KBR to supply technologies for new olefins unit

MOSCOW (MRC) -- KBR, Inc. Houston announced that it has been awarded contracts for a technology license, basic engineering design services and proprietary catalyst supply by Lihuayi Lijin Refining & Chemical Co., Ltd., for a new olefins production unit in Dongying, China, as per Hydrocarbonprocessing.

The unit will use KBR’s proprietary Catalytic Olefins Technology (K-COT) and Selective Cracking Optimum Recovery (SCORE) Technology.

KBR K-COT is a flexible technology for converting low-value olefinic, paraffinic or mixed streams into high-value propylene and ethylene.

Lihuayi has previously successfully implemented KBR’s phenol technology at its site in Dongying.

"Lihuayi always follows the direction of developing petrochemical business in a green and energy-efficient way," said Xu Yunting, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Lihuayi Group. "KBR’s innovative catalytic olefin technology fits our corporate development plan well and we believe it can help Lihuayi to further speed up the progress of industry upgrading and to be more competitive in the market."

"We are extremely pleased to support Lihuayi on this new project," said John Derbyshire, President, KBR Technology. "Lihuayi is a ground-breaking company with the strategic vision to develop a new approach to the downstream chemical business in China. KBR’s innovative technologies make us the partner of choice to fully support Lihuayi in accomplishing their vision."

As MRC wrote before, in August 2018, KBR, Inc. announced that it had been awarded a license and engineering and a proprietary equipment supply contract by China Pingmei Shenma Group (PMSM) to build two new polycarbonate (PC) plants in Kaifeng and Pingdingshan in the Henan Province in China. Under the terms of the contracts, both 100,000 metric tonnes per annum plants will utilize KBR's proprietary phosgene-based interfacial polycarbonate technology PCMAX. As part of its overall polycarbonate strategy, PMSM intends to expand its total production capacity to 800,000 metric tonnes per annum.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- German chemical company Linde has announced its proposed USD83 bn merger with Praxair has been approved by the Chinese antitrust authority, reported Chemicals Technology.

In June last year, Linde agreed to merge with American company Praxair in a move that could create the world’s largest supplier of industrial gases.

However, the European Commission’s (EC) launched an in-depth investigation to assess competition concerns in various markets in the European Economic Area (EEA).

To alleviate the EC’s concerns, Praxair and Linde agreed to divest Praxair’s entire gas business in the EEA, including all relevant legal entities, assets and personnel. Both companies also agreed to fulfil other demands.

Subsequently, the EC gave conditional approval to the proposed merger between Linde and Praxair in August this year.

The deal has now been approved by Chinese antitrust authority, which is the State Administration for Market Regulation (Beijing). However, the deal still requires regulatory approvals in South Korea and the US, as well as the outstanding buyer approval from the EC.

The firms are in the process of selling additional assets to secure the regulatory approvals and complete the merger.

The combined company is expected to generate approximately USD1.2bn in annual synergies and cost reductions. The merged entity will be governed by a 12-member board of directors with equal representation from Linde and Praxair.

As MRC informed before, in late August, 2018, industrial gases groups Linde and Praxair won conditional antitrust approval in Brazil for their planned merger after committing to asset sales. Linde will sell its entire business in Brazil, subject to merger completion.

Munich (Germany) headquarted Linde is primarily active in industrial gases and medical gases, speciality gases, helium and the related engineering and services sectors.

Headquartered in Connecticut, US, Praxair is an international industrial gases company.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- DuPont Clean Technologies (DuPont) announced the successful startup of one of the world’s first IsoTherming hydroprocessing technology applications to treat diesel from a transmix processing facility, as per Hydrocarbonprocessing.

Transmix is a mixture of refined products that forms when transported in pipelines. This mixture is typically a combination of gasoline, diesel and/or jet fuel. The IsoTherming® hydrotreater, located at the Gladieux Processing (Gladieux) transmix facility in Huntington, Indiana, USA, has successfully completed the performance test, certifying that the unit is exceeding performance guarantees and producing 5,000 BPSD of ultra-low sulfur diesel (ULSD) containing less than 10 ppmw sulfur.

