Nouryon MCA site in Delfzijl, the Netherlands
Nouryon announces plans to expand its production capacity for monochloroacetic acid (MCA) in Delfzijl, the Netherlands by the end of 2020. MCA is essential in the manufacture of many crop protection and home and personal care products and is also an important building block used by the food and pharmaceutical industries, according to the company.
Nouryon is investing in technology and efficiency improvements to increase current MCA production in Delfzijl. This will help satisfy market growth as well as Nouryon’s own increased consumption of MCA to produce carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC), following its recent acquisition of J.M. Huber’s CMC business. Nouryon has also initiated a study to free up more capacity for chlorine, the key raw material for MCA.
“MCA serves several high-growth sectors, including crop protection products in the Americas and pharmaceutical production in India and other emerging markets,” says Rob Vancko, head of MCA and strategy, industrial chemicals at Nouryon. “The expansion project in Delfzijl combined with the opening of a new joint venture plant in India later this year will increase our overall MCA production capacity by more than 20% to help us capture demand growth.”
Nouryon says it is the first manufacturer to use technologies such as advanced distillation for minimized steam consumption and nanofiltration for zero liquid discharge. It also reportedly applies state-of-the-art hydrogenation technology in its plants for a more efficient and sustainable conversion of raw materials into MCA.
For more information, visit: www.nouryon.com
