Idemitsu restarts SPS resin production

Some six years after closing it, Idemitsu Kosan Co. (Tokyo) has restarted production of syndiotactic polystyrene (SPS) at its Chiba plant. SPS is a heat-resistant engineering plastic independently developed by Idemitsu, with metallocene used as a catalyst to give polystyrene a syndiotactic structure. Idemitsu is considering further SPS capacity based on climbing demand.

The company developed SPS and subsequently built a 5000 tons/yr-capacity production facility at its Chiba site and began supplying SPS commercially in 1997.

Under a basic licensing agreement, Idemitsu had worked in collaboration with Dow Chemical (Midland, MI) to develop and market SPS after Dow expressed interest in this technology. In 1999, Dow built a plant to manufacture SPS in Europe, and the two companies started joint production there. As a result, Idemitsu shut down the SPS facility at its Chiba plant in 2000.

Subsequently, Dow decided to withdraw from the SPS business, giving Idemitsu the opportunity to globally expand its own SPS resin business. Idemitsu began producing SPS compounds in North America in January 2006 and in Europe in May 2006.

Idemitsu is expanding the scope of applications for this plastic to include lead-free-solder compatible connectors for automotive electrical system components, IH (induction heating) cookers, washer-dryers, steam ovens, and other home appliances with heating components. SPS is also employed in antennas and other electronic components.—[email protected]