Honeywell to provide detergent manufacturing technologies to Farabi petchem complex

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Honeywell has announced that Farabi Petrochemicals Company will use Honeywell UOP technologies for a new complex in Yanbu to expand its production of biodegradable detergents, reported Hydrocarbonprocessing.

The construction of the new complex is expected to be completed in 2020.

As part of the contract, Honeywell UOP will provide catalysts and adsorbents as well as licensing, basic engineering design and other associated services for the new complex. Honeywell UOP technologies include a Unionfining hydrotreating unit, a Molex unit to produce the linear alkylbenzene (LAB) feedstock necessary for making biodegradable detergents, a Pacol unit for dehydrogenation, a DeFine unit to improve product purity, and a Detal detergent alkylation unit.

When completed, the Yanbu complex will produce more than 120,000 mtpy of LAB and 246,000 mtpy of normal paraffins, in addition to de-aromatized specialty oils, asphalt, sulfonates, mining chemicals, process oils and lubes. As a feedstock, the complex will use diesel from the Saudi Aramco refinery and kerosene from the Saudi Aramco ExxonMobil refinery in Yanbu.

According to the Gulf Petrochemicals and Chemicals Association (GPCA), Saudi Arabia had 98.5 MMtpy of petrochemicals production capacity in 2016. It is the region’s second-largest industry within the manufacturing sector, creating more than 500,000 direct and indirect jobs and USD108 billion worth of products as recently as 2015.

The demand for normal paraffins as the feedstock for LAB continues to increase worldwide. The Molex process provides the most economical route to produce normal paraffins from kerosene and diesel, while also producing a by-product return stream of Jet A-1 quality jet fuel. The process operates in the liquid phase and simulates a moving adsorbent bed in a fixed-bed system using a proprietary multi-port rotary valve.

As MRC wrote before, in early March 2017, Honeywell announced that Jiangsu Sailboat Petrochemical Company, Ltd. started its UOP Advanced Methanol-to-Olefins (MTO) unit during a 10-day test to confirm successful operation.

Honeywell UOP's Advanced MTO process combines the UOP/Hydro MTO process and the Total/UOP Olefin Cracking Process to significantly increase yields and feedstock efficiency. The process converts methanol from coal and natural gas into ethylene and propylene. At the heart of the technology are UOP's proprietary catalysts, which make it possible to efficiently adjust the ratio of propylene and ethylene produced so operators can most effectively meet demand for those products.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Qatar Petroleum (QP) has successfully completed the integration of Qatar Vinyl Company (QVC) into Qatar Petrochemical Company (Qapco), six months before the deadline of this year end, as per Plastemart.

The unification of QVC, a subsidiary of Mesaieed Petrochemical Company (MPHC), into Qapco, a subsidiary of Industries Qatar (IQ) that already operates Qatofin, has been done through the integration of all operations under a single operating company, Qapco. Both IQ and MPHC are listed on the Qatar Stock Exchange.

As of July 1, the resulting new single operating organisation, Qapco, will fully operate the facilities of all three companies. This integration will bring no change to the respective shareholdings of Qapco, Qatofin and QVC, whose brands will remain fully in place, QP said.

Qapco - which is 80% owned by IQ and 20% by France’s Total Petrochemicals - is engaged in the production and sale of ethylene, polyethylene, hexane and other petrochemical products; whereas QVC - which is jointly controlled by QP, MPHC and Qapco - is into sale of petrochemical products as caustic soda, ethylene dichloride and vinyl chloride monomer.

"This successful integration is another testament to our commitment to increasing the efficiency, effectiveness, and competitiveness of all our operations," QP president and chief executive Saad Sherida al-Kaabi said.

We remind that, as MRC wrote earlier, in November 2015, QP, as part of a restructuring program, announced plans to withdraw from the joint venture Long Son petrochemical complex in Vietnam. Located in Ba Ria-Vung Tau province, the complex, with an estimated cost of USD4.5-billion, involves a 1.4-million-t/y olefins cracker to feed downstream production of 2.7-million t/y of polyethylene and polypropylene. Operations are expected to begin in 2018. The project was initially a joint venture owned 25% by QP, 46% by Siam Cement Group and 29% by PetroVietnam.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- BASF, the world's pretrochemical major, has presented a new copolyamide for packaging - Ultramid Flex F, which offers completely new properties, said the producer on its site.

Ultramid Flex F38 L is an entirely new and partly bio-based copolyamide. Thanks to its softness and transparency even at low temperatures and low humidity, this polyamide is ideally suited for soft packaging (see chart below).

Tear and puncture resistance are also increased in an even softer film.

Films made of Ultramid Flex F are even soft immediately after processing and without conditioning. This offers huge advantages for film processing at low temperatures and low humidity.

A quarter of the raw material used for the monomer is sourced from regionally-grown rapeseed oil. Ultramid® Flex F38 L supports the trend towards more sustainable packaging solutions. For the packaging industry, the new Ultramid Flex F unlocks entirely new opportunities for launching bio-based products onto the market.

With a CO2 and O2 permeability 15 times higher than in conventional polyamide 6, the new Ultramid Flex F38 L possess considerably changed barrier properties. For example, Ultramid Flex F is ideally suited for use as cheese ripening bags.

Thanks to its high flexibility and softness, the new Ultramid can also be used to produce soft vacuum and shrink bags. The product also allows for conventional stretching ratios in deep-drawing processes – without any stress whitening.

