Evonik joint venture brings additional production capacity for hydrogen peroxide on stream in Korea

Evonik Industries and Headwaters of South Jordan, Utah, USA, have substantially increased production capacity for hydrogen peroxide at the facility operated by their joint venture EvonikHeadwaters in Ulsan, Korea. The joint venture acquired this facility from the Finnish company Kemira Oyi, Helsinki, in 2006. Using proprietary technology from Evonik, it has more than doubled capacity from the original level of 34,000 metric tons p.a. within a year.

The hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) produced in Ulsan will be supplied to customers in Korea and to the adjacent facility operated by the Seoul-based company SKC.
Dr. Thomas Haeberle, Head of Evonik’s Industrial Chemicals Business Unit comments: “The start-up of the additional production capacity for hydrogen peroxide in Korea brings us a good deal closer to our goal of supplying large quantities of hydrogen peroxide for chemical synthesis reactions.”

In the next few months, here in Ulsan SKC will start up one of the world’s first production facilities for propylene oxide based on the HPPO process. Hydrogen peroxide and propylene are the starting products for this low-cost, environment-friendly method of producing propylene oxide, which is used in the manufacture of polyurethane, for example for cushioning and instrument panels for autos. SKC has acquired a license for the HPPO process, which was developed by Evonik and Uhde, Dortmund, Germany.

Haeberle explains Evonik’s strategy as follows: “Joint development of innovative technologies enables us to enter new areas of business in collaboration with established partners. One example is industrial use of the bleaching and oxidation agent hydrogen peroxide in chemical synthesis reactions." To provide a long-term basis for this strategy, Evonik and Headwaters are currently working on a new catalytic direct synthesis route for the production of hydrogen peroxide.