Hengli Petrochemical cuts PTA production at No. 4 line in Dalian

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Hengli Petrochemical (Dalian) Co., Ltd (Hengli) had reduced capacity utilisation at its No. 4 purified terephthalic acid (PTA) line in Dalian to 50% as coronavirus impacts demand, reported Chemweek.

As MRC informed earlier, Hengli Petrochemical announced the successful start-up of its new fourth PTA line in January, 2020.

This 2.5 million tons per annum capacity plant, located in Changxing Island, Dalian City, Liaoning Province, utilizes INVISTA’s P8 PTA technology with industry leading variable cost, capital productivity, energy usage, water usage, effluent generation and footprint, came online on January 8th, 2020. As the result of joint effort of all parties involved, the schedule of this project is significantly shorter than other PTA projects, with start-up only 22 months after the project kicked off in early March, 2018.

A fifth PTA line, identical to the fourth PTA line is currently under construction and is expected to start-up around the middle of 2020. Hengli also operates another 3 PTA lines on the same site, each with a capacity of 2.2 million tons per annum, using INVISTA’s P7 PTA technology. This makes the Hengli site the largest PTA site in the world.

PTA is used to produce polyethylene terephthalate (PET), which is used in the manufacturing of plastic bottles, films, packaging containers, in the textile and food industries.

As per MRC's ScanPlast report, the estimated consumption of polyethylene terephthalate (PET) in Russia decreased by 16% year on year in December 2019. Russia's overall estimated PET consumption totalled 696,810 tonnes in 2019, up by 1% year on year (690,130 tonnes in 2018).

Hengli Petrochemical Co., Ltd. manufactures chemical fibers. The Company researches, produces, and sells polyester filament and chips for consumer and industry products. Hengli Petrochemical markets it products worldwide.
MRC

Trinseo introduces new portfolio of polycarbonate resins for medical devices

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Trinseo, a global materials solutions provider and manufacturer of plastics, latex binders and synthetic rubber, continues to support medical industry trends with the launch of a new wear resistant, high lubricity polycarbonate (PC), as per the company's press release.

The global medical industry is constantly evolving to address megatrends such as a rapidly growing and aging population. This is creating a need for home healthcare and self-administered treatments as well as medical wearables and patient-friendly devices.

Trinseo’s wear resistant, high lubricity PC has been designed for drug delivery devices and surgical tools, which are growing in importance for their convenience and cost saving potential. Part of Trinseo’s CALIBRE Polycarbonate Resins series, the new material platform provides a solution for the low friction movement of one material over another, extending product life and minimizing noise without external lubricants.

Beside this latest innovation, Trinseo is also recognized globally for its leadership position in advanced chemical resistant materials and will showcase its EMERGE 9000 product portfolio as well. This product range is used extensively in diagnostic equipment housings to resist the aggressive cleansers and disinfectants used by healthcare professionals to fight healthcare associated infections (HAIs), which remain a growing concern.

"Trinseo plastics satisfy the demand for aesthetically-pleasing devices designed for human interaction," said Aldo Zanetti, Global Market Leader Medical, Personal Care & Household, Trinseo. "At both Pharmapack and MD&M West, we look forward to sharing how Trinseo supports medical device manufacturers and also pharmaceutical companies, particularly with our latest grades for drug delivery device applications."

As MRC informed earlier, Trinseo raised its prices for all PC grades in Europe on 1 February, 2020, by EUR150 per metric ton.

According to MRC's ScanPlast report, Russia's estimated PC consumption (excluding imports and exports to/from Belarus) totalled 78,500 tonnes in 2019, up by 15% year on year (68,100 tonnes a year earlier).

Trinseo is a global materials company and manufacturer of plastics, latex and rubber. Trinseo's technology is used by customers in industries such as home appliances, automotive, building & construction, carpet, consumer electronics, consumer goods, electrical & lighting, medical, packaging, paper & paperboard, rubber goods and tires. Formerly known as Styron, Trinseo completed its renaming process in 1Q 2015. Trinseo had approximately USD4.6 billion in net sales in 2018, with 16 manufacturing sites around the world, and approximately 2,500 employees.
MRC

PVC production in Russia rises by 4% in January

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Contrary to seasonal factors, Russian producers of unmixed polyvinyl chloride (PVC) have maintained a high level of capacity utilisation. Overal PVC output totalled 91,700 tonnes in January 2020, up by 4% year on year, according to MRC's ScanPlast report.

January production of unmixed PVC was 91,700 tonnes versus 87,760 tonnes in January 2019 and 81,400 tonnes in December 2019. Thus, despite relatively weak demand for resin from the domestic market, the average capacity utilisation exceeded 95% last month. Russia's overall PVC production reached 975,000 tonnes in 2019, compared to 958,600 tonnes a year earlier.

