International. AkzoNobel Specialty Chemicals has paved the way for a demonstration plant that will showcase a revolutionary and more sustainable technology platform to produce ethylene amines and their derivatives from ethylene oxide. Located at its Stenungsund site in Sweden, the facility marks the next step toward commercializing the patented technology.
Parallel to construction, the company has already begun exploring options for a world-scale manufacturing facility. The new technology will significantly reduce raw material consumption and substantially improve cost and environmental performance compared to existing processes. The flexibility of the technology will allow selective production of a wide range of end products, allowing the company to expand its amine product offering.
"The demonstration plant is an important step in further maturing the technology, with the aim of demonstrating that the technology meets performance expectations on an industrially relevant scale," said Hendrik van Dam, innovation project manager for AkzoNobel Specialty Chemicals' Ethylene Amines business. "It will also produce significant amounts of final product for customer validation."
The range of ethylene amines targeted by the new technology platform includes diethylenetriamine (DETA) and triethylentetramine (TETA), which are critical components in a number of growth applications such as epoxy curing, lubricant oil additives and oilfield chemicals.
