A Columbian Chemicals joint venture in China was set to break ground on a $190 million carbon black project in late February, according to the venture’s principal entity, India’s Aditya Birla Group.

The Columbian Chemicals (Jining) project, located at Jibei High-tech Industrial Park in Jining, Shandong province, consists of two-phases, each with a 120,000-metric-ton-per-year capacity, Aditya Birla said.

Phase 1 is scheduled to be completed this October, with phase 2 to be completed in December 2017, according to the local government’s planning schedule.

The facilities include six carbon black production lines using wet granulation technique.

Feedstock, including carbon black oil and anthracene oil, will be supplied by the venture’s Chinese partner, Jining Carbon Group, from an existing coal tar distillation plant at the site. Carbon black from the plant will be used for radial tire production.

The project is contingent, according to Aditya Birla’s Birla Carbon business unit, upon receiving final internal and regulatory approvals of the joint venture involving Birla, Jining Carbon and International Finance Corp.

The project is expected to bring in $92 million profit when in operation, the company said.

Birla Carbon is one of the largest manufacturers and suppliers of carbon black globally. It operates 17 manufacturing facilities and setups in 15 countries, with a combined annual production capacity of more than two million tons.

Mumbai, India-based Aditya Birla Group purchased Columbian Chemicals Co. in 2011 for $875 million.

Source: tirebusiness.com