(Bloomberg) -- Chevron Phillips Chemical Co. plans a maintenance shutdown at a feed gas compressor in an ethylene unit at its Port Arthur chemicals complex. The shutdown will lead to flaring until Sept. 21. Flaring is a safety measure that prevents excessive pressure from building up in processing units that are being shut down or started.
(Chemie.de) -- Purac and Arkema announce their collaboration in functional Lactide-based block copolymers. These block copolymers will enhance the thermo-mechanical and physical properties of many biobased polymers like Poly Lactic Acid (PLA), resulting in a wider range of applications opportunities. These copolymers are produced by combining Arkema's organic catalysis ring-opening polymerisation technology with Purac's L- and D-Lactide monomers
The combined know-how of Purac and Arkema will allow the development of this new range of high purity functional block copolymers containing PLA segments. This new product improves the specific functional properties, such as thermal resistance and impact strength in various polymers. PLA is a strongly growing biobased thermoplastic polymer which is widely used in packaging, textile and other consumer goods.
(TradingMarkets) -- Akzo Nobel NV, a Netherlands-based manufacturer of paints, coatings and specialty chemicals, has agreed to acquire Prime Automotive Coatings Co., Ltd., a China-based producer of car repair paint, water-based road marking paint, plastic paint, automobile paint and automotive wheel paints.
The transaction enables Akzo Nobel to boost its presence in the Chinese automotive market and opens up an opportunity in the attractive vehicle refinish mid-market segment.
(Reuters) -- China has granted environmental clearance and approved technical review of a US$8.7 bln refinery and petrochemical joint venture between Sinopec and Kuwait. The venture, to be built in southern coastal city Zhanjiang, includes a 300,000 bpd refinery and a 1 mln tps ethylene complex, awaits final state approval.
The venture will be equally owned by Sinopec Group. Kuwait could scout for a second or third foreign partner for joint funding upon final approval. This venture will mark the foray of Kuwait into direct marketing and retail access in China. China, the world's fastest expanding major fuel market which has long been dominated by oil duopoly Sinopec and PetroChina. For China, which now imports over half of its crude requirements, a commitment to receive long-term oil supplies from an exporter such as Kuwait is essential. Kuwait, the world's seventh-largest crude exporter, aims eventually to export 500,000 bpd of crude to China, or double its target for this year.
(plastemart) -- The world's first methanol-to-olefins unit to be operated on a commercial scale has started up in China. The plant using the combined DMTO methanol-to-olefins technology of SYN Energy Technology Co. Ltd. and Lummus Technology has successfully started-up in Baotou, China. The plant is owned by China Shenhua Coal to Liquid and Chemical Company Ltd.
The breakthrough technology enables licensees to produce olefins (ethylene and propylene) from methanol. The plant is designed to produce 600,000 tpa of olefins from methanol. On spec ethylene and propylene product were achieved less than 72 hours after methanol was introduced to the unit.
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