Kemira expands on three fronts

Kemira and IFF have completed the construction of a renewable polymer plant as part of their strategic cooperation in providing alternatives to fossil-based products. This is based on IFF’s Designed Enzymatic Biomaterial (DEB) platform technology and is located at the operator Chemigate’s Finnamyl biorefinery in Kokemäki, Finland.

The facility will supply Kemira customers in industries like paper and board packaging, and water treatment. The two companies are now exploring options to extend their partnership, including a commercial-scale manufacturing joint venture based on DEB at IFF biorefinery’s site in Kotka, also in Finland.

Separately, Kemira has completed a multi-million euro investment to expand production of alkenyl succinic anhydride (ASA) sizing agents at Nanjing, China. This includes a full third production line, plus additional storage and tank capacity to improve deliveries and supply reliability.

ASA sizing agents are used to improve water resistance, notably in paper and board. Kemira is the largest producer in the APAC market and Nanjing, which was established in 2014 and has expanded ever since, is the world’s largest production site for ASAs.

Finally, Kemira is to add coagulant capacity at its Fredrikstad site in Norway to meet growing demand and ensure reliable production in the Nordic region. This includes a new reactor and increased storage capacity of aluminium hydroxide, which will be operational towards the end of 2025. It follows similar investments in coagulants in the UK and Spain in the last two years.