Sep 7 2007
Solvay announces today that it has decided to build a world-class plant in Map Ta Phut (Thailand) for the production of epichlorohydrin on the basis of the Epicerol® process, its proprietary technology with enhanced environmental performance. Pending relevant regulatory approval, the new plant is scheduled to be operational at the end of 2009, with an annual production capacity of 100,000 metric tons, enabling Solvay to provide a fast response to the rapidly growing demand for epichlorohydrin in Asia.
The demand for epichlorohydrin has significantly outpaced the growth of the world economy in recent years and is currently expanding by more than 20% per annum in China. Epichlorohydrin is an essential feedstock for the production of epoxy resins, increasingly used in applications in the electronics, automotive, aerospace and windmill sectors.
Epicerol® is a novel process developed by Solvay, based on the transformation of glycerine, which is a renewable by-product of the biodiesel industry. After a successful start-up in April 2007, this process with greatly enhanced environmental performance is under optimization in Tavaux, France, in an industrial plant fed with glycerine derived from rapeseed oil.
“Solvay is moving fast. We are leveraging the technological advantage of our Epicerol® innovation and its successful implementation at industrial scale in France,” commented Filipe Constant, Managing Director of the Strategic Business Unit Electrochemistry and Derived Specialties, Solvay. “Asia is quickly becoming the world’s largest market for Epichlorohydrin,” he said. “We will introduce an environmentally sustainable technology into this booming continent, using a renewable resource as raw material,” added Constant.
Epicerol® is covered by more than 20 patent applications issued by Solvay. The process was honoured by an Innovation Award at the 2007 American Oil Chemists’ Society (AOCS) Annual Meeting in Quebec City. It has also been awarded the Pierre Potier trophy in France for “Innovation in chemistry benefiting the environment”, delivered by the French Ministry of the Industry in 2006.