Chemical production in Russia grew by 2.7% in 2018

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Russia's output of chemical products rose in December 2018 by 4.2% month on month.
However, this figure increased by 2.7% in 2018, according to Rosstat's data.

According to the Federal Service of State Statistics, last month's production of basic chemicals increased by 4.2% from November 2018, with benzene accounting for the main increase. Overall, production of chemical products grew in January-December 2018 by 2.7% year on year.

Thus, 276 ,000 tonnes of ethylene were produced in December, compared to 270,000 tonnes a month earlier. 2,990,000 tonnes of this olefin were produced in 2018, up by 4.8% year on year.

Last month's production of benzene rose to 124,000 tonnes from 112,000 tonnes in November. Overall output of this material reached 1.3406,000 tonnes in 2018, up by 3.3% year on year.

December production of sodium hydroxide (caustic soda) was 115,000 tonnes (100% of the basic substance) versus 109,000 tonnes a month earlier. Overall output of caustic soda grew to 1.279,000 tonnes in January-December 2018, up by 6.3% year on year.

Last month's output of mineral fertilizers was 2.121 m tonnes (in terms of 100% nutrients) versus 1.886 m tonnes in November, Russian producers increased their production of nitrogen and potash fertilizers. Overall, Russian plants produced over 22,870,000 tonnes of fertilizers last year, up by 1.4% year on year. Nitrogen fertilizers accounted for the greatest increase - up by 3.7% year on year.
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Covestro is involved in new Europe-wide research project aiming to recover 90% of post-consumer PU for recycling

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Together with partners, Covestro is investigating how recycling polyurethane plastics can be significantly improved. The materials manufacturer is part of the new Europe-wide research project called "PUReSmart", which comprises nine companies and academic institutions from six countries, as per the company's press release.

The goal is to develop a complete circular product life cycle and turn polyurethane into a truly sustainable material. One of the materials made of polyurethane is soft and hard foam, which is required for mattresses and upholstered furniture as well as for insulating buildings and cooling devices.

PUReSmart will run for four years and will receive six million euros from the European Union under the Horizon 2020 research and innovation program (grant agreement No. 814543). The project, coordinated by the Belgian company Recticel, aims to recover 90 percent of the used polyurethane in order to create building blocks for existing or new products - for example a new polymer that combines the durability of thermosets with the recyclability of thermoplastics. Intelligent sorting methods are particularly important for efficient chemical recycling.

Covestro is working on the best possible chemical recycling of polyurethanes after use during the project along with the qualitative treatment of the material flows that are generated during this. The aim is to obtain high-quality raw materials for new polyurethane applications. "Polyurethanes are a particularly versatile and widely used class of plastics that provide comfort and safety in many applications worldwide and, as an insulating material, contribute to energy savings and thus to sustainability," says Dr. Nikola Schuck, who heads Covestro's contributions to PUReSmart. "Now it's time to increase the sustainable value of the material at the end of its useful life."

In addition to Covestro and Recticel, the companies BT-Wolfgang Binder (Austria), WeylChem InnoTec (Germany), Ecoinnovazione SRL (Italy) and Ayming (France) are involved in the PUReSmart consortium, which stands for a seamless and complete value-added chain in polyurethane reprocessing. Other academic partners are the University of Ghent (Belgium), KU Leuven (Belgium) and the Universidad de Castilla - La Mancha (Spain).

As MRC wrote before, in May 2018, Bayer Group sold 28.81 million shares representing a 14.2 percent interest in Covestro at a price of 75.50 euros per share. The proceeds of this sale totaled 2.2 billion euros. Bayer AG now holds just 6.8 percent of Covestro shares to repay the exchangeable bond that matures in 2020. Bayer AG acquired these shares from Bayer Pension Trust, which now no longer holds any Covestro shares.

We also remind that on 1 September, 2015, Bayer MaterialScience became known as Covestro. The plans for the carve-out of Bayer MaterialScience were announced in September 2014.
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With 2017 sales of EUR 14.1 billion, Covestro is among the world’s largest polymer companies. Business activities are focused on the manufacture of high-tech polymer materials and the development of innovative solutions for products used in many areas of daily life. The main segments served are the automotive, construction, wood processing and furniture, and electrical and electronics industries. Other sectors include sports and leisure, cosmetics, health and the chemical industry itself. Covestro has 30 production sites worldwide and employs approximately 16,200 people (calculated as full-time equivalents) at the end of 2017.
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Fujairah joins other ports to tighten exhaust rules ahead of 2020 fuel rules

MOSCOW (MRC) - Fujairah in the United Arab Emirates has become the latest major port to ban a type of fuel exhaust cleaning system to comply with a coming tightening in rules regarding global sulfur emissions, mirroring similar moves in Singapore and China, as per Hydrocarbonprocessing.

