MOSCOW (MRC) -- Japan-based Sumitomo Chemical has announced the start-up of its new 40,000-t/y solution styrene-butadiene rubber (S-SBR) facility on Jurong Island in Singapore, reported Apic-online.
"Given the prospect that the demand for S-SBR is likely to continue developing in the medium to long term, Sumitomo Chemical has located the new S-SBR plant in Singapore because of various advantages the country offers, including its geographical proximity to the vigorously growing Asian market, and availability of a stable supply source for the raw material butadiene, as well as benefits from tie-ups with existing businesses of the Sumitomo Chemical Group in the region," the company explained.
The new plant is based on Sumitomo's proprietary solution polymerization production process and advanced polymer modification technology. Sumitomo said future S-SBR expansions are under consideration, without providing any details.
Meanwhile, as MRC wrote before, Sumitomo Chemical announced in February 2014 that it would permanently wind up the operations of an ethylene plant at its Chiba Works in Ichihara, Chiba, in or before September 2015, following a decline in domestic demand for ethylene derivatives.
Sumitomo Chemical is a Japanese based manufacturer of a diverse range of products, including basic chemicals, petrochemicals and plastics, fine chemicals, agricultural chemicals, IT-related chemicals and pharmaceuticals.
MRC