Orion building second China plant

Orion Engineered Carbons has begun construction of its second plant in China for speciality and high-performance carbon black at Huaibei in Anhui province. This complements an existing plant in Qingdao, which opened in 1994, and another in South Korea.

The new plant is expected to be completed late next year and to begin operating in 2023. It will have 65,000-70,000 tonnes/year of capacity. Orion will equip the plant to convert its waste heat to steam for sale to the local industrial park.

Orion has also formed a project to develop and produce renewable carbon black with RISE Research Institutes of Sweden have formed. It plans to convert biomass oil into carbon black via paralysis and will explore ways to scale the process up to match market demands, while RISE evaluates using electro fuels as sustainable heat sources for the process in its pilot-scale reactor.