Evonik expands SEPURAN® gas separation membrane capacity in Austria

● Evonik will build a new hollow fiber spinning plant in Schulflin, Austria

● Strong demand for SEPURAN® membranes in nitrogen, hydrogen and natural gas applications

● This investment consolidates Evonik's leading position in gas separation membrane technology

Evonik will build a new hollow fiber spinning plant at its production site in Schulflin, Austria, for the production of SEPURAN® gas separation membranes to meet the strong market demand for nitrogen, hydrogen and natural gas applications
.
The new factory, with an investment of tens of millions of euros, is scheduled to start production in the first quarter of 2023 and create around 30 new jobs
.

Dr.
Goetz Baumgarten, Head of Innovation Growth Area Membrane Technology at Evonik, said: "Our innovative membrane technology has been recognized by the gas separation market
.
Through close cooperation with our partners, our biogas purification business has grown and gradually expanded
.
Today, SEPURAN® We hope to set a new standard in the industry by meeting the stringent requirements of nitrogen, hydrogen, natural gas and other gas separation applications with membranes
.
The additional capacity will help us achieve our growth goals in these important markets
.
”

Polymer Membrane Technology for Gas Separation

The new hollow fiber spinning plant is a comparable facility to the production line Evonik started operating in 2017
.
The plant processes high-performance polymers into fine hollow fiber filaments through multiple process steps
.
These process steps are at the heart of SEPURAN® membrane technology
.
Evonik is the only backward integrated manufacturer of highly selective gas separation membranes in the world
.
Thanks to its deep expertise in polymer chemistry, Evonik can tune the performance of separation membranes at the development stage of the basic material (high-performance polymers), resulting in Durable and highly selective separation membranes
.

To be the market leader in separation membranes

Dr.
Iordanis Savvopoulos, Head of the Fibers, Foams and Separation Membranes Product Line at Evonik, said: "By expanding the capacity at the Schulflin site, we are sending an important signal to our customers that Evonik is confident in the future market and will continue to Supporting the development of our customers
.
The new hollow fiber spinning plant is also a clear indication of our ambition to become the market leader in membrane separation technology in the coming years
.
”

SEPURAN® membranes can separate methane, nitrogen, hydrogen and other gases from gas mixtures
.
The advantage of Evonik's membrane technology lies in achieving more efficient and precise gas separation
.
SEPURAN® nitrogen membranes for efficient nitrogen production can be used in scenarios such as aircraft fuel tank inerting systems; SEPURAN® Noble membranes can selectively extract hydrogen from natural gas pipelines transporting methane-hydrogen mixtures; SEPURAN® NG membranes can be used for high Efficient processing of natural gas with carbon dioxide content
.

Evonik produces high-performance polyimide polymers, the base material for gas separation membranes, at the neighboring Lenzing site and processes them into fine hollow fiber filaments at the Schulfrin site
.