Wacker expands technical
center in Singapore
Wacker has expanded its services at its
technical center in Singapore located in
Singapore Science Park. The center now
includes laboratories, applications technology and test equipment for polymer
dispersions needed as binders for interior
architectural paints. This expansion not
only enables Wacker to help its local customers develop new and customized products, but also encourages the exchange of
know-how and promotes internationally
recognized quality standards in the region.
The company said the expansion was
made necessary by the region’s strong economic growth, particularly with regard to
sophisticated paint and coating applications.
This measure will help Wacker’s position in
the market for vinyl acetate-ethylene
copolymer (VAE) dispersions.
The current expansion has focused on
VAE dispersions used as binders for interior architectural paints. The dispersions
marketed under the brand name Vinnapas
can be formulated over a broad range of
pigment volume concentrations. Specific
Vinnapas dispersions are manufactured
without the use of alkylphenol ethoxylates
(APEO) or formaldehyde donors. Further,
they enable the formulation of high-per-forming coatings without the addition of
plasticizers or solvents resulting in coatings with a low content of volatile organic
compounds less than five grams per liter.
Cabot signs agreement with
Risun for new China carbon
black manufacturing
Cabot (China) Ltd., a wholly-owned subsidiary of Cabot Corporation, has entered
into a joint venture with Risun Chemicals
Company, Ltd., a wholly-owned subsidiary
of Risun Coal Chemicals Group, Ltd.
Cabot owns a 60 percent equity interest in the new joint venture under the
agreement.
Additionally, Cabot and Risun will invest approximately $100 million to construct a state-of-the-art carbon black
manufacturing facility in Xingtai City. The
city is located approximately 250 miles
south of Beijing in Hebei Province.
Carbon black is an intensely black performance material, used as a reinforcing
agent in rubber as well as a pigmenting,
UV stabilizing and conductive additive in
a variety of other specialty products.
Once commissioned in early 2013, the
Xingtai facility will produce approximately 130,000 metric tons of carbon
black annually with the potential for expansion to 300,000 metric tons. The new
plant will employ advanced emissions
control technology and energy recapture.
In other news, Halsan Paint & Color
Co., Ltd. of Taiwan, China, has selected
Cabot Corp.’s Emperor 1800 carbon
black pigment for inclusion in its automotive coatings.
This application of Cabot’s product
will enable Halsan to provide deep black
coatings for premium automobiles and
motorcycles throughout Asia.
Cabot said the product has a unique
particle structure with a tailored surface
chemistry that produces high jetness and a
deep blue undertone, and can reduce dispersion times by more than 85 percent,
and the amount of dispersion additives required by more than 50 percent.
Emperor 1800 carbon black is the latest development from Cabot Corporation
in the field of high-strength black pigments for waterborne formulations.
Cabot Corporation is headquartered in
Boston, Mass., United States, and its
major products are carbon black, fumed
silica, inkjet colorants, aerogel and cesium
formate drilling fluids
Toyo Ink and Yabang to form
JV in China
Toyo Ink SC Holdings Co., Ltd. and Yabang Investment Holding Group Co., Ltd.
have formed a joint venture in Jiangsu
Province, China to strengthen sales of pigments in China and overseas. By means of
the business alliance between the Toyo Ink
Group and Yabang Investment Holding
Group Co., Ltd., the partners will supply
organic pigment products that are highly
competitive in the international market in
terms of performance, quality and price,
to a broad range of customers on the domestic market in China and overseas.
BASF to set up chemical
production site in India for
polymer dispersions for
coatings
BASF India Limited will invest €150 million to set up a new chemical production
site at the Dahej Petroleum, Chemicals
and Petrochemicals Investment Region
(PCPIR), located on the west coast of
India in Gujarat.
The new site will be an integrated hub
for polyurethane manufacturing and will
also house production facilities for care
chemicals and polymer dispersions for
coatings and paper. With this new production site, BASF will serve local supply
for growing markets such as appliances,
footwear, automotive, construction, adhesives, architectural coatings, paper and
personal care. The start of production is
planned for 2014.
The integrated polyurethane facility
will produce Elastollan TPU (
thermoplastic polyurethane), Cellasto NVH
(noise, vibration and harshness) parts
and polyurethane systems, which is supported by new production facilities for
important precursors, comprising poly-etherols and polyesterols plants as well
as a plant for processing crude MDI
(diphenylmethane diisocyanate).
The care chemicals facility at the new
Dahej site will produce surfactants
largely for home and personal care.
These surfactants will also add value to
formulation technology applications including agrochemicals, textiles and emulsion polymerization.
The polymer dispersions facility at the
site will produce Acronal and Styrofan, key
ingredients for architectural coatings, adhesives, and construction, Styronal and Ba-
