Perstorp inaugurates major new Oxo plant in “commitment to PVC industry”

Perstorp has officially opened a major extension to its capacity to produce PVC plasticisers and key chemical intermediates.

The new state-of-the-art Oxo plant in Stenungsund, Sweden, began producing material soon after its start-up in January 2015, and is now running at its full capability.

“The new production platform is the single largest investment in Perstorp’s history and clearly demonstrates Perstorp’s commitment to the PVC industry,” explained Perstorp CEO, Jan Secher.

“It significantly boosts our output of valeraldehyde and 2-propyl heptanol (2-PH), two key raw materials for Perstorp’s innovative general purpose PVC plasticisers, Emoltene 100 and Pevalen. It is a testament to our commitment to the PVC industry, and puts us in a very strong competitive position.”

Perstorp now has one of the few fully integrated platforms in Europe providing high performance, sustainable plasticisers. The Oxo plant is also a source of products for other key markets: 2-propyl heptanol is used in production of lubricants, adhesives and surfactants, for example, while n-valeric acid, which is also made in the plant directly from valeraldehyde, is an important raw material for lubricants, pharmaceuticals and fragrances.

“The upstream integration into essential raw materials greatly strengthens Perstorp’s position as a reliable supplier of innovative plasticisers to the PVC market. We have raised our total Oxo capacity by 150,000 tonnes per year and become one of the few fully integrated suppliers of plasticisers,” said Jerker Olsson, Vice President Business Unit Oxo.

“This improved production position, in combination with logistics centres in several countries, now provides our customers with improved access to market-leading high performance, sustainable and cost effective plasticizers. We can offer our customers a level of reliability, consistency and customization that our customers need.”

Perstorp offers two ranges of general purpose plasticisers, Emoltene 100 and Pevalen. Emoltene 100, a C10 plasticiser (di-propyl heptyl phthalate, DPHP), is one of the thoroughly tested phthalate plasticisers on the market. It is intended for outdoor durable applications, most notably cables, wires and roofing membranes, where it contributes to extra durability under harsh conditions.

Pevalen is an innovative non-phthalate plasticiser, partially derived from renewable resources, that meets the safety and performance requirements of “close-to-consumer” PVC applications such as flooring and coated fabrics. It provides unbeatable softness and UV stability, says Perstorp, and presents processors and users with a highly sustainable solution for a large number of high-volume applications.

Pevalen further reduces the carbon footprint of flexible PVC, it has no VOC (volatile organic compound) emissions and its high durability helps extend the useful life of finished products.