Eastman Chemical Company announced the successful completion of a de-bottlenecking of its Diethylhydroxylamine (DEHA) unit in St. Gabriel, Louisiana, U.S.A. on 13 June. The debottlenecking has resulted in a 15 to 20% increase in capacity.

“With growth in demand for DEHA, our lead times had increased significantly,” said Kyle Irion, U.S. product manager for Eastman’s Care Chemicals business unit, which is part of its Additives & Functional Products operating segment. Irion continued, “We take pride in our reliability and good customer service. This capacity increase will help us meet the growing needs of our customers.”

Eastman is the only producer of DEHA in the Western Hemisphere and has been producing DEHA for more than 40 years. DEHA is used primarily in water treatment and in the production of various polymers, such as styrene-butadiene rubber (SBR).

Eastman Chemical Co. plans to invest USD70 million in its St. Gabriel plant in Iberville Parish over the next three years as it modernizes the facility. Eastman acquired the St. Gabriel plant from Taminco in 2014 for USD2.8 billion.

Eastman is a global specialty materials company that produces a broad range of products found in items people use every day. The company’s innovation-driven growth model takes advantage of world-class technology platforms, deep customer engagement, and differentiated application development to grow its leading positions in attractive end-markets such as transportation, building and construction, and consumables.