The production of separator films has not yet started at Senior Material’s facility in Eskilstuna. The company’s exemption to use the toxic substance methylene chloride will soon expire, and therefore a new application has been submitted to the Swedish Chemicals Agency. This time the company does not want to use as much poison.
When the senior made its previous dispensation application in 2021, an older technology was used in production. One condition for the exemption is that the company is investigating other possibilities, and senior has therefore worked to develop another method that is more effective.
In production in other plants outside Europe, the use of methylene chloride has decreased by 20 percent, says senior in its new exemption application. Instead of using 1.3 grams per square meter manufactured film, just over 1.02 grams are now used.
This has been done by adjusting the temperature so that the separator film dries better, and by becoming better at capturing and reusing the methylene chloride that evaporates during the process. The new method will be used in the Eskilstuna factory, according to Senior’s new application.
Want to find compensation
The company also claims to have another new method in progress, which is expected to be completed in 2026, which SVT previously told about. Exactly what topics it is, however, the company does not want to reveal, but according to the application to the Swedish Chemicals Agency, the researchers examine three different combinations to see which succeeds best.
The goal is to produce a product with a higher boiling point than methylene chloride, so that evaporation becomes smaller and thus also reducing the amount of methylene chloride that is released into the air.
May still release 900 tonnes
However, how much methylene chloride may be released into the air does not determine the Swedish Chemicals Inspectorate, which only decides on the amount that the company can buy and use in production.
Instead, emissions determine the Land and Environmental Court. The Court has previously ruled that senior material may release 900 tonnes of methylene chloride per year in the air, during a trial period that lasts for two years from the fact that the factory begins to use the chemical.
SVT News Sörmland is looking for senior material for a comment.