.
