A Korean firm will soon begin exporting its petrochemical technology to the U.S.
The first-ever Korean firm to do so is Daelim Industrial. The company recently signed a technology license agreement granting Lubrizol the rights to use its technology for the manufacture of polyisobutylenes (PIBs).
Based in Cleveland, Ohio, Lubrizol is the largest manufacturer of lubrication additives in the world.
Representatives from Daelim and Lubrizol sign a technology license agreement on PIB production on Aug. 21 in Cleveland, Ohio.
Under the contract, Daelim will export its technology to produce both conventional PIBs (CPIBs) and highly reactive PIBs (HR-PIBs) to one single Lubrizol factory.
PIBs are key chemicals used to make lubricants and fuel additives. In 2010, Daelim successfully developed its own HR-PIB production technology after spending ten years on R&D. This has made Korea now only the third country to develop such technologies, following Germany and the U.S.
By using HR-PIBs, the manufacturing process of lubricants can be simplified. It enables the production of environmentally-friendly products because it does not contain any chlorine.
Daelim is expected to become the top PIB-maker in the world by about November next year when it finishes the construction of an additional PIB factory in Yeosu, Jeollanam-do Province, which will be able to produce up to 185,000 tons of PIBs every year.
“This is the first time for Korea to export to the U.S. a core technology that is so integral to the petrochemical manufacturing process. The U.S. is the home of petrochemical technologies, ever since the introduction of such technologies to Korea from the U.S. about 40 years ago. This shows that Korea’s position has been upgraded and that it now leads the market by exporting core technologies after, for many years, only producing simple petrochemical products,” said a Daelim representative, emphasizing the significance of the contract.
Daelim’s PIB plant is in Yeosu, Jeollanam-do Province.
By Yoon Sojung
Korea.net Staff Writer
arete@korea.kr