Under International Maritime Organization (IMO) rules that come into effect from 2020, ships will have to reduce the sulphur content in their fuel to less than 0.5%, compared with 3.5% now, forcing huge changes upon global shippers and also oil refiners.

Fujairah's harbor master said in a faxed document seen by Reuters that the port "has decided to ban the use of open-loop scrubbers in its waters ... (and) ships will have to use compliant fuel once the IMO 2020 sulfur cap comes into force."

This follows top marine fueling port of Singapore announcing a similar move in November, while China banned the use of open-loop scrubbers from Jan. 1, 2019.

Singapore, China and Fujairah marine sales volumes represent a quarter of global ship refueling, also known as bunkering.

Impact for shippers. To comply with IMO 2020 rules, shippers can switch to burning cleaner but more expensive oil, invest in exhaust cleaning systems known as scrubbers that may allow them to still use cheaper high-sulfur fuels, or redesign vessels to run on alternatives like liquefied natural gas (LNG).

Scrubbers use water to clean up fuel emissions, preventing them from being released into the atmosphere. Open-loop scrubbers are the cheapest option, but they have come under criticism as they wash heavy metals and sulfur from the waste water into seas instead of storing it for a controlled discharge in ports, as closed-loop scrubbers do.

Of the more than 2,000 ships that have so far opted to invest in scrubbers, around three-quarters have installed the cheaper, open-loop type, shipping sources estimated.

Closed-loop scrubbers, which store wash water for later discharge, are still accepted in most ports.
MRC

KBR receives contract for solid acid alkylation technology

MOSCOW (MRC) -- KBR Inc. has announced that it has entered into a contract with Wynnewood Refining Co. LLC (Wynnewood) for engineering and design services relating to KBR's Solid Acid Alkylation Technology (K-SAAT™) for Wynnewood's refinery located in Wynnewood, Oklahoma, US, as per Hydrocarbonprocessing.

Under the terms of the contract, KBR will provide basic engineering and design (BED) services for its K-SAAT™ technology and the opportunity to utilise the technology to revamp the existing hydrofluoric acid (HF) alkylation unit at the Wynnewood Refinery.

K-SAAT™ produces alkylate, which is an ultra-clean gasoline blendstock. It does this by combining light olefins and isobutane using a solid catalyst, avoiding complex acid handling and cooling cost.
MRC

Hanwha Total Petrochemical Issues USD400 mln worth of overseas bonds

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Hanwha Total Petrochemical Co. has issued USD400 million (449 billion won) worth of overseas bonds for the first time since its founding, as per BusinessKorea.

The company has sold the bonds to institutional investors in Asia and Europe. The US dollar-denominated senior unsecured notes carry a coupon rate of 3.914 percent. A total of 92 institutional investors participated in the bond offering, subscribing to USd1.5 billion (1.68 trillion won) worth of bonds.

Hanwha Total Petrochemical has decided to invest the funds from the overseas bond offering in its facilities. The company will make a 1.43 trillion won (USd1.27 billion) investment in its plant in Daesan, South Chungcheong Province, by 2020 to boost production of ethylene to 460,000 tons, polyethylene 400,000 tons and polypropylene 400,000 tons.

Meanwhile, Moody's Investors Service and S&P Global Ratings assigned aa1 and BBB rating with a stable outlook, respectively, to the senior unsecured notes to be issued by Hanwha Total Petrochemical.

As MRC reported before, Hanwha Total Petrochemical Co Ltd said in December 2017 it plans to spend USD331.29 MM on a new factory in South Korea to increase polyethylene (PE) output by 400 Mtpy by 2019.

Hanwha Group is one of the largest business conglomerate in South Korea. Founded in 1952 as Korea Explosives Inc., the group has grown into a large multi-profile business conglomerate, with diversified holdings stretching from explosives, their original business, to retail to financial services.
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