EVAL Production Expansion, Antwerp, Belgium

Kuraray’s production capacity of ethylene vinyl alcohol copolymer (EVOH resin) in Europe is soon to double to 24,000t. EVAL is the brand name of this EVOH resin product. EVAL Europe NV is based near Antwerp in Belgium, and needs to increase its production due to demand for products such as ketchup, soup, oil, juice, pharmaceuticals, etc.

EVAL is used in the food packaging industry and acts as a barrier layer and oxygen scavenger used to produce multi-layer PET. The company has partnered with a number of packaging companies to help them develop new uses of the polymer to fulfil its potential and cultivate new products. One of these is the laboratory, Plastics Forming Enterprises (PFE), which is testing post-consumer PET containing various levels of EVAL and compared the results with virgin and clean PET.

IMPACT OF EVAL RESIN PRODUCTION

The project is very important, both because of its revolutionary impact on an expanding industry, and also in its sheer volume. Costing ¥8.5 billion (€73 million), construction of the new plant began in early 2002 and is due for completion in the third quarter of 2003. Once completed, Kuraray plans to expand the US EVAL plant by 12,000t to 24,000t.

It is estimated that demand is rising by 10% per annum, which is considerably more than Kuraray’s 45,000t/yr. Market demand is expected to increase from 55,000t globally in 2000 to 95,000t in 2005.

EVAL RESIN TECHNOLOGY

Kuraray is the only producer of EVOH resins, which have a high crystalline structure and can be used in both the Solid Phase (below melting point) and Melt Phase Forming (above melting point) thermoforming.

EVAL is 100,000 times more effective than polyethylene as an oxygen barrier and has high chemical resistance. It is resistant to solvents, chemicals and hydrocarbons and an excellent barrier to odour and flavour permeance. It is also important environmentally as the product is recyclable and is chlorine and dioxine free.

Conventional co-extrusion equipment can be modified to produce EVAL resins, although care has to be taken as they can be damaged by excessive heat. A well designed machine with good processing conditions is important for a homogeneous well-mixed polymer. Also, for successful processing, special equipment design must be employed. EVAL can be co-extruded with various polyolefins, nylons, polystyrenes, polycarbonates and polyesyter.

EVOH HISTORY

In 1971, Kuraray bought the patent for EVOH from Monsanto, and two years later launched the product EVAL. The first company to see the potential of the product was the Japanese firm Kagoma, who used it to package a dust and moisture resistant ketchup bottle. Then in the mid-1980’s, European and US companies began to see its potential and demand rose.

In 1997, plans were agreed to build and operate a full-scale EVAL supply source, and in April 1999, at a cost of €80 million, the European plant went into operation at 10,000t capacity. In May 2001, this was expanded to answer increased demand to 12,000t at a cost of €3 million. By the third quarter of 2003, the plant will produce 24,000t per year.

FUTURE

At present food packaging covers approximately 75% of end use applications of EVAL, compared to 25% covering non-food applications, such as fuel tanks and piping. There is discussion of using the resin for blow molded, high-density polyethylene fuel tanks, where it will be used as a barrier layer to reduce the permeation of hydrocarbons.

The next potential boom market may be PET bottles incorporating EVAL. A thin barrier layer of EVAL sandwiched between two PET layers is considered to have a gas barrier as good as that of glass bottles. EVAL is currently working on tests with several breweries to identify the next move.

END PRODUCTS

• Carrefour Food and Drug Stores is the seventh biggest company in that industry (Fortune 2002). To preserve their Beurre d’Isigny product, a high grade packaging material from Stora Enso Group is used, which employs a barrier of EVOH to exclude moisture
• Wipak Walstrode produces films for packaging freeze-dried astronaut food and other space products for NASA. A layer of EVOH is used for deep drawing properties
• Del Monte has developed an alternative to glass bottles for the packaging of ketchup. Layers of PET and EVAL are co-injected and blown to make the final package