Celanese announces intermediate chemistry price increases in Europe

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Celanese Corporation, a global technology and specialty materials company, has announced an increase in intermediate chemistry prices for the European market, as per the company's press release.

Thus, the company will increase list and off-list selling prices for the following products effective November 1, 2014, or as contracts allow:

- ethyl acetate - by EUR50/tonne;
- butyl acetate - by EUR 50/tonne.

As MRC reported earlier, in early October 2014, Celanese Corporation announced that it would increase the price of vinyl acetate-based emulsions sold in the Americas. Thus, PVAc homopolymer, vinyl acetate ethylene (EVA) and vinyl acrylic emulsions will increase by up to USD0.05/wet pound effective November 1, 2014, or as contracts allow.

This increase is attributed to the continued pressures on raw materials, notably vinyl acetate monomer (VAM), and freight.

This price increase affects all applications including, but not limited to, adhesives, paints and coatings, building products, nonwovens, glass fiber, carpet, paper and textiles.

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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Lanxess presents new PBT and polyamide grades for automotive industry

MOSCOW (MRC) -- German specialty chemicals company Lanxess has introduced innovative and polybutylene terephthalate (PBT) and polyamide grades for the automotive industry, reported the company on its site.

Lanxess sees great potential for the use of PBT and polyamide compounds in production of vehicle exterior body parts - for example bumpers, sills, front grilles, door handles, fuel tank flaps, spoilers and mirror housings.

"That is why we are building up a wide range of Durethan and Pocan materials for this use segment. The development work is focusing on application-specific, optimized mechanical properties, as well as good surface qualities and good paintability," says Frank Krause, design expert at Lanxess.

An innovative material for fuel tank flaps, for example, is Pocan B 5220 XF reinforced with a glass bead content of 20%. The product is an alternative to blends of polyphenylene ethers and polyamide (PPE+PA), which are often used in series-produced fuel tank flaps because they can be painted online. A disadvantage of such blends, however, is their high degree of moisture absorption, which has an undesirable effect on the required dimensional accuracy. PBT, by contrast, stands out by virtue of its high degree of dimensional stability.

Besides, Lanxess has specially developed Pocan TP 406-001 for radiator grilles. "The non-reinforced polycarbonate+PBT blend material was conceived primarily for parts with Class A surfaces, which are given a high-gloss coating," Krause says. The material displays very low and uniform shrinkage and hardly any tendency to distortion at all. Thanks to the blend's extreme toughness even in cold temperatures, the radiator grille does not shatter into shards in the event of a collision, which helps protect nearby pedestrians. The high heat deflection temperature ensures that long, horizontal grille fins do not sag as a result of exposure to the radiator heat.

For exterior bodywork parts that are not coated online, the LANXESS product line continues to feature materials including non-reinforced (PBT+PC) and (PET+PC) blends, and reinforced (PBT+PET) blends. A good choice for spoilers, for example, is Pocan TP 957-001, which consists of up to 25 percent post-consumer recyclate from PET bottles. The mineral-reinforced (PET+PC) blend is very impact-resistant and displays minimal distortion, among other properties. Durethan DP 2131/20 W1 EF, a heat-stabilized polyamide 6 with easy flow characteristics, is a great material for substructures of spoilers, exterior mirror housings and door handles. It provides non-coated exterior bodywork parts with excellent resistance to weathering.

As MRC informed previously, in early July, 2013, Lanxess celebrated the opening of its first production facility in Russia. In the new plant at the Lipetsk site, Lanxess subsidiary Rhein Chemie manufactures polymer-bound rubber additives for the markets in Russia and the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), primarily for the automotive and tire industries. A production facility for the bladders used in tire production is to be added in 2016.

Lanxess is a leading specialty chemicals company with sales of EUR 8.3 billion in 2013 and roughly 17,300 employees in 31 countries. The company is currently represented at 52 production sites worldwide. The core business of Lanxess is the development, manufacturing and marketing of plastics, rubber, intermediates and specialty chemicals.
MRC

Tetra Pak launches package made entirely from plant based, renewable packaging materials

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Tetra Pak today announces the launch of the industry’s first carton made entirely from plant based, renewable packaging materials, said the company in its press-release.

The new Tetra Rex carton will be the first in the market to have bio-based low-density polyethylene (LDPE) films and bio-based high-density polyethylene (HDPE) caps, both derived from sugar cane, in addition to Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) certified paperboard.

"Environment excellence is one of Tetra Pak’s strategic priorities and a driver of our product development activities," said Charles Brand, VP Marketing & Product Management at Tetra Pak. "Together with suppliers, customers and other stakeholders, we are leading the industry towards 100% renewable packaging. We believe that increasing the renewable content of our packages is not only good for the environment, but also offers our customers a competitive advantage in the overall environmental profile of their products."

As MRC wrote before, Braskem SA, the world's largest biopolymer producer, in January 2014 launched a new line of green low density polyethylene. Annual production of the new LDPE line will be approximately 66 million pounds.

