PetroChina launches expanded Huabei refinery

MOSCOW (MRC) -- PetroChina launched its Huabei refinery’s expanded 10 million tons crude processing capacity after it passed preliminary testing, reported Reuters with reference to the state-run Economic Information Daily.

At present, the new 2.9 million tonnes per year residue hydrocracking unit and the 1 million tonnes per year aviation fuel hydrotreating unit are in the preparatory stage for test operations. The annual production capacity of aviation fuel will reach 1.7 million tonnes after these units are put into operation.

The Huabei project is the only refining and chemical enterprise which will directly supply to the new and under-construction Beijing Daxing International Airport, according to the report.

The Huabei refinery, one of the largest under PetroChina, expanded its crude processing capacity to 10 million tonnes (200,000 bpd) from 5 million tonnes with a total investment of more than 31 billion yuan (USD4.48 billion).

The refinery will help in meeting increasing demand for fuel from the Beijing, Tianjin and Hebei region.

As MRC informed before, in April 2019, LyondellBasell (Rotterdam, the Netherlands) announced that PetroChina will use the LyondellBasell Hostalen “Advanced Cascade Process” (Hostalen ACP) technology to produce 1,100,000 metric tons per year (m.t./yr) of high-density polyethylene (HDPE) capacity.

PetroChina has designated three refineries in northeast China - Dalian, Liaoyang and Jilin - as the main receiving points for the increased Russian supply. Liaoyang will begin taking more crude once a major upgrade is completed at the end of this year. The new volumes will flow as a result of Russia and China expanding the East Siberian Pacific Ocean pipeline that starts at Rosneft’s oilfields in East Siberia and enters China at border town of Mohe.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Overall production of polyvinyl chloride (PVC) totalled 422,900 tonnes in the first five months of 2019, up by 6% year on year. At the same time, not all Russian producers raised their output of PVC, according to MRC's ScanPlast report.

May total production of unmixed PVC decreased to 79,600 tonnes from 83,200 tonnes a month earlier, Kaustik Volgograd and RusVinyl decreased their capacity utilisation. Overall PVC production reached 422,900 tonnes in January-May 2019, compared to 400,700 tonnes a year earlier. All plants raised their output, except for Kaustik Volgograd.

The structure of PVC production by plants looked the following way over the stated period.

RusVinyl (JV of SIBUR and SolVin) produced about 24,600 tonnes of PVC in May, with emulsion polyvinyl chloride (EPVC) accounting for 2,600 tonnes, compared to 26,700 tonnes a month earlier. Overall PVC production at RusVinyl was 140,700 tonnes in January-May 2019, up by 11% year on year. Such a significant increase in production was a result of the absence of long maintenance works.

SayanskKhimPlast produced 27,600 tonnes of suspension PVC (SPVC) last month, whereas this figure was 27,200 tonnes in May. The Sayansk plant managed to produce about 135,700 tonnes of resin in January-Mary, compared to 122,800 tonnes a year earlier.

Baskhir Soda Company produced 23,800 tonnes of SPVC in May versus 22,200 tonnes a month earlier. Total SPVC production at Baskhir Soda Company increased to 114,900 tonnes in the first five months of this year, compared to 111,400 tonnes in the same period in 2018.

Kaustik (Volgograd) produced about 3,500 tonnes of SPVC in May, compared with 6,900 tonnes in April. The reduction in production was a result of scheduled maintenance works, which started on 15 May. Kaustik's overall production of PVC reached 31,800 tonnes in the first five months of 2019 versus 39,500 tonnes a year earlier.


MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- A new report shows that Canada’s plastic industry is far larger than the recycling industry, which means that it will take “radical changes” to get to zero plastic waste in this country, said Canplastics.

The report, completed by consulting firms Deloitte and ChemInfo Services, concludes that getting to zero plastic waste will require big alterations in consumer behaviour, a major increase in the number of recycling facilities in Canada, investments in recycling technology, and a range of government policies such as landfill taxes or requiring products to include a certain proportion of recycled material. Requiring more recycled content would help create market demand in Canada for recycled plastic, the report said, regardless of the cost of new plastic.

The report, which was commissioned by Environment and Climate Change Canada to guide its plan to cut the country’s plastics waste to zero, found the plastics manufacturing industry is a significant economic driver in Canada, worth $35 billion in sales of resins and plastic manufactured goods in 2017, and supporting about 93,000 jobs across more than 1,900 companies.

By comparison, there were fewer than a dozen recycling companies, employing about 500 people and generating about USD350 million in revenue.

In 2016, 3.3 million tonnes of plastic ended up in the trash, 12 times the amount of plastic that was recycled. A small number of plastics are burned for energy at five Canadian waste-to-energy plants. Almost 90 per cent of the plastic that is recycled in Canada is from the packaging.

