Air Products breaks ground at Huntsman site in Louisiana for industrial gases production plant

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Lehigh Valley, Pa. Air Product and Huntsman jointly gathered for a groundbreaking ceremony held at the site of what will be Air Products’ new steam methane reformer (SMR) and cold box in Geismar, Louisiana, as per Hydrocarbonprocessing.

Air Products will build, own and operate the facility under a long-term agreement and industrial gases including carbon monoxide(CO), hydrogen and steam will be produced and supplied to Huntsman’s neighboring Geismar operations. The new facility is to be commercially onstream in early 2020.

"It is always exciting to break ground for a new world-scale facility, and especially to do so at a location where it will primarily serve a long-standing customer. We have supplied Huntsman with industrial gases at other facilities where they have operations and we are pleased to expand our relationship through this new supply supporting Huntsman at Geismar. The Air Products plant will be state-of-the-art in terms of high reliability and sustainability, with enhanced energy efficiency and reduced emissions," said Corning Painter, executive vice president - Industrial Gases at Air Products.

Tony Hankins, president of Huntsman Polyurethanes said, "The reliability and environmental performance of the new industrial gases plant from Air Products will be an important foundation in supporting the delivery of our North American Polyurethanes strategy. As a business, we are focused on rapidly building our downstream footprint and capabilities. This strategic shift can only be achieved with a strong upstream asset position at our Geismar MDI facility. We look forward to the successful commissioning of the Air Products plant in early 2020."

The new facility, to be located on land leased from Huntsman, will produce approximately 6.5 million standard cubic feet per day (MMSCFD) of CO, 50 MMSCFD of hydrogen, and up to 50,000 pounds per hour of steam. There is also the ability for the facility to be expanded to increase CO in the future to support additional growth.

Beyond supply to Huntsman’s production facility in Geismar, Air Products’ new plant will also be connected to its Gulf Coast hydrogen pipeline and network system (GCP). Dedicated in 2012, the 600-mile pipeline span is the world’s largest hydrogen plant and pipeline network system. The GCP stretches from the Houston Ship Channel in Texas to New Orleans, Louisiana, and supplies customers with over 1.4 billion feet of hydrogen per day from 22 hydrogen production facilities.

"We recently announced increased hydrogen capacity to the Gulf Coast pipeline for customers with an onstream project in Texas, and now we will again have added enhanced and reliable hydrogen supply to the pipeline network when this Geismar facility is placed onstream. We continually seek additional sources of hydrogen to add product supply capacity to our customers along our well-established pipeline network system along the Gulf Coast," said Painter.

As MRC wrote before, in February 2016, world-leading industrial gas company, Air Products and Unipetrol RP (part of Unipetrol), signed a new long-term agreement extending their successful relationship. The contract, which will run until 2027, sees Air Products continuing to supply industrial gases from its existing air separation unit (ASU) to meet Unipetrol's needs.

Huntsman Corporation is a publicly traded global manufacturer and marketer of differentiated chemicals with 2016 revenues of approximately USD10 billion. The company's chemical products number in the thousands and are sold worldwide to manufacturers serving a broad and diverse range of consumer and industrial end markets. Huntsman operates more than 100 manufacturing and R&D facilities in approximately 30 countries and employ approximately 15,000 associates within our 5 distinct business divisions including the Pigments and Additives division that the company intend to IPO or spin-off as Venator Materials Corporation.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- An oil spill that caused a fire that killed five people and sickened hundreds in an Indonesian port city came from a broken pipe the state-owned energy company was using to transfer crude oil, as per Nbclosangeles.

A preliminary investigation had identified the leaking substance as marine fuel oil, but East Kalimantan police spokesman Ade Yaya Suryana said the latest sample confirmed it was crude oil from a pipe laid on the seabed and owned by state oil and gas company Pertamina.

The oil leaking from the broken steel pipe caused a fire at a fishing boat and a ship carrying coal at its stern Saturday. Four people were confirmed killed earlier, and rescuers found another body of a missing person late Wednesday.

Balikpapan city secretary Sayid Fadli said Wednesday the waters offshore reeked like a gas station and the city on the island of Borneo was in its third day of a state of emergency following the weekend spill around Semayang Port.
"We have warned workers and residents around the bay to refrain from lighting cigarettes and make safety the priority," Fadli said.

The city has distributed masks, and more than 1,300 people have suffered breathing problems, nausea and vomiting.
Suryana said the cause of the broken pipe was still being investigated, but local media cited Pertamina as saying the pipe had been dragged out of position so far it broke.

