Paving the way for greener roads and runways AkzoNobel

PAVING THE WAY

FOR GREENER ROADS AND RUNWAYS

AkzoNobel is the world’s largest manufacturer of paints and coatings, and a major producer of speciality chemicals. Philip Yorke reports on how the company is building on its global leadership in the area of surface chemicals and in particular in cationic surfactants, and on recent major investments it has made.

AkzoNobel is one of the most diverse and successful chemical groups in the world. The company’s long and distinguished history goes back to 1646 when the Bofors forge was founded in Sweden. In 1895 the man behind the Nobel Prize, Alfred Nobel, founded EKA in Sweden which, more than 100 years later, merged with Bofors to form Nobel Industries. Due to a further merger in1994 the group evolved to become the company that is known today as AkzoNobel.

Headquartered in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, AkzoNobel is a Fortune 500 company, listed on the Dow Jones stock exchange in New York and with operational facilities in over 80 countries worldwide. Currently the company employs more than 57,000 people and in 2011 posted revenues of €15.7 billion. Innovation and expertise driving surfactant technology

Three of the six business units that operate within the Surface Chemistry Division of AkzoNobel are dedicated to surfactants and each focusses on a specific area or region. Furthermore, each enjoys the benefit of its own comprehensive research and development facility.

AkzoNobel’s Surface Chemistry Division alone has more than 20 manufacturing plants and sites worldwide and is the clear market leader in cationic (fatty amine-based) surfactants. The division’s main R&D centres are located at three strategic headquarters globally and reflect the importance that the company places on driving surfactant technology forward.

Employing more than 2,500 people, the Surface Chemistry Division has its headquarters at Stenungsund near Gothenburg in Sweden, with regional headquarters located in Chicago and Singapore. In addition, this division has plants located in Singapore, the USA, Brazil, Sweden, Germany, the Netherlands and Italy, as well as operating a joint venture plant in Japan.

The chemistry division, in line with all other AkzoNobel companies, directs much of its R&D expertise to protecting the environment and supporting the industry’s ‘Responsible Care Initiative’ which sets the guiding principles relating to health and safety issues concerning to the manufacture, transportation and disposal of chemicals.

Warm-mix technology

AkzoNobel’s Rediset LQ is a liquid variation of its Rediset WMX, it is a warm-mix additive that allows the processing of asphalt mixes

at lower temperatures, as well as improving the compaction of asphalt mixes that contain high levels of reclaimed asphalt pavement (RAP). This advanced product from AkzoNobel Surface Chemistry has been used to pave the new taxi-ways at Chicago’s O’Hare airport in the USA.

The taxi-ways are an integral part of the O’Hare Modernisation Programme (OMP), which is one of the largest infrastructure rehabilitation and construction projects in the USA and located at one of the world’s busiest airports. Currently the O’Hare taxi-ways are being paved to accommodate newer and larger aircraft and in particular heavy cargo planes. The company’s warm-mix asphalt paving is one of the latest ‘green’ technologies adopted by the OMP and presented as an option to the incumbent leading paving contractor, K-Five, who selected Rediset LQ warm mix technology for use in the O’Hare taxi-way paving project.

In the field at O’Hare, paving temperatures were reduced to 260oF, which offered a reduction of around 60oF over traditional hot-mix paving. This greatly diminished the smoke, fumes and odour that typically results from laying down hot-mix asphalt. This formula provided a better working environment for the K-Five paving crews. It was also noted that the consolidation of the warm-mix ATPB lift, took about half as long as the consolidation of hot-mix ATPB, which in turn reduced the manpower hours involved in laying the asphalt considerably.

Gaining ground in Asia

Earlier this year AkzoNobel announced that it had completed its acquisition of China’s leading speciality surfactants producer, Boxing Oleochemicals. Boxing is a leading

supplier of nitril amines and derivatives, which are used in a variety of industrial and consumer applications including fabric softeners, asphalt additives and hair conditioners.

This significant acquisition further strengthens AkzoNobel’s leadership position in speciality surfactants, while enhancing its manufacturing footprint in Asia. “The acquisition of Boxing quickly positions us to respond to the increasing demand for amines and derivatives, with a third of the Asian demand coming from China alone,” says Bob Margevich, managing director of AkzoNobel Surface Chemistry. “It also reaffirms our commitment to locate production closer to our customers. Boxing is a perfect fit for our technology and its site provides us with a sound manufacturing platform.

In a another major investment in April 2012, the company announced its commitment to the growth and operational excellence of its fatty amines manufacturing plant in Saskatoon in Canada. This strategic investment is being made in order to support the substantial growth demonstrated by its potash-producing customers. AkzoNobel’s fatty amines and derivatives are used for the flotation of potash ores and for the anti-caking of potash minerals during the manufacturing process.

Gerry Labelle, business director for performance applications at AkzoNobel Surface Chemistry said, “Our Saskatoon plant is ideally suited to service the potash industry, particularly in the Saskatchewan basin, which is one of the largest permit areas for potash exploration in the world. Canada is also the top potash-producing country in the world, followed by Russia, Belarus, Germany and the USA”.

AkzoNobel’s range of fatty amines include such well known product lines as Armeen® , Armoflote®, Ethomeen® and Lilaflot® . n

For further information on these products visit: www.akzonobel.com/surface/