Braskem joins Amyris and Michelin to accelerate production of renewable isoprene

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Amyris (AMRS), Braskem (BAK) and Michelin announced that Braskem is joining the ongoing collaboration between Michelin and Amyris, said Finance.

This collaboration was initiated to develop and commercialize renewable isoprene, sourced from various biomass as an additional sustainable pathway to produce isoprene.

Under the terms of the agreement, Braskem, Michelin and Amyris will work together to develop a technology to utilize plant sugars, such as those found in Brazilian sugarcane or cellulosic feedstocks, to produce renewable isoprene. Adding the expertise of Braskem, the largest petrochemical company in the Americas and global leader in the production of biopolymers, Amyris and Michelin will accelerate the industrialization of renewable isoprene.

Amyris will share its rights to commercialize the renewable isoprene technology developed under this collaboration with Braskem. Michelin will maintain certain preferential, but not exclusive, access to the renewable isoprene to be produced by this technology. The companies will not disclose details of the agreement, including the financial contributions of each party.

This joint project, with Amyris and Braskem, will give Michelin an additional sustainable sourcing channel for poly-isoprene for the production of quality tires, providing a high-performance, environmentally responsible material.

Amyris is an integrated renewable products company focused on providing sustainable alternatives to a broad range of petroleum-sourced products.

Braskem is the largest producer of thermoplastic resins in the Americas and the world's leading biopolymers producer, manufacturing green polyethylene from sugarcane-based ethanol. With 36 industrial plants in Brazil, the United States and Germany, the company produces over 35 billion pounds of thermoplastic resins and other petrochemicals per year, creating more environmental-friendly, intelligent and sustainable solutions through chemicals and plastics that improve people's lives.

As MRC wrote before, Braskem announces its plans for the construction of an Ultra High Molecular Weight Polyethylene (UHMWPE) plant at its site in La Porte, Texas. Braskem's UHMWPE products are produced under the trade name UTEC. Groundbreaking of the new plant in La Porte will start during the third quarter of 2014.

Michelin, the leading tire company, is dedicated to sustainably improving the mobility of goods and people by manufacturing and marketing tires for every type of vehicle, including airplanes, automobiles, bicycles/motorcycles, earthmovers, farm equipment and trucks.
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MOSCOW (MRC) -- Petrochemical complex Nizhnekamskneftekhim (part of TAIF) shut down its ethylene production for a scheduled turnaround at night, from 13 to 14 September 2014, reported MRC analysts.

Nizhnekamskneftekhim traditionally shuts down its ethylene unit in September for an overhaul. This year was no exception, maintenance is scheduled to be conducted during three weeks from 13 September. The plant's annual production is 600,000 tonnes of ethylene.

Company representatives said Nizhnekamskneftekhim intends to shut down its polyethylene and polypropylene production for short maintenance works in late September.

Nizhnekamskneftekhim (part of TAIF group) is one of the largest petrochemical companies in Europe and a leader in the production of synthetic rubber and plastics in the Russian Federation. The main production facilities are located in Nizhnekamsk, Tatarstan. The company was founded in 1967. The plant's annual production capacity of polyethylene is 230,000 tonnes and that of polypropylene - 210,000 tonnes.
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MOSCOW (MRC) -- Braskem has developed a new polyethylene (PE) that offers two times the life span as compared to existing materials, according to Plastemart.

Intended for pipes and water mains applications, it was developed at the company’s technology and innovation centre in Triunfo, Rio Grande do Sul, as per prw.com.

A total of RD16 mln (GBP4.4 mln) was invested in testing at the company’s pilot plants and in adaptations to the firm’s industrial facilities to prepare them to start production of the new resin.

The new system employed in the process increased the product’s performance, with durability now calculated at 100 years for tubes under pressure, compared to 50 years for the previous resin.The improvements in mechanical properties - creep, impact strength and rapid crack propagation - will ensure that the new resin meets all of the required standards in this segment (ISO, DIN, EN and NBR).

The resin’s main uses include pipes for water and natural gas distribution networks, pipelines to transport ore slurry and oil, sewage networks and water mains.

