Croatian Dioki submits bid to buy Vinyls Italia sites

(Plastemart) -- Croatian petrochemical producer Dioki has submitted a bid before the October 22 deadline to buy the Ravenna and Porto Torres sites of Eni-owned Vinyls Italia.

Vinyls Italia, formerly belonging to UK-based Ineos, went into receivership in May 2009, forcing the closure of production facilities for PVC and other related products in Ravenna, Porto Maghera and Porto Torres, all in Italy.

The government's industrial development ministry has since tried to sell the three sites through international tenders. A previous attempt to sell the assets fell through in May this year when Qatari engineering company Ramco Trading and Contracting pulled out of the negotiations. As part of the tender and in order to help push through the sale, Vinyls Italia's parent company Eni said it would supply vital raw materials and cede necessary assets to ensure a restart of the plants.

Since Dioki has no PVC production capacity, the acquisition of the Italian sites would make strategic sense, giving it a vertically-integrated outlet.

MRC

(Plastics News) -- Brazilian petrochemicals and polymers group Braskem SA announced at K 2010 that it has successfully completed early conceptual work on production of polypropylene derived from sugar cane ethanol and has committed to move ahead with basic engineering studies for commercial scale production.

The company said the timeline is for this basic engineering work to be completed during 2011. Subject to final approval, it will then commence construction of a commercial scale plant with a minimum capacity of 30,000 metric tons a year of polypropylene homo and copolymer.

The company has earmarked $100 million for the project, which is expected to deliver first commercial resins to the market in 2013.

Braskem started to supply its first bio-based polyethylene products earlier this year. The resins are produced using ethylene manufactured from sugar cane ethanol at its new facility at Triunfo, in the Rio Grande de Sol region of Brazil.

The key attraction of the bio-based PP to major brand owners and FMCG companies will be its environmental footprint.

MRC

(SABIC) -- SABIC, a leading player in the global plastics industry, unveiled a pioneering concept in low-density polyethylene and linear-low-density polyethylene (LD/LLDPE) films at the K2010 tradeshow in Dusseldorf, Germany.

This milestone innovation marks a new approach to leveraging SABIC's world-class polyolefin portfolio. Among numerous benefits, it produces smart resin combinations offering converters significant material and energy savings while optimizing manufacturing and packaging performance.

The concept supports film packaging applications that comprise up to five layers or more. These film combinations allow manufacturers to create unique property configurations that meet the specific needs of brand owners as well as the demands of the consumer.

Moreover, the SABIC LDPE-materials used in this concept are produced with SABIC's state-of-the-art PE tubular technology - the more sustainable alternative to the traditional autoclave technology. With the tubular technology SABIC is able to reduce air emissions significantly while minimizing energy consumption and waste during the production process.

SABIC will implement this innovation worldwide and continue to support the concept as part of its comprehensive polyolefin portfolio, which is available globally.

MRC

(Clariant) -- Clariant presents an innovation for automotive plastics with the launch of unique UV stabilizer Hostavin N845PP for polyolefin (PO) compounds for interior applications. In addition to UV protection, the new grade offers low fogging and low migration performance plus processing efficiency.

Migration is a significant concern for manufacturers of components such as dashboards, center consoles, and door cladding. Migration of a light stabilizer out of the PP part can cause undesired surface deposits or create a fogging effect on vehicle windscreens. Automotive manufacturers conduct rigorous testing at high temperatures to check for fogging potential.

MRC

(European Plastics News) -- Melbourne packaging technology company Cardia Bioplastics has developed a biodegradable plastic bag created from a blend of polymer produced from CO2 emissions and starch.

According to the company, CO2 emissions are captured prior to being released into the atmosphere, transformed into a polypropylene carbonate (PPC) polymer and blended with a renewable resource (starch) to produce the Cardia Bioplastics CO2S resin. This product is then used to produce a completely biodegradable carrier bag.

This development promises to offer packaging alternatives globally, with the company now in discussion with several parties interested in the technology.

MRC