Russia's SIBUR to build n-butyllithium production facility with 350 tonnes per year capacity by 2026
MOSCOW. Nov 15 (Interfax) - SIBUR has begun constructing an industrial-scale n-butyllithium production facility at the Voronezhsynthezkauchuk site, the company's press service said.
N-butyllithium is used as a catalyst in the production of thermoplastic elastomers and synthetic rubbers.
The facility will have a production capacity of 350 tonnes per year, with construction expected to be completed in 2026. The amount of investment for the project was not disclosed, but is said to be in the range of several billion rubles.
Currently, n-butyllithium is not produced in Russia. It was primarily imported from European countries and the United States, while current supplies come from the Asia-Pacific region. The launch of domestic production aims to mitigate risks associated with complex logistics chains, the lack of licensors, and the general availability of this specialized component.
As reported, SIBUR Innovations, the company's research and development center, has developed the production technology for n-butyllithium that will be used at the facility.
"This technology is the most reliable, efficient, and safe among all known domestic and international n-butyllithium production methods, as it uses half the amount of equipment and fewer production stages while delivering a component with properties on a par with the best foreign analogs. Trial batches of domestically produced n-butyllithium have undergone successful testing at production sites in Voronezh and Nizhnekamsk," the company said.
Rubbers and styrene-butadiene-styrene polymers made using n-butyllithium exhibit enhanced abrasion resistance, flexibility and recovery after deformation. Synthetic rubber-based materials are widely used in road construction, footwear, and tire manufacturing. N-butyllithium is also a valuable component in the organic synthesis of active pharmaceutical ingredients and is used in the production of chemicals for the agricultural sector and electronics.
