Arkema increases production capacity at its Calvert City Kynar® PVDF plant

Work to extend Arkema’s Kynar® PVDF resin plant in Calvert City (United States/Kentucky) is nearing completion. This latest debottlenecking of around $20 M will ensure a 15% increase in the plant’s production capacity from early 2010.

"This latest extension will provide us with the necessary capacity and grades to respond to today’s growth opportunities in the energy markets, in particular in the photovoltaics and lithium-ion battery sectors. In addition to the existing Pierre-Bénite plant in France dedicated to specialty grades, the increase in the Calvert City capacity in the United States and the current construction of a new production plant on the Changshu site in China, due to come on stream in 2011, boost Arkema’s worldwide presence and its leading position in PVDF ", states Erwoan Pezron, Global Managing Director of Arkema’s Fluoropolymers.

Advert

One fast-growing Kynar® PVDF application in new energy sources is the production of extruded film as backing sheets for photovoltaic modules. The Kynar® films are used in a sandwich construction, trademarked KPKTM, wherein a polyester film is placed between layers of Kynar® film. The film construction protects the backside of solar panels and helps maintain operating efficiency and cell life.

Arkema also markets new highmolecular-weight Kynar® grades with outstanding purity and adhesion characteristics, for electrode binders in lithium-ion batteries.

With their excellent resistance to weathering and chemicals, Kynar® resins have many applications in architectural finishes and in construction, in components for chemical processing industry, in piping systems and components, and in high performance wire and cable jacketing. Kynar®’s inherent qualities also make it a special material in other highgrowth applications, including hollow fiber membranes for water filtration, multilayer pipes, flexible tubing, closed cell foams and materials, and primerless powder coatings.

More information: www.kynar.com

Arkema, Paris, France

back to news list