As MRC informed earlier, last October, Styrolution, the global leader in styrenics, and Braskem, the largest producer of thermoplastic resins in America and a global leader in biopolymers, announced the signing of a memorandum of understanding (MOU) to investigate the formation of a joint venture in Brazil. The proposed 100,000 tonne plant would supply specialty styrenics, acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS) and styrene acrylonitrile (SAN) copolymers, to customers in Brazil and throughout South America.

Braskem is Brazilian main producer of polyethylene and polypropylene. In addition with ongoing plants located in both petrochemical complexes, in April 2008 Braskem opened a 300,000 metric ton polypropylene plant in the city of Paulinia (Sao Paulo).
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MOSCOW (MRC) -- US-based Celanese Corporation, a global technology and specialty materials company, has announced that its wholly-owned subsidiary, Celanese US Holdings LLC (the "Issuer"), intends to offer EUR300 million aggregate principal amount of senior notes due 2019 (the "Notes"), as per Celanease's press release.

The Notes will be senior unsecured obligations of the Issuer and will be guaranteed by the company and certain of the Issuer's US subsidiaries.

The company intends to use the net proceeds from the offering, together with cash on hand, to redeem the Issuer's USD600 million aggregate principal outstanding of its 6.625% Senior Notes due 2018.

Concurrent with this offering, the company intends to amend and restate its existing senior credit facility, which is expected to include increasing the size of the revolver, extending the maturity date of the revolver and extending the maturity date of all or a portion of the term loan facilities.

As MRC informed previously, Celanese is attempting to sell its vinyl acetate monomer (VAM) unit in Tarragona, Spain. The capacity of the VAM unit is 200,000 tpy. Celanese said it is committed to taking the appropriate time to find a "credible buyer" for the unit, with primary focus on industrial candidates. To help with the sales process, Celanese has hired Paris-based consultancy JH Lillian & Co., an advisory firm specializing in the chemicals industry.

Celanese said the decision to sell the plant was driven by a recently completed assessment of the company's overall corporate strategy, which included an assessment of the company’s global manufacturing facilities.

Celanese Corporation is a global technology leader in the production of differentiated chemistry solutions and specialty materials used in most major industries and consumer applications.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- The Coca-Cola Company has made an additional investment in the US-based Virent, which is developing its bio-based paraxylene (PX), BioFormPX. This investment will enable Virent to scale up separation and purification of BioFormPX material at their demonstration plant in Madison, Wisconsin, said Business Standart.

“Over the course of our work together, Virent has continuously delivered on their commitments and advanced their technology. That progress supports building additional capability for Virent and advances us on the path to a full-scale commercial solution for our 100% plant-based PET plastic packaging,” said Scott Vitters, General Manager, PlantBottle Innovation Platform at The Coca-Cola Company.

Virent and The Coca-Cola Company have been working together since 2011, when they first announced their joint development agreement and a master supply agreement focused on the development of bio-based paraxylene technology.

“The Coca-Cola Company continues to be a valued partner for Virent. Their intention to use our BioFormPX material in the next generation of PlantBottle packaging is critical in attracting manufacturing partners from the PET supply chain. This - along with the progress we have made in our joint development work - moves us closer to seeing the first commercial 100% bio-based PET bottles on retail shelves made using Virent technology,” said Lee Edwards, CEO, Virent.

In the course of their work with The Coca-Cola Company, Virent has progressed their PX technology to commercial readiness, improved the process economics and produced bio-based PX which has been converted by The Coca-Cola Company into 100% bio-based PET bottles. This new investment will allow production of larger quantities of BioFormPX material.

Virent has run its demonstration system to fulfill a number of fuel and chemical orders since it started operation in 2010. This added capability to produce larger quantities of purified paraxylene will be combined with additional system enhancements to increase production capabilities, including larger volumes of bio-fuel and other bio-materials.

As MRC wrote before, Coca-Cola Enterprises will invest EUR6.5 million in its joint venture with PET recycler APPE to expand a recycling facility in Beaune, France. According to Coca-Cola, the investment will boost the capacity of the plastics reprocessing facility by 70% and enable it to recycle 20,000 additional tonnes of plastic into food-grade packaging per year.

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