Synthos to resume butadiene rubber production at German plant in March

SCHKOPAU, Germany—Poland's Synthos S.A. plans to restart production of butadiene rubber at its factory in Schkopau in March as the synthetic rubber producer looks to help the industry meet unmet demand.

Synthos started recommissioning work on the German factory in the first half of 2022 as there was a shortage of butadiene rubber, particularly in the tire industry, the firm said in a Jan. 30 news release.

The factory was closed in 2020 by its former owner, Trinseo S.A. Synthos acquired the Schkopau operation when it purchased the synthetic rubber assets of Trinseo in a nearly $400 million deal that closed in December 2021.

That operation also brought Synthos 130,000 metric tons of annual capacity for emulsion SBR, along with 200,000 tons of solution SBR.

Synthos officials told Rubber News last year that once production of BR is resumed in Schkopau, that will make 30,000 tons a year of the material available to the market. A debottlenecking project at the company's facility in Kralupy, Czech Republic, expanded output of its neodymium butadiene rubber there by 20,000 tons.

So once the German plant is reopened, Synthos said it will have total annual capacity of 150,000 tons of its Synteca-brand butadiene rubber between the two factories.

Butadiene rubber is used in applications such as high-performance tires, golf balls and conveyor belts. Due to its low glass transition temperature, low dispersity level and linear structure, Synthos said its Synteca BR is particularly suited for tread compounds for the development of "green tires," as it offers excellent wear properties and enables a reduction in fuel and energy consumption due to its very low rolling resistance.

Speaking at the ACS Rubber Division's International Elastomer Conference last fall in Knoxville, Tenn., Matteo Marchisio, director of tire materials and the synthetic rubber business unit for Synthos, told Rubber News that the expansion projects for BR are a major way his firm is showing support for European tire manufacturers.

Russia had exported a substantial amount of polybutadiene each year, and that is becoming less available, "not because there are sanctions imposed by the European Commission against Russian polybutadiene, but because the sentiment of European tire manufacturers for Russian imported raw materials has changed," Marchisio said.

"These days polybutadiene is short not only in Europe but generally in the world," he said. "By adding capacity in our Czech plant and recommissioning the German installation, we will bring our customers 50 percent more polybutadiene than what we could offer this year."