Invista’s Texas site sets adiponitrile production record

Invista’s site in Orange, TX, has set a 12-month production record for adiponitrile (ADN), a key ingredient for nylon 6,6 plastics and fibres. “Since deployment of our most advanced ADN technology at the Orange site in 2014, the facility has consistently set production volume records,” commented Bill Greenfield, President, Invista Intermediates.

“In today’s market, every pound is really important to our customers and the industry. I’m proud the team has continued this production trend through the third quarter of 2018 with another 12-month record.”

Invista’s facility in Orange, Texas. © Invista

The performance increases can be attributed to the company’s latest ADN technology, which was developed at Invista’s global R&D facilities and piloted at the Orange site where it has been deployed for nearly five years. The technology has been developed to bring improved product yields, reduced energy consumption, lower greenhouse gas emissions, enhanced process stability and reduced capital intensity, compared to existing technologies.

Invista is deploying its latest ADN technology in existing facilities and working to optimise production to increase yield even further.

Since deployment in 2014, improvements in performance have enabled the Orange facility to set numerous production volume records. Butachimie (Invista’s joint venture with Solvay in France) announced approval to deploy the latest technology in 2017. The project is scheduled to come online in 2019. Invista also announced US$ 250 million project at Victoria site to upgrade its manufacturing technology and increase production of ADN. It is targeted to come online in 2020.

Invista recently announced a new world-scale ADN plant that will be located in China. Engineering is underway for a minimum 300,000-ton plant at an estimated investment in excess of US$ 1 billion. Construction is targeted for 2020 and production would begin in 2023.

With leading brands including Lycra, Coolmax, Cordura, Stainmaster and Antron, Invista is one of the world’s largest integrated producers of chemical intermediates, polymers and fibres. A wholly owned subsidiary of Koch Industries and headquartered in the United States, it has more than 50 locations around the world.