Evonik studies thermal black JV in Russia

ERJ staff report (DS)

Frankfurt, Germany -- Evonik's inorganic pigment unit said it is studying a joint venture in Russia to make thermal carbon black at a gas field near Inta, a city in the Republic of Komi, which is located in the northeastern corner of European Russia.

The project would be a joint venture with the Russian Synttech Group which owns the exploitation rights of the gas field. On June 30, 2008 representatives from both companies signed a letter of intent in Frankfurt, Germany. In the coming weeks they will jointly examine the financial and technical feasibility of such a relationship.

Together with Evonik the intention is to build and operate a plant with a capacity in the range of 20,000 metric tons per year using natural gas to produce thermal blacks. It is also intended that both companies would jointly be responsible for marketing and sales efforts./p>

Thermal blacks, manufactured with Evonik's technology, are primarily used by the rubber industry for the manufacturing of mechanical rubber goods.