Evonik, SINOPEC Form OSN Membrane Technology Collaboration

German specialty chemicals firm Evonik and the SINOPEC Beijing Research Institute of the Chemical Industry (BRICI) entered into a collaboration agreement to construct a process development laboratory for Organic Solvent Nanofiltration (OSN) membrane technology, Evonik announced via press release Thursday.

OSN technology is an environmentally-friendly membrane with uses in a wide range of applications, from chemicals to the food industry.

“Starting up the OSN lab is a consistent step in our growth plan for the attractive membrane business,” notes Dr. Dominic Stoerkle, vice president and general manager of the High Performance Polymers Business Line Asia Pacific at Evonik, in a statement. “Based on the close partnership with BRICI and our active participation in the open platform, we anticipate further growth to result from the new joint OSN laboratory." 

Evonik will work with SINOPEC to develop new processes under the collaboration agreement.

 “The joint OSN laboratory is a novel approach to fostering collaboration. It is well aligned with our regional innovation strategy and future development vision. Evonik will contribute advanced technology, which SINOPEC will make accessible to various business stages. With Evonik’s support, we will also build up a pilot plant unit in one of Sinopec’s production sites as an OSN reference plant,” said Professor Li Hongbo, president of the Yanshan Branch of Sinopec BRICI, in Evonik’s release.

Founded in1958, SINOPEC Beijing Research Institute of the Chemical Industry (BRICI) is a pioneering institution in China dedicated to comprehensive research for the petrochemical industry. When Evonik initiated the first contact with BRICI in 2015, both parties showed strong interest in potential OSN applications for the petrochemical industry. In the following year, a series of laboratory-scale tests were successfully conducted for a lube oil dewaxing application.

To enter into a partnership with the aim of developing more processes and setting up a long-term collaboration, both sides initiated several management-level meetings to discuss a future collaboration strategy. The joint OSN laboratory was officially established in early 2017, when Evonik’s first (lab-scale) equipment arrived at SINOPEC BRICI. 

Evonik said in the coming years the laboratory will focus on the petrochemical industry to open up substantial markets in both China and the entire Asian region for OSN applications.

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