Massive explosion at Philadelphia refinery

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Firefighters are battling a massive fire at Philadelphia Energy Solutions’ refinery in Philadelphia that has resulted in several explosions but caused no significant injuries, as per Hydrocarbonprocessing with reference to the company's Friday statement.

The fire began early Friday morning in a butane vat at the 335,000 barrel-per-day refinery, according to the Philadelphia Fire Department’s twitter feed and a company statement. Video footage shows a later explosion that sent a massive fireball into the sky, engulfing the refinery and the surrounding area in smoke.

Aerial video of the scene aired on local television showed the complex engulfed in flames and significant damage.

"Refinery emergency response crews and the Philadelphia Fire Department are attempting to bring the fire under control. We are in the process of accounting for all personnel. There were no significant injuries," a company spokeswoman said.

The refinery is the largest and oldest on the U.S. East Coast; there has been a plant on the site since 1870.

A veteran refinery worker who was at the plant when the fire broke out said, "It was the worst I’ve ever experienced,” he said. “It looked like a nuclear bomb went off. I thought we were all going to die."

The worker, who declined to be named because he is not authorized to speak to the media, said there were two separate explosions.

One explosion occurred at an 30,000 bpd alkylation unit that uses hydrofluoric acid, one of the deadliest chemicals in the refining business, a source familiar with plant operations said.

Police closed roadways surrounding the refining complex, the company spokeswoman added, and the city’s fire department briefly ordered residents to shelter in place out of precaution.

About 120 firefighters responded to the three-alarm fire, Philadelphia’s deputy fire commissioner, Craig Murphy, said in a media briefing. He said one employee who was working in the area of the butane vat complained of chest pains but did not need treatment. Butane is a liquid petroleum gas used as fuel and in production of petrochemicals.

News of the explosion caused gasoline futures traded on NYMEX to spike 4.8 percent.

The incident comes as the refiner is struggling financially, slashing worker benefits and scaling back capital projects to save cash. If the damage is significant, there will be questions as to whether the company has enough money to rebuild.

A fire broke out on June 10 at the same refinery, which according to a source familiar with operations affected a 50,000-barrels-per-day catalytic cracking unit.
MRC

Clariant Masterbatches establishes regional packaging center in Thailand

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Clariant Masterbatches is ramping up its support for packaging industry customers in Asia Pacific by creating a Regional Packaging Center (RPC) in it’s Phanthong manufacturing facility in Thailand, as per the compnany's press release.

The RPC is part of a Clariant program to provide a higher level of service to the packaging industry in the region. The Center is home to formulation, process and analytical experts who also have in-depth knowledge of market trends and customer needs. They have access to state-of-the-art analytical equipment, a wide array of processing machines, and Clariant’s regional network of application-development laboratories in Singapore, Malaysia, Vietnam, Indonesia, India, New Zealand & Australia. The Center is operational now, and upgrades and equipment additions will continue be added through Q1 of 2020.

"With the RPC, we want to engage deeper with customers in a co-creation process to develop breakthrough concepts and solutions in masterbatch products and processes tailored to their aesthetic and functional needs," explains Chris Hansen, Head of Clariant Masterbatches Asia Pacific. "We are doing this in partnership with other suppliers, leading institutes and universities so that Clariant can provide comprehensive solutions to packaging convertors and brand owners."

Clariant has an extremely broad range of color and additive masterbatches, and it’s expertise extends across the dozens of polymers used in today’s - and tomorrow’s - packaging. Clariant masterbatches are already used in bottles, microwaveable trays, biodegradable food containers, multi-layer laminate, active packaging, durable industrial drums, tear-resistant shrink wrap and many other and innovative plastic packagings in or on the way to the market.

The RPC also houses a wide array of state-of-the-art analytical equipment used for determining the chemical, mechanical, environmental stress cracking, anti-static and coefficient of friction properties of packaging materials. Production-scale processing machines include mono- and multilayer blown film, blow molding, cast film and injection-molding lines. This equipment makes it possible to produce end-use application samples that allow customers to easily evaluate color and functionality enhancements delivered by Clariant products.

As MRC informed before, in June 2016, Clariant inaugurated its new production plant for water-based pigment preparations in Mexico. The new plant located in Santa Clara doubles Clariant’s Mexico annual production capacity for water-based pigment preparations and enhances its ability to serve customers across North and Latin America.

Clariant AG is a Swiss chemical company and a world leader in the production of specialty chemicals for the textile, printing, mining and metallurgical industries. It is engaged in processing crude oil products in pigments, plastics and paints. Clariant India has local masterbatch production activities at Rania, Kalol and Nandesari (Gujarat) and Vashere (Maharashtra) sites in India.
MRC

Chandra Asri to start maintenance at its naphtha cracker

MOSCOW (MRC) -- PT Chandra Asri Petrochemical Tbk. (CAP) is in plans maintenance at its naphtha cracker in Cilegon, according to Apic-online.

