IN BRIEF
Altana completes buy
German speciality chemicals group Altana has completed the acquisition it announced in September 2019 of TLS Technik . This includes a facility employing 40 people at Bitterfeld . TLS , a specialist in metal powders for industrial 3D printing , will form part of the Eckart business , which is already active in the field , having also acquired Aluminium Materials Technologies last year .
Stepan ferments
Stepan Company has closed on the acquisition of a fermentation plant in Lake Providence , Louisiana . The site will produce 20,000 tonnes / year of biosurfactants . In 2020 , Stepan bought the Natsurfact rhamnolipidbased line of biosurfactants derived from renewable sources . It said that it sees fermentation as a new platform technology for next generation products .
DMAE start-up
Eastman Chemicals ’ s dimethylaminoethanol ( DMAE ) unit at Nanjing , China , has started up . This will “ significantly ” increase capacity and support additional sales in Asia . The company claims to be the global leadership in alkyl alkanolamines including DMAE , which is mainly used as an intermediate in water treatment . Other sites are in the US and Belgium .
Elkem to build OFS site
Following its acquisitions of Polysil and Basel Chemie , Elkem is to acquire a new plant near Lyon in France , near its existing sites at Roussillon and Saint-Fons . This has been custom-designed to produce specialised organofunctional silicones ( OFSs ). The price is in the low double-digit millions of euros . Production is expected to start by the end of 2021 .
Flow chemistry first for Seqens
Seqens will produce the first volumes of an aromatic diamine monomer by means of flow chemistry in its dedicated workshop at SeqensLab in Porcheville , France ( pictured ), by the end the year . This follows a successful first pilot trial in 2020 . The company is now evaluating flow chemistry for a second aromatic amine and an aromatic dianhydride . All these monomers are used as building blocks for polyimides for applications in 3D packaging in microelectronics , aerospace and organic electronics . These are all complex molecules , which are traditionally made via photolithography by a small number of mainly Asian players . These processes are said to be “ very sensitive processes from an HSE point of view ”. Seqens claims to be one of the world ’ s leading contract manufacturers for low metal photoresist polymers for photolithography processes in the manufacture of semiconductors for memory chips and microprocessors . It sees strong potential for techniques like flow chemistry in this market , particularly given how many automotive OEMs have been impacted by the unreliable supply of semiconductors .
FMC in diamide deals
FMC , which is now focused on crop protection , has announced two deals since the start of 2021 as part of its diamide growth strategy . Following on from an agreement with Novozymes to manufacture combination products , it has formed a multi-year strategic collaboration with India ’ s UPL around the insecticidal active Rynaxypyr ( chlorantraniliprole ). Under the latest deal , FMC will give UPL access to products containing Rynaxypyr for distribution in certain markets and for use in the product formulations it develops and markets worldwide . UPL will also toll manufacture Rynaxypyr for FMC in India for the domestic market , significantly increasing capacity . FMC will be the commercial partner in the development of combination products based on enzymes and its diamide technology , while Novozymes will carry out the manufacture . The initial target is to combat Asian soybean rust , a fungal disease that is widespread in South America . This will be part of a broader biocontrol technology platform for Novozymes as it diversifies into this market . The company said that it sees biocontrol as having huge growth potential , because pests continue to cause billions of dollars in damage to crops every year while pressure is continuing to restrict the use of chemical pesticides . FMC has commercial agreements with dozens of crop protection companies to supply Rynaxypyr and its other active , Cyazypyr , for use in formulations that claim more attractive product safety and / or efficacy profiles . The company first acquired diamide technology in late 2017 and has seen strong growth ever since .
8 SPECIALITY CHEMICALS MAGAZINE ESTABLISHED 1981