Developed in partnership with Braskem, one of the world’s leading biopolymers producers, the new Tetra Rex package will be commercially available in early 2015. Tetra Pak customers using the standard 1 litre Tetra Rex with TwistCap OSO 34 can easily transfer to the new version without the need for any additional investment or modification to their existing filling machines.
MRC

PP imports in Belarus remained in January - August 2014 at the level of 2013

MOSCOW (MRC) - Imports of polypropylene (PP) to the Belarusian market were 53,400 tonnes in the first eight months of this year, remaining at the level of the previous year, according to MRC.

According to the National Statistical Committee of the Republic of Belarus PP imports in Belarus fell to 6,600 tonnes in August, compared to 7,200 tonnes in July on the back of a significant reduction in PP supplies from Russia (deficit in the Russian market). Total PP imports in the country were 53,400 tonnes in the first eight months of this year, which was practically equal to the same indicator in 2013 (53,300 tonnes).

A significant increase in demand for propylene copolymers from the local converters offset a decrease in the delivery of homopolymer PP, which is in more demand usually. Structure of PP delivery over the reported period looked as follows.

August imports of homopolymer PP in the country fell to 4,300 tonnes, compared with 5,100 tonnes in July, because of 32% reduction in supplies from Russia. Imports of homopolymer PP in Belarus totalled just over 36,000 tonnes in January - August 2014, compared with 39,000 tonnes year on year. Key suppliers of homopolymer PP in Belarus were Russian producers, with 70% from the total imports in the country over the reported period.

August imports of propylene copolymers seasonally increased to 2,300 tonnes, compared to 2,100 tonnes in July.
Imports of propylene copolymers in Belarus increased to 15,400 tonnes in the first eight months of the year, up 22% year on year. The main suppliers of propylene copolymers in the local market were producers from Germany with a share of about 61%, the share of Russian producers in this segment did not exceed 8%.

As it was written earlier, the import duty on all grades of polypropylene was reduced to 6.5% on 1, September 2014 from the previous (introduced on 2 September 2013), 9.1% for PP-homo and 8.3% for copolymers of propylene.
Import of all grades of PP from the CIS countries are not subject to import duty.
MRC

BASF presents new products, technologies and services

MOSCOW (MRC) -- BASF, the world's petrochemical major, has presented its latest solutions for applications in the home care and industrial & institutional Cleaning (I&I) markets as well as personal care, reported the company on its site.

In Home Care, there is an increasing demand for detergents and cleaners that clean quickly and efficiently, provide care, are safe and easy to use, and that save resources. BASF enables various choices for its customers to meet these needs. With Sokalan HP 20, BASF is presenting a special polymer for the formulation of liquid detergents. Even at low temperatures, it actively disperses particulate soil from clothes and prevents graying - this ensures clean laundry with low energy consumption.

Trilon M is a high-performance product that contributes to more sustainable dishwashing. The readily biodegradable chelating agent actively binds water hardness ions and also removes stubborn tea and coffee stains. The chelating agent thereby offers an environmentally-friendly alternative to phosphates in dishwashing tablets without compromising on performance.

When it comes to cleaning hard surfaces, BASF has various choices of nonionic surfactants to present at SEPAWA which meet the market’s demand for safer, faster, and more convenient cleaning. Additional benefits such as spot-free drying, gloss, and easy-to-clean-again effects can be achieved by adding surface-modification polymers to premium products. They enable time-saving in cleaning making consumers household tasks easier to fulfill.

In the I&I sector, the focus is on the convenient and safe use of cleaners that efficiently achieve their cleaning results while saving resources. BASF will present a new solution at SEPAWA for the cleaning of membranes which are used in various applications in the dairy and beverage production. The BASF innovation consists of the use of readily biodegradable, nonionic surfactants that offer advantages in terms of cleaning performance as well as in application.

Besides, BASF has introduced its innovative SWOP technology, an emulsion concept that enables the formulation of personal care products with new textures and unusual sensory perception. SWOP emulsions are oil-in-water emulsions that become water-in-oil emulsions during application and thus combine the advantages of both. Products based on this technology moisturize, nourish and protect the skin. They absorb quickly and produce a fresh and light skin feel during application.

Cetiol Ultimate answers to the rising market demand for new textures with excellent skin feel in cosmetics industry. Here, this ultrafast- spreading, 100 percent natural based, fresh and dry emollient meets a wide range of claims - from ultra-thin water-in-oil formulations and dry face oils to pleasant feeling face and sun creams. Personal care products with Cetiol Ultimate are easy to apply, absorb quickly and leave a smooth skin feeling. At the same time, the emollient provides good pigment wetting and enhances color shade stability. Thus, it also performs well in color cosmetics formulations - like light foundations with improved coverage and a powdery sensation. As it is readily biodegradable and approved by Ecocert, COSMOS and Natrue, Cetiol Ultimate is also suitable as a sensory booster for natural cosmetics.

As MRC reported earlier, in April 2014, BASF unveiled that it had developed new ingredients and innovative concepts for the personal care market. Driving forward the development of the brand Care Creations, the company is taking a more and more science based approach to explore consumer needs: the focus is on a validated typology system with which users can define different consumer personalities.

BASF is the leading chemical company. It produces a wide range of chemicals, for example solvents, amines, resins, glues, electronic-grade chemicals, industrial gases, basic petrochemicals and inorganic chemicals. The most important customers for this segment are the pharmaceutical, construction, textile and automotive industries.
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