Akzo mulls cellulosics, organic peroxides units

02 May 2007 12:40  [Source: ICIS news]

LONDON (ICIS news)--Akzo Nobel is considering adding cellulosics and organic peroxides production at the site it is establishing in Ningbo, China, company representatives said on Wednesday.

 

The company revealed last month the first two facilities at the 50-hectare (125-acre) site would manufacture ethylene amines and chelating agents - both part of the functional chemicals business.

 

“We’re looking at cellulosics as another project for investment in Ningbo,” Akzo’s functional chemicals president Jo Lennartz told ICIS news.

 

The polymer chemicals business might build an organic peroxides plant, added an Akzo spokesman, while coatings production at Ningbo was also a possibility.

 

She stressed that no further decisions had been approved beyond the €250m ($339m) investment in the ethylene amines and chelates production.

 

Christina Tenfalt, general manager for ethylene amines at Akzo, said the Ningbo ethylene amines project would be similar in size and set-up to Akzo’s 80,000 tonne/year plant in Stenungsund, Sweden. The company also has a 20,000 tonne/year ethylene amines plant in Leverkusen, Germany.

 

Upstream, Akzo will install capacity for the ethylene amines raw materials ethylene oxide (EO) and ethanolamines.

 

Due on stream in early 2010, the ethylene amines plant will support the Chinese market and also supply feedstock to the chelating agents plant at the site.

 

The latter would have an equivalent capacity for solid product of 20,000 tonnes/year and is due on stream in the second half of 2009, said Geert Hofman, general manager for chelates.

 

The company’s similar-sized chelating agents plants in Herkenbosch, the Netherlands and Lima, Ohio, plus a smaller unit in Kvarntorp, Sweden, were fully utilised, he observed.

 

Akzo said the Ningbo plants would be China’s first world-class ethylene amines and chelating agents facilities. Work on the projects will begin once the relevant approvals have been obtained from the authorities.

 

Ethylene amines are intermediates used in a variety of applications including agriculture, textiles, pharmaceuticals, plastics, cosmetics and detergents. Chelating agents are used as intermediates or end products in applications such as micronutrients, food preservatives, film processing, soaps and detergents.

 

($1 = €0.73)

 

 

By: Anna Jagger
+44 20 8652 3214

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