December prices of Iranian PS drop for Ukrainian market by USD20/tonne

MOSCOW (MRC) -- December prices of Iranian polystyrene (PS) went down for Ukrainian buyers last week, according to ICIS-MRC Price report.

Thus, this month's reduction in prices of Iranian material, including delivery to the port of Odessa, was USD20/tonne.

Thus, import prices of Tabriz's injection moulding general purpose polystyrene (GPPS) fell to USD1,025-1,035/tonne CIF Odessa, excluding VAT, in the Ukrainian market, whereas high impact polystyrene (HIPS) could be purchased at USD1,060-1,065/tonne CIF Odessa, excluding VAT, in December.

Petropaak's material was offered by USD10/tonne lower than Tabriz's one.

As reported earlier, prices of Iranian PS remained the same for Ukrainian buyers in late November, whereas they fell by USD20/tonne for supplies to this region earlier last month.
MRC

Baltic Chemical Plant selects Univation UNIPOL PE technology

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Baltic Chemical Plant LLC (BCP), a wholly-owned subsidiary of RusGasDobycha, has selected Univation Technologies’ UNIPOL PE Process for six reactor lines to be located at the Ust-Luga marine port located in Leningradsky Region, Russia, according to Kemicalinfo.

With maximum product flexibility in mind, each UNIPOL PE Reactor line is designed for a world-scale capacity of 500,000 TPY, yielding a total design capacity of 3,000,000 TPY.

BCP will access Univation’s most advanced product technology platforms including ACCLAIM Technology for unimodal HDPE, PRODIGY Technology for bimodal HDPE grades, and XCAT Technology for advanced metallocene LLDPE. These technologies enable BCP with capabilities to serve a wide range of HDPE and LLDPE applications including LLDPE for blown and stretch film, MDPE for rotomolding, and HDPE for pipe, injection and blow molding products.

Additionally, BCP elected to incorporate Univation’s latest process control system, PREMIER APC+ 3.0, across all production lines. APC+ 3.0 delivers state-of-the-art process control capability designed to maximize production rates, facilitate product transitions and enhance overall economic performance of the UNIPOL PE Process.

Mr. Konstantin Makhov, General Director of Baltic Chemical Plant LLC, added his comments, "We know that we can depend on Univation to deliver the technology, the know-how, and the experience required to achieve the necessary safety, technical, and economic objectives for this substantial new capacity build project. We will be working closely with the Univation teams on all aspects of this truly world-scale project as we expectantly look ahead to delivering this new significant source of PE resins supply to the marketplace."

We remind that, as MRC wrote before, in May 2019, Hyundai Chemical Co. selected Univation Technologies' Unipol PE technology for a new high-density polyethylene (HDPE) facility to be built in South Korea. The 300,000-t/y HDPE plant, which will be located at Hyundai's site in Daesan, will utilize Univation's broad range of HDPE product technology portfolio, including the Acclaim K-100 Catalyst series for advanced HDPE products. An expected completion date for the project was not given.

According to MRC's ScanPlast report, Russia's estimated PE consumption totalled 1,724,670 tonnes in the first ten months of 2019, up by 7% year on year. Shipments of all PE grades increased.
MRC

Tarkett and Aquafil close the loop on commercial carpet tiles

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Tarkett, headquartered in Paris, has announced a partnership with Italy-based Aquafil to close the loop on commercial carpet tiles, said Recyclingtoday.

The partnership is the result of an intensive collaboration over recent years that has gone beyond the traditional customer and supplier relationship, according to a Tarkett news release.

Having developed a breakthrough technology at its Waalwijk, Netherlands, facility, Tarkett says it is now able to separate the two principal components of carpet tiles–yarn and backing–while retaining more than 95 percent yarn purity. This level of purity is vital in ensuring that the nylon 6 yarn can be recycled by Aquafil and transformed into its regenerated Econyl nylon, which is used to make sportswear, eyewear and carpets.

In addition, Tarkett has increased capacity in Waalwijk to produce its EcoBase carpet tile backing to meet customers’ growing demands, the company says. EcoBase is Tarkett’s 100-percent-recyclable carpet tile backing. The company offers a wide range of products, including vinyl, linoleum, rubber, carpet, wood, laminate, artificial turf and athletics tracks and serves customers in more than 100 countries.

