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.

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.

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 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.

Kemira and its pension fund, Neliapila, have signed a pre-agreement and lease agreement with a consortium of Ahlström Capital, Kirkon Eläkerahasto and Aktia Life Insurance. Under this, they will build a new research centre for Kemira as part of the Green Chemistry Park within a 5.5-hectare site at Espoo, near Helsinki in Finland.

Finland’s Kemira has announced the completion of the first of a two-step capacity expansion in its water treatment chemicals production in the UK. The output of the aluminium-based product line in Ellesmere Port, near Liverpool, will be increased by more than 30,000 tonnes/year.

A second investment at Goole is currently under way and by September the firm expects to raise production of ferric-based water treatment chemicals by 100,000 tonnes/year. In all, Kemira makes over 350,000 tonnes/year of water treatment chemicals at these and two other UK sites at Bradford and Teesport. 

DuPont’s board of directors has approved the separation of DuPont’s Nutrition & Biosciences (N&B) business through an exchange offer whereby stockholders can elect to tender DuPont shares for those of N&B on terms to be announced. This process is expected to be completed by 1 February.