Celanese increases April prices of EVA-based emulsions in Asia

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Celanese Corporation, a global technology and specialty materials company and a global leader in vinyl acetate ethylene (EVA) emulsions, has announced that it has increased the price of vinyl acetate-based emulsions sold in Asia, said the producer on its site.

EVA emulsions will increase by 300 per metric tonne for China and USD35 per metric tonne for the rest of Asia effective April 15, 2016, or as contracts allow.

This price increase affected all applications including, but not limited to, adhesives, paints and coatings, waterproofing, building and construction, glass fiber, carpet and paper.

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

As MRC wrote previously, Celanese Corporation last raised the price of EVA-based emulsions sold in Asia in March 2016. Thus, EVA emulsions increased by Yuan 200/MT for China and USD25/MT for the rest of Asia effective March 10, 2016, or as contracts allowed.

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, Celanese employs approximately 7,000 employees worldwide and had 2015 net sales of USD5.7 billion.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Carmel Olefins Ltd (BAZAN Group) has announced the launch of new polypropylene (PP) grade Capilene CT 80A offering both excellent transparency and high impact performance to injection molded applications said the producer in its press release.

Its advanced features are complemented with good resistance to stress whitening, high gloss and excellent organoleptic performance.

Capilene CT 80A is a clarified and antistatic modified PP grade with a melt flow rate (MFR) 25, produced with Milliken’s clarifier technology Millad NX 8000. It is the first in a new series under development by Carmel to enhance its existing portfolio of PP copolymers based on Millad NX 8000.

Capilene CT 80A combines excellent flow with many of the typical advantages of PP random and heterophasic copolymers to achieve outstanding transparency plus very high gloss with a good stiffness/impact balance. Its ability to maintain such high transparency with good impact performance at 0 C is of particular significance for refrigerated applications.

The overall performance advantages and superior impact characteristics of the new grade create a step forward for converters looking to reduce breakage potential and avoid stress whitening of highly-transparent packaging and container solutions. For example, for thin wall packaging, clear containers for food packaging, caps & closures, and clear pails. It is also suitable for large storage boxes, crates, heavy duty transparent toolboxes, appliances and toys.

The new grade initiates viable opportunities for customers to replace regular random copolymers in applications where optical property and impact resistance are required, and to replace heterophasic impact copolymers in applications where transparency should be combined with high impact or high impact without stress whitening.

Anita Vaxman, R&D and Technical Service Manager at Carmel Olefins, comments: "Capilene CT 80A takes the impact performance of our existing transparent PP grades to a new level. The innovation opens up new prospects for customers serving the food and non-food containers and houseware segments to produce attractive transparent articles that are less prone to breakage during shipment and handling, while also benefitting from energy savings during processing. It is a drop-in solution that we are looking forward to introducing to the market."

We remind that, as MRC wrote previously, in February 2016, Borealis presented new PP carbon fibre reinforced solutions for lightweight automotive construction. Borealis' leading-edge Fibremod technology portfolio has a proven track record in realising weight reduction in many automotive applications and is now expanded with Fibremod Carbon, a carbon fibre reinforced polypropylene. This innovative portfolio extension will help the automotive industry to reap the benefits of carbon fibre reinforced plastics, such as outstanding density to weight ratio, significant weight reduction potential, and increased functionalisation and modularisation of components. The excellent economic efficiency of the Fibremod Carbon portfolio will also promote the more widespread use of this potentially revolutionary material in the mass production of automobiles.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- PPG reported first quarter net income of USD347 million, up 8.1% year-on-year (YOY), on sales that were roughly flat at USD3.67 billion, said the producer on its site.

Adjusted net income totaled USD1.31/share, slightly ahead of analysts’ consensus estimate of USD1.30/share, as reported by Thomson Reuters (New York). Volumes grew YOY, led by packaging, automotive refinish, and architectural coatings, according to PPG. The company saw volume gains in most regions of the world.

“Sales volumes grew one percent year-over-year, reflecting a continuation of modest global demand trends. Our growth accelerated and broadened in Europe, where volumes have improved for five consecutive quarters. U.S. and Canada sales volumes were flat, as we continued to experience variations by end-use market and country. Year-over-year growth in emerging regions remained positive, despite strong prior-year growth in China and Mexico, and reflected uneven end-use market demand,” McGarry said. “Sales volume increases were comparable in both of our coatings segments, led by the packaging, automotive refinish and architectural coatings – EMEA businesses. Sales volumes declined in our Glass segment primarily due to reduced production capacity related to a scheduled facility outage. Also, the six acquisitions we completed during 2015 contributed to the improved financial results for our two coatings segments,” McGarry said.

As MRC informed earlier, PPG Industries agreed to acquire US-based IVC Industrial Coatings for an undisclosed amount. The company operates five manufacturing facilitates in the US, one plant in Guangdong, China, and a small development lab in Manchester, England.

