Braskem acquires propylene assets of Marcus Hook plant, US

(chemicals-technology) -- Thermoplastic resin producer Braskem has acquired the propylene splitter assets at Sunoco's former refinery in Marcus Hook, Pennsylvania, US.

The resin producer has also secured feedstock supply from multiple sources that ensures the continuing operations of the refinery.

Braskem, which produces more than 35 billion pounds of thermoplastic resins and other petrochemicals each year, will use the splitter assets to process propylene for use in its adjacent polypropylene plant.

Braskem said that the acquisition is aimed at preserving the viability of its Marcus Hook polypropylene facility for the future, in addition to strengthening the company's presence in the North American petrochemical market. The company has five polypropylene production plants in the US.

In September 2011, Braskem acquired Dow Chemical Company's polypropylene business from The Dow Chemical Company, acquiring two manufacturing plants in the US and two in Germany, with a total annual polypropylene production capacity of 1.05 million tons.
MRC

JBF to equip new Indian PTA plant with BP technology

(chemicals-technology) -- The wholly owned subsidiary of JBF Industries, JBF Petrochemicals, has selected BP's purified terephthalic acid (PTA) technology for its proposed plant in Mangalore, India.

JBF is planning to construct a 1.25mtpa unit for the production of PTA, which is used as a feedstock for polyesters used in textiles and packaging. The plant is expected to become operational by end of 2014.

Nick Elmslie, BP Global Petrochemicals business chief executive, said the first third party non-affiliate licence recognises the quality of BP's technology and will build on the excellent relationship between the two companies.

"Our PTA technology has significantly lower capital and operating costs compared with conventional PTA plants and is more energy efficient, uses less water and produces less solid waste than its competitors,'' Elmslie added.

B. C. Arya, JBF Industries chairman and director, said the investment is highly strategic for the company, fulfilling its captive requirements for PTA at the lowest possible cost.
"This will make our integrated operations in India and the UAE highly competitive for the long term and underpin our position as one of the world's leading polyester producers," Arya added.

Three or four new world-scale PTA plants annually will be needed as the PTA market is now greater than 50mtpa a year and is continuing to grow at close to seven percent, according to Elmslie.
MRC

Astra Polymers inks agreement with BASF to manufacture customer specific blends

(Plastemart) -- Astra Polymers, a developer and producer of plastic compounds in the Middle East, has entered into a new cooperative agreement with BASF Plastic Additives Middle East to manufacture customer specific blends (CSB) in Saudi Arabia.

The agreement integrates the capabilities of both the companies and brings two innovative technologies for additive blends to clients in the region. Astra Polymers was operating BASF-owned CSB production lines for many years at its Dammam site. BASF Plastic Additives is responsible for marketing and selling the CSB products. The collaboration will help BASF to retain its leadership status in the Middle East plastic additives market.

Astra Polymers is the leading and preferable Masterbatch, Additive and Thermoplastic compounds manufacturing company. Astra Polymers produce masterbatch solutions that are either general purpose or application specific. Application specific grades include masterbatch for: Fiber, (PP, PET, PE), BOPP, Agricultural, Horticultural & Multi-layer films, PET Preform / sheet production & Specialist Pipe manufacture.
MRC

Unique mold materials speed LSR two-component molding

(Plastics Today) -- Engel and Elmet are introducing a new low-temperature silicone curing process that speeds processing time for injection molded two-component parts for medical and other applications. At the heart of the technology is a very innovative mold with integrated UV lamps and transparent plastic inserts.

"Liquid silicone can now be combined with a wide range of thermoplastics directly in injection molding," said Leopold Praher, sales chief for Elast/LIM at Engel Austria.

"In the two-shot molding, we see the combination with low-temperature plastics such as polypropylene as the biggest opportunity," Clemens Trumm, manager of the German Application Development Center at Momentive Performance Materials. Application of the technology to injection molding is brand new.

In the demonstration at last month's Symposium, polypropylene was overmolded with liquid silicone to produce wine stoppers. The irradiation time for the vulcanization of the silicone components took 20 seconds. A two-component wine stopper was molded in the LSR technology demonstration.

The new technology also has significant implications for extruded silicones.There are a few extrusion applications although this whole technology is very new for the market.
MRC

CB&I announces technology award in U.S.

(yourpetrochemicalnews) -- CB&I announced today that it has been awarded a contract by Enterprise Products Partners L.P. for the license and basic engineering of a propane dehydrogenation unit to be located on the Texas Gulf Coast. The unit will use the Catofin propane dehydrogenation process from Lummus Technology that employs Sud-Chemie’s latest Catofin catalyst to produce 1.65 billion pounds (approximately 750,000 metric tons) per year of polymer grade propylene.

"We are pleased to be able to provide this cost-effective and reliable route to on-purpose propylene to meet the current worldwide shortage."

"This project is an example of the rebirth of the U.S. petrochemical industry due to the abundance of propane feedstock attributed to the growth in natural gas liquids as a result of shale gas production,” said Philip K. Asherman, President and CEO. "We are pleased to be able to provide this cost-effective and reliable route to on-purpose propylene to meet the current worldwide shortage."

Propylene is a building block used to produce a variety of products including polypropylene, a plastic used for household goods.
MRC