Covestro expands offerings and capabilities in continuous CFRTP composites

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Covestro is expanding offerings and capabilities in continuous fiber-reinforced thermoplastic (CFRTP) composites in response to market trends and a growing demand from customers, said Plastemart.

Its Maezio™ brand of CFRTP composites are based on continuous carbon fibers impregnated with thermoplastics like polycarbonates. A new tape line is now commissioned in its Leverkusen laboratory to develop new products with different fiber and resin combinations. Their manufacture will in turn be scaled and commercialized at the production site in Markt Bibart in South Germany.

"We’re witnessing strong market demand for thinner, lighter, and aesthetically competitive products where thermoplastic composites like Maezio™ are making a difference,” says Lisa Ketelsen, head of the thermoplastic composite business of Covestro. “To meet the needs of a growing range of applications we need a broader base of portfolio with different matrix materials and properties. The new tape line in combination with our mass production lines will allow us to do quick iterations and scaling based on market demand."

One such product under development is thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU) -based CFRTP, which boasts excellent chemical resistance properties and superior flexibility in a wide temperature range. There’s a strong demand especially from the footwear and sports equipment industries for such a strong and versatile product. “Thermoplastic composites enable significant increases in production speed for mass production, and their ability to be molded with features and produced to near net shape eliminates the need for many secondary operations,” says Dr.-Ing. Christian Wilms, Head of Technology of the thermoplastic composite business of Covestro. “Also, they are inherently recyclable, making them a genuine answer to the growing need for scalable and sustainable material solutions."

At the same time, new hybrid injection molding machines are commissioned in Covestro’s CFRTP locations in Germany and China to build on processing know-how of complex, three-dimensional composite parts in support of application development across industries. A hybrid injection molding machine combines the thermoforming of semi-finished composite parts with in-mold injection molding – a fully automated one-step processing technology which reduces cycle times and improved productivity of mass produced composite parts.

“We’re working closely with our machinery and processing partners such as Krauss Maffei and Engel to offer customers full support in their product development process,” says Dr.-Ing. Olaf Zoellner, head of application development Europe at the Polycarbonates business unit at Covestro. “A fully functional and supportive value chain with the know-how for mass production of composite parts is critical to bringing such solutions to the mainstream market."
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Valero Energy Corp shut a hydrocracking unit (HCU) and sulfur recovery unit (SRU) at its 335,000-barrel-per-day (bpd) Port Arthur, Texas, refinery on Monday, said sources familiar with plant operations, said Reuters.

The 45,000-bpd 942 HCU is scheduled to be shut until mid-September while the 545 SRU will be out of production for about 25 days, the sources said.

As MRC reported before, in early May 2018, CB&I has announced that its CDAlky technology had been selected by Valero Refining - New Orleans LLC for its St. Charles Alkylation Project located in Norco, Louisiana.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- August contract price of ethylene in Europe was agreed up by EUR10/tonne from July level.
However, some European producers announced a decrease in export PE prices for August shipments to the CIS markets, according to ICIS-MRC Price report.

Negotiations on August prices of European PE began last week. All market participants said that European producers have actually kept export prices of ethylene polymers for shipments in the current month at the level of July despite the increase in the price of monomer in the region.

At the same time, some producers, on the contrary, cut their export prices by EUR20/tonne, and in some cases, the price reduction reached EUR35/tonne. Deals for August LDPE were negotiated in the range of EUR950 -1,020/tonne FCA. July deals were agreed in the range of EUR970 -1,020 per tonne, FCA.

Deals for August deliveries of high density polyethylene (HDPE) were done in the range of EUR975-1,040/tonne FCA, for film and blow moulding polyethylene, while in the first half of July prices were in the range of EUR1,010 -1,060/tonne FCA.

August prices for injection moulding HDPE decreased to EUR970-1,000/tonne FCA, versus EUR995-1,020/tonne FCA, a month earlier.

Because of current and upcoming scheduled maintenance shutdowns, export quotas for some producers were limited, but these restrictions were not critical for most buyers.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Asian jet fuel buyers are paying the highest cash premiums for this time of year since 2013 amid a short-term supply shortage, but the values are likely to fade as late summer travel demand slumps in coming weeks and refiners ramp production back up, said Hydrocarbonprocessing.

The premium for jet fuel cargoes in the Asian trading hub of Singapore JET-SIN-DIF rose to as high as 38 cents a barrel above benchmark quotes last week, taking the differentials to their strongest levels for July-August since 2013. The premiums were at 23 cents a barrel on Tuesday.

Asian refiners cut output during the second quarter as usual for scheduled plant maintenance, while heavy demand for summer air travel provided a seasonal boost to the region’s already-thriving aviation market, trade sources said.

