starches 8%. The ethylene oxidemarket is currently balanced.

ICIS Chemical Business Americas, 11 Jun 2007,(http://www.icbamericas.com)

Overview of the US nonylphenol sector

US demand for nonylphenol was 360M pounds in 2006. This is forecast toincrease to 380 M pounds in 2010.Nonylphenol usage is split 80%surfactants (nonylphenol ethoxylates),10% phosphite antioxidants for rubberand plastics and 10% miscellaneous,including lube oil additives. Total USnonylphenol production capacity is428 M pounds, split between DoverChemical 35 M pounds, Chemtura 95M pounds, Huntsman 80 M poundsand SI Group Freeport 195 Mpounds. Major detergent suppliers tothe consumer sector do not usenonylphenol in their products,favouring the more biodegradablealcohol ethoxylates.

ICIS Chemical Business Americas, 25 Jun 2007,(Website: http://www.icbamericas.com)

SURFACTANTSLion Corp plans Malaysian MES plant

Japan’s Lion Corp is to establish an80,000 sq m facility in Malaysia toproduce the plant-derived surfactantmethyl ester sulfonate (MES). Thekey feedstock for MES [see Focus onSurfactants, Sep 2006] is fatty acidmethyl ester, which is derived frompalm oil, of which Malaysia is one ofthe main sources. Lion’s totalinvestment in the project will beRinggit 300 M or about Yen 10 bn($86 M). Southern Lion Sdn Bhd, thejoint venture company between LionCorp and Lam Soon (M) Bhd, willhold the groundbreaking for the plantin 3Q 2007 at the Tanjung Langatindustrial estate near Pasir Gudang.The company expects to completeconstruction during 2008 and tocommence production activities inDec 2008. The new facility will havean initial MES capacity of 25,000tonne/y, which will be boosted to50,000 tonnes/y in the second phaseand 100,000 tonnes/y in the thirdphase. The MES produced at theplant will be sold to domestic andinternational producers of cleaningproducts such as washing detergents

and soap. Southern Lion anticipatesposting revenues of Ringgit 300 Mduring 2007, based on a steadydouble-digit growth since 1999. Thecompany markets about 20% of itsproducts to countries such asIndonesia, Singapore, Mongolia andRussia.

Japan Chemical Week, 14 Jun 2007, 48 (2420), 12 & The Star, 16 Jun 2007, (Website:http://www.thestar.com.my)

Toho Chemical plans new surfactantsplant

Toho Chemical will construct a 20,000tonne/y surfactant factory in Kashimaat a cost of almost Yen 3 bn ($25 M).Work on the new unit is slated to befinished by the end of 2008 or spring2009. The Kashima plant will producecommodity-grade surfactants andrelated products with applications intoiletry goods, construction and civilengineering works. The companyaims to post group sales of Yen 38 bnand ordinary profit of Yen 1.6 bn infiscal year ending 31 Mar 2009.

Japan Chemical Week, 31 May 2007, 48 (2418), 2

Nicca to expand China operations fortextile chemicals

Nicca Chemical is allocating more ofits management resources in China tobolster sales of textile chemicals inthe country. The company generated45% of its overall sales in the yearended 31 Mar 2007 from overseas,primarily in the Greater China regionand Thailand. Nicca seeks toincrease its Chinese market sharefrom the current 2% to 5%. ZhejiangNicca Chemical operates thecompany’s Chinese operationalcentre, which has the capacity toproduce 12,000 tonnes/y of textilechemicals. The facility’s capacity iscurrently being raised to 36,000tonnes/y, for completion within 2007and commissioning in Feb 2008. Inaddition to making surfactants fortextile treatment, the expanded unitwill also make speciality chemicals forthe treatment of metals. In Taiwan,Nicca Chemical’s affiliate TaiwanNicca Chemical has acquired aroughly 22,000 sq m site where thebuilding of a new facility wasscheduled to commence in Jul 2007.The unit’s capacity will be initiallyboosted by around 70% to 20,000

tonnes/y. The company also recentlydoubled production capacity for textilesurfactants in Vietnam [Focus onSurfactants, Sep 2006].

Japan Chemical Week, 31 May 2007, 48 (2418), 2

Huntsman to increase PerformanceProducts pricing in Americas region

Huntsman Corp announced that itsPerformance Products division willincrease prices across a range ofproducts in the Americas region,generally by $0.05/pound to as muchas $0.10/pound. The price increasesare to be effective 1 Jul 2007, or asapplicable contracts allow. Productcategories receiving price increasesinclude surfactants, linearalkylbenzene, amines, maleicanhydride, propylene oxide andpropylene glycol. Together, thesecategories include over 40 grades ofproducts that account for over 1.8 bnpounds of production for use inhundreds of applications, includingpersonal care, household detergents,construction materials and adhesives.The company said the price increasesreflect high raw material and energycosts.

Press release from: Huntsman Corp, 500 HuntsmanWay, Salt Lake City, Utah 84108, USA. Tel: +1 801 5845700. Website: http://www.huntsman.com (4 Jun2007)

ASSOCIATEDPRODUCTS

New hair styling ingredients fromGoldschmidt and ISP

Degussa Goldschmidt Personal Carehas unveiled three new hair stylingingredients. Abil UV Quat 50 is a newconditioning agent that protects thehair from UV damage. The ingredientblends well with anionic surfactants. Itis ideal for use in rinse-offapplications such as shampoos,balms and rinses as well as leave-inapplications to protect against keratindenaturation while providing apleasant dry feel to the hair, thecompany says. When used withcationic polymers, Abil UV Quat 50offers additional conditioning effectsand improves its efficacy. Varisoft EQ65 is a biodegradable, vegetable-

4 AUGUST 2007

F O C U S O N S U R F A C T A N T S