Sabic presents tough high-impact filament for fused deposition modeling

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Sabic, a global leader in the chemical industry, is launching new LEXAN EXL AMHI240F filament, as per the company's press release.

This unique product is based on Sabic’s LEXAN EXL polycarbonate (PC) copolymer technology, which delivers high impact performance and low-temperature ductility. The new filament addresses the need for higher-performing materials in the industrial sector, and is designed for use in Stratasys Fortus Classic industrial printers. It is a potential material of choice for demanding aerospace, consumer electronics and automotive applications. LEXAN EXL AMHI240F filament is the first of several new materials with distinctive performance characteristics that the company plans to launch in the coming year.

"LEXAN EXL AMHI240F filament is an excellent example of how Sabic is delivering on its promise to help our customers lead the additive manufacturing industry into the future by providing the high-performance filament technologies they need to succeed," said Stephanie Gathman, director, Emerging Applications, Sabic. "By raising the bar with new additive manufacturing products that perform better than currently available materials, we are opening up new possibilities and allowing OEMs to meet the specification requirements of their applications."

New LEXAN EXL AMHI240F filament features a high level of toughness, as well as improved ductility at room temperature and at temperatures down to -30 C. Compared to standard PC, this material delivers up to four times better notched Izod impact at room temperature, and up to three times better at -30 C, depending on print orientation. LEXAN EXL filament has a heat deflection temperature of 140 C, which is higher than that of general-purpose acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene (ABS) filaments. This makes the new Sabic filament a great candidate for use in applications that operate at elevated temperatures.

LEXAN EXL AMHI240F filament complies with Underwriters Laboratories’ UL94 V-0 flammability standard at 3.0 mm in flat (XY) and on-edge (XZ) orientations, making it appropriate for a broad range of applications requiring fire resistance. It is available globally for sampling. It is initially offered in black, with plans to launch additional colors, including white, in the near future.

The new product is the first LEXAN EXL-based filament commercially available for use in Stratasys Fortus Classic printers, as well as other printers with sufficient temperature capability and an open-format architecture. The material processes at standard Stratasys print settings for PC.

In 2018, Sabic plans to launch several more differentiated products based on its high-performance materials portfolio, including filaments based on ULTEM polyetherimide (PEI) and EXTEM thermoplastic polyimide (TPI) resins. The new filaments are designed for applications that require higher temperature performance.

In addition to innovative materials, the company offers expertise and resources for design, application development and testing for additively manufactured parts. Importantly, Sabic’s filament solutions offer a single chain of custody from raw materials through filament supply.

As MRC reported previously, this autumn, Sabic developed new materials for customers producing LED automotive lighting parts. LEXAN HF4010SR resin is one of the new offerings. This PC material can make it possible for customers to develop complex headlight bezels with enhanced aesthetics. Sabic has also added new grades to its existing LEXAN XHT resin line, which can offer improved flow at high temperatures compared to other high-heat
polycarbonate materials available today.

Saudi Basic Industries Corporation (Sabic) ranks among the world's top petrochemical companies. The company is among the worldпїЅs market leaders in the production of polyethylene, polypropylene and other advanced thermoplastics, glycols, methanol and fertilizers.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Russian oil refining is expected at around 280 MMt this year, remaining at around the same levels in 2018, deputy energy minister Kirill Molodtsov told reporters, said Reuters.

Russia is the world’s top oil producer and the second biggest oil exporter after Saudi Arabia.

As MRC informed before, Saudi Arabia, the world's top oil exporter, will supply full contractual volumes of crude to five North Asian refiners in January 2018, unchanged from the previous month, five sources with direct knowledge of the matter said on Monday. Steady supply of Saudi oil to Asia will help meet robust demand in the region, with flows from places such as Europe and the United States slowing.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) — Saudi Arabia, the world's top oil exporter, will supply full contractual volumes of crude to five North Asian refiners in January, unchanged from the previous month, five sources with direct knowledge of the matter said on Monday, as per Reuters.

Steady supply of Saudi oil to Asia will help meet robust demand in the region, with flows from places such as Europe and the United States slowing.

State oil company Saudi Aramco last week raised prices for all crude oil grades to Asia in January, in line with strong demand. The premium for flagship Arab Light crude was at its highest since September 2014, Reuters data showed.

The OPEC producer supplied full contractual volumes of crude to at least three North Asian refiners for December loading. But it trimmed supplies to at least three Japanese buyers and one in South Korea by up to 10% across different Saudi crude grades for November loading as maintenance at oilfields reduced output.

At least one North Asian refiner had not received its monthly allocation yet, a source familiar with the matter said, but added that Saudi Arabia was seen as willing to meet buyer demands.

All sources declined to be identified as they were not authorized to speak with media.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) — CB&I announced it has received full notice to proceed by Kazakhstan Petrochemical Industries Inc. (KPI) for the project management services for a propane dehydrogenation unit (PDH) and a polypropylene plant in the western Atyrau region of Kazakhstan, as per Hydrocarbonprocessing.

"We look forward to working with KPI through the provision of project management services on the different phases of this project and building on our experience in Kazakhstan," said Duncan Wigney, CB&I's Executive Vice President of Engineering & Construction. "This project is an excellent example of CB&I's integrated capabilities and the comprehensive solutions we offer to our customers in the region."

The PDH unit uses CB&I's CATOFIN propane dehydrogenation technology, and the polypropylene plant uses CB&I's Novolen advanced gas-phase polypropylene technology.
MRC

(MRC) — Royal Dutch Shell said a fire at its Singapore refinery-petrochemical site was extinguished on Sunday and no one was hurt in the incident, as per Reuters.

The fire occurred at one of its manufacturing units on Bukom Island at about 10 a.m. (0200 GMT) and was extinguished shortly after by the site's firefighters, a company spokeswoman said in an emailed statement.

Shell was investigating the cause of the incident and did not expect any impact on its customers, she said.

Shell did not specify which unit had been affected.

The Bukom site, Shell's largest wholly-owned plant, has a 500,000-bpd refinery and a steam cracker that produces more than 900 Mtpy of ethylene.
MRC