PPG Industries, Inc. (PPG) is a global supplier of protective and decorative coatings. Performance Coatings, Industrial Coatings and Architectural Coatings- EMEA segments supply protective and decorative finishes for customers in a range of end use markets, including industrial equipment, appliances and packaging; factory-finished aluminum extrusions and steel and aluminum. Founded in 1883, PPG has global headquarters in Pittsburgh and operates in nearly 70 countries around the world.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- On a stretch of barren coast 550 kilometers (345 miles) south of the capital Muscat, workers at a ship repair yard swarm over cargo vessels from around the world, labor that will help to determine Oman's fate in an era of cheap oil, said Hydrocarbomprocessing.

The yard, owned by the government's Oman Drydock Co. and operated by South Korea's Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering Co., is far from the country's industrial areas in the north. But it's at the center of the biggest single economic project in the history of Oman, part of efforts to wean the country off exports of crude oil and gas and diversify into downstream industries before the country's limited financial and oil reserves begin to run out.

The government is spending billions of dollars to develop the area around the remote fishing village of Duqm into a sprawling business zone, aiming to attract companies that will create tens of thousands of jobs. In addition to the ship repair yard and its adjacent port, the Duqm Special Economic Zone will include an oil refinery, a petrochemical complex, manufacturing operations and warehousing and logistics facilities.

A fish processing district will become the focus of Oman's fishing industry. A tourism area aims to bring in hard currency from foreign visitors. The strategy -- spend lavishly on infrastructure, jump-start key industries with state funds and lobby the private sector to participate -- carries substantial financial risks.

But it is a key plank of economic policy in Oman, a thinly populated country of just 4.4 million people that lacks the deep pockets of neighboring oil exporters such as Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.

Other Gulf Arab oil exporting states have cut spending on infrastructure and development projects in the past 18 months as low oil prices have strained their finances.

Oman's finances have also been hit hard, but it does not have as much time as its neighbours. Its financial reserves are estimated in the tens of billions of dollars rather than hundreds, and its proven oil reserves will last only 15 years at the current rate of production, oil company BP estimates.

So the government is continuing to spend heavily on Duqm and other, smaller projects to move the economy beyond crude oil. Total state investment spending rose 5.5% from a year earlier to 2.81 billion rials ($7.3 billion) in the first 11 months of 2015, even as the government ran a budget deficit of 4.07 billion rials, the latest official data shows.

Unlike most other Gulf Arab states, Oman has comfortable diplomatic and economic ties with Iran, and this may help to ensure Duqm's success.

As MRC informed earlier, Oman Oil Refineries and Petroleum Industries (Orpic) is in plans to restart its polypropylene (PP) plant in Sohar. A source in Oman informed that the plant is expected to resume production on April 23, 2016. The plant was shut for a maintenance turnaround on February 23, 2016. Located at Sohar in Oman, the plant has a production capacity of 340,000 mt/year.

MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Essen-based Evonik Industries, a leading specialty chemicals manufacturer, Evonik has developed a new hollow-fiber membrane for obtaining nitrogen from air, as per the company's press release.

In SEPURAN N2 Evonik Industries has developed a new hollow-fiber membrane for efficient separation of nitrogen from air. The advantages of this new technology over classical cryogenic air separation as well as current membrane processes are its greater flexibility and lower costs. It can be combined with existing systems, for example to meet peak demand, or directly connected to compressed air systems to supply nitrogen. In addition, Evonik’s SEPURAN N2 membranes offer a lower-cost solution than other membranes due to the high capacity and low air requirement. The new technology from Evonik has been on the market since early 2016.

As an inert gas of low reactivity, nitrogen is used as a protective gas in many sectors of industry; in the food industry or in the aerospace industry to inert the fuel tanks of planes and create a flame-resistant atmosphere. With a market share exceeding 40 percent, nitrogen has the highest market volume in the gas separation sector.

Goetz Baumgarten, who is responsible for global SEPURAN business in Evonik’s Resource Efficiency Segment, says: "With SEPURAN N2 we plan to extend our technology position in customized membrane gas-separation systems." The SEPURAN N2 hollow-fiber membrane at the heart of the technology consists of polyimide, a high-performance polymer that is highly chemically and thermally stable, and is produced by Evonik at its Lenzing (Austria) site.

Compared with other conventional membrane systems the new technology requires fewer modules and less air. A smaller compressor reduces investment costs as well as energy consumption and the modular structure means that the system can be used flexibly. Says Baumgarten: "SEPURAN N2 is efficient and flexible. This membrane module from Evonik is distinguished by low investment costs, very low operating costs, and low maintenance expenditure."

Currently, Evonik is expanding its Austrian site in Lenzing/Schorfling to double the existing production capacities for the hollow-fiber membrane modules of its SEPURAN brand. The production of additional membrane modules is projected to begin in late 2017.

We remind that, as MRC wrote before, in April 2015, Evonik Industries inaugurated a new application technology center for superabsorbent polymers in Krefeld, Germany. The company invested EUR1 million. The new facility strengthens the position of Evonik as an innovative solutions provider for superabsorbent polymers.

Evonik, the creative industrial group from Germany, is one of the world leaders in specialty chemicals. Its activities focus on the key megatrends health, nutrition, resource efficiency and globalization. Evonik benefits specifically from its innovative prowess and integrated technology platforms. Evonik is active in over 100 countries around the world.
MRC