BASF, Cargill and Novozymes advance with biobased acrylic acid manufacture

MOSCOW (MRC) -- BASF, the world petrochemical major, Cargill and Novozymes have announced the achievement of another milestone in their joint development of technologies to produce acrylic acid from renewable raw materials, as per BASF's press release.

The team has demonstrated the successful conversion of 3-hydroxypropionic acid (3-HP), to glacial acrylic acid and superabsorbent polymers. Moreover they have selected the process for further scale-up.

In August 2012, BASF, Cargill and Novozymes announced their joint agreement to develop a process for the conversion of renewable raw materials into bio-based acrylic acid. In July 2013, the partners successfully demonstrated the production of 3-hydroxypropionic acid (3-HP), one possible precursor to acrylic acid, at pilot scale.

BASF initially plans to use the bio-based acrylic acid to manufacture superabsorbent polymers. Currently, acrylic acid is produced by the oxidation of propylene derived mainly from the refining of crude oil.

"After just 18 months we have selected the preferred process to convert 3-HP into glacial acrylic acid. Now we are working full force on the set-up of a small integrated pilot plant until the end of this year," said Teressa Szelest, Senior Vice President Global Hygiene Business at BASF.

Together with the pilot plant for 3-HP, operated by Cargill and supported by Novozymes, this will further support BASF’s plans for fast market entry of superabsorbent polymers derived from bio-based acrylic acid.

Superabsorbent polymers and other products derived from bio-based acrylic acid will be an innovative offer to the market and will meet consumer and industry demand for consumer goods based on renewable raw materials and sustainable supply chains.

As MRC wrote before, BASF is going to expand its leading position in the production of superabsorbent polymers for the global hygiene industry with a new technology, which the company introduced in April 2014. This innovation delivers superabsorbent polymers with unique properties and breakthrough performance that will provide significant additional value to the customers.

Superabsorbent polymers have high absorption capacity and deliver other key functionality - making them excellent to use in a variety of applications concerning the basic needs in our life such as baby diapers, adult incontinence and feminine hygiene products.

BASF is the world’s largest producer of acrylic acid, a high-volume chemical that feeds into a broad range of products, including superabsorbent polymers that can soak up large amounts of liquid, used primarily for diapers and other hygiene products.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- The Dow Jones Sustainability World Index announced its rating of The Dow Chemical Company as one of the top performers in the global chemical industry – marking the 14th time Dow has received this recognition since the launch of the index and tying for the longest-standing representation in the chemical category since the list’s inception, reported the company on its site.

With only 11 chemical companies named to the World Index in 2014, Dow is proud to be recognized for sustainability performance in the top 10% of the chemical industry. With a score of 100 in the Environmental Policy Management System category, Dow also leads the Materials Industry Group for the third year in a row.

"At Dow, sustainability is not just an initiative; it is central to how we do business," said Neil Hawkins, corporate vice president, EH&S and Sustainability. "Sustainability and innovation are woven throughout everything we do - from our own operations, to the role our products play in building a more sustainable society. Today, we are proud to be named once again to the Dow Jones Sustainability World Index, an honor reserved for only those who humbly yet relentlessly pursue improvements in the ‘triple bottom line’ - recording gains for the environment and society while consistently delivering business results."

As MRC informed earlier, Dow Chemical began construction on June 30 of its previously-announced world-scale ethylene production facility in Freeport, Texas. This represents a prominent milestone in the company delivering on its strategy to invest in a performance-based portfolio of technology-enabled businesses. The significant investment in Dow’s Texas operations remains on track and on-plan for start-up in the first half of 2017, and will employ up to 2,000 workers during construction.

The Dow Chemical Company is an American multinational chemical corporation headquartered in Midland, Michigan, United States. Dow is a large producer of plastics, including polystyrene, polyurethane, polyethylene, polypropylene, and synthetic rubber. The company's more than 5,000 products are manufactured at 188 sites in 36 countries across the globe.
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MOSCOW (MRC) -- PolyOne Corporation, a premier global provider of specialized polymer materials, services and solutions, has announced that its recent work with WaterStep, a non-profit water purification agency, has enabled the organization to assist a greater number of disaster victims and those in need around the globe, reported the company in its press release.

With a presence in more than 30 countries, WaterStep delivers water treatment, health and hygiene training and disaster relief by providing people around the world access to safe, clean water.

PolyOne's collaboration with the WaterStep team improved product design and performance for WaterStep's M-100 water purification system. Specifically, PolyOne's high impact Geon formulation increased durability of the system to facilitate air-drop deliveries into remote areas in distress or recovering from natural disasters. It also meets NSF potable water, UV and chemical resistance requirements.

"It was extremely gratifying for PolyOne to collaborate with WaterStep and its ongoing mission of providing access to clean water to those in need," said Michael A. Garratt, president, Performance Products and Solutions, PolyOne Corporation. "We are proud that our material and design support are contributing to WaterStep's important relief work and global outreach."

As MRC informed earlier, in February 2014, PolyOne Corporation announced the addition of new capabilities to its OnColor HC Plus portfolio. These expanded offerings add medical-grade LDPE, nylon, PEBA, PS and PVC to the globally available palette of specialty healthcare colorants, and are pre-certified to meet or exceed biocompatibility requirements for ISO 10993 and/or USP Class VI protocols.

PolyOne Corporation, with 2013 revenues of USD3.8 billion, 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.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Formosa Petrochemical Corp (FPCC) has resumed production at its No.1 residual fluid catalytic cracker (RFCC), as per Apic-online.

A Polymerupdate source in Taiwan informed that the plant restarted on September 15, 2014. It was shut for a maintenance turnaround.

Located at Mailiao in Taiwan, the unit has a capacity of 84,000 bpd.

As MRC informed previously, FPCC is planning to shut down its No. 1 RFCC in Taiwan for maintenance turnaround in H2 September 2014. The planned shutdown has been planned to take care of a technical glitch. Located at Mailiao in Taiwan, the unit has a propylene capacity of 375,000 mt/year.

Formosa Petrochemical is involved primarily in the business of refining crude oil, selling refined petroleum products and producing and selling olefins (including ethylene, propylene, butadiene and BTX) from its naphtha cracking operations. Formosa Petrochemical is also the largest olefins producer in Taiwan and its olefins products are mostly sold to companies within the Formosa Group. Among the company's chemical products are paraxylene (PX), phenyl ethylene, acetone and pure terephthalic acid (PTA). The company's plastic products include acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS) resins, polystyrene (PS), polypropylene (PP) and panlite (PC).
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Celanese Corporation, a global technology and specialty materials company, has announced that it will increase the price of acetate tow for core grade items by 5 to 6% (FOB plant basis), reported the company on its site.

Pricing for unique and/or low volume tow items and specialty grade acetate tow items may increase by a differentiated amount. Price increases are effective January 1, 2015, or as contracts allow.

As MRC wrote previously, in August 2014, Celanese Corporation announced that it would increase the price of all grades of low density polyethylene (LDPE) and Ateva vinyl acetate ethylene (EVA) in September. The increase of USD0.05/pound will be effective 1 September, 2014, or as contracts allow, and was caused by market conditions.

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. Based in Dallas, Texas, Celanese employs approximately 7,400 employees worldwide and had 2013 net sales of USD6.5 billion.
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