Clariant reduces stake in Stahl

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Clariant, a world leader in specialty chemicals, announced that it reduced its stake in the Netherlands-based Stahl group by 25 % from 19.7 % to 14.8 %, as per Hydrocarbonprocessing.

Clariant will remain invested in the company as a financial investor.

Stahl is a producer of high-quality chemicals, dyes, and coatings for leather and other applications and has about 2 000 employees. In 2014 Clariant sold its Leather Service business to the Stahl group for cash consideration and a 24 % stake in the acquiring group.
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MOSCOW (MRC) -- Shenhua Ningxia Coal Industry Group (SNCG), a subsidiary of Shenhua Group, one of the largest petrochemical producers in China, has restarted its No. 6 polypropylene (PP) unit following an unplanned outage, as per Apic-online.

A Polymerupdate source China informed that the company has resumed operations at the unit on Janaury 5, 2019. The unit was shut owing to technical glitch on December 24, 2018.

Located at Ningxia province of China, the No. 6 PP unit has a production capacity of 300,000 mt/year.

As MRC informed previously, SNCG shut one of its two PP units for a maintenance turnaround on August 2, 2018. The unit restarted in mid-August, 2018. Located at Ningxia province of China, the PP plant comprising of two units have a production capacity of 200,000 mt/year each.

Phase I project has four PP plants - two 200,000 tonne/year units and two 300,000 tonne/year units.

Shenhua Ningxia Coal Industry Group Co., Ltd. engages in coal mining and washing, coal deep processing, coal chemical industry, electric power, real estate, and other businesses.
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MOSCOW (MRC) -- Borouge (part of Borealis) has taken off-stream its No. 3 cracker for a maintenance turnaround, as per Apic-online.

A Polymerupdate source based in the Middle East informed that the company has undertaken a planned shutdown at its cracker on January 5, 2019. The cracker is likely to remain shut for a period of around 6-7 weeks.

Located at Ruwais, Abu Dhabi in UAE, the No.3 cracker has a production capacity of 1.5 mmt/year.

As MRC wrote before, in early March 2018, Polyolefins Borougetook a planned shutdown at its No.2 cracker in Ruwais. The cracker remained under maintenance for around 5 weeks. Located at Ruwais, Abu Dhabi in UAE, the No.2 cracker has a production capacity of 1.5 mmt/year.

Borealis is a leading provider of innovative solutions in the fields of polyolefins, base chemicals and fertilizers. With headquarters in Vienna, Austria, Borealis currently employs around 6,500 and operates in over 120 countries.
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MOSCOW (MRC) -- Thyssen Krupp through has recently won a contract from Arcelor Mittal to supply a new coke battery for the Tubarao steel plant, located in the Espirito Santo state in southeastern Brazil, said Process-worldwide.

The new coke battery will replace an existing one thus ensuring the production of 600,000?tons of coke per year.

Paulo Alvarenga, CEO of Thyssen Krupp South America, explained that this order was a further important milestone in the close and longstanding partnership with the customer, who attaches particular importance to environmental protection. To reduce coke oven emissions to a minimum, the latest environmental technologies are to be integrated into the new system.

The German group will provide engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) for the entire coke battery containing 49 coke ovens in total. It will replace one of the three original batteries of the coking plant which were also designed by the company in the early 1980s. The construction is expected to start in mid-2019. During the peak of the works, more than 700 jobs will be created.
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MOSCOW (MRC) -- Calling all startups, scale-ups, entrepreneurs and innovators, Akzo Nobel started the first edition of its "Paint the Future - the startup challenge" to discover new and revolutionary solutions that are intended accelerate innovation in the world of paints and coatings, said Process-worldwide.

The challenge is to connect bright minds and promising solutions from across the globe with the company's expertise, global scale and resources. Innovators, challenge teams, institutions and industry experts will work together to enhance the submitted ideas, forming a truly collaborative ecosystem. Spearheaded by the company's Chief Technology Officer Klaas Kruithof, Paint the Future offers winners the opportunity to accelerate commercialization of their solution.

Interested participants can register on the challenge's website to join the platform, submit solutions and contribute industry expertise as part of the community.

Launched in partnership with KPMG, the challenge focuses on five key areas:
Smart application
Enhanced functionality
Circular solutions
Life science infusion
Predictable performance

The deadline for new submissions is March 1, 2019, and participants on the platform will continue to explore, discuss and enrich ideas until March?12, after which AkzoNobel experts will select finalists to participate in the finals event in Amsterdam May 14 to 16. Shortly thereafter, the company will begin working with winners on sustainable business opportunities.
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