Emerald Kalama Chemical, a business group of Emerald Performance Materials, recently announced that the company’s board of directors has approved the plan to add a second benzoic acid purification and finishing process at its facility in Rotterdam, the Netherlands. The new process will reportedly add an additional 100,000 metric tons per year capacity of high-purity benzoic acid (Purox^® B) and provide an increased production capability for benzaldehyde. The project is reportedly slated for completion in late 2016.

The company previously announced it had begun engineering the expansion in April, which would focus on high purity benzoic acid to support growing demand for the company’s Kalama® and Purox brands of benzoic acid flakes, sodium benzoate granules, and liquid benzoic acid.

“Reassessing our long-term strategic plan for our key intermediates, our expectations for benzoic acid continue to show strong growth and track according to plan,” said Hubert Degens, vice president, Emerald Kalama.

 For more information, visit www.emeraldmaterials.com.