Capital cost advantages, as well as comparatively lower utility consumption, were key drivers for Gladieux’s selection of the IsoTherming hydroprocessing technology for this project.

The IsoTherming® hydroprocessing technology utilizes a novel liquid phase reactor system that is superior to conventional hydroprocessing technologies, as it uses the hydrogen and catalyst more efficiently. The IsoTherming® hydroprocessing technology offers lower capital and operating costs compared to conventional hydroprocessing technologies in achieving the desired product quality. The IsoTherming® hydroprocessing technology is suitable for a wide range of applications, including kerosene hydrotreating, transmix hydrotreating, diesel hydrotreating, FCC feed hydrotreating (VGO hydrotreating), mild hydrocracking, dewaxing, gas-to-liquid (GTL) upgrading, and heavy oil upgrading for both grassroots and revamp configurations.

To date, DuPont has 26 IsoTherming® hydroprocessing technology licenses globally, with 15 of these in commercial operation. These licensed units include a diverse set of applications ranging from 100 percent kerosene to 100 percent light-cycle oil (LCO), and various mixtures of distillates and heavy gas oils, including coker blends, with capacities ranging from 1,500 bpd to 80,000 bpd.

Growing global demand for cleaner transportation fuel continues to drive refiners toward operations that maximize hydroprocessing capacity and capability either through unit debottlenecks or new unit construction. More stringent environmental regulations and the processing of cost-advantaged sour and heavy feedstocks make meeting this demand even more challenging. Licensed and marketed by DuPont as part of its Clean Technologies portfolio in Overland Park, Kansas, USA, the IsoTherming® hydroprocessing technology provides a proven solution to meet this growing global demand.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) – Driven by continued increases in cost of key raw materials, transportation, and energy, as well as restricted availability of selected raw materials, BASF has decided to increase prices for paper wet-end and water chemicals in the EMEA region (Europe, Middle East and Africa), effective October 1, 2018 or as existing contracts allow to compensate those increased costs, said the company.

or the following product lines BASF will implement a minimum price increase:

Cationic Polyacrylamides +8%
Anionic Polyacrylamides +7%
Polyamines, Polydadmac +8%
Polymeric Sizing Agents +4%
Polyvinylamines +5%
Polyethyleneimines +5%
Scale and Foam Control +5%
Dyes product specific

BASF offers a comprehensive and customer-centric range of chemicals for the paper and water industry. Our paper chemicals portfolio comprises dry strength agents, fixing agents, retention and drainage aids, flocculants and coagulants for water management. Furthermore, we offer basic dyes, direct dyes, sizing agents, pigment preparations, wet strength agents and color developers for thermal paper. The water chemicals portfolio includes products used in the key processes of industrial and municipal water treatment. We are a leading supplier of chemicals to purify the raw water used for the production of drinking water, to treat waste water streams and industrial process water, to protect cooling towers, boilers and desalination plants.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- India has set up a panel of officials to suggest ways to settle land acquisition issues for a planned USD44 billion refinery on the west coast, reported Reuters with reference to Indian Oil Corp statement.

Saudi Aramco and ADNOC will hold a 25 percent stake in the planned 1.2 million barrel per day refinery and petrochemical project while a consortium of Indian refiners led by IOC will together hold the remainder.

The committee will also recommend on issues relating to the overall environmental protection and ecological conservation of the region - IOC statement. The panel will submit its recommendation in six months. Thousands of farmers oppose the refinery and are refusing to surrender land.

India aims to start production from the planned project by 2022.

As MRC wrote before, Indian Oil Corporation's Rs 34,555-crore 15 million tonnes per annum Paradip Refinery was commissioned in phases from March 2015 onwards. Indian Oil Corporation was conducting feasibility studies to set up a petrochemical complex at Paradip in Odisha for Rs 20,000 crore. The petrochemical complex will be built in the vicinity of the company’s to-be-commissioned 15-mln tpa greenfield refinery at Paradip. The petrochemical complex will be in addition to the already announced Rs 3,150-crore polypropylene project at the same location, the foundation stone for which was laid by MOS for petroleum and natural gas.

Indian Oil Corporation Limited, or IndianOil, is an Indian state-owned oil and gas corporation with its headquarters in New Delhi, India.
MRC