Tarkett has invested approximatively 15 million euros in the initiative aimed at closing the loop on carpet tiles in Europe. “Technological innovation now makes it possible to multiply the life cycles of building materials. Together with Aquafil, we are accelerating our circular economy journey and leading our industry’s progress in carpet recycling,” says Fabrice Barthelemy, Tarkett CEO. “This is a fundamental step forward in maximizing the value of materials and preventing carpet tiles from being incinerated or sent to landfill. Truly closing the loop on flooring is a key driver of Tarkett’s strategy to preserve natural resources and protect the environment."

Giulio Bonazzi, Aquafil CEO, remarks, “We are delighted to help Tarkett with the last mile of its journey to close the loop on carpet tile production. We must urgently transform the way products are designed, produced and consumed. Through our collaboration with Tarkett, we will strengthen our commitment to realizing this vision by increasing the reutilization of yarns and helping to design out waste."

Aquafil has 16 plants in Italy, Scotland, Slovenia, Croatia, the United States, Thailand and China. Tarkett has sourced Econyl nylon yarn from Aquafil for more than a decade and uses Econyl in its Desso AirMaster carpet tiles. The partnership is now going full circle, with Aquafil sourcing postconsumer nylon 6 yarn from Tarkett to create its regenerated Econyl yarn.

"Closing the loop is a collaborative endeavor and we invite our customers to join us in making this journey together through our ReStart flooring take-back and recycling program,” Barthelemy says.

As MRC informed earlier, French flooring manufacturer Tarkett has signed a non-binding agreement with construction materials specialist Gamrat (Jaslo,Poland) to acquire the Polish company’s subsidiary, Gamrat Flooring, which is also based in Poland.

According to MRC's ScanPlast report, Russia's estimated consumption of unmixed PVC was 779,900 tonnes in January-October 2019, up by 3% year on year. Emulsion and suspension PVC markets showed an increase in supplies.
MRC

Dragon Special Resins to shut PET plant in Fujian province on 20 December

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Dragon Special Resins is likely to undertake a planned shutdown at its polyethylene terephthalate (PET) plant in Fujian province, as per Apic-online.

A Polymerupdate source in China informed that the company has planned to start turnaround at the plant on December 20, 2019. The plant is expected to remain off-line for about 10 days.

Located in Xiamen, Fujian province of China, the plant has a production capacity of 240,000 mt/year.

As MRC reported earlier, Jiangyin Chengxing Industrial Groups restarted its PET plant in China following a maintenance turnaround in mid-February, 2019. The plant was shut on December 27, 2018 for maintenance. Located at Jiangyin, Jiangsu province in China, the plant has a production capacity of 600,000 mt/year.

According to MRC's ScanPlast report, Russia's overall estimated PET consumption reached 42,020 tonnes in October 2019, down by 32% year on year. At the same time, the estimated PET consumption in Russia increased to 593,480 tonnes in January-October 2019, up by 5% year on year.
MRC

Olin announces facility closures

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Olin Corporation announced that it plans to permanently shut down a chlor alkali plant with a capacity of 230,000 tons and its Vinylidene Chloride (VDC) production facility, both in Freeport, Texas, said the company.

These closures are expected to be completed before the end of 2020. When completed, these actions are forecast to reduce Olin's annual operating costs by approximately $35 million. Olin's fourth quarter 2019 results will contain approximately $65 million of pretax non-cash restructuring charges, representing asset impairment charges, associated with these plans.

"With today's announcement we have taken necessary steps to reduce our annual fixed costs, align our production capacity with the current needs of the marketplace and focus on the chlorine derivatives that generate the most value for the organization," said John E. Fischer, Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer.

Major US phenol producers are INEOS Phenol, Altivia, AdvanSix, Shell Chemicals, SABIC and Olin.

Phenol is the main feedstock component for the production of bisphenol A (BPA), which, in its turn, is used to produce polycarbonate (PC).

According to ICIS-MRC Price report, Russia's estimated consumption of polycarbonate (PC) rose in in the first three quarters of 2019 by 11% year on year to 61,000 tonnes (54,800 tonnes a year earlier). Consumption in the injection moulding sector grew in the first nine months of 2019 by 10% year on year to 7,900 tonnes from 7,200 tonnes a year earlier.

Olin Corporation is a leading vertically-integrated global manufacturer and distributor of chemical products and a leading U.S. manufacturer of ammunition. The chemical products produced include chlorine and caustic soda, vinyls, epoxies, chlorinated organics, bleach and hydrochloric acid. Winchester's principal manufacturing facilities produce and distribute sporting ammunition, law enforcement ammunition, reloading components, small caliber military ammunition and components, and industrial cartridges.

MRC