MOSCOW (MRC) -- Tosoh Corporation has announced it will construct a plant to produce Rzeta, the company’s new emission-free reactive amine catalyst for polyurethane foams, according to GV.
The plant will be built on the grounds of the ethyleneamine production facilities at the Nanyo complex for an estimated investment of JPY 2 billion (about EUR 15.3 million).
Construction of the Rzeta plant will begin in September 2013 and is expected to be completed by November 2014.
According to Tosoh, the company developed Rzeta in response to concerns about volatile organic compound (VOC) emissions from PU foams produced using conventional PU catalysts. As an emission-free PU foam reactive amine catalyst, Rzeta is said to make possible the manufacture of PU foams that do not emit the VOCs or odour characteristic of amine chemicals and thus are better for the environment. The absence of VOCs also means that Rzeta-produced PU foams used in proximity to other resins, such as polyvinyl chloride (PVC) and polycarbonates, will not change their colour, says the company.
Rzeta is said to enable the production of PU foams with the same high level of durability as those made using conventional catalysts. In Rzeta, therefore, Tosoh brings to the marketplace a proprietary PU catalyst technology that is eco-friendly and that ensures advanced functionality.
According to the company, the new catalyst meets demands for a cleaner planet through reduced VOC emissions without diminishing the quality of the products whose manufacture depends on it. Tosoh has a 40-year history as a global ethyleneamine derivative solution provider.
As MRC wrote previously, almost one year after a fire seriously damaged its complex in Nanyo/Japan, Tosoh Corporation (Tokyo/Japan) touted plans to raise output at the site's number 3 vinyl chloride monomer plant. The building phase of the 200,000 t/y capacity expansion kicked off in November 2012 with completion scheduled for October 2014. All in all, the project will cost Tosoh about JPY 5 bn (EUR 50m).
Tosoh is one of the largest chlor-alkali manufacturers in Asia. The company supplies the plastic resins and an array of the basic chemicals that support modern life. Tosoh's petrochemical operations supply ethylene, polymers, and polyethylene.
MRC