BEIJING—Elkem S.A. started up a major silicone expansion project at its Elkem Silicones Xinghuo facility in Yongxiu, China, according to parent company ChemChina.
The commissioning "in one go" adds production capacity for 200,000 metric tons per year of silicone monomers and 120,000 tons of downstream silicone products at the site, located in the Xinghuo Industrial Park, ChemChina said May 21. In total, the project increases overall production capacity for silicone monomers to 700,000 tons per year and downstream products to 300,000 tons.
The expansion project has now produced "qualified products," marking the official completion and commissioning of the project, according to the company's announcement.
Elkem launched the $460 million project in April 2021, to strengthen its position in "the fastest growing silicones market" and support its "specialization" strategy.
At the time, Elkem said the project would improve the Xinghuo site's overall cost position and environmental profile "significantly."
The "state-of-the-art" unit will manufacture silicones for "high quality upstream products" and enable Elkem to raise specialty volumes by increasing access to "high purity products and critical by-products."
On the environmental front, Elkem said new technologies employed at the site will reduce energy consumption by 57 percent, use of raw materials by 11 percent and solid waste by 30 percent.
