Asahi Kasei shuts Mizushima cracker for maintenance

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Asahi Kasei has taken off-stream its cracker for a maintenance turnaround, according to Apic-online.

A Polymerupdate source in Japan informed that the company has commenced turnaround at the cracker on May 22, 2019. The cracker is expected to remain shut for around one month.

Located at Mizushima, Japan, the cracker has an ethylene production capacity of 570,000 mt/year and propylene production capacity of 300,000 mt/year.

As MRC reported earlier, Japan’s Asahi Kasei Chemicals shut its cracker permanently on Feb 12, 2016. The cracker in Mizushima had an ethylene capacity of 504,000 mt/year and a propylene capacity of 300,000 mt/year. Feedstock ethylene for its 390,000 mt/year of styrene monomer (SM) plant will come from a new 750,000 mt/year steamcracker which is a joint venture between Asahi Kasei and Mitsubishi Chemical. The new unified cracker started up on April 1, 2016.

Asahi Kasei Corporation is a global Japanese chemical company. Its main products are chemicals and materials science.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Russia's output of products from polymers grew in April 2019 by 8.1% year on year. And this figure increased by 4.4% year on year in the first four months of 2019, reported MRC analysts.

According to the Russian Federal State Statistics Service, April production of unreinforced and non-combined films was 103,000 tonnes, compared to 96,100 tonnes a month earlier. Output of films products grew in January-April 2019 by 11% year on year to 355,000 tonnes.

Last month's production of polymer non-porous boards, sheets and films dropped to 31,700 tonnes from 33,600 tonnes in March. Thus, overall production of these products reached 118,100 tonnes over the stated period, up by 15% year on year.

April production of polymer porous boards, sheets and films was 20,500 tonnes, compared to 19,900 tonnes a month earlier. Overall production of these products reached 80,000 tonnes in the first four months of 2019, compared to 83,400 tonnes a year earlier.

April production of plastic bottles and flasks decreased to 1,785,000 items from 1,800,000 items a month earlier. Overall output of these plastic products totalled 6,730,000 units in January-April 2019, compared to 6,300,000 units a year earlier.

Last month's production of polymer pipes, hoses and fittings was 50,200 tonnes versus 39,700 tonnes in March. Overall output of these products was 159,300 tonnes in the first four months of 2019, up by 2.6% year on year.

April production of sacks and bags from ethylene polymers exceeded 1,996,000,000 units, compared to 1,992,000,000 units a month earlier. Overall output of these plastic products totalled 7,990,000,000 units over the stated period, compared to 8,100,000,000 units a year earlier.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Total will seek compensation for the losses caused by a contaminated oil pipeline which has led to a halving of output at its Leuna refinery in Germany, reported Reuters with reference to Chief Executive Patrick Pouyanne's statement to shareholders.

"The impact on us is not nil. The Leuna refinery in Germany, which is at the end of the pipeline, is producing at half of its capacity," Pouyanne said.

Oil export flows from Russia have been disrupted since April when high levels of organic chloride were found in crude pumped via the Druzhba pipeline to the Baltic port of Ust-Luga and other European countries.

Some 5 million tonnes of oil were contaminated and the dirty crude is now stuck in pipelines in Belarus and further West, in Poland, Germany, Ukraine, Slovakia, Hungary and the Czech Republic.

Pouyanne said the costs of the contamination and eventual decontamination were still to be clarified.

"Who is going to pay for the decontamination? There is a significant amount that is being mentioned, around USD15 per barrel. At the moment, everyone is looking at the other to find the one who is responsible," Pouyanne said, answering questions from shareholders.

"We'll look to recoup the loss we have suffered," he said.

As MRC informed before, French oil and gas major Total said on 17 May that it had suspended operations at some units of the 230,000 barrel-per-day Leuna refinery in Germany for technical checks following the prolonged situation of contaminated Russian crude supply. Total said it was carrying out the checks to manage any long-term supply complications due to the contaminated Russian crude.

Total S.A. is a French multinational oil and gas company and one of the six "Supermajor" oil companies in the world with business in Europe, the United States, the Middle East and Asia. The company's petrochemical products cover two main groups: base chemicals and the consumer polymers (polyethylene, polypropylene and polystyrene) that are derived from them.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- SIBUR and 3M have signed an agreement to cooperate in product development and polymer recycling at SIBUR’s PolyLab, said the company.

