Perstorp 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, and is now running at full regime and delivering high quality material according to plan.

According to Perstorp CEO Jan Secher, the new production platform is the single largest investment in Perstorp’s history, significantly boosting the company’s 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.

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, and presents processors and users with a highly sustainable solution for a large number of high-volume applications. Further, it 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. Pevalen is registered according to REACH.

Perstorp, a member of several PVC industry associations, including ECPI (the European Council for Plasticisers and Intermediates) and VinylPlus (the voluntary sustainable development programme of the European PVC industry), now has one of the few fully integrated platforms in Europe providing customers with ready access to high performance, sustainable and cost-effective 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.

Jerker Olsson, Vice President Business Unit Oxo, says that the upstream integration into essential raw materials greatly strengthens Perstorp’s position as a reliable supplier of innovative plasticizers to the PVC market. The firm raised its total Oxo capacity by 150,000 tonnes per year and, thus, becoming one of the few fully integrated suppliers of plasticisers, he said, adding that this improved production position, in combination with logistics centres in several countries, now provides customers with improved access to market-leading high performance, sustainable and cost effective plasticisers.