Clariant, a specialty chemical company, signed an agreement with Conser, part of MAIRE Group, for the supply of maleic anhydride catalysts, especially on developing next-generation catalysts.

Maleic anhydride is not only an essential component of polymers and coatings for construction, automotive,marine and energy industries, but also an important intermediate for producing biodegradable plastics.

Clariant's catalysts as reference

The partners will develop new catalysts based on Clariant's SynDane series, aiming to offer superior productivity, cost efficiency and sustainability.

Clariant's SynDane catalysts are designed for cost-efficient production of maleic anhydride via partial oxidation of n-butane in fixed-bed tubular reactors. Their outstanding yield and selectivity significantly reduce by-product formation and downstream polymerization, which minimizes downtime of maleic anhydride plants.

"The agreement further strengthens the collaboration between our companies, which started more than a decade ago. To date, five new projects have selected Clariant catalysts with Conser technology for the production of maleic anhy-dride," commented Xaver Karsunke,Head of Specialty Chemicals at Clariant.

The growing market in China

Demand for maleic anhydride continues to grow worldwide, particularly in China.

With a strong focus on the growing market in China, Conser S.p.A. is a technology licensor of maleic anhydride tech-nology. The company has extensive experience in the field of maleic anhydride and its derivatives.

Nevertheless, Clariant's catalyst has been in high demand in China, that the company made a multimillion-euro invest-ment in 2019 to significantly expand its production capacity at its Panjin site.