Lanxess to convert Triunfo plant to S-SBR production

The conversion requires an investment of approximately EUR 80 million and is scheduled to be complete at the end of 2014. A regular supply of E-SBR to customers will be maintained from the company’s plant in Duque de Caxias (Rio de Janeiro) in Brazil.

Lanxess became one of the largest chemical companies in Brazil following its acquisition of Petroflex in 2008 and now employs roughly 1,100 workers at its headquarters and seven locations. Brazil is one of the fastest-growing markets for the company's products. The country accounted for less than 1 % of Lanxess' global sales in 2005 but now accounts for roughly 10 % of global sales. The Brazilian government aims to implement tyre labelling, modelled on the EU standards, as of October 2016, while the topic in China is taking shape as part of the country’s current five-year-plan. According to Lanxess, global growth for S-SBR as well as neodymium-based butadiene rubber (Nd-BR) is estimated at roughly 10 % per year through to 2017.

Lanxess says “green” tyres can reach their peak performance with formulations containing both S-SBR and Nd-PBR. S-SBR is mainly used in the tread compound of “green” tyres and Nd-PBR is used in the treads and sidewalls. While both rubbers help to increase fuel efficiency of a tyre by reducing rolling resistance, S-SBR helps improve grip on wet roads, while Nd-PBR is highly resistant to abrasion thus making tyres more durable.

Last year, Lanxess showcased an “AA-rated” concept tyre that was developed by the company in Germany and tested by TÜV Süd, a leading independent technical service organisation. The concept tyre comprises the latest generation Nd-PBR and S-SBR technology, as well as rubber additives, to achieve a grade of “A” for both rolling resistance and wet grip under the new EU tyre-labeling rules. It is one of the first tyres in the world to achieve an AA-rating.

In the past two years, Lanxess has increased its global capacities for S-SBR and Nd-PBR by 70,000 t/y. The company has achieved this through debottlenecking measures at its plants in Dormagen, Germany; Orange, TX, USA; and Cabo de Santo Agostinho (Pernambuco), Brazil. In addition, the company produces S-SBR at is facility in Port Jérôme, France.

Furthermore, the company broke ground for a new world-scale Nd-PBR plant in Singapore last September to serve, above all, the growing Asian tyre industry. The plant, representing a total investment of EUR 200 million, will have a capacity of 140,000 t/y and will start up in the first half of 2015.