Clariant brings new dehydrogenation catalyst capacity on-stream in the USA

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Clariant, a world leader in specialty chemicals, has successfully expanded production capacity for Houdry dehydrogenation catalysts at its Louisville/Kentucky, USA plant, reported the company on its site.

The double-digit million Swiss francs debottlenecking investment will support increasing demand for Houdry catalysts driven mainly by shale gas development. The facility will come on-stream in mid-October 2013 as planned.

Houdry dehydrogenation catalysts are used in the petrochemical industry to produce C3- and C4-olefins (including butadiene) from light paraffin using the CATOFIN and CATADIENE technologies, which are licensed through CB&I, one of the world’s leading engineering, procurement and construction companies and a major process technology licensor.

CATOFIN technology and catalyst correspond to a reliable and less complex production process for on-purpose olefins/butadiene production with efficient energy consumption. New generations of catalysts with significant performance improvement have been commercialized successfully in the last few years. CATOFIN technology has been selected by 32 licensees worldwide and is in operation in 12 units today, including the largest propane dehydrogenation (PDH) unit currently in operation with a capacity exceeding 500,000 tpa. Over the last four years, 15 new plants have been licensed. A 600,000 tpa CATOFIN PDH unit will start operation in 2013, while a 750,000 tpa CATOFIN PDH will start up in 2015. The CATOFIN process offers superior selectivity, on-stream efficiency and revamp potential.

Stefan Heuser, Senior Vice President, Head of BU Catalysts at Clariant comments: "Increasing production capacity for our proprietary, high-performance Houdry catalysts is an important part of Clariant’s growth strategy to capture opportunities driven by shale gas development which creates significant need for on-purpose olefin production. With vast experience gained over decades to support our customers in achieving reliable operation, Clariant is well positioned to serve this market".

As MRC wrote previously, Clariant has recently introduced AddWorks, its new brand for polymer additives solutions. It consists of: AddWorks, application oriented solutions specifically designed by segments of the plastics industry
AddWorks LXR, a new range of polymer additives designed to provide particular effects in a wide variety of applications.

Clariant AG is a Swiss chemical company and a world leader in the production of specialty chemicals for the textile, printing, mining and metallurgical industries. It is engaged in processing crude oil products in pigments, plastics and paints.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Hungarian largest oil and gas company MOL Nyrt. laid the cornerstone of a butadiene plant in a move that may decrease Hungary's dependency on imports of the chemical, said The Wall Street Journal.

MOL is set to invest 120 million euros (USD162.7 million) in the plant of its petrochemical arm TVK, part of the company's 300-billion-forint (USD1.37 billion) three-year investment scheme.

Production of butadiene, a component used in synthetic rubber production, will be supplied to tire makers across Hungary, MOL CEO Zsolt Hernadi said at an event in Tiszaujvaros, northeast Hungary.

The butadiene plant could help boost TVK's profits, because production of the chemical is more profitable than of other polymer products produced by TVK, MOL said in a statement.

The new plant will have an annual output of 130,000 metric tons from the second quarter of 2015, MOL said. MOL was trading 0.6% higher at HUF15,290 at 1116 GMT Tuesday.

Mr. Hernadi was speaking in public for the first time since a Croatian court issued an international arrest warrant against him. He is wanted for a hearing related to a bribery case. Croatia earlier sentenced a former prime minister Ivo Sanader, saying he had accepted bribes to allow MOL management to have rights over Croatian peer INA d.d.

Mr. Hernadi didn't comment on the case. MOL is focusing on business as usual and is committed to solving any problems and issues that come up, he said.

According to MRC, TVK is a significant player in market of polyolefins in Ukraine. Tiszai Vegyi Kombinat (TVK) is a Hungarian manufacturer of olefins and polyolefins such as polyethylene and polypropylene. Feedstock is supplied by MOL of which TVK is a subsidiary and which also processes a major portion of resulting by-products from the olefins plant.

MOL previously said Hungarian authorities had dismissed the allegations against MOL, which now holds a 49.1% share of INA. Hungary's government holds a 24.6% stake in MOL.

MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- PolyOne Corporation has launched Percept Authentication Technologies, a full-spectrum portfolio of brand protection solutions. This new suite of technologies draws from covert, overt and forensic techniques, enabling manufacturers to efficiently protect their products from counterfeiting or unauthorized distribution, as per the company's press release.

Percept technologies include formulation and consultative services to assist manufacturers and brand owners in minimizing the potential risks and loss of revenue from counterfeits in applications such as consumer goods, medical devices, packaging, and consumer electronics.

