Solvay brings innovation to K with KetaSpire

Solvay SA has launched a new polyetheretherketone (PEEK) product that delivers higher glass transition temperature and melting temperature compared with standard PEEK materials in the market to cater particularly for the oil and gas industry.

KetaSpire PEEK XT has a glass transition temperature of 170° C (338° F) and processes like standard PEEK at a 20° C (36° F) higher melt temperature without losing its resistance to chemicals.

"PEEK is a high-temperature, high chemical-resistance material. The material, at high temperatures, maintains its very high and stiff nature. And what we are introducing here can withstand higher temperatures while still maintaining the stiffness," said Michael Finelli, president of Solvay's specialty polymers unit, in an interview.

The oil and gas industry is a key target for the product, as companies will need to drill deeper for oil and the material will need to tolerate higher temperatures.

Having worked closely with key customers over the past two to three years, Solvay has already secured commercial orders for the materials, which are produced at its plants in Augusta, Ga., and Panoli, India.

"Bringing a new polymer, a new child, into the market is not a simple or easy task. You first have to understand what the real requirements are and then design the molecules, which takes time. … And then you want to make sure that what you, as the producer, see in the product, your customer can see, too," Finelli explained.

Developed in response to market demand, the product has been tested by customers "who needed a true high-temperature PEEK."

What makes the new product stand out from other materials with thermal capability is its chemical resistance.

"With PEEK, customers have come to count on a certain level of chemical resistance. There were other high-temperature polyketones available that lost their chemical resistance and, in most cases, their easy processing properties [in high temperature]," Finelli explained.

Only "incrementally" higher-priced compared with other PEEK products in the market, KetaSpire can be processed on all the machinery already on the market.

And Solvay is addressing security of supply by producing the materials at two different sites in two different continents.

"PEEK is an important product for many of our customers, and security of supply is absolutely critical. So, we can reassure them by saying that we produce the material in two locations," the Solvay official added.

In Panoli, India, where the new PEEK product is in production, Solvay has also recently started up a new manufacturing plant for the new Veradel-branded polyethersulfone products, which are mainly used for hemodialysis for kidney failure patients.

The material is spun to hollow fibers and inserted into tubes, which, as part of the dialysis process, purifies and filters human blood using the fibers.

"So, if you ask us what we do for a living, we can tell you that we are saving lives," Finelli noted.

The new plant is part of Solvay's plan, announced in 2017, to raise sulfone polymers production capacity by 35 percent in five years.

The plan also includes investments and process optimizations at its polymer and monomer units in Marietta, Ohio, and Augusta.

And staying in the U.S., Solvay has recently strengthened its Boeing-approved composite materials production capacity in Anaheim, Calif.

Run by Solvay's composite materials business unit, the plant uses polymers made by the company's specialty polymers unit and employs carbon fiber technology to create thermoplastic composites.

"The majority of composites today are thermoset composites with typically an epoxy resin. Once you make the composite, it is done and it is rigid and you no longer have the flexibility to mold or shape it," Finelli explained

But Solvay makes composites that are thermoformable, overmoldable and reshapable, which will give design flexibility, along with cost-efficiency, particularly in industries such as aerospace, oil and gas, and automotive.

In Anaheim, the company has upgraded its existing production line and, learning from that, has installed a high-efficiency line to address increasing demand.

With the new line, Solvay said, it has multiplied its capacity fourfold since the 2016 commissioning of the tape line.