Thanks to their durability, strength, eco-friendliness and other advantages, such polymers as polyethylene and polypropylene are some of the most widely used synthetic materials, popular with the construction, utilities, automotive, healthcare, food and other industries. PolyLab’s key priority is to promote the use of polymers both to manufacture existing products, and to design novel solutions to drive technological advancement in healthcare, consumer goods, automotive, and construction industries. PolyLab will foster the use of recycled materials and the application of polymers in circular economy. To this end, samples of new PE and PP grades will be transformed at the Centre's pilot manufacturing lines into pipes, medical goods, films, food packaging, canisters and other products. This will provide a deeper insight into polymers’ properties and their impact on the end product quality to further improve the materials and boost production efficiency.

SIBUR and 3M will cooperate in the development of new polyethylene and polypropylene grades, including those to be produced at ZapSibNeftekhim. In particular, the parties agreed to develop new solutions to boost the processability of polymer grades and make SIBUR's products more eco-friendly and fit for recycling.

The companies are also supposed to jointly hold events educating SIBUR’s clients in efficient polymer processing technologies using PolyLab’s demo equipment. They are planning to cooperate in health and safety, share experience in the application of cutting-edge digital technologies in production and R&D, including Big Data.

“Partnering with global innovation and technology leaders, such as 3M, contributes to the advances of Russia’s petrochemical industry. Joint efforts in designing new polymer production solutions will enable SIBUR to market new products that will meet the highest requirements and improve quality of life,” said Vasiliy Nomokonov, Management Board member and Executive Director at SIBUR.

“We have been cooperating with SIBUR for many years. We are convinced that PolyLab will bring it to a new level and enable us to contribute to SIBUR’s addressing the issues of its customers even more by leveraging on 3M’s global resources, too,” said Mats Friberg, Managing Director at 3M Russia and CIS.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- The Pennon Group, parent company of Viridor, the UK’s biggest recycling company, has announced a ground-breaking project which will harness the electricity created from non-recyclable waste at its ?252 million energy recovery facility at Avonmouth, near Bristol, to power a new ?65 million plastic recycling plant, said the company.

In year one, the UK's biggest multi-polymer plant will produce 60KTPA of recycled plastic a year from 81KTPA feedstock (1.6 billion bottles, pots, tubs and trays), rising to 89KTPA (1.7 billion bottles, pots, tubs and trays) in year three, producing 63KTPA of recycled material. The new plastics recycling plant will be powered by energy created which uses non-recyclable waste as its fuel, creating a true circular economy energy park.

Pennon’s Chief Executive Officer Chris Loughlin said: “Pennon is dedicated to working in ever-more sustainable ways and we are extremely excited to be announcing this first-of-its-kind investment in plastics recycling. By using waste which cannot be recycled as the fuel to create low carbon electricity which will power plastics recycling we are creating a truly resource and energy-efficient waste management solution.

The recycling and reprocessing plant will be a world-class facility which creates a recycling powerhouse in the South West, where Viridor and Pennon have their headquarters. The plant is an early sign of Viridor’s continuing commitment to UK plastics conversion, coming within months of the Government’s Resources and Waste strategy and a year on from the UK Plastics Pact, of which Viridor was a founding member.

This co-location of a plastic reprocessing plant with an energy recovery facility is a real industry first creating the opportunity to create even greater sustainability and environmental efficiency.

The project will put 60,000 tonnes of recycled plastic from bottles, pots, tubs and trays in PET, HDPE and PP flake and pellet form) back in the economy every year as a viable and sustainable solution to virgin plastic. It will be powered by diverting 320,000 tonnes of waste from landfill and generating 32MW of electricity – the equivalent energy used to power around 44,000 homes.

Recycled plastic uses 50% less electricity than virgin plastic and sourcing power from non-recyclable waste takes energy efficiency one step further and gives this material a real purpose.

The project also adds to its green credentials with the addition of a ?2 million water treatment plant, which has benefitted from the input and expertise of another Pennon company, South West Water.

Two-thirds of plastic collected for recycling in the UK is currently exported and 46% of plastic packaging is currently recycled against a target of 75%.
MRC