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MOSCOW (MRC) -- AMG Advanced
Metallurgical Group N.V. and Shell Catalysts & Technologies have signed an
agreement to form a joint venture which will be called Shell & AMG Recycling
B.V., reported Hydrocarbonprocessing.
The
joint venture will provide a long-term sustainable solution for catalyst
reclamation and recycling.
Dr. Heinz C. Schimmelbusch, Chairman &
Chief Executive Officer of AMG, said "AMG has developed a world-leading
spent-catalyst recycling technology and we are very pleased to be able to form
this joint venture and thereby significantly expand and deepen our 17-year
relationship with Shell. With the implementation of the IMO 2020 fuel
sulfur regulation we expect significant spent-catalyst volume growth. The
end-to-end option that will be available to oil refineries will represent an
outstanding CO2 reduction opportunity."
Andy Gosse, President Shell
Catalysts & Technologies said, "These changing regulations and an increased
focus on oil to chemicals in our industry have significantly increased the
number of residue-upgrading units already in operation, in construction or being
planned. With this opportunity comes the environmental challenge managing
the large volume of catalysts that will be required. Coupled with Shell
Catalysts & Technologies’ existing offering, we will be able to deliver
refiners the option of a truly circular solution, turning waste into value,
replacing disposal with recycling and reuse, and significantly reducing
pollution and emissions."
Refineries will benefit from the combined
technical capabilities and integrated resources of Shell & AMG Recycling
B.V. by reducing the risk and cost of transporting and disposing of spent
catalysts and eliminating the need to landfill. In addition, they will
benefit from the monetization of the valuable metals contained in their
waste.
The process employed by Shell & AMG Recycling B.V. extracts
critical materials, including vanadium, in the form of ferrovanadium from spent
catalysts. Ferrovanadium is an alloy which increases the strength of steel
and is primarily used in infrastructure applications such as rebar or
girders. Through the reclamation of ferrovanadium from spent catalysts,
steel manufacturers benefit from a low CO2 alternative compared to sourcing the
vanadium through mining.
The joint venture will operate outside of North
America and is subject to the necessary regulatory approvals.
As MRC informed before,
operations were stable on 13 September at Royal Dutch Shell Plc’s 340,000
barrel-per-day (bpd) joint-venture refinery in Deer Park, Texas, after the upper
Houston Ship Channel was closed by protesters from Greenpeace USA. The Deer Park
refinery is a 50-50 joint-venture between Shell and Mexico’s national oil
company Petroleos Mexicanos (Pemex). Shell is the managing partner of the
joint-venture. Shell has three crackers at Deer Park site with a combined
ethylene capacity of 1,67 mln per year and petrochemical plants.
Ethylene
and propylene are feedstocks for producing polyethylene (PE) and polyprolypele
(PP).
According to MRC's ScanPlast report,
Russia's estimated PE consumption totalled 1,255,800 tonnes in the first seven
months of 2019, up by 9% year on year. Shipments of all PE grades increased. At
the same time, the estimated PP consumption in the Russian market was 796,120
tonnes in January-July 2019, up by 11% year on year. Shipments of PP block
copolymer and homopolymer PP increased.
Royal Dutch Shell plc is an
Anglo-Dutch multinational oil and gas company headquartered in The Hague,
Netherlands and with its registered office in London, United Kingdom. It is the
biggest company in the world in terms of revenue and one of the six oil and gas
"supermajors". Shell is vertically integrated and is active in every area of the
oil and gas industry, including exploration and production, refining,
distribution and marketing, petrochemicals, power generation and
trading. |
