Project
Cariflex is a global leader of isoprene rubber latex (“IR Latex”) and isoprene rubber (“IR”) for medical end markets and other high-value markets with strong growth drivers. Cariflex will be constructing the world’s largest and Singapore’s first polyisoprene latex plant on this site. Driven by a strong commitment to better serve its global customers in medical and consumer products, this investment represents the largest capacity expansion in Cariflex’s existing accomplishments. Cariflex’s polyisoprene rubber latex (CariflexTM IR Latex) is a synthetic, water-based polymer latex, suitable for a wide range of high-value applications. Surgical gloves and condoms represent the key end markets for which CariflexTM IR Latex is used, on account of its unique value proposition as an alternative to natural rubber latex. The Singapore plant will play a vital role in Cariflex’s manufacturing supply versatility to serve their customers in Southeast Asia, where the world’s key manufacturing plants of surgical gloves and condoms are located.
PROCESS VESSEL
Item | Heat Transfer Vessels
Heat Transfer Vessels, broadly known as heat exchangers, are essential devices designed to efficiently transfer thermal energy between two or more fluids without direct physical contact. Their primary function is to precisely heat, cool, condense, or evaporate process streams, playing a vital role in optimizing energy efficiency, recovering waste heat, and maintaining desired process temperatures. These indispensable components are fundamental across nearly all industrial sectors, including power generation, oil & gas, HVAC, chemical manufacturing, food & beverage, and pharmaceutical industries.
Coil Vessels are a type of heat transfer vessel characterized by the presence of internal coils or tubes through which a heating or cooling fluid flows. Their primary function is to provide efficient and contained heat exchange directly within the vessel’s contents, ideal for applications where direct contact with the heat exchange surface is desired for temperature control. These vessels are commonly found in storage tanks, mixing vessels, and specialized reactors requiring integrated internal heating or cooling.
Item | Mixing Vessel
Mixing Vessels, equipped with various internal agitators or impellers, are fundamental process units designed to blend, homogenize, emulsify, or suspend substances within a fluid. Their primary function is to ensure uniform composition, promote reaction kinetics, enhance heat and mass transfer, and improve physical properties across a wide range of liquid or viscous mixtures. These essential pieces of equipment are omnipresent across chemical, pharmaceutical, food & beverage, cosmetic, and pulp & paper industries, optimizing product consistency and process efficiency.
Agitated Tanks are general-purpose process tanks fitted with mechanical impellers or agitators that impart motion to the fluid contents. Their primary function is to thoroughly mix liquids, dissolve solid particles, suspend insoluble solids, or enhance heat and mass transfer in various batch or continuous processes. These versatile mixing solutions are universally found in chemical processing, water treatment, food & beverage production, paints & coatings manufacturing, and fermentation processes, ensuring homogeneity and operational efficiency.
Item | Reaction Vessel (Reactor)
Reaction Vessels, commonly known as reactors, are enclosed process equipment where chemical or biochemical transformations occur under precisely controlled conditions. Their primary function is to facilitate desired chemical conversions of raw materials into specific products, optimizing reaction kinetics, selectivity, and yield. These core components are the heart of production in virtually every major processing sector, including chemical manufacturing, pharmaceuticals, petrochemicals, food & beverage production, and biotechnology, driving the creation of new materials and products.
Continuous Reactors are dynamic reaction vessels where reactants are continuously fed into the system, and products are continuously removed, allowing for steady-state operation. Their primary function is to achieve high-volume production with consistent product quality, efficient heat management, and optimized utilization of reaction conditions, leading to greater productivity and lower operating costs. These high-throughput reactors are essential in petrochemicals, commodity chemicals, and large-scale pharmaceutical manufacturing, where continuous, efficient production is paramount.
Bed Reactors are a type of continuous reactor containing a fixed or fluidized bed of solid catalyst particles or adsorbent material. Their primary function is to facilitate heterogeneous catalytic reactions between fluids (gas/liquid) and the solid catalyst, providing a large surface area for chemical transformation, or to enable adsorption/desorption processes. These vital reactors are extensively utilized in petrochemicals (e.g., catalytic cracking, hydrogenation), ammonia synthesis, environmental catalysis, and gas purification.
