Emerald to Expand its Range of Nychem Specialty Nitrile Emulsions by Opening A New Plant

CUYAHOGA FALLS, OH -- The engineering team at Emerald Polymer Additives and Nitriles, a business group of Emerald Performance Materials, has commissioned its new pilot plant to expand the groups range of Nychem specialty nitrile and butadiene emulsion products. The new plant, which is located at the groups Akron, Ohio facility and includes a 100-gallon pilot reactor and advanced R&D facilities, was commissioned in October following a rigorous process validation.

Emerald has been ramping up nitrile-related operations over the past several years in response to increasing demand for existing and new products that outperform other polymers with superior properties. Coupled with other recent upgrades to the business groups production capabilities-including process controls upgrades for the groups Cure-Rite line of rubber accelerators-Emerald Polymer Additives and Nitriles is expanding the range and scope of capabilities for a global market. The pilot plant will enable the group to facilitate a more diverse range of end-use applications by supporting innovations in new emulsion compositions, including emulsions that fall outside the traditional lattices of butadiene, acrylonitrile and styrene monomers.

"Development of customized solutions has been one of the strengths of our organization that we have continued to build on in recent years," said John Zuppo, vice president of commercial services for the Polymer Additives and Nitriles business group. "The pilot plant adds tremendous value to the Nychem product line by ensuring we can collaborate directly with customers on a wider range of new technology. We are already seeing very positive responses from our customers to the expanded possibilities to tailor next-generation products."

The Nychem specialty emulsions line is used for a variety of niche applications, including paper, abrasives and tape, adhesives, specialty coatings, coated fabrics, coal tar sealing binders and leather. For many decades, the line was sold under the Hycar brand, which was one of the first synthetic latex offerings known for its quality and superior technology foundation. Emerald rebranded the product line following the divestiture of the business from its predecessor company.

The Nychem line is produced at the groups ISO-9001 Akron facility and includes nitrile, SB and ABS latex emulsions, which provide a combination of properties superior to other polymers and perform well in tough end-use environments. Nychem products offer superior grease, oil, fat and solvent resistance. They are also abrasion and caustic resistant, yet soft, elastic and resilient. Their performance features can be further enhanced through vulcanization and, in some cases, cross-linked through heat-reactive or carboxyl functional groups present in certain products.

About Emerald

Emerald Performance Materials produces and markets technologically advanced