Nouryon (formerly AkzoNobel Specialty Chemicals) will license its continuous initiator dosing (CiD) technology to Karpatnaftochim, Ukraine’s largest PVC producer.

The Dutch group said its patented CiD technology allows PVC producers to increase reactor output by up to 40%, improve product quality and make the process intrinsically safer – all at minimum cost.

“The agreement with Karpatnaftochim once again confirms our strong offering to customers in the PVC market,” said Johan Landfors, Nouryon’s managing director, polymer chemistry. “Many customers have made the shift to CiD technology and we expect interest for this technology to continue to grow as more users realize its advantages.”

Nouryon explained that in conventional PVC production, the organic peroxide initiator is added in one step, generating a lot of heat with reactor output determined by the cooling capacity. With CiD technology, however, the initiator is added continuously, which reduces the amount of heat produced, making the process safer and increasing the reactor’s effective capacity. 

In separate news, Nouryon has agreed a supply deal with US biopolymer producer Itaconix.

Under terms of the agreement, Itaconix will supply polymers with chelating properties to Nouryon, which will market them to its customers in the household, institutional and industrial detergent and cleaner market segments. The partners will also work together to transition many of Itaconix’s current detergent customers to Nouryon.

The companies signed a joint development agreement in January 2017 to explore opportunities for polymers made from bio-based itaconic acid using Itaconix’s polymerization process.