The structure of PVC production by plants looked the following way over the stated period.


RusVinyl (joint venture of SIBUR and SolVin) produced 32,400 tonnes of PVC in January, with emulsion polyvinyl chloride (EPVC) accounting for 2,900 tonnes of the whole amount, compared to 29,500 tonnes of PVC in January 2019 and 23,100 tonnes in December 2019. RusViny's overall PVC output reached 339,800 tonnes last year.

SayanskKhimPlast produced 28,200 tonnes of suspension PVC (SPVC) last month, whereas this figure was at 27,700 tonnes in January 2019 and 27,900 tonnes in December 2019. Overall, the Sayansk plant managed to produce 294,500 tonnes of PVC in 2019.

Bashkir Soda Company produced 23,600 tonnes of SPVC in January 2020, compared to 23,000 tonnes a year earlier and 24,100 tonnes in December 2019. Bashkir Soda Company's overall output of resin reached 263,200 tonnes last year.

Kaustik Volgograd produced 7,500 tonnes of SPVC last month, whereas this figure was at 7,600 tonnes in January 2019 and 6,400 tonnes in December 2019. The plant's overall output of resin reached 77,500 tonnes in 2019.

MRC

Ineos, UPM Biofuels announce renewable polymer raw materials production

MOSCOW (MRC) -- INEOS and UPM Biofuels have reached a deal to supply renewable raw materials to produce bio-based polymers in Europe, the companies said in a statement Tuesday.

The renewable raw materials will be supplied to Ineos' Cologne plant in Germany in order to produce polymers suitable for plastic food packaging, medical applications and piping.

The raw material will be UPM Biofuel's BioVerno, which is produced from the residue from wood pulp production. This raw material will be used by Ineos to create material's such as BIOVYNTM, which is used to make bio-based polyvinyl chloride (PVC), called Biovyn.

Announced at the K-Fair in Dusseldorf in October, Biovyn will be manufactured at Inovyn's 320,000 mt/year Rheinberg site, and will receive the bio-feedstock from Ineos' Cologne steam cracker via pipeline.

Biovyn is said to be the first commercially available PVC made without using fossil fuels and will follow strict technical, social and environmental standards set out by the Roundtable on Sustainable Biomaterials.

Inovyn is an Ineos company.

The RSB has now certified the entire production process, from converting the wood-based residue through to creating the final polymer, according to the statement.

"UPM BioVerno products now help to reduce climate and environmental impacts in an even broader range of applications. INEOS's and UPM Biofuels' commitment to RSB certification creates a strong common ground to build on," according to Maiju Helin, head of Sustainability and Market Development at UPM Biofuels.

As MRC reported before, in June 2019, petrochemicals company INEOS announced Antwerp as the location for its new petrochemical investment.

And earlier, in July 2018, INEOS announced that it will invest EUR2.7 billion (USD3.15 billion) to build a new chemical cracker and PHD unit in northwest Europe. This is the first cracker to be built in Europe in 20 years and both facilities will benefit from US shale gas economics, adding that the project will be completed in four years.

According to MRC's DataScope report, exports of suspension polyvinyl chloride (SPVC) from Russia totalled 193,700 tonnes in 2019, up by 11% year on year. Imports increased more significantly - by 217% year on year - to 50,900 tonnes.
MRC

PVC imports into Ukraine increased by 7% in January, exports up by 77%

MOSCOW (MRC) - Imports of suspension polyvinyl chloride (SPVC) into Ukraine decreased by 7% in January of this year, compared to the same period in 2019 and reached about 4,100 tonnes. At the same time, sales of Ukrainian PVC to foreign markets dropped by 77% year on year, according to a MRC's DataScope report.

Last month, suspension polyvinyl chloride (SPVC) import supplies to the Ukrainian market grew to 4,100 tonnes against 3,800 tonnes in January and 4,300 tonnes in December a year earlier, a slight increase in supplies fell to European producers. Overall imports of suspension reached 49,000 tonnes in 2019, compared to 66,100 tonnes a year earlier.

Weaker demand for PVC in the domestic market made some producers to increase exports. European producers with the share of about 71% of the total imports were the key suppliers of resin to the Ukrainian market in 2019.

Producers from the USA with the share of about 29% were the second largest suppliers. A high level of capacity utilisation and a seasonal reduction in demand from Ukrainian consumers made the local producer Karpatneftekhim to significantly increase export sales.

Over 26,300 tonnes of SPVC were shipped to foreign markets last month, whereas in January and December 2019, this figure was 14,800 tonnes and 12,900 tonnes, respectively. Last year's PVC exports from the country were more than 163.300 tonnes.


MRC