BRUSSELS - Solvay has started production at its two new large-scale and “on-pipe” alkoxylation facilities in Moerdijk, the Netherlands, and in Singapore. Both units are located in integrated petrochemical hubs and receive ethylene oxide via dedicated pipelines, providing a secure supply of this key raw material for a wide range of specialty surfactants by Solvay’s Novecare business.

At its recently acquired Moerdijk site, situated between the key regional transport and logistics hubs of Rotterdam, the Netherlands, and Antwerp, Belgium, Solvay is ramping up capacity already for the third quarter.

The Novecare plant in Singapore will hold its opening ceremony next month. It is ramping up full-scale production after having successfully completed its trial batch production in May. Solvay’s Novecare is already Asia’s largest specialty surfactant manufacturer with 10 production sites, two research and innovation centers in Singapore and Shanghai, China, and a recently opened research and innovation laboratory in Tokyo.

Both facilities produce alkoxylates, which form the chemical foundation for a broad offering of Novecare’s specialty surfactants, which are used in a number of products including coatings.