Specialty chemical supplier Perstorp AB will build a new plant at an existing site in Sweden to bring an additional 70,000 metric tons per year of carboxylic acids production onstream in 2024, doubling its capacity, the company said. The chemicals are used as ingredients in the manufacture of refrigeration lubricants, among other applications. - LubesnGreases

Increased capacity will meet growing demand in various high-value applications, including engineered fluids for refrigeration lubricants, the company said. Most of the output will be used by Perstorp, which is based in Malmo, Sweden, to make its own finished products.

The company will construct the new plant on the site of its existing carboxylic acid production operation in Stenungsund. Like the original unit, it will be capable of producing acids from C3 to C9 chemistry. Both plants will be integrated into Perstorp’s oxo production platform.

Perstorp said it had experienced a period of high growth, maintaining a strong position in key markets despite disruption caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

The expansion fits with our strategy for growth and an increased emphasis on specialty products and will reinforce our pioneering position in sustainable solutions for our key focus segments. I am glad that our acid capacity expansion is now back on track, after a temporary delay due to COVID.

Betty Lu, Perstorp’s vice president for oxo chemicals

The company’s carboxylic acids used in fluids for refrigeration lubricants include valeric acid, 2-ethylhexanoic acid and isononanoic acid.