Solvay and Enirgi Chemicals have created a 50-50 joint venture to speed up the development and offering of sodium-bicarbonate based products and solutions to reduce airborne emissions from industries in North America.
The new entity, SOLVAir Natural Solutions, was formed in response to growing demand for air pollution control applications, including flue gas treatments. Demand growth is driven by tightening North American regulations and consent decrees requiring coal-fired power plants and other industries to improve the air quality and limit acid gas emissions, such as sulfur dioxide and trioxide and hydrochloric acid.
The joint venture will source sodium bicarbonate from Enirgi Chemicals and leverage Solvay know-how to further develop the market. SOLVAir Natural Solutions will enhance the security of supply of cost-efficient products and solutions, as well as high-quality services, exclusively for flue gas treatments in the US, Canada and Mexico, the partners say.
Solvay’s Soda Ash & Derivatives Global Business Unit designs and implements customized and cost-efficient flue gas solutions. More than 450 industrial sites worldwide use its SOLVAir treatment to reduce emissions below regulated levels.
Enirgi Chemicals, through its Natural Soda operations, owns and operates the world’s largest known deposit of naturally occurring sodium bicarbonate and uses an environmentally friendly, low-emission extraction technology.
Last October, major chemical companies including Solvay, AkzoNobel, BASF and Eastman Chemical, working with the World Business Council for Sustainable Development, published a guide to help chemical industry customers and stakeholders use more sustainable products.