"Percept technologies are the latest example of our commitment to our solutions-based approach focused on helping customers enhance their brand and grow their business," said John Van Hulle, president of Global Color, Additives and Inks at PolyOne. "This highly customizable set of technologies was developed to help our customers protect and grow market share and reduce risk."

As MRC wrote previously, PolyOne GLS Thermoplastic Elastomers, a global leader in high-performance, custom-formulated thermoplastic elastomer (TPE) solutions, has introduced Versaflex CE thermoplastic elastomers. Created for applications in the consumer electronics market, this family of TPEs enables consumer electronics companies to differentiate their devices through design, performance and market-driven aesthetics. Versaflex CE supports more sustainable manufacturing because it bonds to PC/ABS and other substrates during molding without adhesives.

PolyOne Corporation is a global provider of specialized polymer materials, services, and solutions. PolyOne is a provider of specialized polymer materials, services and solutions with operations in specialty polymer formulations, color and additive systems, polymer distribution and specialty vinyl resins. The company's full-year revenues in 2012 increased 4.5% to USD3.0 billion, compared to USD2.9 billion in 2011.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Brazilian trade deficit in plastic resins and raw materials surged in the first eight months of 2013 to USD615mn from just USD6.7mn in the same period last year, said Bnamericas.

Producers of polyolefins outside Brazil, especially in the US, used their lower production costs to increase their share of a fast growing market.

Imports into Brazil increased 23.6% to USD1.85bn from USD1.5bn, while Brazilian exports fell 17.2% to USD1.24bn from USD1.49bn in the same period last year.

As MRC wrote before, Brazilian imports of plastic resins rose 26% to USD1.39bn in the first half of 2013 from USD1.10bn in the same period last year.

Imports of low-density polyethylene (LDPE) increased 33.4% to USD141mn. Exports dropped 14.5% to USD217mn. The largest exporter of LDPE to Brazil was the US.

Imports of linear low-density polyethylene (LLDPE), 45% of which came from the US, increased 22.8% to USD387mn, while imports of high-density polyethylene (HDPE), 46% of which originated in the US, were up 23.2% to USD312mn.

Imports of polypropylene (PP) increased 19.5% to USD322mn, while imports of polyvinyl chloride (PVC) increased 16.8% to USD386mn. Imports of polyethylene terephthalate (PET) rose 31.7% to USD152mn.

The figures for August, when the Brazilian real depreciated against the US dollar, were more positive: the trade deficit in plastic resins and other raw materials narrowed 34.4% to USD54.3mn from USD82.8mn in July. Exports increased 12.5% to USD170mn while imports fell 4.1% to USD224mn.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Ineos Group Holdings is shutting the 210,000 bpd Grangemouth oil refinery and petrochemical site before a strike this weekend that could halt 45 % of the United Kingdom’s crude production, said Hydracarbonprocessing.

The company is progressively stopping units before a 48- hour industrial action planned by Unite union workers, scheduled to begin on October 20.

"We’re currently going through a safe shutdown of the site," Richard Longden, a spokesman for Ineos, said by phone from London. “The units will be brought to a cold status by the time the strike action starts."

Grangemouth workers held a two-day strike in April 2008 that cut North Sea oil output and disrupted fuel supplies across Scotland. The site supplies power and steam to BP's neighboring Kinneil processing plant, which handles oil from the company’s Forties Pipeline System gathered from more than 80 offshore fields. FPS is scheduled to load 387,000 bpd of crude in October.

Union representatives and Ineos will meet for talks mediated by the United Kingdom’s Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service after discussions ended without resolution, Unite said in a statement. The discussions are scheduled in Glasgow, Scotland, according to the United Kingdom Department of Energy and Climate Change.

"We’re in touch with Ineos to establish the possible impact of the shutdown," Robert Wine, a London-based spokesman for BP, said by phone. Operations at the Kinneil plant will depend on the outcome of negotiations between Ineos and the union, he said.

Forties output averaged 382,000 bpd this year, according to loading programs obtained by Bloomberg News. The United Kingdom’s average crude production was 850,000 bpd this year, data from the International Energy Agency show. Forties is the most abundant of four crude grades that make up the Dated Brent benchmark used to price more than half the world’s crude. The others are Brent, Oseberg and Ekofisk.

"We have been monitoring the situation very closely," Cameron Ramos, a spokesman for the Department of Energy and Climate Change, said by phone from London. "This isn’t something that has come as a surprise."

The Grangemouth refinery is jointly owned by Ineos Group Holdings and PetroChina, while Ineos is the sole owner of the petrochemical site.

MRC