Equate Petrochemicals launches first green carbon project

(Plastemart) -- Equate Petrochemicals Co. has launched the Gulf state's first green carbon project which will use over 150,000 tpa of carbon dioxide (CO2). Under the scheme, Equate will capture CO2 emissions which will then be carried by a pipeline and injected into a special plant under construction. Operations are expected to commence in 2012 and will reduce CO2 emitted by Equate by 60-70% annually.

Greencarbon Company, a private Kuwaiti firm, is building the plant at a cost of US$65 mln (┬49 mln) and CO2 will be used in food and beverage industries. The company also launched another environment-friendly scheme -- Plant Water Recycle Project, with the aim to recover 80% of Equate process water which can be used for irrigation

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(Plastemart) -- An explosion at a polyvinyl chloride plant in northern China killed four people and injured dozens of others, according to government reports. The accident took place at the Yushe Chemical Industry complex.

In operation since the 1970s the plant has capacity to produce 400,000 tpa of PVC from coal-derived acetylene. The acetylene is generated by hydrolysis of calcium carbide, which is in turn produced from lime and coal-derived coke. China produces most of its PVC via the acetylene process because coal is abundant in the country.

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(ICIS) -- European polyethylene (PE) buyers are facing yet more price rises for next month following a ┬27/tonne ($36/tonne) increase in December's ethylene monomer contract, market sources said on Monday.

The average November naphtha cracker contract margin was on a par with that seen in March - and second only to January, the worst margin month in 2010 to date - following a sharp rise in naphtha prices and a drop in the dollar versus euro rate.

Dow had already announced a ┬70/tonne increase for all its December PE sales before the ethylene contract was settled, and others now pitched in, anxious to recover increased costs.

This price hike announcement had been met with a great deal of scepticism by much of the market, but it was being followed by other producers who did not intend to lose margin further in December. With some grades of PE becoming increasingly tight, some sources said that it was not such an outlandish move after all.

Net LDPE prices for monthly business were around ┬1,280/tonne, while spot prices were moving higher, above ┬1,300/tonne FD NWE in some cases, where buyers could find no alternative supply.

High density PE (HDPE) grades were also getting tight, particularly HDPE injection melt flow index 7, and also blowmoulding. Some sources were beginning to wonder whether production had been cut back for these grades as the market was showing signs of shortage.

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(Plastemart) -- In a bid to boost diesel production to ease the shortage in the country, China's state-owned Sinopec has been compelled to reduce production rates at downstream polyethylene, polypropylene and monoethylene glycol plants, as per Platts.

The company's MEG production will be reduced by about 10% due to reduced ethylene availability, while various PE and PP lines will be shut for turnarounds during this period.

The rate cuts will affect Sinopec Maoming Company, Sinopec Shanghai Petrochemical Company, Sinopec Zhenhai Refining & Chemical Company and Sinopec Guangzhou Company.

Refiners have started to produce diesel at the expense of naphtha production. With less naphtha available, ethylene and propylene production has been reduced and this, in turn, has led to output cuts of polyethylene and polypropylene. However, low demand for polymers during the last quarter of each year means the production cuts may not leave a huge impact on the polymer markets.

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(Rhodia) -- Rhodia is announcing a new halogen-free range of flame retarded Technyl polyamides, dedicated to highly-demanding photovoltaic (PV) component applications.

Photovoltaic components have to perform consistently at the highest level over a wide range of temperatures and weather conditions. These products also have to fulfill extremely difficult worldwide safety standards. Rhodia's new Technyl flame-retarded (FR) range offers a solution that fully meets the technical, processing, regulatory and cost-performance requirements necessary for PV component manufacture.

⌠In addition to highly demanding certifications, our halogen-free Technyl FR grades provide the essential safety and environmental care requirements obligatory to major players in the field of renewable energy⌠, comments Dr. James Mitchell, Business Development Manager at Rhodia.

Rhodia is a world leader in the development and production of specialty chemicals. Rhodia leads the world in the production of mild amphoteric surfactants, phosphorus chemistry and guars and derivatives, as well as in high-performance silicas, rare earth-based formulations and diphenols. The company is number two in polyamides and the number three producer of cellulose acetate tow.


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