Breakthrough of Tikkurila WB industrial coatings into the German market

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Tikkurila have successfully taken a great step forward in the introduction of Tikkurila industrial water-borne solutions to the German marketsaid the company.

Three customers there are already using coatings. Following global trends and in line with Tikkurila’s decision to focus on sustainable water-borne products, the German industrial management team, in cooperation with Swedish colleagues, did a great job obtaining new industrial customers. Tikkurila would like to present one of the cases here.

“We made our first contact with the Bohrtec company in October 2016. We had to fight against famous and well-known competitors such as PPG and Osnatol,” says Mr. Carsten Hummel, Tikkurila Group key account manager.

The main challenge during the negotiation and preparation work was that Tikkurila, as a producer of industrial coatings, is almost unknown in the German market. Further, our task was not only to demonstrate that our water-borne coatings perform sufficiently well, but also to prove that we offer the best water- borne solution on the market at the moment.

Bohrtec carried out three internal tests according to its own requirements: a fire test, a saltwater test and an abrasive test. The results showed that our paint systems were the best. Bohrtec accepted two paint systems, one hybrid and another one-component acrylic. The drilling area on this machine, which goes inside the hole, is painted with Fontecryl SC 50. It is a water-borne topcoat with nice performance.
MRC

BASF to expand mobile emissions catalysts site in Poland

MOSCOW (MRC) -- BASF invests in the expansion of its mobile emissions catalysts production site in Sroda Slaska, Poland. The expansion includes new production lines and additional infrastructure to equip light duty diesel and gasoline vehicles with BASF’s innovative catalyst and filter solutions, as per the company's press release.

The investment will increase the existing production site by approximately 14,000 square meters - adding more than 50% to the current production area and creating new jobs within the Lower Silesian region.

"The additional capacity and our best-in-class technology further enables BASF’s customers to meet tightening NOx and particulate emissions standards for diesel or gasoline engines, such as Euro 6d," said Tilo Horstmann, BASF Vice President Mobile Emissions Catalysts Europe. "Our Sroda Slaska production is BASF’s largest emissions catalysts production site in the region Europe, and with this expansion we strengthen our commitment to our customers and to the business growth strategy in the Europe, Middle East and Africa region."

Automobile manufacturers began working with new regulations effective September 2017, when the Euro 6d “Real Driving Emissions” (RDE) regulations for the European Union were introduced. The Euro 6d emissions regulations define the specific emissions limits that must be met in real driving cycles.

"The introduction of RDE regulation-based limits ensures better air quality. Our technologies for both diesel and gasoline powered vehicles are designed to meet even the strictest regulation standards." said Dirk Demuth, BASF Senior Vice President, Mobile Emission Catalysts. "BASF’s new state-of-the-art technologies make diesel a competitively clean technology. Diesel is also crucial in the engine mix to achieve the overall fleet CO2 targets of modern mobility," he added.

The expansion will create state-of-the-art lines with a full range of catalysts and filter technologies, including Selective Catalytic Reduction on Filter (SCR.2F). This is a patented technology combining SCR with a diesel particulate filter to control nitrogen oxides (NOx) and particulate matter emissions from diesel engines on a single substrate. In addition, the nitrogen oxides adsorbers technology, Lean NOx Trap (LNT) and the innovative Four-Way conversion catalysts (FWC) will be produced.

As MRC informed before, in July 2016, BASF closed the previously announced transaction to divest its global Polyolefin Catalysts business to W. R. Grace & Co., a global leader in specialty chemicals and materials.

BASF’s Catalysts division is the world’s leading supplier of environmental and process catalysts. The group offers exceptional expertise in the development of technologies that protect the air we breathe, produce the fuels that power our world and ensure efficient production of a wide variety of chemicals, plastics and other products, including advanced battery materials. By leveraging our industry-leading R&D platforms, passion for innovation and deep knowledge of precious and base metals, BASF’s Catalysts division develops unique, proprietary solutions that drive customer success.

BASF is the largest diversified chemical company in the world and is headquartered in Ludwigshafen, Germany. BASF 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.
MRC

Songwon commissions second TPU production line

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Songwon has announced that it has commissioned a second thermoplastic polyurethane production line at its site in Suwon, South Korea, extending the plant's production capacity from 7,000 t/y to 12,000 t/y, as per GV.

With more than 35 years’ business and manufacturing experience in the field of urethanes, Songwon says it is a market leader in South Korea, specialising in TPUs, ink binders and adhesives for flexible packaging laminates. The company has established sales organisations in Asia, Europe and North America, and now plans to expand its global business by offering a broad portfolio of technically advanced, customised urethane products. According to Songwon, the new production line will allow the manufacture of an extended range of TPU extrusion grades for wire and cable as well as film and sheet applications.

"Songwon is strongly committed to continuous innovation," said Kyuyeol Lee, Leader of the Performance Polymers business. "We are making use of our extensive R+D capabilities, industry knowledge and manufacturing experience to develop and produce new, groundbreaking TPUs. The second production line in Suwon will enable us to meet the demand for these products and help our customers worldwide to fulfill their end-use requirements."

Having exhibited its TPU solutions at the K 2016, Songwon says it has been working on further developments and recently introduced Songstomer P-8185 AI, a TPU resin with good anti-blocking properties. Blown films produced using the material are said to have exceptional strength as well as good resistance to abrasion, oil, fuel, solvents and high temperature. These properties make the TPU suitable for demanding applications such as automotive car seat systems, says Songwon.

