Evonik Expands Capacity for Specialty Alcohol Isotridecanol (ITDA)

The demand for ITDA has been growing for years, globally, owing to its outstanding properties and high effectiveness. The high-purity C13 alcohol is widely used as an intermediate to manufacture surfactants. Isotridecanol N serves as a starting material for producing plasticisers, lubricants, and auxiliaries in the chemical and related industries. It is also used to produce special esters found in high-quality paints or lacquer resins.

Evonik serves as one of the world leaders in specialty chemicals. Evonik is operational in over 100 countries around the globe. In 2018, the enterprise generated sales of €13.3 billion along with the operating profit (adjusted EBITDA) of €2.15 billion from continuing operations. The increased focus on specialty is aiding the company.

Specialty chemicals, also called effect chemicals or specialties, are chemical products capable of providing a wide variety of effects on which the diverse industrial sectors such as automotive, food, and textiles, among others, depend. Specialty chemicals can be categorised as adhesives, agrichemicals, cleaning materials, colours, surfactants, paint, lubricants, and so on. The Evonik Performance Materials GmbH handles the company’s Performance Materials Segment, which focuses on developing and manufacturing intermediates, solutions, and additives, particularly for use in industries like, rubber and plastics, and agriculture. The segment has approximately 1,700 employees as of 2018, generating sales of almost €2.39 billion from its continuing operations.

Evonik provides a variety of C4-based large-volume, intermediate chemicals, and additives. The ITDA produced by the company can be considered a real petrochemical specialty due to the optimum quality of the product, containing around 100% C13 alcohols. The company offers enhanced solutions for both existing and new customers by modernising and digitalising the business and cooperation opportunities.

One of Evonik's special areas of expertise, based on which the production expansion of the high-purity C13 alcohol isotridecanol (ITDA) has taken place, is the optimisation of its production aggregates, from the raw materials to the customer's value chain.  By working on this idea, now the company is in a better position to meet the increased product demand, further supporting the growth strategies of its customers. The company will now be able to carry out production at more consistent rate, thus, enhancing its position in the market.

Along with customer satisfaction, the company has also ensured sustainable product development. This is achieved by the complete and sustainable integration of the corresponding raw material used during production, which flows into the C4 Verbund at the Marl and Antwerp sites. Adhering to the motto of the company, "Chemistry4People®: we create the future of C4Chemistry together with our customers", Evonik is determined to fulfill the increasing product demand along with the responsibility towards society and environment.