Under the terms of the contract, KBR will provide a technology license, basic engineering and proprietary equipment for a 100,000 t/y plant, while Showa Denko will provide the catalysts, along with its technical operating knowhow. The exact location of the plant was not revealed, nor was a timescale for the project.

“We are excited to support Asian Paints’ vision to produce environmentally friendly paints using our VAM technology,” said Doug Kelly, KBR president, technology. “In addition to delivering a sustainable solution, this project will drive significant cost efficiencies for Asian Paints by integrating their manufacturing and supply chain and reducing import of raw materials.”

Asian Paints will use the VAM as raw material to make ethylene-vinyl acetate emulsion (VAE) and other products.

KBR offers VAM technology in partnership with Showa Denko under an agreement signed in February 2015. Under the alliance, KBR exclusively licenses the Tokyo-headquartered company’s range of acetyls technologies, including glacial acetic acid, ethyl acetate, n-propyl acetate and allyl alcohol (for epichlorohydrin production).

Author: Elaine Burridge, Freelance Journalist