LyondellBasell introduces new polyethylene resins

(LyondellBasell) -- With increasing demand for power cables that reduce voltage loss and communication cables that improve data transfer, LyondellBasell is introducing several new low and high density polyethylene grades that outperform industry standards used in cable applications.

The new Petrothene KR52828E grade is a multimodal high density polyethylene (HDPE) used in medium voltage jacketing for outdoor power cables.


⌠Customer trials show that Petrothene KR52828E provides superior processability versus standard HDPE materials, which is of key importance when applying jacketing to cables. In addition, HDPE resins have demonstrated improved physical properties in numerous long term outdoor applications, including pressure pipe and Wire & Cable, said Hans Videler, wire & cable business manager for LyondellBasell.


LyondellBasell is also introducing new Lupolen GX 4087 - a low density polyethylene (LDPE) resin for use in medium voltage cables that distribute electrical power from generating plants and substations to transformers. The grade GX 4087 provides excellent insulation performance when compared with other competitive LDPE grades.


LyondellBasell's wire and cable PE grades are produced in North America and Europe, and are available globally through its sales network.

MRC


Recycler MBA Polymers gets new funding, plans expansion

(Plastics News) -- Industrial recycler MBA Polymers Inc. hopes to build one or two additional plants soon with the $25 million in equity funding it has just secured.


With the company's third plant in Worksop, England, now up and running, ⌠we are ready to build another plant now, said MBA founder and President Michael Biddle . ⌠We don't have a timetable, but when we find a source of materials that we can recycle and get a deal done, we'll go ahead.


MBA takes electronics, computer and appliance waste and automotive shredder residue and uses proprietary technology to separate out polypropylene, polystyrene and ABS and make recycled pellets. It is headquartered and has a research and distribution facility in Richmond, Calif. Its plants are in England, China and Austria.


The company's last round of financing in 2008 raised $40 million. MBA said it has recovered more than 100 million pounds of plastic since beginning large-scale commercial operations in 2006.


MRC


French strikes cost ┬200-400m/day, fuel shortages continue

(ICIS) -- Industrial action in France, which has crippled the country's crude supplies and refining operations, continued on Monday as the government announced the disruption was costing the country's economy between ┬200-400m ($281-563m) a day.

As of Monday, about a quarter of France's service stations were still empty.
Meanwhile, around 200 protestors seized control and blocked an oil depot at Fos-sur-Mer, according to news agency AFP.

The shutdowns have seriously affected downstream users, with a variety of chemical producers suffering from a lack of refined feedstock. Some producers have begun to cut chemical production or declared force majeure (FM) on products as availability diminishes.

Total announced it had now completely stopped production at all of its French refineries at Grandpuits, Donges, La Mede, Gonfreville and Feyzin, due to crude supply issues and strike action taken by workers.

In addition, ExxonMobil's merged Port Jerome-Gravenchon refinery and Fos-sur-Mer plant, LyondellBasell's refinery at Berre L'Etang, INEOS's Lavera plant, and Petroplus's refineries at Petit Couronne and Reichstett, were all either operating at minimum throughput levels or shutting production altogether.

MRC


Vietnam facing petrochemical supply shortages

(Plastics News) -- Vietnam has lined up nine potential investment projects through to 2025, while six proposed plants are seeking foreign investments, according to Phan Minh Quoc Binh, a director at the PetroVietnam Research.


But even if the projects all move forward, the IndoChinese country, though endowed with significant hydrocarbon resources, would face supply shortages. The country's petrochemical demand is expected to reach 5.4 million metric tons per year by 2020, based on 8.6 percent annual projected growth. If all planned and proposed projects are completed by 2020, the domestic supply would only cover 60 percent of the demand, Binh said.

Vietnam plans to set up the second petrochemical complex, comprising of 1 million metric tons per year of polyethylene capacity, 500,000 metric tons of polypropylene and 400,000 metric tons of PVC to meet the domestic demand until 2025.

In 2012, the 110,000 metric ton/year PS capacity is to be completed at Polystyrene Vietnam as well as the 100,000 metric ton/year PVC plant at TPC Vina in 2013.


Nevertheless, Vietnam would continue to import most petrochemical products over the next 10 years.


MRC


Pipe producer Pipelife withdraws from Spain

(European Plastics News) -- Austria-based plastics pipe producer Pipelife is withdrawing from the Iberian market by closing production and trading activities in Spain and Portugal.

The company is reportedly closing its subsidiaries in the area because of a dramatic fall in demand, with no indication of a recovery in the medium term.

Pipelife is headquartered at Wiener Neudorf in Austria, has operations in 29 countries and employs 2,450 people. The company is a joint venture between Wienerberger of Austria and Solvay of Belgium and generated sales of around ┬699m in 2009.

MRC