LG Chem to enhance its LDPE capacities

(lgchem) -- LG Chem has chosen Burckhardt Compression to deliver one hyper compressor as a secondary compressor and one process gas compressor as a booster/primary compressor for its low-density polyethylene (LDPE) ethylene-vinyl acetate (EVA) plant in Daesan, Korea.

After a thorough evaluation phase, LG Chem selected Burckhardt Compression, thanks to the proven technology and numerous references to LDPE plants with similar or larger capacities. For LG Chem, it is essential to have a single point of contact for both compressors since both compressors are installed in the main production line and are interdependent. Burckhardt Compression bears the overall responsibility for the package, that is, for compressing ethylene gas over the whole compression range.

The compressors are scheduled for delivery in December 2012.

MRC

(hydracarbonprocessing) -- The Linde Group is set to build and operate a new hydrogen plant in the Jilin Chemical Industrial Park (JCIP) in northeast China. The company will be investing around EUR42 million in the first phase of this new project.

The hydrogen plant is expected onstream by the end of 2013, supplying several companies in the Jilin chemical complex with high-purity hydrogen. This park is home to production facilities run by Evonik Industries and Jishen, a joint venture between the PetroChina Jilin Beifang Chemical Group and the Jilin Shenhua Group.

The new hydrogen plant will use steam methane reforming (SMR) to produce 25,000 Nm3h of hydrogen. It will be built by Linde's Engineering Division and operated by its Gases Division. In addition, Linde will set up a subsidiary, Linde Gases Jilin, to focus on further expanding the gas supply infrastructure in and around the JCIP chemical complex.

Jishen, Evonik Industries and Huntsman are investing around EUR390 million in total to construct a chemical hub in Jilin that will produce high-pressure propylene oxide (HPPO). Evonik is building a 230-kiloton/yr hydrogen peroxide plant to supply Jishen's 300-kiloton/yr HPPO plant. Jishen will then supply the HPPO to Huntsman for its polyol plant.

MRC

(downstreamtoday) -- South Africa's national oil company PetroSA and China Petroleum and Chemical Corp. (SNP), known as Sinopec, will build a refinery that could process several hundred thousand barrels of oil a day and cost several billion dollars to construct.

PetroSA Group Chief Executive Nosizwe Nokwe said Monday that by teaming up with the Chinese company it would enable the national oil company to complete the "mega" project, which has been in discussion since 2008 but has struggled to find sufficient funding.

China's resource companies are driving much of the country's foreign investment on the continent. In 2011, Standard Bank estimates merger-and-acquisition activity from China on the continent totaled USD5 billion.

China has also become Africa's biggest trading partner and the new refinery could play a role in helping China's ambition to expand global resource trading by being a destination for crude oil.
MRC

(thefinancialexpress) -- India has emerged as a growing market for local woven polypropylene (WPP) bags, which industry owners attributed to huge demand of the world class packaging materials in the neighbouring country's cement sector.

They said India has a large cement market which is expanding day by day, but it has no adequate packaging material factories to meet up their growing demand. So they are gradually depending on Bangladeshi WPP cement bags (adstar bags).

Nearly 5,000 tonnes of WPP cement bags are being used in the fast growing developing country monthly. Local Bengal Plastic Industries Ltd, Madina Polymer Industries Limited, and Akij Group export plastic WPP bags in the South Asian country.

The export prospect of the product in the European Union and USA has also become bright following the anti -dumping duty and wage hike of workers in China, Vietnam, Cambodia and Thailand.

Now EU and USA are importing nearly 75 per cent of the local WPP bags.

Once China, Vietnam, Cambodia and Thailand would meet up the Eurozone demand but now they are reducing production following the wage hike, said industry people.

MRC

(basf) -- BASF recently gained a further TUV certificate ( DIN Certco) for the previously certified compostable adhesive Epotal ECO.

The water based biodegradable adhesive by BASF is now even more powerful. Higher adhesion levels can be reached by combining the adhesive dispersion with a special curing agent.

Epotal ECO is a water based adhesive that first gained the certificate for compostable additives, granted by DIN Certco, in 2010. Test results show that within 70 days Epotal ECO is decomposed by 90 percent. After decomposition Epotal ECO leaves no toxic residues nor shows any negative effects on the environment. In addition, Epotal ECO retains all the advantages of water based adhesives: high green strength, absence of any toxic substances and thus enables an immediate subsequent processing.

Together with Epotal ECO, all usual biodegradable materials can be adhesively bonded. It is particularly suitable for the production of completely compostable packaging based on plastics. First prototypes such as candy-, coffee- and instant soup-packaging demonstrate that suitability in practice. Interest in compostable materials is growing in other fields of application, for instance shoe-, carpet-, clothing- and sporting goods-industries. Epotal ECO is realizing new product ideas in all of these industries.

MRC