Emerald Performance Materials Completes R&D Pilot Plant
AKRON, OH - The engineering team at Emerald Polymer Additives and Nitriles, a business group of Emerald Performance Materials, has commissioned its new pilot plant to expand the group’s range of Nychem™ specialty nitrile and butadiene emulsion products. The new plant, which is located at the group’s Akron, OH, facility and includes a 100-gallon pilot reactor and advanced research and development (R&D) facilities, was commissioned in October following a rigorous process validation.
Emerald has been ramping up nitrile-related operations over the past several years in response to increasing demand for existing and new products that outperform other polymers. Coupled with other recent upgrades to the business group’s production capabilities, including process controls upgrades for the group’s Cure-Rite® line of rubber accelerators, Emerald Polymer Additives and Nitriles is expanding the range and scope of capabilities for a global market. The pilot plant will enable the group to facilitate a more diverse range of end-use applications by supporting innovations in new emulsion compositions, including emulsions that fall outside the traditional lattices of butadiene, acrylonitrile and styrene monomers.