ULSAN < invest Korea

Hanwha Chemical Corp., a South Korean petrochemical producer, has embarked on commercial production of a phthalate-free plasticizer at its Ulsan factory, throwing down the gauntlet to the world’s leading, only non-phthalate plasticizer makers BASF and Evonik.

The company announced on Thursday that it has finally started mass production of its phthalate-free plasticizer dubbed ECO-DEHCH eight years after it began its development and the annual production capacity is 15,000 tons.

The ECO-DEHCH can replace existing plasticizers that contains toxic phthalate restricting its use in wallpapers, flooring materials and children’s toys, according to the company.

Currently, Germany’s BASF and Evonik are the only producers of phthalate-free plasticizers in the world. The global plasticizer market is estimated to be worth 8 trillion won ($7.14 billion) a year, of which 1.5 trillion won sales are generated from eco-friendly products. The non-phthalate plasticize market has been growing at a compound annual growth rate of 6 percent.

The successful development and production of ECO-DEHCH is credited to Hanwha Chemical chief executive Kim Chang-bum, who has been dedicated to an industry-academia research partnership with Seoul National and KAIST to develop new technology.

The new product met safety requirements in an FDA test late last year. A toxicity test was also conducted by SGS, a leading inspection, verification, testing and certification company, to confirm the product’s applicability to children’s toys.

By Jung Wook

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Source: Pulse by Maeil Business News Korea (Jun. 1, 2017)