AGC evaluating potential expansion of its Vinythai chlor-alkali business

MOSCOW (MRC) -- AGC has begun evaluating an expansion of production capacity at its chlor-alkali subsidiary, Vinythai, as part of its initiative to expand its chlor-alkali business in Thailand, as per Apic-online.

The project would involve increasing the production capacity of polyvinyl chloride to 860,000 t/y from 300,000 t/y, vinyl chloride monomer to 830,000 t/y from 400,000 t/y and caustic soda to 590,000 t/y from 370,000 t/y. A final decision will be made based on the findings of the environmental and health impact assessments.

AGC, which acquired Vinythai in 2017, is currently undertaking measures toward integrating Vinythai with the nearby AGC Chemicals (Thailand) Co. to increase the synergy of the two companies.

The company has plans to install a pipeline between the two businesses to share chlorine production.

As MRC wrote before, in December 2016, CMC Biologics, a global leader in clinical and commercial manufacturing of monoclonal antibodies, coagulation factors and other therapeutic proteins and AGC Asahi Glass (AGC), a world-leading manufacturer of glass, chemicals and high-tech materials, announced that they had entered into a definitive agreement with CMC Biologics' shareholders including Monitor Clipper Partners, European Equity Partners and Innoven Partenaires, by which AGC will acquire 100% of CMC Biologics' shares.

Asahi Glass Co., Ltd., more commonly known as AGC, is a global glass manufacturing company, headquartered in Tokyo. It is one of the core Mitsubishi companies.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) – Emerson announced new connections for Plantweb Optics, the asset performance platform for the Plantweb™ digital ecosystem, that will help organizations take the next step in their digital transformation to a more efficient, reliable operation, said Hydrocarbonprocessing.

The latest release adds connectivity to computerized maintenance management systems (CMMS) to create, prioritize, execute and track actions. It also includes a native historian for deeper analysis, and additional connectivity to plant floor data sources.

Effective predictive maintenance strategies demand that operations teams can efficiently respond to the most urgent issues in the plant. By integrating with IBM Maximo and SAP CMMSs, Plantweb Optics becomes a single platform where personnel can see operational issues, collaborate on a solution, and manage maintenance response, parts ordering, scheduling, and work order execution – enabling a fully automated workflow loop for reliability from the prediction of problems to the execution of prescribed, preventative tasks to avert failure.

The native historian provides operators and reliability teams the ability to validate maintenance and operational response based on past asset behavior and assess future performance of the asset. Now coupled with the automated workflows to their CMMS, personnel can more efficiently respond to reliability issues that affect production and ensure critical issues don’t go unresolved.

Plantweb Optics is also expanding the supported asset classes by adding access to Plantweb Insight applications, another component of the Plantweb digital ecosystem. The edge analytics provided on steam traps, pumps, and heat exchangers is channeled to the operations team so they can determine effective strategies for these essential assets.

“Connection between operations and enterprise systems is a requirement to digitally transform your operation,” said Peter Zornio, chief technology officer, Emerson Automation Solutions. “By providing better workflows between systems and leveraging performance analysis, organizations can move away from often unsafe and inefficient run-to-failure reliability approaches to strategies based on insight and analytics.”

With this new release, Plantweb Optics expands its view of asset health - connecting more applications to one centralized location for better insight into asset and plant health. The asset performance platform helps customers improve reliability and promotes Operational Certainty, Emerson’s programmatic approach aimed at helping customers define and implement pragmatic strategies for improving performance.
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MOSCOW (MRC) -- Pepperl+Fuchs, a world leader in process automation and applications, launched a new compact industrial box thin client, the BTC12, featuring the state of the art RM Shell 5.0, the latest generation of thin client firmware for industrial-grade security and stability, as per Hydrocarbonprocessing.

The BTC12 is a compact industrial box thin client for use in harsh industrial environments. Its low profile and high operating temperature range offer installation flexibility for automation cabinets, drawers in production, and in control rooms. An Apollo Lake processor supports modern operator workstation setups with up to two monitors. The BTC12 has two DisplayPort connections for dual video output, supporting 4K (Ultra HD) resolution at 60Hz. It also supports D++ (allows connectivity to HDMI monitor via a passive DP-to-HDMI cable) and Multi-Stream Transport protocol (daisy chaining multiple monitors to one display port).