Togar M.P. Manurung, Pertamina's Refinery Unit general manager, was quoted in the The Jakarta Post as saying the pipe had been shut to prevent further leaks and the firm was still trying to discern how much oil had spilled into the bay. The port authority was working with Chevron Indonesia and Pertamina to clean up the spill, Fadli said.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Unilever has announced a partnership with start-up company Ioniqa & the largest global producer of PET resin Indorama Ventures to pioneer a new technology which converts PET waste back into virgin grade material for use in food packaging, as per the company's press release.

Ioniqa has developed a proprietary technology that is able to convert any PET waste - including colored packs - back into transparent virgin grade material. The technology has successfully passed its pilot stage and is now moving towards testing at an industrial scale.

PET (Polyethylene Terephthalate) is widely used to produce plastic packaging, yet worldwide only around 20% of this material makes its way to recycling plants with the rest either incinerated, disposed of in landfills or leaking into the natural environment. Through its R&D Foods team, Unilever has partnered with Indorama Ventures & start-up company Ioniqa, a spin-off from the Eindhoven University of Technology, The Netherlands, to tackle this challenge.

Ioniqa’s new technology takes non-recycled PET waste - like colored bottles - and breaks it down to base molecule level, while separating the color and other contaminants. The molecules are converted back into PET which is equal to virgin grade quality at Indorama’s facility.

If proven successful at industrial scale, in future it will be possible to convert all PET back into high quality, food-grade packaging. The three partnering companies believe that this fully circular solution could lead to an industry transformation, since the new technology can be repeated indefinitely.

In 2017, Unilever committed to all of its plastic packaging being reusable, recyclable or compostable by 2025. Chief R&D Officer David Blanchard said that Unilever is proud to support another sustainable packaging innovation.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- China's list of U.S. products that could be taxed upon export, threatens the United States plastics and chemicals industry, according to the American Chemistry Council, reported Hydrocarbonprocessing.

The US announced imposed tariffs on imports of Chinese steel and aluminum and China responded with a list including, low-density polyethylene, polyolefin elastomers and plastomers, polyvinyl chloride resin, polyamide 66 resin, aromatic and semi-aromatic PAs and their copolymers, and epoxy resin.

American Chemistry Council (ACC) President and CEO Cal Dooley issued the following statement in response to the announcement by China that it plans to impose tariffs on billions of dollars in US exports following U.S.-imposed tariffs on imports of Chinese steel and aluminum:

"U.S. chemical manufacturers believe the principles of free and fair trade should apply to all members of the WTO, and that includes China. However, engaging in a trade war with one of our country's most significant trading partners is not the answer. We strongly urge both the US and Chinese governments to work together to come to a satisfactory and mutually beneficial decision before this situation escalates further.

"China is one of the U.S. chemical industry's most important trading partners, importing 11 percent, or USD3.2 billion, of all U.S. plastic resins in 2017. We are particularly concerned that 40 percent of the products to which China has assigned new tariffs are chemicals, including polyethylene, PVC, polycarbonates, acrylates, and others.

"Nearly USD185 billion in new chemical factories, expansions and restarts of facilities around the country are predicated on current tariff schedules, and market shifts caused by tariff increases may convince investors to do business elsewhere. We strongly urge the U.S. and China to reach a productive and meaningful agreement before any of the proposed tariff schedules go into effect."
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- According to the figures presented today, revenue for the KraussMaffei Group increased 8 percent to EUR1.37 billion, in 2017, while growth in new orders, at 6 percent, was also solid, as per Plasticsnewseurope.

Both results were higher than the record achieved in 2016, said Frank Stieler, CEO of the KraussMaffei Group, who pointed to China as the driver for the Group’s performance.

KraussMaffei was acquired by ChemChina in 2016, gaining improved acess to the Chinese market. "Our products in the injection molding and reaction process technology segments in particular benefited greatly from growing Chinese demand", said Stieler.

Over the longer term, KraussMaffei will continue to focus on digitalization, automation, and regional markets, a focus which will necessarily be accompanied by substantial investment the Group’s machine fleet, IT infrastructure, and software during the current fiscal year. Capital investment of about €67 million is planned for 2018, representing an increase of 81 percent compared to the previous year.

The Group also reported that its previously announced planned stock market listing is currently subject to approval by various authorities and committees in China.
MRC