A Polymerupdate source in Indonesia informed that the company is likely to commence maintenance at its plant in early-August 2019 and it is expected to remain in for a period of around 6-7 weeks.

Located at Cilegon in Indonesia, the naphtha cracker has an ethylene production capacity of 860,000 mt/year.

As MRC informed before, in June 2018, W. R. Grace & Co., the leading independent supplier of polyolefin catalyst technology and polypropylene (PP) process technology, granted a license which allows CAP to expand its existing UNIPOL PP plant. The world-scale capacity UNIPOL PP facility, located in Ciwandan, Indonesia, will be expanded to 590 KTA of polypropylene.

CAP is the largest integrated petrochemical company in Indonesia and operates the country’s only world-scale size Naphtha Cracker. The CAP plant is strategically located in Banten province, providing convenient access to key customers.
MRC

Two long-term supply agreements signed with Marathon Petroleum Company

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Air Liquide announced that it has signed two long-term supply agreements with Marathon Petroleum Company for a total of up to 900 tons per day oxygen for Marathon Petroleum’s Refineries in Texas City, Texas and Garyville, Louisiana, according to Hydrocarbonprocessing.

The two agreements mark a growing relationship between the two companies and nearly double the amount of oxygen Air Liquide will supply Marathon Petroleum in total. Both sites are located on the Gulf Coast.

At Marathon Petroleum’s Galveston Bay Refinery in Texas City, Texas, Air Liquide will increase its current oxygen delivery by 400 tons per day. And in Garyville, Louisiana, Air Liquide will increase oxygen delivery by up to as much as 500 tons per day.

Marathon Petroleum Corporation operates the nation's largest refining system with more than 3 million barrels per day of crude oil refining capacity across 16 refineries.

“Air Liquide is pleased to build upon its existing relationship with Marathon Petroleum and further expand its portfolio of investments in the U.S. The two new supply agreements with Marathon Petroleum further demonstrate Air Liquide’s ability to develop and scale its capacity across our pipeline networks and safely and reliably serve the growing demand for industrial gases in key geographies," Michael J. Graff, Executive Vice President and Executive Committee Member, Air Liquide Group said.

As MRC reported earlier, in June 2018, Fluor Corporation announced that it had achieved substantial engineering completion for Marathon Petroleum Corporation’s Tier 3 gasoline sulfur standard reconfiguration project at the Galveston Bay refinery in Texas City, Texas.
MRC

WR Grace licenses PP process technology to Hyundai Chemical

MOSCOW (MRC) -- W. R. Grace & Co., the leading independent supplier of polyolefin catalyst technology and polypropylene (PP) process technology, has licensed its UNIPOL PP Process Technology to Hyundai Chemical Co., Ltd., a joint venture between Hyundai Oilbank Co., Ltd. and Lotte Chemical Corporation, as per Hydrocarbonprocessing.

Located in Daesan, South Korea, the new, 250KTA facility will be part of a larger cracker complex that is slated to open in 2021. The UNIPOL PP unit will be used to produce high-end, specialty grade, random copolymer resins.

Grace's all gas-phase UNIPOL PP Process Technology provides the most advanced and broadest range of PP homopolymers, random copolymers, and impact copolymers in the industry. This process technology, without any moving parts inside of the reactor and requiring less equipment than any alternative, is a reliable, safe, and stable operation which leads to lower capital, operating, and maintenance costs.

Laura Schwinn, President of Grace’s Specialty Catalysts business, said, "Grace is excited to be the technology choice for Hyundai Chemical Co., Ltd.’s plant in Daesan, South Korea. The UNIPOL PP Process Technology will provide their customers with some of the best random copolymer resins in the industry. We are confident that our technology coupled with our non-phthalate CONSISTA® catalysts will give Hyundai Chemical Co., the ability to deliver the resins that are in highest demand from their customers."

As MRC wrote previously, in April 2018, W. R. Grace & Co. completed the USD416 million acquisition of the Polyolefin Catalysts business of Albemarle Corporation.

A leader in polyolefin catalysts and licensing, Grace has the world’s broadest portfolio of polypropylene and polyethylene catalyst technologies used to produce thermoplastic resins for a variety of applications. A leading innovator and strategic partner to its customers, Grace supplies catalyst solutions for all polyolefin processes, as well as polypropylene process technology and process controls. Grace employs approximately 3,700 people in over 30 countries.
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