As an industrial-grade product, the BTC12 is built on an aluminium chassis with a fanless design. Pepperl+Fuchs has eliminated all internal moving parts, and has enabled a safe operating temperature range between -20° and 60° Celsius. The shock- and vibration-resistant thin client weighs less than 5 lbs. This small, compact box can be easily mounted to a wall, mounted inside a cabinet or operate on a desktop.

"We have found that office-grade thin clients have a very high failure rate in industrial settings," said Kristen Barbour, marketing manager. "Our customers need a more robust modular unit that is reliable, easy to use and compatible with their existing equipment and software. The BTC12 is all that and more."

Pepperl+Fuchs introduced the new VisuNet RM Shell 5.0 remote monitor embedded operating system earlier this year. This latest generation software offers significant enhancements through a simplified touch-screen optimized user interface, advanced security features and Windows 10 IOT Enterprise LTSB. While the BTC12 comes pre-loaded with RM Shell 5.0., all of Pepperl+Fuchs' VisuNet products are available with the new firmware.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) — United Electric Controls, a leading producer of safety, alarm and shutdown technology, has expanded the capabilities of its Vanguard WirelessHART gas detector, as per Hydrocarbonprocessing.

Highlights include an expanded temperature operating range, enhanced stability across temperature ranges, improved handling of WirelessHART commands, and capability for interchangeable sensors.

“As our customers begin to see return on investments in WirelessHART gas detection, they are looking to apply it in more diverse settings and applications. This latest Vanguard version meets customer demands for operation in more extreme climates and improved connectivity, while also providing a foundation on which they can add new capabilities in the future,” said Andrew Liptak, United Electric Controls Product Manager for Gas Detection.

The Vanguard Gas Detector interfaces with existing networks to provide continuous detection of hydrogen sulfide (H2S) and methane (CH4) gases, which are among the most widely produced and most dangerous industrial gases. Among the highlights of the latest upgrade are expanded temperature range, improved zero stability over those ranges, and capability for interchangeable sensors.

• Broad operating temperature range. With new ambient operating temperatures from -40°C to 65°C, Vanguard sensors now have one of the highest operating ranges in the industry, making them suitable for extreme temperature ranges in areas such as India and Alaska.
• Enhanced zero stability. Minimal zero shift with changing ambient temperature reduces the chance of false alarms and provides faster connection to the gateway. Updated WirelessHART commands allow quicker connectivity to networks and commissioning of a gas detection system
• Updated FlexSense firmware. New sensor interchangeable firmware will accept new sensors to measure additional gases without changing the base unit.

Additional upgrades include improvements in span repeatability over temperature, sensor stabilization time, and installation. United Electric Controls’ Vanguard Gas Detector Version 1.1 is available for immediate shipping.
MRC

MOSOCW (MRC) - Negotiations on European polyvinyl chloride (PVC) prices for October delivery to the CIS markets have begun this week. European producers in most cases rolled over the September export prices, according to the ICIS-MRC Price Report.

The October contract price of ethylene was agreed up by EUR10/tonne from September, which led to an increase of, at least, EUR5/tonne, in PVC production costs. However, European producers announced the rollover of the September export PVC prices for supplies to the markets of the CIS countries in October, while in some cases it was reported about price cut of EUR10/tonne on the back of a weak demand.

The need for PVC from the main consumers from the CIS countries is low due to the seasonal factor and the stable work of local producers. Also, the need for procurement in foreign markets is minimal and often reduced to specific brands, in particular with K 70 and K 58.

Despite the ongoing scheduled shutdowns of some plants in Europe, most producers have no significant restrictions on exports. Negotiations on October shipments of suspension polyvinyl chloride (SPVC) to the CIS markets were held in the range of EUR720-790/tonne FCA, whereas deals were done in the range of EUR730-790/tonne FCA a month earlier. Thus, most deals were rolled over from September, only in a few cases prices were cut by EUR10/tonne.
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