INEOS is to restart a reactor which it temporarily shut down three years ago amid difficult market conditions.
Although conditions are still tough, INEOS Nitriles is buoyed by the growing global demand for acrylonitrile – the key ingredient in both acrylic fibre and carbon fibre – and its access to cheap US raw materials.
INEOS Nitriles is the world’s largest producer of acrylonitrile and acetonitrile. Its plant in Green Lake, Texas, is one of the largest and most efficient in the world and will soon once again be capable of producing 545,000 tonnes of acrylonitrile every year.
Manufacturers use acrylonitrile to produce synthetic fibres, engineering plastics, carbon fibre, synthetic ubber and water soluble polymers. Those products are then used to make car parts, clothing, construction materials, household appliances, and sports equipment to name a few. “The chances are that acrylonitrile touches everyone in some way, every day,” said Commercial Director Gordon Adams.
There was also some good news for INEOS Nitriles’ Seal Sands asset with a promise to invest in the scheduled turnaround next year.
INEOS Nitriles operates four plants worldwide, two in North America, one in Germany and one in the UK. It had halved its production of acrylonitrile at its Green Lake facility in January 2014 due to ‘unsustainable margins’.