Expansions: Bondalti launches chlor-alkali plant in Portugal using Asahi Kasei technology; Kuraray sets up technical centre in Singapore
Portuguese chemical manufacturer Bondalti Chemicals has started operation of its chlor-alkali production unit with new electrolysers in Estarreja. Built by German engineering company CAC Engineering and incorporating Japanese firm Asahi Kasei’s latest chlor-alkali electrolysis technology, the revamped unit will further reduce energy consumption and optimise chlor-alkali industry processes.
Together with CAC, Asahi Kasei installed nine chlor-alkali electrolysers at Bondalti’s facility in Estarreja, Portugal. This brine electrolysis plant revamp project, co-financed by the Portuguese Recovery and Resilience Plan (PRR), marks a new phase of modernisation to increase efficiency and reliability and support Bondalti’s decarbonisation goals.
With increasingly stringent EU decarbonisation regulations, the industry is under pressure to reassess energy consumption and resource use during production processes. At Bondalti’s upgraded production unit, one of the nine electrolysers will also be used for testing new components, with the aim of improving the environmental performance of electrolysers, including reducing energy use and optimizing resources. This electrolyser incorporates Asahi Kasei’s latest membranes and electrodes, which deliver higher performance compared to conventional products.
Electrolysers apply an electric current to separate brine (concentrated saltwater) into chlorine, caustic soda, and hydrogen, which are used in a wide range of chemical products across different industries. In line with Asahi Kasei’s efforts to establish a circular economy in the chlor-alkali sector, used cells and electrodes from these tests will be recycled into materials for reuse in new components.
“The integration of nine new electrolysers into full production was an exceptional technical task and further proof of our long-standing cooperation with Asahi Kasei for more than 25 years, and our careful and constructive collaboration with Bondalti’s experienced team for over 8 years across various projects,” concluded Mike Niederstadt, COO of CAC Engineering.
As a solution provider for the chlor-alkali industry, Asahi Kasei combines five decades of experience in development, production, and operation of electrolysis systems and components with operation monitoring systems and software analysis services provided by Recherche 2000, an Asahi Kasei company based in Canada, and more recently, the creation of a metal recycling ecosystem. The company manufactures and supplies ion-exchange membranes, electrolysis cells, electrodes, and operational expertise for electrolysis facilities.
Meanwhile in other news, Japanese materials firm Kuraray Co announced that its local subsidiary in Singapore, Kuraray Asia Pacific Pte, has established a technical centre in Singapore Science Park as a technical support base for the Asian market.
It will serve as a base for technical support for the Asian market, focusing on PVOH resin, Eval EVOH resin, and activated carbon, of which demand is growing in the region.
The technical centre is equipped with facilities necessary for material evaluation and analysis as well as investigation of advanced technologies, that enables prompt and specialised solution proposal to satisfy local customer’s needs. It also serves as a platform for open innovation, generating new value through product demonstrations and collaborative development with customers.
Furthermore, by leveraging its location in Singapore Science Park, where R&D facilities are concentrated, the centre aims to accelerate market development and secure global talent through collaboration with a wide range of people and companies.
At the opening ceremony, Tomoyuki Watanabe, Director/Managing Executive Officer/President of the Vinyl Acetate Resin Company at Kuraray, shared his enthusiasm: “By offering a place for co-creation with our customers, we hope to drive the rapid market growth in the region.”
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