“We had around 2.5 months of heavy (refinery) run cuts from May. Runs were still recovering in July ... (and) refineries are not likely to be on max runs until (later in) August,” said Nevyn Nah, an analyst at consulting firm Energy Aspects.

Lower runs at refineries in Europe and the United States also helped to tighten jet fuel supplies, he said. “The tightening of supplies in the second quarter prior to the uptick in (air travel) demand in the third quarter means Europe, for instance, is not going to get its re-supply from the East until late-August.”

This has resulted in a supply-driven jet fuel market as demand growth is taking a hit amid the increasing signs of a global economic slowdown, traders and analysts said.

Most of the remaining summer air travel demand will come from Europe and the United States as Asia’s major festivals, such as Ramadan, and its school holidays are over, said a Singapore-based jet fuel trader.

“We also need to take note of the flight cancellations that are happening in Hong Kong and ... the latest status on the Japan-Korea relationship,” she said, with both having at least a short-term effect on jet demand.

More than 200 flights have been canceled in Hong Kong amid the escalating anti-government protests in the Asian financial center, while South Korea and Japan are currently in the middle of a deepening trade dispute that is disrupting business ties.

The Asia-Pacific region accounts for about 37% of the global aviation market. Its contribution has grown in recent years due to expanding economic growth, new airports and terminals, cheap fares and increased development of airlines’ flight networks.

Asia-Pacific airlines carried 1.6 billion passengers in 2018, up 9.2% from the preceding year, the latest data from the International Air Transport Association (IATA) showed last week.
MRC

МОСКВА (МRC) -- India has increased the cost estimate of a giant refinery and petrochemical project to be jointly built with Saudi Aramco and Abu Dhabi National Oil Co by more than 36%, after protests by farmers forced the relocation of the plant, said Reuters.

The 1.2 million barrels-per-day (bpd) coastal refinery in the western state of Maharashtra is now expected to be built at Roha in the Raigad district, about 100 km (62 miles) south of Mumbai.

The new cost estimate of $60 billion for the refinery was given to Saudi Arabia’s energy minister Khalid al-Falih at a meeting with Indian Oil Minister Dharmendra Pradhan last month in New Delhi, said the four sources familiar with the talks between the two ministers.

“The $60 billion is a preliminary estimate that was told to Saudi Arabia. The final number will be decided on the basis of a detailed feasibility study,” said a source present at the meeting.

The project cost at the signing of a deal with Saudi Aramco in 2018 was pegged at $44 billion. The four sources requested anonymity because of the sensitivity of the matter.

Despite the cost expansion, the project is still expected to be commissioned in 2025, the sources said. Global oil producers are vying to gain entry into India to establish a stable outlet for their output and to earn profit from the South Asian nation’s strong gasoline and petrochemical demand prospects due to the rising disposable income of its 1.3 billion population.

The world’s third-largest crude oil importer aims to raise its refining capacity by 77% to 8.8 million bpd by 2030.

The state government suspended land acquisition at the previous site in Ratnagiri - about 400 km south of Mumbai - after thousands of farmers refused to surrender their land, fearing the project could damage a region famed for its Alphonso mangoes, cashew plantations and fishing hamlets that boast bountiful catches.

“It is a huge escalation in cost. But since the project is of a mega scale, we expect the investment to be staggered,” said Sri Paravaikkarasu, director at Singapore-based consultancy FGE, adding that her firm was doubtful the 2025 timeline of the project would be met.

The sources said the cost escalation is mainly due to the delay in land acquisition for the project and that all calculations need to be reworked.

State run companies - Indian Oil Corp, Bharat Petroleum Corp and Hindustan Petroleum - own 50% of the Ratnagiri Refinery & Petrochemicals Ltd (RRPCL), the company building the project.

Saudi Aramco and ADNOC hold the remaining half. B. Ashok, chief executive of RRPCL, declined comment on the increased cost estimate, and there was no immediate response from India’s national oil ministry.

Saudi Arabia’s Energy Ministry and Saudi Aramco also did not respond to a Reuters request for comment.

The Maharashtra state government has promised that land at the new site would be acquired by end-December.

A consortium led by Russia’s Rosneft acquired a controlling stake in Nayara Energy in 2017, illustrating the interest in India refining sector.

Saudi Aramco is also in talks to buy a minority stake in Reliance Industries’ refining, marketing and petrochemical business, and analysts say any further delay in land acquisition may force it to take a harder look at the private Indian refiner’s assets.

Investment in a new west coast refinery is a better option as this would give Aramco more say in the operation and configuration of the project, said Paravaikkarasu.

“But if land acquisition is not completed within this year, then Reliance appears to be a better option as this is a running project and they can monetise the investment from day one."
MRC