Rubber Journal Asia Synthetic Rubber Meanwhile, Arlanxeo is expanding production capacity for chlorophene rubber at its Dormagen site in Germany, to 70,000 tonnes/year that will be available to the market during the first quarter of 2019. The capacity expansion is being undertaken from Q2 2018. Its chlorophene rubber grades are used in the production of cable sheathing, conveyor belts and wetsuits, as well as in adhesive applications, and feature high weather, UV and oil resistance, says the company. Elsewhere, Indonesian integrated petrochemical company Chandra Asri and French tyre maker Michelin have recently completed construction of their joint synthetic rubber production plant, located in Banten province in Indonesia. The plant built for the two companies’ joint venture, PT Synthetic Rubber Indonesia (SRI), is dubbed as the first of its kind in Indonesia to produce material for environmentally-friendly tyres using Michelin’s proprietary technology. SRI produces PBR with neodymium catalyst and S-SBR, both of which are utilised for the production of the environmentally friendly tyres, says Michelin. SRI sources the butadiene feedstock from Chandra Asri’s subsidiary Petrokimia Butadiene Indonesia. SRI’s total production capacity is expected to reach 120,000 tonnes/year. Production commenced in late August, with first batch of the material shipped to Michelin for further production process, the partners said. Midway of the year, in July, Kumho Petrochemical also began adding lines for acrylonitrile butadiene latex (NB latex) at its facility in Ulsan, in South Korea, to boost its synthetic rubber production capacity to 550,000 tonnes/year. The expansion is scheduled for completion in March 2019. In June, US-headquartered oil and gas company ExxonMobil started production of hydrogenated hydrocarbon resin and halobutyl rubber at its integrated manufacturing complex in Singapore, the company’s largest integrated refining and petrochemical complex in the world.
According to ExxonMobil, the new plants are targeted to enhance the competitiveness and strategic importance of its integrated manufacturing facility in Singapore. ExxonMobil’s Escorez hydrogenated hydrocarbon resins plant has a capacity of 90,000 tonnes/year and is expected to meet long-term demand growth for hot-melt adhesives used in packaging or baby diapers. The new 140,000-tonne/year butyl plant will produce premium halobutyl rubber used by manufacturers for tyres that better maintain inflation to improve fuel economy, says the firm. ExxonMobil additionally reported that the new plants will expand on the flexible steam cracking capability in Singapore, which provides a range of feedstocks for upgraded speciality products to meet growing long-term demand in Asia Pacific. The Singapore complex also includes a new cogeneration unit at the refinery, bringing the total cogeneration capacity of the site to over 440 megawatts, which will help reduce emissions and support more efficient use of energy. Meanwhile, plastics and synthetic rubber manufacturer Trinseo opened a plant for S-SBR in Schkopau, Germany, this year. The new facility is targeted to meet the growing demand for S-SBR and by the need for faster innovation cycles in the performance tyre market, Trinseo said. The production expansion adds additional 50,000 tonnes of S-SBR capacity to the Schkopau site and increases the company’s global S-SBR production by 33%. In Europe as well, Italian firm Versalis (part of the chemical group Eni) has opened a new facility in Ferrara, Italy, for EPDM to cater to the automotive industry. The EUR250 million investment involved constructing a new production line on land that was reclaimed and duly authorised for renewed industrial use, and the revamping of the existing elastomer plant. The company says the investment will increase overall production capacity by about 50,000 tonnes/year. Beyond the current line-up of expansions and partnerships, more of these are expected to push the synthetic rubber industry forward and above the trade wars and economic challenges. ExxonMobil’s 90,000 tonne/year-capacity Escorez hydrogenated hydrocarbon resins plant is expected to meet longterm demand growth for hot-melt adhesives used in packaging or baby diapers
5 OCTOBER 2018
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