Norway welcomes Exilva microfibrillar cellulose plant

A new plant producing Exilva microfibrillar cellulose (MFC) will be built at the Borregaard site in Sarpsborg, Norway.

Borregaard's Board of Directors has decided to invest NOK 225 million (€27 million) in the facility.

Exilva MFC is based on natural and renewable raw materials. It has the potential to replace products derived from petrochemicals, and organic solvent systems can also be exchanged with water based solutions.

Borregaard initiated the project to develop MFC in 2005, and part of the R&D work has been carried out in a pilot plant. The raw material, which consists mainly of cellulose, is divded into a complex network of fibrils with the use of proprietary technology developed as part of the project. Exilva MFC has a unique set of characteristics, including rheology modification, stabilisation, texture modification and water retention.

The commercial scale facility will have an initial design capacity of 1000 tonnes per year with a potential for expansion. Production is expected to start in the third quarter of 2016.