Asahi Kasei adapts to shifts in synthetic rubber market

Nuremberg, Germany – Asahi Kasei has geared up production to meet a major spike in demand for its synthetic rubber materials since the easing of Covid restrictions last year, while also raising its focus on sustainability.

“Market demand was low in 2020 but recovery was noticeable from 2021,” said Eshwaran Subramani, development engineer at the Japanese supplier of synthetic rubber – largely solution styrene butadiene rubber (SSBR). 

However, because of restrictions, Asahi was unable to produce enough SSBR and did not have sufficient stocks in 2021, Subramani told ERJ in an interview at the DKT rubber expo, 27-30 June in Nuremberg.

Nevertheless, he said, Asahi Kasei had now returned to high utilisation rates across its three production sites in Oita and Kawasaki, Japan and in Singapore.

“With all three plants running at 100% utilisation rate, we have now overcome the [supply] problem and don’t have any stocks shortage,” said Subramani.

“For instance, Oita has a capacity to produce 60 kilotonnes per annum (ktpa) of mainly batch-type SSBR, which is one of our favourite grades on the market and the demand is growing," he said.

In response to higher demand, Asahi Kasei has carried out a number of expansion projects, including a recent debottlenecking programme at its Singapore facilities.

The company raised production at Singapore from 100ktpa to 130ktpa last year while the Kawasaki plant has been upgraded to produce 165ktpa of SSBR and other elastomers.

“So, we now have the maximum possible capacity we could offer,” Subramani commented.

Asahi Kasei previously signalled its intention to build a synthetic rubber plant in Europe. However, Subramani said the plan was on hold due to uncertainties in the market.

“Since we last talked about the possibility of a new plant, Covid has happened and now there is a fear of big inflation,” he explained, “this has all have led to discussions going into a passive mode.”

“So now we have shifted our focus and, since 2020, have been more orientated towards sustainability, looking into ISCC [International Sustainability & Carbon Certification] feedstocks and bio-based raw materials,” he said.

Here, as previously reported by ERJ, Asahi Kasei is procuring sustainable butadiene from sustainable naphtha from Shell and is aiming to produce sustainable SSBR in Singapore.

“This is of course a small amount and the sustainable content we are receiving now is not enough to cover our entire production,” commented Subramani.

The company is also starting to explore possibilities for producing sustainable SSBR in Japan.

"A key issue here is customer feedback, which Asahi Kasei is now assessing.

“Some customers are okay with ISCC but feel more comfortable to have a 100% bio-sourced product rather than a mass balance product,” Subramani explained.

Furthermore, in order to be an ISCC certified producer, all Asahi Kasei Elastomer operations would need to be certified.

Asahi kasei expects to be ready to provide ISCC certified product in 2022-2023.