Huntsman to sell two units to Asian rival Indorama Ventures for over USD2 billion

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Huntsman will sell its chemical intermediates and surfactants units to Asian rival Thailand-based Indorama Ventures.

The purchase price includes US$2 bln of cash, in addition to the transfer of US$76 mln in net underfunded pension and other retirement-benefit liabilities.

As part of the deal, Indorama will acquire Huntsman manufacturing facilities in Texas, India and Australia. Under the deal terms, Indorama Ventures would acquire Hunstman's manufacturing facilities located in Port Neches, Tex., Dayton, Tex., Chocolate Bayou, Tex., Ankleshwar, India, and Botany, Australia.

The move allows Huntsman to exit one of its slowest growing businesses and obtain cash to expand its core polyurethane business as well as accelerate a USD1bln stock buyback program.

Chemical intermediates and surfactants are used in a range of products, including lubricants and cleaning supplies. Indorama, founded by Indian businessman Aloke Lohia, has been looking to expand in the U.S., and the purchase would initiate that goal. Peter Huntsman, the US group’s chief executive, said that the deal “further transforms Huntsman’s balance sheet and future”, and was in line with its strategy of focusing more on its downstream and specialty businesses.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- KBR announced that it has acquired isomerization technologies from RRT Global that will enable KBR to offer expanded octane and clean fuel technology solutions to customers, said the company.

KBR, in alliance with RRT Global, has been offering MAX-ISOM™ catalytic distillation technology for the isomerization of C5 and C6 n-paraffins to boost gasoline pool octane since 2015. Isomerization of C5 and C6 streams is practiced to improve the octane rating of light straight run naphtha.

Now, KBR has acquired the patented technology with intellectual property rights to offer MAX-ISOM globally and to offer isomerization technologies for C4 and C7 streams.

Isomerization of C4 streams produces a more desirable feedstock for alkylation units such as KBR's Solid Acid Alkylation Technology (K-SAAT). C7 isomerization can be applied to upgrade low octane C7 streams to produce isomerate that can be blended directly in the gasoline pool.

Unlike conventional fixed-bed isomerization process technologies, MAX-ISOM can accommodate high benzene content in the feed, due to its unique catalytic distillation column design. MAX-ISOM offers significant energy reduction, much smaller footprint and lower CapEx compared to traditional units.

"With the acquisition of these technologies, KBR now offers expanded Octane solutions including isomerization of C4, C5, C6 and C7 streams in refineries," said John Derbyshire, President, KBR Technology Solutions. "MAX-ISOM is the technology of choice for the low-cost production of high octane isomerate, in a highly flexible and compact design with minimum energy requirements."

Globally, fuel specifications have been tightening on the sulfur, benzene, olefins and total aromatics content of gasoline. Isomerization offers refiners a higher octane gasoline blend stock that is free from benzene, aromatics, oxygenates and olefins.

KBR is a global provider of differentiated professional services and technologies across the asset and program lifecycle within the Government Solutions and Energy sectors. KBR employs approximately 38,000 people worldwide (including our joint ventures), with customers in more than 80 countries, and operations in 40 countries, across three synergistic global businesses.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) – Clariant announced that the company’s Catalysts business inaugurated a new services and support office in Jubail, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Located in the eastern coast of the country, Jubail is the world’s largest industrial city and an important site for the petrochemicals market, said Hydrocarbonprocessing.

Clariant’s new office is thus ideally positioned to serve regional customers with its advanced catalysts for petrochemical and refinery applications, as well as offer dedicated assistance and technical services. The new branch is Clariant Catalysts’ fourth office in the Middle East and will play a key role in the company’s plan to strengthen its presence and partnerships in the region. The local team will be actively supported by Clariant experts from around the world.

Stefan Heuser, Senior Vice President & General Manager Business Unit Catalysts at Clariant, commented, “We are extremely pleased to forge closer ties with valued customers in the Middle East. The expansion demonstrates our commitment to the region, and will allow us to showcase our state-of-the-art catalysts, which are designed to deliver excellent performance, and enable highly economical and sustainable production of numerous petrochemicals."

Clariant’s portfolio for refinery applications includes catalysts for extremely efficient fuel upgrading and purification, as well as for removing sulfur, chlorine, arsenic and mercury. The company’s solutions for the petrochemicals industry comprise high-performance catalysts for producing main petrochemical building blocks, such as ethylene, propylene, butadiene and styrene, in addition to a complete range of catalysts for producing various grades of polypropylene.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Rising demand for thermoplastic materials for various applications in electrical & electronics, automotive and manufacturing industries is expected to propel the global recycled thermoplastics market, said Plastemart.

The market is expected to grow from USD48.93 bln in 2018 to USD104.76 bln by 2026, at a CAGR of 9.98% during the forecast period from 2019-2026, according to a report published by Fior Markets.

Thermoplastics are widely used across all the industries due to their ideal properties of corrosion resistance, low density, high strength, and user-friendly design. They are gradually replacing the aluminium and other similar metals in various applications. Most of the thermoplastics belong to the non- biodegradable category. It does not rot, decompose, break down or is in any other way affected by the micro-organisms that are normally responsible for breaking down the organic materials. Also, majority of thermoplastics are derivatives of petroleum products. Thus, threat of petroleum products getting exhausted is progressively leading to increased recycling of the thermoplastic materials. Rising demand for the thermoplastic materials for the various applications in electrical & electronics, automotive and manufacturing industries is expected to propel the global recycled thermoplastics market.

Even though the factors such as growing institutional support for the plastic recycling activities, wide-ranging use in the agricultural sector as well as growth of automotive and construction sector in the Asia Pacific region are driving the global recycled thermoplastics market. The unsuitability of recycled thermoplastics for food and beverages applications and threat of contamination from the chemical and microbiological sources are expected to dampen the growth of the market overt the forecast period. However, increasing use of bio-degradable thermoplastic as well as rising awareness among people pertaining importance of plastic recycling is expected to drive the market in upcoming years.

Key players operating in the global recycled thermoplastic market are KW Plastics, Plastipak Holdings, Inc., PARC Corporation, Clear Path recycling, B. Schoenberg and Co., Custom Polymers Inc., RJM International Inc., Suez SA, Merlin Plastics Alberta Inc., Ricova International Inc., JP Industrial, Revital Polymers, MRC, Replas, Veolia, B&B Plastics, United plastic recycling, Arkema, APC recycling, Maine plastics incorporation, Toho Tenax Co., Ltd., Envision Plastics, and Fresh Pak Corporation among others. Key players active in the market are involved in collaborative agreements and expansion to bolster the growth of the market. To align themselves with the latest plastic recycling norms within European Union, major players are specifically focusing research and development activities. For instance, in 2017, Toho Tenax Europe GmbH announced that it has developed a new compound, based on recycled thermoplastic carbon fiber material and PEEK (polyetheretherketone) thermoplastic. TENAX-E COMPOUND rPEEK CF30 is a reinforced material combination of waste materials generated during processing of TENAX ThermoPlastics and recycled semi crystalline PEEK polymer, which contains 30% of carbon fiber by weight and offers a high performance in strength and stiffness for injection molding applications.
MRC

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