Chemicals output in Russia grew by 2.8% in Jan-May 2019

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Russia's output of chemical products rose in April 2019 only by 1% year on year. However, production of basic chemicals increased by 2.8% in the first five months of 2019, according to Rosstat's data.

According to the Federal State Statistics Service of the Russian Federation, ethylene accounted for the largest increase in production year on year.

262,000 tonnes of ethylene were produced last month, compared to 263,000 tonnes in April. Thus, 1,318,000 tonnes of this olefin were produced in January-May 2019, up by 4.1% year on year.

May production of benzene was 128,000 tonnes, compared to 121,000 tonnes a month earlier. Overall output of this product reached 618,000 tonnes in the first five months of 2019, up by 0.9% year on year.

May production of sodium hydroxide (caustic soda) was 107,000 tonnes (100% of the basic substance) versus 103,000 tonnes a month earlier. Overall output of caustic soda totalled 535,000 tonnes over the stated period, compared to 514,800 tonnes a year earlier.

2,098,000 tonnes of mineral fertilizers (in terms of 100% nutrients) were produced in May versus 2,249,000 tonnes a month earlier. Overall, Russian plants produced 10,404,000 tonnes of fertilizers in January-May 2019, up by 1.6% year on year.

Last month's production of polymers in primary form decreased to 713,000 tonnes, up 1.1% from April. Overall output of polymers in primary form totalled 3,497,000,000 tonnes over the stated period, up by only 0.8% year on year.
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MOSCOW (MRC) -- BASF has developed a climate-friendly process for methanol production, which if implemented could eliminate carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions from the entire process – from syngas production to pure methanol, as per the company's press release.

Production of the most basic chemicals is responsible for about 70% of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from the chemical industries. BASF is developing new technologies to reduce GHG emissions from these processes under its Carbon Management Program.

A team at BASF has now applied to patent an emissions-free methanol production process, marking one of the Carbon Management Program’s first visible successes.

Methanol production begins with syngas, which in a typical plant is produced using steam reformation of natural gas. In this process, steam reacts with methane to produce syngas, which is then pressurised and converted into crude methanol using specialised catalysts. The crude methanol is then purified by distillation.

In BASF’s novel process, syngas is generated by partial oxidation of natural gas, which does not result in CO2 emissions. BASF declined requests for more information regarding the process. It was proven advantageous in a joint study conducted with Linde Engineering. Subsequent methanol synthesis and distillation can be carried out nearly unchanged.

The waste gas streams that arise during methanol synthesis and distillation consist of methane (CH4), carbon monoxide (CO), carbon dioxide (CO2), and hydrogen (H2) which can be merged and processed. In BASF’s Oxyfuel process the steams are incinerated with pure oxygen resulting in a small volume of flue gas with maximum CO2 content. The flue gas is then scrubbed using BASF’s OASE gas treatment process for full CO2 recovery.

The recovered CO2 is fed back into the beginning of the process – syngas production. This requires additional H2 which BASF also aims to produce without any carbon dioxide emissions, for example by methane pyrolysis which is also being developed under the Carbon Management Program.

The novel methanol synthesis process is being tested in a pilot plant at BASF’s subsidiary hte (the high throughput experimentation company), in an ongoing project which began in August 2017, according to Maximilian Vicari, Project Manager at BASF’s Intermediates. He added that BASF expects industrial scale production in about ten years.
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MOSCOW (MRC) -- Dow held a groundbreaking ceremony for a new high-value silicone resin plant to be located at the Company’s manufacturing site in Zhangjiagang, Jiangsu, China, as per Hydrocarbonprocessing.

The new facility will significantly expand Dow’s global high-value silicone resin capacity to meet increased demand for the creation of differentiated silicone products in key industries and emerging markets worldwide.

"This investment demonstrates Dow’s strategy to capitalize on growth and value-add opportunities. It will better position Dow to help customers grow and succeed by addressing their fast-growing needs for our differentiated silicone products," said Mauro Gregorio, business president, Consumer Solutions. "Today’s groundbreaking emphasizes our ambition to collaborate and deliver materials science innovations with customers and partners throughout the global value chain."

