Japans Sanyo Chemical Industries Ltd. will build a plant in Jiangsu Province, China, with capacity to produce 5,000 tons per year of viscosity index improvers.
The facility, expected to start commercial operations in July 2015, will produce V.I. improvers marketed under the Aclube brand for use in automotive lubricating oil.
V.I. improvers are additives that help reduce changes in viscosity of lubricants due to temperature changes in automobile engines. Minimizing viscosity changes helps improve fuel efficiency at lower temperatures while enhancing engine protection at higher temperatures. Sanyos Aculube V.I. improvers are made from polymethyl methacrylate-based polymers.
According to the companys financial statements, Sanyo Chemicals market research found that due to fuel efficiency regulations in developed countries, the global market for polymethyl methacrylate-based viscosity index improver for engine oil is expected to almost double to 425,000 t/y in 2015.
According to Sanyo Chemical, as the automobile industry seeks to reduce carbon dioxide emissions and improve fuel consumption, there has been an increase in demand for viscosity index improvers for engine oils.
To meet an increase in demand, the company has been expanding its production in Japan and the United States. In 2011 and 2012, the combined capacity of two of its existing facilities in Japan was increased by 20,000 tons per year while its U.S. facility, with a capacity of 4,000 tons per year, started operations in February 2013. Upon completion of the new facility in China, Sanyo Chemical is expected to have a total V.I. improver capacity of 59,000 tons per year.