Nouryon doubles Stenungsund capacity

Nouryon is to double capacity at its 102-year old surfactants plant in Stenungsund, Sweden (above), at a cost of €12 million. This includes a new reactor installation, as well as other upgrades, and should be complete by Q1 2021. The company said that this will support the growth of existing products and new sustainable technologies for multiple end use markets.

Among the latter are Armohib CI-5150, a corrosion inhibitor that is said to meet the oil and gas industry’s most stringent environmental requirements, plus a new range of biodegradable demulsifiers to separate crude oil from natural gas and water. Existing products whose capacity will increase include Berol R648NG, a biodegradable surfactant used as a degreaser in the cleaning market. The site will also produce surfactants used in the lubricants and fuels and asphalt markets.

This is the latest in a series of investments by Nouryon in Sweden to meet growth in demand. It also recently completed a €20 million project at Sundsvall that “significantly” raises production capacity for its Expancel expandable microspheres, and earlier this year completed a €4 million expansion of surface-modified colloidal silica at Bohus.