Evonik and Siemens to generate high-value specialty chemicals from carbon dioxide and eco-electricity

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Evonik and Siemens are planning to use electricity from renewable sources and bacteria to convert carbon dioxide (CO2) into specialty chemicals, as per Evonik's press release.

The two companies are working on electrolysis and fermentation processes in a joint research project called Rheticus. The project was launched today and is due to run for two years. The first test plant is scheduled to go on stream by 2021 at the Evonik facility in Marl, Germany which produces chemicals such as butanol and hexanol, both feedstocks for special plastics and food supplements, for example. The next stage could see a plant with a production capacity of up to 20,000 tonnes a year. There is also potential to manufacture other specialty chemicals or fuels. Some 20 scientists from the two companies are involved in the project.

"We are developing a platform that will allow us to produce chemical products in a much more cost-effective and environmentally-friendly way than we do today", explains Dr. Gunter Schmid, technical project responsible of Siemens Corporate Technology. "Using our platform, operators will in future be able to scale their plants to suit their needs." The new technology combines multiple benefits. It not only enables chemicals to be produced sustainably, it also serves as an energy store, can respond to power fluctuations and help stabilize the grid. Rheticus is linked to the Kopernikus Initiative for the energy transition in Germany which is seeking new solutions to restructure the energy system. The Rheticus project will receive 2.8 million euros in funding from Germany’s Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF).

"With the Rheticus platform, we want to demonstrate that artificial photosynthesis is feasible", adds Dr. Thomas Haas, who is responsible for the project in Evonik’s strategic research department Creavis. Artificial photosynthesis is where CO2 and water are converted into chemicals using a combination of chemical and biological steps, in a process similar to how leaves use chlorophyll and enzymes to synthesize glucose.

Siemens and Evonik are each contributing their own core competencies to this research collaboration. Siemens is providing the electrolysis technology, which is used in the first step to convert carbon dioxide and water into hydrogen and carbon monoxide (CO) using electricity. Evonik is contributing the fermentation process, converting gases containing CO into useful products by metabolic processes with the aid of special micro-organisms. In the Rheticus project, these two steps - electrolysis and fermentation - are scaled up from the laboratory and combined in a technical test facility.

"Rheticus brings together the expertise of Evonik and Siemens. This research project shows how we are applying the Power-to-X idea", says Dr. Karl Eugen Hutmacher from the BMBF. Using electricity to generate chemicals is an idea from the Power-to-X concept. As one of the four pillars of the Kopernikus Initiative, the idea is to help convert and store renewable, electrical energy efficiently. At the same time, the Rheticus platform also contributes to the reduction of carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere, as it uses CO2 as a raw material. Three tons of carbon dioxide would be needed to produce one tonne of butanol, for example.

Evonik and Siemens see great future potential in the Rheticus platform. It will make it simple to scale plants to the desired size - the chemical industry will be able to adapt them flexibly to local conditions. In future, they could be installed anywhere where there is a source of CO2 - power plant waste gas or biogas for instance.
"Its modular nature and flexibility in terms of location, raw material sources and products manufactured make the new platform attractive for the specialty chemicals industry in particular", says Haas. "We are confident that other companies will use the platform and integrate it with their own modules to manufacture their chemical products", adds Schmid.

As MRC reported earlier, in August 2017, half a year after the announcement of the 2030 strategy, MOL Group reached an important milestone in its industrial transformational journey. The license agreements signed with Evonik and thyssenkrupp, will enable MOL to produce propylene oxide, a key component for the production of polyether polyols. MOL intends to become a significant producer of polyether polyols, high-value intermediates for products applied in the automotive, packaging and furniture industries.
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MOSCOW (MRC) -- It is just over one year since BASF’s Coatings division acquired Chemetall, a leading global surface treatment supplier, as per BASF.

Being well-known within the industry for its high-quality products and solutions, Chemetall will operate as a brand of the Surface Treatment global business unit of BASF’s Coatings division. During festive events at its headquarters in Frankfurt, Germany and facilities worldwide, the new brand image of Chemetall was officially introduced. Martin Jung, Senior Vice President, Surface Treatment, BASF’s Coatings division, recognized this milestone: “One plus one is greater than two! Our new brand image reflects the impressive know-how of BASF in chemistry and coatings applications with the market-leading expertise in applied surface treatment from Chemetall. Together, the businesses will offer unmatched solutions competence to customers."

BASF has long been recognized as a global innovation leader. Chemetall enjoys a great history of global recognition for providing its customers with high-performance products and individual solutions. The combination of expertise and innovation power of two global market leaders will accelerate innovation and drive even more customer success.