STORAGE TANK
Item | Atmospheric or Low-Pressure Tank
Atmospheric or Low-Pressure Tanks are fundamental process vessels designed to safely store liquids, gases, or solids at pressures typically at or slightly above ambient conditions. Their primary function is to provide essential bulk storage capacity for raw materials, intermediate products, or finished goods, ensuring a continuous supply chain and operational flexibility. These versatile storage solutions are indispensable across a vast array of sectors, including oil & gas, petrochemicals, water treatment, chemical manufacturing, food & beverage, pharmaceuticals, and agriculture, making them a cornerstone of modern industrial infrastructure.
Bins and Hoppers are essential process vessels specifically designed for the temporary storage and controlled discharge of granular, powdered, or bulk solid materials. Their primary function is to facilitate consistent material flow, prevent bridging or arching, and ensure reliable feeding to downstream processing equipment such as conveyors or mixers. These indispensable components are ubiquitous across industries, including food processing, pharmaceuticals, mining, agriculture, cement production, and bulk material handling, optimizing material flow and operational efficiency.
Item | Hybrid Tanks
Item | Separation Support Vessels
Separation Support Vessels are crucial auxiliary process units engineered to optimize and facilitate the performance of primary separation equipment. Their primary function involves preparing feed streams by removing undesirable components (like liquid slugs from gas), collecting and managing intermediate phases (such as condensed vapors for reflux), or providing essential buffer capacity that directly enhances the efficiency and stability of main separation processes. These vital support vessels are indispensable across sectors heavily reliant on efficient separations, including oil & gas refining, petrochemicals, chemical manufacturing, natural gas processing, and environmental engineering, ensuring continuous operation and protecting sensitive downstream equipment.
Knockout Drums are pressure vessels specifically designed to separate entrained liquid droplets or slugs from a gas stream, primarily through gravity settlement. Their primary function is to protect downstream equipment, such as compressors, turbines, or burners, from liquid carryover that can cause damage, corrosion, or efficiency loss, ensuring drier gas for further processing. These vital separators are omnipresent in natural gas processing, oil & gas production, and petrochemical facilities for gas stream purification.
Item | Surge and Flow Control Vessels
Surge and Flow Control Vessels are dynamic process tanks specifically engineered to manage and stabilize unexpected variations in fluid flow rates. Their primary function is to act as a crucial buffer, absorbing sudden increases or decreases (surges) in liquid or gas flow from upstream processes and ensuring a smooth, controlled, and consistent flow to downstream equipment, thereby preventing operational disturbances and optimizing system stability. These indispensable vessels are vital across continuous process industries, particularly in oil & gas production, petrochemical refining, chemical manufacturing, and pipeline operations, where maintaining stable pressure and flow is critical for safety, efficiency, and equipment protection.
Surge Drums or Surge Tanks are intermediate storage vessels strategically placed in a process line to provide buffer capacity. Their primary function is to dampen flow fluctuations, absorb momentary excesses or deficiencies in material flow, and ensure a smooth, continuous, and stable feed to downstream equipment, thereby preventing process upsets and improving operational efficiency. These indispensable units are found in nearly all continuous process industries, including chemical, petrochemical, food & beverage, and power generation.
Item | Feed and Buffer Vessels
Feed and Buffer Vessels are essential auxiliary storage tanks strategically integrated into process flow lines to manage and stabilize material flow. Their primary function is to provide crucial surge capacity, absorb fluctuations in upstream supply or downstream demand, and ensure a consistent, uninterrupted feed of raw materials or intermediate products to subsequent processing units. These indispensable vessels are vital across virtually all continuous and batch processing industries, including chemical manufacturing, pharmaceuticals, food & beverage, oil & gas, and wastewater treatment, where maintaining stable flow rates and preventing process upsets are critical for operational efficiency and product quality.
Hold Vessels are simple, non-agitated tanks or drums primarily used for the temporary storage of process fluids or intermediate products. Their primary function is to hold a batch for quality control checks, allow for natural settling of solids, provide a temporary accumulation point before transfer to another process unit, or serve as a buffer for intermittent operations. These basic but crucial vessels are common in chemical batch processing, pharmaceutical manufacturing, food & beverage production, and wastewater treatment plants.