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Kemira divests to focus on water

Kemira has agreed to divest its oil and gas chemicals portfolio to Sterling Specialty Chemicals, a US subsidiary of India’s Artek Group for €260 million subject to customary closing conditions and regulatory approvals. The company said that this will enable it “to focus on its core businesses and accelerate its profitable growth strategy”. The two parties expect to complete by the end of Q1 2024.

Kemira CEO has died

Kemira president and CEO Jari Rosendal died after a short illness on 31 July. He was 58. The company had announced that he had gone on sick leave on 11 July and a week later said that he would step down by 2024 at the latest. CFO Petri Castrén is acting as interim president and CEO while a successor is sought.

Kemira, Veolia combine for phosphorus recovery

Kemira and Veolia Wasser Deutschland are to work togther on the full-scale technology assessment of ViviMag, a patented technology to recover phosphorus and other valuable resources, such as iron, from sewage sludge. The first industrial trial will take place at Veolia’s wastewater treatment plant of Schönebeck, Germany, during 2H.

Kemira ships first biomass-balanced polyacrylamide

Kemira has started full-scale production of its newly developed polyacrylamide polymer based on biobased feedstock. The first commercial volumes are shipped to one of the wastewater treatment plants of the Helsinki Region Environmental Services for trials.

The polymer is water-soluble and offers the same technical specifications as its conventional equivalent, the company stated. As well as water treatment and other water-intensive sectors, it can be used in the energy industry, and potentially also in particularly demanding papermaking applications.

Cascades picks Kemira

Packaging giant Cascades has chosen Kemira as the primary chemical supplier for the Bear Island mill in Virginia, which it is converting to produce lightweight 100% recycled linerboard and medium grades. This is due to be completed by the end of 2022 and to have 465,00 tonnes/year of capacity when in full operation.

Two more facilities in China for Kemira

Kemira has announced two further investments at Yanzhou, China. A new sodium hypochlorite production unit is now being built, while the pre-engineering phase is now being finalised to increase polyaluminium chloride (PAC) production. These should be operational in January and March 2022 respectively.

Kemira in double paper investment

Kemira has opened a new dry polymer polyacrylamide (DPAM) plant in Ulsan, South Korea, and has also begun the pre-engineering phase for a third alkenyl succinic anhydride (ASA) sizing agents line at Nanjing in China. Both investments are targeted at the growing paper and board packaging market in the Asia-Pacific region.

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