As MRC informed previously, in August 2017, South Korean specialty chemicals company Songwon Industrial Co Ltd launched its new pilot plant in Panoli (Gujarat), thereby strengthening the organisation’s overall specialty chemicals development capability.

Headquartered in Ulsan (South Korea), Songwon Industrial Co is a leader in the development, production and supply of specialty chemicals. The second largest manufacturer of polymer stabilisers worldwide, Songwon operates group companies all over the world, offering the combined benefits of a global framework and readily accessible local organisations.
MRC

Aibel wins contract for Snorre Expansion Project

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Statoil has awarded Aibel the contract for the implementation of extensive modifications to the Snorre A platform as a part of Statoil’s “Snorre Expansion Project” - SEP, said Drillingandproduction.

The contract is a so-called EPCIC contract, which means that Aibel will have an overall responsibility for engineering, procurement, construction, installation and commissioning of the project.

The contract is valued at approx. NOK 1.6 billion, and will continue until the autumn of 2021. Engineering starts immediately, and will at its peak involve around 160 engineers based at the headquarters in Stavanger, where Aibel recently concluded the FEED study for the modification contract.

“We are obviously very pleased with the confidence Statoil has shown in us. In this project we will employ Aibel’s broad expertise in the entire value chain, from initial studies to finished project. It is also confirmation that the study team has carried out thorough preparations and developed a competitive concept. This provides an excellent basis for the actual execution,” says CEO and President of Aibel, Mads Andersen.

Among other things, the modifications include removal of excess weight and equipment from the Snorre A platform. Thus the initial activity offshore will start as early as January 2018 in parallel with starting in Stavanger.

The contract also comprises the installation of a new 650 ton support module for risers. This module will be built at Aibel’s yard in Haugesund. The start of prefabrication is planned for January 2019, while the actual installation of the module is scheduled for the spring of 2020. Around 70 to 100 people will be involved in fabrication work in Haugesund.
MRC

Arlanxeo launches unique Keltan 5-digit EPDM grade

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Arlanxeo, a global leader in performance elastomers, has launched a semi-crystalline EPDM grade with a very high Mooney viscosity for demanding rubber applications, particularly in the Automotive industry, said the producer in its press release.

Keltan 13561C DE delivers excellent mixing and fast extrusion behavior with high elasticity and collapse resistance in high filled compounds, supporting the reduction of overall compound volume costs. When replacing existing EPDM polymers, Keltan 13561C DE can significantly improve the mechanical properties in EPDM compounds with the same compound loading.

This is the first Keltan grade with five digits, indicating its high Mooney viscosity. Keltan 13561C DE has a high product viscosity of 130 Mooney Unit (MU) - higher than any other current Keltan EPDM grade. Although Arlanxeo does offer products with a higher polymer Mooney, these are created by adding much more extender oil to the product. Gose van Zandvoort, Technical Manager at the Arlanxeo Business Line Keltan said: "Here we have a polymer Mooney of 150 MU and yet we are adding "only” 15 parts of extender oil to the product, resulting in a viscosity of 130 MU. The result is a 5 digit code and a unique grade."

Customers who have tested the new grade for e.g. automotive sealing applications, reported that they were able to choose between benefiting from improved physical properties or from being able to add more fillers and oil to the rubber mixture to reduce overall compound costs.

Besides automotive solid seals, another key application is waste water seal compounds, where Keltan 13561C DE provides excellent mixing and processing properties for both extrusion and molding technologies, whilst meeting the full set of technical requirements according to DIN EN 681-1 (cold water). A key benefit is that the finished product offers optimal weather- and ozone resistance during outside storage for a longer time. Additionally, Keltan 13561C DE is able to provide a one polymer solution for automotive coolant hoses.

The new Keltan grade was launched in China and South America and product samples from commercial plant production are now available world-wide.

Chretien Rooijakkers, Head of Global Marketing for the Business line Keltan said: "This new Keltan grade is not only unique in our portfolio, but also in the global EPDM market. We are currently starting to develop recipes for demanding applications to explore the full potential of this product and are considering creating further variants with different ethylene and ENB contents."

This new Keltan grade is manufactured at ARLANXEO’s EPDM plant in Changhzou, China, using Keltan ACE polymerization technology. This was first implemented in 2013 by Arlanxeo in Geleen, the Netherlands. With this post-metallocene advanced catalyst technology, Arlanxeo is able to produce in a sustainable fashion the full EPDM portfolio, including this very high Mooney grade, with ultra-low catalyst residues and chlorine levels.

As MRC wrote previously, in September 2017, Arlanxeo presented its solutions from the TSR business unit for the first time. Thanks to its good adhesion, aging resistance and low air permeability, the product X_Butyl is the ideal polymer for numerous adhesive applications, such as transparent adhesive tapes, sealants for double glazing, high-quality hot melt pressure-sensitive adhesives, vinyl floor adhesives and even sealants for roofing membranes. X_Butyl is also used for self-fluxing, semiconducting electrical splicing tapes, thereby avoiding the need for separate layers of adhesives.

Arlanxeo was established in April 2016 as a joint venture of Lanxess - a world-leading specialty chemicals company based in Cologne, Germany - and Saudi Aramco - a major global energy and chemicals enterprise headquartered in Dhahran, Saudi Arabia. The two partners each hold a 50-percent interest in the joint venture. The business operations of Arlanxeo are assigned to the High Performance Elastomers and Tire & Specialty Rubbers business units.
MRC