is on formulations containing
VINNAPAS dispersible polymer
powders, which are used in dry-mix mortars for tile adhesives or
grouts, for example. The labs are state-of-the-art and provide equipment for testing
products under different climatic and environmental conditions.
Accella Performance
Materials Acquires
Quadrant’s Spray Foam
Division
Accella Performance Materials has acquired Quadrant Urethane Technologies
Spray Foam Division. Quadrant Spray
Foam, a leading manufacturer of
spray foams for insulation, is based in
McKinney Texas, and will continue to
provide its line of high performance products and become part of the Accella family. Accella is backed by Arsenal Capital
Partners since 2012.
BASF, Avantium Intend to
Establish Joint Venture
BASF and Avantium have signed a letter of intent and entered into exclusive
negotiations to establish a joint venture
(JV) for the production and marketing of
furandicarboxylic acid (FDCA), as well
as marketing of polyethylenefuranoate
(PEF), based on this new chemical building block. FDCA is produced from renewable resources.
The JV will use the YXY process developed by Avantium in its laboratories
in Amsterdam and pilot plant in Geleen,
Netherlands, for the production of FDCA.
It is intended to further develop this process as well as to construct a reference
plant for the production of FDCA with
an annual capacity of up to 50,000 metric tons per year at BASF’s Verbund site
in Antwerp, Belgium. The aim is to build
up world-leading positions in FDCA and
PEF, and subsequently license the technology for industrial scale application.
FDCA is the essential chemical build-
ing block for the production of PEF.
Compared to conventional plastics, PEF
is characterized by improved barrier
properties for gases like carbon dioxide
and oxygen. This can lead to longer shelf
life of packaged products. Due to its
higher mechanical strength, thinner PEF
packaging can be produced, thus a lower
amount of packaging material is neces-
sary. Therefore PEF is particularly suit-
able for the production of certain food
and beverage packaging, for example
films and plastic bottles. After use, PEF
can be recycled.
Ascend Performance
Materials Announces
Full Scale Production of
Hexatran Trifunctional
Amine
Ascend Performance Materials’
Specialty Chemicals division has suc-
cessfully produced its first full-scale pro-
duction run of its newest trifunctional
amine Hexatran. Customer testing of
the amine has been active over the past
two years and is now being commer-
cialized into finished products out of
Ascend’s Decatur, Alabama facility.
Hexatran’s functional performance
spans a wide range of market segments
and applications, including coatings, as-
phalt, oil and gas, agrochem, adhesives,
plastic additives, mining and water treat-
ment. Hexatran has a very low odor
profile as well as a unique trifunctional
amine structure that delivers unique per-
formance in traditional applications.
Hexatran can be used to increase performance in epoxies, asphalt and isocyanates, including:
• Epoxy: Hexatran’s chemical structure makes it an ideal replacement
or supplement for other amines such
as TETA, TEPA, DETA, and IPDA.
It can be easily modified into other
key derivatives. Its three primary
amines provide improved curing
time, chemical resistance and excellent flex.
• Asphalt: Hexatran is used as an anti-strip to promote better adhesive of
asphalt to aggregate and has better performance than other amines.
Its low viscosity and low odor is
a welcomed benefit to add to its
performance.
•Isocyanates: Hexatran’s unique
aliphatic structure provides alter-
nate routes to carbamates and iso-
cyanates; and, isocyanates produced
from Hexatran have low viscosity at
high solids, promoting easy work-
ability. Urethanes produced from
Hexatran’s isocyanates also deliver
excellent resistance to chemicals and
weather.
As the world’s only large-scale converter of acrylonitrile to adiponitrile, Ascend
Specialty Chemicals Division is uniquely
positioned for the production of dozens
of amines, acids, esters and intermediates
used in a variety of end applications.
Evonik Starts Construction
of Specialty Silicones
Production Facility in China
Evonik has started the construction of a
production facility for organically modified specialty silicones in Shanghai, China.
The project is part of a global investment
initiative. A first expanded production
plant became operational in Essen in late
2014. The new facility is being constructed at the Multi-User-Site (MUSC) in the
Shanghai Chemical Industry Park, with
completion planned for the second half
of 2017. The investment volume is in the
high double-digit million euro range.
Specialty silicones offer a wide range
of applications for numerous industries.
For example, as additives for plastics,
specialty silicones are responsible for
comfortable furniture, car seats and ergonomic mattresses. They also play an
important role within the formulation of
insulation material for building insulation and guarantee of the highest energy
efficiency of refrigerators. Other areas of
application are defoaming agents, used
in industries like construction, textile or
plastics. Furthermore, specialty silicones
are used in coatings and inks. Markets
for specialty silicones have grown substantially over the past years.
Synthomer Acquires Hexion
Performance Adhesives &
Coatings Business for $226
Million
Synthomer plc has acquired HEXION
Performance Adhesives & Coatings, a
business of HEXION Inc., a global chemical company based in Columbus, Ohio.
The total consideration is $226 million
(£156 million*) which is being funded