In addition to its use in the food industry, the new Ultramid Flex F is the ideal solution for a wide array of technical films that are characterized by sufficient ductility and tear strength even at lower temperatures.

Ultramid Flex F38 L has a considerably higher melt stability than conventional polyamides, allowing for an outstanding bubble stability and higher blow-up ratio. These processing properties enable users to optimize the entire film structure.

As MRC informed previously, in May 2015, BASF inaugurated its new Ultramid (polyamide 6 and 6/6.6) polymerization plant at the Shanghai Chemical Industry Park in Shanghai, China. The new plant, with a capacity of 100,000 metric tons per year, further strengthened BASF’s local production and supply network and better serve the growing market in Asia Pacific.

BASF is the world’s leading chemical company. Its portfolio ranges from chemicals, plastics, performance products and crop protection products to oil and gas. BASF operates Ultramid polymerization plants in Ludwigshafen, Germany; Antwerp, Belgium; Freeport, Texas/USA; and Shanghai, China.
MRC

Last month's SPVC imports to Ukraine fell to 8,600 tonnes from 11,400 tonnes in May. In anticipation of resumption of resin production at Karpatneftekhim, Ukrainian companies reduced their shipments from the US, and restrictions on purchasing of polymer in Europe and Russia also remained.

Overall SPVC imports totalled about 48,000 tonnes in January-June 2017, compared to 55,300 tonnes a year earlier. Demand for suspension subsided from local producers of profile-moulded products, whereas demand for resin increased from producers of plasticized PVC.

The structure of PVC imports into Ukraine by countries looked the following way over the stated period.

Last month's SPVC imports from the United States decreased to 4,300 tonnes from 6,400 tonnes in May, local companies were forced to restrict their purchasing of North American resin because of expectations of Karpatneftekhim's launch. Imports of North American resin totalled 17,400 tonnes in January-June 2017 versus 34,700 tonnes a year earlier.

June shipments of European PVC into the Ukrainian market went down to 2,800 tonnes from 3,100 tonnes a month earlier. Overall imports of European PVC rose to 21,300 tonnes over the stated period, compared to 16,500 tonnes a year earlier.

Last month's SPVC imports from Russia dropped to 1,300 tonnes from 1,900 tonnes in May. Shipments of Russian resin totalled 8,900 tonnes in the first six months of 2017, compared to 3,800 tonnes a year earlier.

MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- The Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) and Borealis have signed a framework agreement, under which the companies will advance two key projects that will expand both ADNOC and Borealis downstream petrochemicals business and support the delivery of ADNOC’s integrated smart growth and partnership strategy, as per Hydrocarbonprocessing.

The agreement was signed by H.E. Dr. Sultan Ahmed Al Jaber, UAE Minister of State and Group CEO of ADNOC and Mark Garrett, Borealis Chief Executive.

Earlier this month, ADNOC announced the expansion of its strategic partnership model to span the Group’s entire value chain as well as the more active management of its portfolio of assets. This new initiative builds on ADNOC’s flexible operating model and its 2030 growth strategy. It will enable ADNOC to unlock and maximize significant value from across the Group, drive business and revenue growth, optimize performance, improve technology transfer, and secure greater access for its products in key growth markets.

Under the agreement, ADNOC and Borealis will move to the pre-FEED (front end engineering and design) stage for the construction of the Borouge 4 complex, which encompasses a world-scale, mixed feedstock cracker, using existing feedstock available in Abu Dhabi and downstream derivatives units for both polyolefin and non-polyolefin products. The proposed Borouge 4 complex is slated to come on stream around 2023 and will be integrated with ADNOC’s Takreer refinery.

Simultaneously, the companies have agreed to commence engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) tendering for an additional polypropylene plant (PP5) based on Borealis’ proprietary Borstar technology. The plant, to be integrated with the existing Borouge 3 complex, will add value to the surplus propylene available from Takreer’s new Propane DeHydrogenation (PDH) unit, producing around 0.5 million tonnes per annum of polypropylene.

The Borouge JV was established in 1998 and production has progressively ramped up with the consecutive completions of the Borouge 1, 2 and 3 complexes. Today’s production capacity is 4.5 MMtpy following the successful start-up of Borouge 3 in 2016.

The framework agreement also identifies that ADNOC and Borealis will review the extension of their successful Borouge joint venture beyond its first 30-year lifetime.

Building new capacity in the UAE ensures the long-term security of supply and further enables Borouge to expand its product portfolio and deliver leading edge products. With the proven track record of operational reliability of Borouge, the new assets will support Borouge customers’ growth ambitions in the automotive and energy markets as well as in pipe, agricultural film and the rigid and flexible packaging sectors.

As part of its 2030 strategy, ADNOC aims to expand petrochemical production from the current 4.5 million tonnes per year to 11.4 million tonnes per year by 2025.

As MRC informed before, ADNOC is targeting rapid growth in demand for its polymer products from China’s automotive industry and the country’s investment in gas and electricity infrastructure. ADNOC is focused on market expansion in China and Asia, where demand for petrochemicals and plastics, including light-weight automotive components, essential utility piping and cable insulation, is forecast to double by 2040.

Borealis is a leading provider of innovative solutions in the fields of polyolefins, base chemicals and fertilizers. With headquarters in Vienna, Austria, Borealis currently employs around 6,500 and operates in over 120 countries.
MRC