The new high-value silicone resin plant is part of a broader investment plan announced by Dow in September 2018 to roll out a series of low capital intensity, high return investments in its silicones franchise to accelerate innovation and support global customers’ demand in high growth markets. It will produce high-value silicone resin, an advanced material critical to the creation of differentiated silicone products in the home and personal care, pressure sensitive adhesives, antifoams, and moldable optics for lighting markets.

Dow senior leaders Jim Fitterling, chief executive officer; Mauro Gregorio; Jon Penrice, president Asia Pacific; and Yoke Loon Lim, president Greater China were joined by customers, government representatives and other Dow employees, for the groundbreaking ceremony.

"We are thrilled to be breaking ground on this latest addition to our integrated manufacturing site in Zhangjiagang," said Yoke Loon Lim. "This new facility is a testament to our commitment to our local customers and partners, and demonstrates the Company’s confidence in the China and Asia-Pacific markets."

As MRC wrote before, in June 2018, The Dow Chemical Company (Dow) announced its plan to invest in an alkoxylation facility on the US Gulf Coast. Upon completion, this new facility will support global growth in Dow’s core end-markets related to infrastructure and home and personal care, as well as additional end-markets where Dow continues to strengthen its position for the TRITON, TERGITOL, ECOSURF and CARBOWAX SENTRY brands.

The Dow Chemical Company is an American multinational chemical corporation. Dow is a large producer of plastics, including polystyrene, polyurethane, polyethylene, polypropylene, and synthetic rubber.
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MOSCOW (MRC) -- Showa Denko (SDK) has decided to acquire all shares in ILAG Industrielack AG, which leads the ILAG Group (ILAG), a specialty non-stick coating chemicals manufacturing company headquartered in Wangen, Switzerland, and signed a stock purchase and sale agreement with the current owners, a coalition of investors led by Helvetica Capital AG, a Swiss-based private equity firm, said Bloomberg.

Non-stick coating chemicals (NSCs) are used on consumer goods such as cookware, bakeware, and home electrical appliances, and also on industrial goods including automotive parts and other industrial equipment, for the purposes of preventing sticking of substances on their surfaces and supporting low friction and release during use. The global market for NSCs is put about \\130 billion (about USD1.2 billion) a year (SDK’s estimate for 2019).

ILAG has the fourth largest share in the consumer-goods NSC market of worldwide operating companies, and the second largest share of this segment in Europe. Thus ILAG brand has strong presence in the European market. ILAG’s products are applied not only on consumer goods but also on industrial goods including automotive parts. ILAG exports its products manufactured in Switzerland to more than 50 countries.

Moreover, ILAG has a production base in China, and consumer goods manufactured by ILAG’s customers in China are sold worldwide. On the other hand, GMM Group (GMM), a manufacturer of NSCs which SDK acquired in November 2016, has a large market share in NSC market for consumer goods in the US, and GMM’s main customers are major cookware/bakeware manufacturers based in the United States.

Therefore, SDK is confident that ILAG and GMM are highly synergetic. For example, the two companies can play complimentary roles in terms of each company’s main markets in the world. After the acquisition of ILAG, annual sales figure of SDK’s NSC business will leap up to about USD60 million (about \\6.6 billion). As a result, SDK’s NSC business will have strong presence and competitiveness in global market, especially in the field of consumer goods.

As MRC wrote before, Showa Denko (SDK) decided to establish a new production site for thermosetting bulk molding compound (BMC) in Zhuhai, Guangdong Province, China, jointly with Eternal Materials Co., Ltd., a synthetic resin manufacturer based in Taiwan. BMC is a thermosetting bulk molding compound made from unsaturated polyester resin as main component, kneaded together with glass fiber and other additives. BMC is used as headlamp reflectors and engine covers for car applications, and encapsulation material for home electrical appliances and precision parts.

Showa Denko K.K. is mainly engaged in the petrochemical business. The Petrochemical segment manufactures and sells olefin, organic chemicals and others. The Chemical Product segment supplies chemicals, industrial gases, special gas and functional drug for semiconductors, functional high molecular materials, among others.
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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.
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