Julia Murray, Global Marketing Communications Surface Treatment, said: “The Chemetall brand is recognized for its technology leadership, and we take a great deal of pride in our customer-focused and customer-centric approach, locally and globally. Being part of BASF’s Coatings division creates opportunities to increase customer benefits from our combined expertise and commitment to continuous innovation. We expect to further advance our customers’ access to best-in-class technologies, systems, and solutions across the value chain, always with the goal of enhancing efficiencies and value for our customers."

Under the Chemetall brand, BASF develops and manufactures customized technology and systems solutions for applied surface treatment. The products protect metals from corrosion, facilitate forming and machining, allow parts to be optimally prepared for the painting process and ensure proper coating adhesion. These products are used in a wide range of industries and end-markets, such as automotive, aerospace, aluminum finishing, and metal forming.

The Coatings division of BASF is a global expert in the development, production and marketing of innovative and sustainable automotive OEM and refinish coatings, as well as decorative paints. We create advanced performance solutions and drive performance, design and new applications to meet our partners’ needs all over the world. BASF shares skills, knowledge and resources of interdisciplinary and global teams for the benefit of customers by operating a collaborative network of sites in Europe, North America, South America and Asia Pacific. In 2016, the Coatings division achieved global sales of about EUR3.2 billion.

In 2016, BASF acquired Chemetall, a leading global supplier of applied surface treatments for metal, plastic and glass substrates in a wide range of industries and end markets. With this expansion in portfolio, BASF becomes a more complete solution provider for coatings.
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MOSCOW (MRC) -- Oil supplies via the Russian Samara-Tikhorets pipeline, damaged by fire on Thursday, were restored on Sunday after completion of repair work, reported Reuters with reference to oil pipeline monopoly Transneft's statement.

The pipeline, which ships Siberia Light oil to refineries and Russian Black Sea export terminals, caught fire in the Saratov region on Thursday.

As MRC informed before, Transneft will increase oil exports via its pipeline system to 242.4 MMt in 2018.

Besides, we remind that Transneft is buying a stake in the oil terminal at the Baltic Sea port of Ust-Luga from businessman Andrei Bokarev. Transneft-Baltica's request to buy a 25% plus one share stake in terminal was approved by the Federal Antimonopoly service in H2 October 2017. The terminal, launched in 2015, has a capacity of 30 MMt of oil products per year. Bokarev owns 74% and oil trader Gunvor holds the remainder. Transneft confirmed that it was buying the stake in the terminal but did not disclose the seller or price. Gunvor built the terminal and sold a 74 percent stake in the terminal to Bokarev in 2015. Analysts at the time estimated the value of Gunvor's deal with Bokarev at USD1.9 B–USD2.2 B at current exchange rates.
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MOSCOW (MRC) -- Sirrus Inc., a developer of next-generation crosslinking platforms for coatings and adhesives, has entered into a joint development agreement with BASF’s Coatings Division to further develop a new class of high performance automotive coatings, as per Prweb.

Sirrus Inc., a developer of next-generation crosslinking platforms for coatings and adhesives, has entered into a joint development agreement with BASF’s Coatings Division. The agreement allows BASF to further develop a new class of high performance automotive coatings based on Sirrus's proprietary methylene malonate technology.

Methylene malonate monomers and their oligomeric crosslinking derivatives have the unique advantage of polymerizing rapidly at ambient temperatures—without the need for ultraviolet light, high temperatures or high solvent loading required by incumbent automotive coating systems. Malonate-cured coatings promise to reduce the energy requirements, environmental footprint and total ownership cost of automotive paint lines.

"The automotive industry's drive toward reducing energy, capital and solvent in coating finishing technologies is inevitable. At the same time, the industry will not tolerate any loss in manufacturing throughput or performance of the finished coating. Our malonate platform is a key enabling technology in meeting the industry's environmental, safety, cost reduction and performance goals," says Jeff Uhrig, CEO of Sirrus Inc.

“Being one of the leading paint suppliers to the automotive industry, BASF’s Coatings Division is an innovative partner for its customers and always strives for exploring new technologies. The methylene malonate platform is an interesting opportunity for us in many aspects, particularly to provide OEMs with more sustainable and energy-saving coating solutions,” says Harald Borgholte, Vice President, Strategic Marketing & Product Development, BASF.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Petkim Petrochemical, part of SOCAR, is likely to restart its polyvinyl chloride (PVC) plant following a maintenance turnaround, as per Apic-online.

A Polymerupdate source in the Turkey informed that the company has planned to complete maintenance at the plant in first week of Febraury 2018. The plant was shut for turnaround on January 7, 2018.

Located in Yarimca, Izmit, the plant has a production capacity of 150,000 mt/year.

As MRC reported previously, in May 2016, Azerbaijan’s state-owned energy company SOCAR sold 2.75 percent of its stake in Turkey's petrochemical giant Petkim to a foreign investment fund. Turkey’s Public Disclosure Platform (KAP) reports that this stake was sold for 147 million liras (USD51 million).
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