Generally, the analysis says, it is cheaper and easier to produce new plastic, use it and then throw it away than it is to recycle, reuse or repair it. The voluntary standards for contents of plastic products, and additives like glues and labels, mean there is a lack of consistency in the plastic materials available for recycling. That, in turn, makes them more expensive to recycle.

Canada also has very little demand for recycled plastic, which is why so much plastic has been shipped overseas to countries such as Malaysia. But the markets for recycled plastic are falling apart all over the world, leading shipments of Canadian plastics to be dumped in landfills or burn piles on foreign soil as well.

The report suggests that Canada could get to the point where 90 per cent of plastic avoids landfill by 2030 with an investment of between USD4.3 billion and USD8.6 billion, the addition of 167 new sorting and recycling facilities, plus significant government regulation and consumer willpower. That would increase revenues in the recycling industry from USD500 million to USD3 billion, and create 42,000 new direct and indirect jobs.

As MRC informed earlier, operation Clean Sweep (OCS), the international program designed to prevent plastic pellets, flakes, and powder from being lost from factory floors and winding up in lakes and oceans, is being successfully embraced by European plastics processors, a new study shows. Following the release of its first Operation Clean Sweep report in 2017, industry association PlasticsEurope made the OCS program a top priority in 2018, setting new targets for its members as part of its Plastics 2030 Voluntary Commitment.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- An innovation from Avery Dennison that enables closed-loop PET recycling has won this year’s FINAT Recycling and Sustainability award, as per the company's press release.

The CleanFlake portfolio (video) enables production of high quality recycled PET (rPET) from post-consumer bottles while maintaining all-important visual impact and food contact approval. The portfolio is further reducing environmental impact by using recycled PET liner material.

Jeroen Diderich, vice president and general manager EMEA, said that the award is a great recognition of Avery Dennison's continued focus on sustainable innovation: "FINAT is an important organisation representing our customer base and we are delighted with this win. CleanFlake technology is one example of the many initiatives we are introducing to reduce material use and waste. Generating clean PET flakes, free of label and ink contamination, is a difficult task for recyclers. We worked to develop a label that would separate from bottles completely in a conventional recycling facility, and CleanFlake can close the loop - generating high quality rPET suitable for making new PET bottles or other food packaging."

The portfolio meets many application needs, with a clear ‘no label look’ rigid facestock, a cavitated white version, and flexible facestocks that can adapt to semi-squeezable containers or dimensional changes in freshly blown bottles, eliminating or significantly reducing label wrinkle defects.

Jenny Wassenaar, sustainability and compliance director, said that the environmental benefits are substantial, including the sustainability gains available from the option of a rPET23 liner which contains 30% post-consumer waste: "Our analysis shows that using a million square metres of rPET23 reduces fossil fuel use by 30% (60 barrels of oil), energy use by 23% (equivalent to 17 households for a year) and water by 20% (123 people’s annual consumption)."

Extensive collaboration has ensured that the portfolio meets widely varying recycling standards in many countries. CleanFlake adheres to EPBP design guidelines and delivers 100% wash-off when following the in Petcore PET tray recycling protocol. It is also approved by Returpack (Sweden) and Infinitum (Norway).

Jenny Wassenaar said that such widespread testing is important: "A recycling washer can operate at anything from 65 to 85 degrees, and CleanFlake performs well either way. This initiative has shown how much can be achieved when manufacturers, suppliers, recyclers and converters all work together on sustainability improvements."

As MRC informed before, thhe recent launch, by Avery Dennison, of a portfolio using recycled PET (rPET) liners has received another important boost, with four labelling constructions available across Europe since February, 2019.

Headquartered in Glendale, California, Avery Dennison is a global leader in labeling and packaging materials and solutions. The company’s applications and technologies are an integral part of products used in every major market and industry. With operations in more than 50 countries and more than 25,000 employees worldwide, Avery Dennison serves customers with insights and innovations that help make brands more inspiring and the world more intelligent.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- JSE-listed petrochemicals company Sasol announced on Friday that its subsidiary Sasol Financing USA had entered into new US dollar-denominated senior unsecured credit facilities, comprising a USD1.6-billion term loan facility and a USD150-million revolving credit facility, as per Orazio.

The facilities have a tenor of five years and will be used to refinance the outstanding Lake Charles Chemical Project asset finance loan.

As MRC reported previously, in July 2018, Honeywell announced that Secunda Synfuels Operations, an operating division of Sasol South Africa Ltd., would use a Honeywell Connected Plant service to monitor the operating reliability of its two Honeywell UOP CCR Platforming units at its refinery in Secunda, South Africa.
MRC