SP Chemicals eyes turnaround at VCM plant

MOSCOW (MRC) -- SP Chemicals is likely to shut its No.1 vinyl chloride monomer (VCM) plant for maintenance, according to Apic-online.

A Polymerupdate source in China informed that the company has planned to take its the plant off-stream in early-August, 2018. The plant is slated to remian under maintenance for around one month.

Located at Taixing in Jiangsu province of China, the No. 1 plant has a production capacity of 200,000 mt/year.

As MRC wrote before, SP Chemicals undertook a planned shutdown at its styrene monomer (SM) plant at Jiangsu on November 6, 2017. The plant remained under maintenance for about 4 weeks. Located at Taixing in Jiangsu province of China, the plant has a production capacity of 320,000 mt/year.

SP Chemicals, a Singapore-based company is one of the largest ion-membrane chlor-alkali producer and aniline producer in the PRC. SP Chemicals engages in the manufacture and sale of the chemical industry's basic building blocks - caustic soda, chlorine, hydrogen and its related downstream products. The company's products include: aniline, caustic soda, chlorine, chlorobenzene, nitrochlorobenzene, nitrobenzene, vinyl chloride monomer (VCM). To further drive its growth, SP Chemicals plans to invest approximately RMB1.1 billion in facilities for the production of styrene monomer, an intermediate raw chemical used in making polystyrene plastics, protective coatings, polyesters and resins.
MRC

Preliminary agenda announced for IRPC Americas

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Join Industry keynote Dr. Kevin Swift, Chief Economist at the American Chemistry Council and Technical Keynote Speaker Doug May, President, Olefins, Aromatics and Alternatives from the Dow Chemical Company as they begin Day One sessions with key topics highlighting technology innovations and regional market insights with leaders in the hydrocarbon processing industry, as per Hydrocarbonprocessing.

IRPC Americas attendees can listen to presentations on:

Process Optimization: Focus your APC effort to maximize profitability (Total Petrochemicals and Refining)

Reliability: Aqueous chemistry principles applied to refinery processes (Phillips 66)

Upgrading: Innovative solutions for resid upgrading and improved refinery margins (KBR)

Process Optimization: Use advanced predictive analytics to predict distillation column flooding (Valero)

Digital Operations: The spectrum of digital transformation (AVEVA)

Emerging Technologies: Achieving ULS gasoline while retaining octane (Sinopec)

As MRC informed earlier, in February 2017, Integrated Refinery and Petrochemical Complex (IRPC), a PTT Plc subsidiary, took its cracker off-stream for a maintenance turnaround. Located at Map Ta Phut in Thailand, the cracker has an ethylene capacity of 360,000 mt/year and propylene capacity of 312,000 mt/year.
MRC

Siemens and Bentley are driving digital enterprise forward with the Process Industries Academy

MOSCOW (MRC) -- The Siemens Divisions Process Industries and Drives (PD) and Digital Factory (DF) together with Bentley Systems and the Bentley Institute are driving digital enterprise forward over the entire life cycle by founding a Process Industries Academy, as per Hydrocarbonprocessing.

The Academy's aim is to share best practice for plant engineering and operations. Academies are situated in the strategic locations of Karlsruhe, Germany (Siemens Process Automation World), Houston, Texas/USA (Bentley's Digital Advancement Academy) and Shanghai, China (Siemens Process Industry Centre for Excellence) to support the global process industry. The first event will be held in the second half of 2018 at the Siemens Process Automation World in Karlsruhe.

In light of recent developments in process industries, for example, in the oil, gas and global energy markets and the subsequent effects on plant production, established working methods are under constant review across the whole plant life cycle. Less investment in green field projects and an increased focus on optimizing productivity, performance and utilization of existing plants are causing plant operators to search for new ways in which to increase competitiveness and operating revenue.

A holistic approach to continuous improvement of underlying business processes must include consideration of the interaction between the available business resources as well as all employees involved in a project and the latest technology. An insight into how Bentley and Siemens are optimizing plant engineering and operation using new cloud-based technologies was recently revealed in a white paper from ARC Advisory Group. Based on experience and know-how from the leading experts in the field, the Process Industries Academy will provide training which will use practical examples to illustrate the significant elements of digitalization for more efficient planning and development as well as the successful operation of plants. Participants will experience how the development of a clear digital strategy improves collaboration, communication and coordination between the individual project teams and generates an ideal environment for optimizing the generation of information and digital workflows.
MRC

Huajin Chemical starts maintenance at ABS plant

MOSCOW (MRC) -- North Huajin Chemical Industry has taken off-stream its Acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS) for a maintenance turnaround, as per Apic-online.

A Polymerupdate source in China informed that the company has started maintenance at the plant on June 10, 2018. The plant is likely to resume operations on July 7, 2018.

Located in Liaoning province of China, the ABS plant has a capacity of 200,000 mt/year.

North Huajin Chemical Industries Group Corporation develops, manufactures, and markets fertilizers, synthesis resins, ethylene, methanol, and dimethyl in China. The company also manufactures PVC plastic windows and doors, functional membranes, PVC-U section materials, and laminated plastic woven bags. Its fertilizer products include urea and slow release urea for use in agriculture, husbandry, and fishery markets. North Huajin Chemical Industries Group Corporation was founded in 2002 and is based in Panjin, China.
MRC

BASF increases production capacity of Neopor

MOSCOW (MRC) -- BASF is increasing its global production capacity for Neopor (expandable polystyrene containing graphite) by a total of 40,000 metric tons per year, as per the company's press release.

Adjustments in the plants at the two production sites in Ludwigshafen, Germany, and Ulsan, Korea, will take place through the fourth quarter of 2018.

At the Ulsan site in Korea, BASF will switch the plant?s entire 85,000 metric tons capacity from the classic white EPS (expandable polystyrene) Styropor to the improved insulation raw material Neopor (gray EPS) until end of 2018. This will allow the company to meet the growing demand for the gray material in the Asian market.

After a series of debottlenecking measures, the Ludwigshafen plant is now capable of producing 200,000 metric tons of Neopor a year. The annual production capacity for Styropor and Neopor at this location has been increased from 440,000 to a total of 460,000 metric tons.

The raw material is processed into insulation boards, which contribute to substantial savings of heating energy in new construction and renovations. Thus, the demand has risen steadily worldwide. Since introducing the product in 1998, BASF has continuously adapted Neopor?s production capacity. Compared with Styropor, the graphite containing insulation boards offer better insulation performance. Due to the lower density, lighter boards can be produced, making construction more efficient and saving material at the same time.

"With this step, we are offering even more customers a product that has been further developed in economic as well as environmental terms to meet the challenges we face with regard to climate protection and resource conservation. Worldwide, around 45% of total oil consumption and CO2 emissions – 40% in Germany – is caused by the heating and cooling of buildings. This can be significantly reduced by comprehensive, efficient insulation, supplemented by optimized building equipment and the appropriate use of alternative energy sources,” said Klaus Ries, Head of Global Business Management Styrenic Foams at BASF.

BASF invented and patented Styropor, the well-known, white foam granulate, in 1951, and launched Neopor 20 years ago as the first graphite containing EPS. The gray, plastic granulate Neopor is an advanced version of the classic white insulation material Styropor. By adding graphite, which gives the material its gray color, the insulation performance of the boards is increased by up to 20%. The use of raw material drops by up to 40% compared with the white material. This enables the processor to produce insulation boards with a lower mass but better insulation performance. The finished insulation products made of Neopor can be used in a range of applications, particularly for insulating exterior and interior walls and flat roofs.
MRC