IN BRIEF
Fusel oils to isoamylenes
Following pilot tests , Total Cray Valley and Gevo are planning to test Gevo ’ s chemical-based catalytic process at demonstration scale to upgrade fusel oils , which are lowvalue by-products from fermentation processes , into renewable isoamylenes . These are used in applications including resins , pesticides , flavours and fragrances , pharmaceuticals , adhesives , antioxidants and UV stabilisers .
Kurita takes Keytech
Japan ’ s Kurita Water Industries has acquired Keytech Water Management , a Toronto-based water treatment chemicals and equipment systems to industries including biofuels , healthcare , and food and beverages . Kurita said that it plans to use Keytech ’ s customer base and sales to expand its own network from Western to Eastern Canada , while also achieving synergies .
Indian MCA partners
Nouryon and Atul have started production at the new Anaven joint venture in Gjuarat . This is India ’ s largest monochloroacetic acid ( MCA ) production site , with current capacity of 32,000 tonnes / year and scope to expand to 60,000 . The MCA goes mainly into the agricultural , personal care and pharmaceutical markets , with Atul consuming some directly in its own production of crop protection chemicals .
Avantium hits the beet
Dutch firms Cosun Beet Company and Avantium have agreed to form a joint venture to build the first commercial plant that will use Avantium ’ s Ray Technology to make plant-based mono-ethylene glycol and mono-propylene glycol from beet sugars . A final decision is scheduled for 1H 2023 and operations should start in 1H 2025 .
BASF , Umicore in CAM patent agreement
BASF and Umicore have entered into a non-exclusive patent cross-license agreement covering a broad range of cathode active materials ( CAMs ) and their precursors . CAMs are used in lithium-ion batteries and both firms have been investing in them heavily , creating what they called
Research into battery materials at BASF
“ sizeable and largely complementary patent portfolios ”. The deal covers over 100 patent families filed in Europe , US , China , Korea and Japan , relating to features such as chemical composition , powder morphology and chemical stability . The chemistries include nickel-cobalt-manganese ( NCM ), nickel-cobalt-aluminium , nickel-cobalt-manganese-aluminium and lithium-rich , high-manganese , high-energy NCM . The two companies said that this increases their ability “ to customise their materials to meet the increasingly diversified and complex customer requirements at the battery cell and application level ”. It will also help them to accelerate their product development in battery applications , they added .
Solvay , Ashland complete buys
Two recent acquisitions that are largely focused in the personal care arena have both gone through . Solvay completed the sale of its amphoteric surfactant business to OpenGate Capital , while Ashland finalised that of the personal care business of Schülke & Mayr from investment firm EQT . Solvay ’ s deal covers three main production sites in University Park , Illinois , Genthin , Germany , and Halifax , UK , plus a tolling arrangement in Turkey . It also includes tolling and service agreements with OpenGate , a Los Angeles-based private equity firm , “ to ensure a seamless transition and minimal customer disruption ”. The business has been renamed Verdant Specialty Solutions and its CEO is John Foley . Solvay said that the sale “ will generate additional resources
for Solvay to invest in its strategic growth segments as part of its portfolio simplification journey ”. Terms were not disclosed . Ashland , meanwhile , paid € 262.5 million for the Schülke & Mayr business , which mainly makes skin care products and preservatives . The firm said that this strengthens its consumer and speciality additives portfolios , expands its biotechnology and microbiology technical competencies , and further aligns it with the ‘ clean beauty ’ trend . The remainder of Schülke & Mayr remains under the ownership of EQT . This is active in its historic fields of antiseptics for wound care , disinfectants and medical skin care products and preservatives , with production taking place at three sites in Germany , France and Brazil .
8 SPECIALITY CHEMICALS MAGAZINE ESTABLISHED 1981