Hanbang Petrochemical resumes production at No. 2 PTA unit

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Hanbang Petrochemical has brought on-line its No. 2 purified terephthalic acid (PTA) unit , according to S&P Global.

The company halted operations at this unit on May 19, 2020, for unspecified reason. The unit, which initially was slated to remain off-line for about two weeks, resumed operations on 21 June, 2020.

Located in Jiangyin, China, the No. 2 PTA plant comprising of two units, with a production capacity of 2.2 million mt/year each.

As MRC informed previously, in March 2016, Hanbang Petrochemical successfully started up its second PTA at Jiangyin, Jiangsu. The plant has two production lines, each with an annual capacity of 1.1 million mt/year.

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

According to MRC's ScanPlast report, March estimated PET consumption in Russia was 65,3700 tonnes, up by 1% year on year. Russia's estimated PET consumption decreased in January-March 2020 by 3% year on year to 175,170 tonnes.

Hanbang Petrochemical, also known as China Prosperity Jiangyin Petrochemical, is situated in Jiangyin city within China's Jiangsu province.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Hengli started its new purified terephthalic acid (PTA) No. 5 PTA line at Dalian on June 28, a company source told S&P Global on June 29.

The new line's production capacity is 2.5 million tonnes per year. It is running at 50% capacity at the moment, the source added.

As MRC reported earlier, Hengli Petrochemical (Dalian) Co. reached full rate at its No. 4 PTA line in Dalian City in mid-March, 2020. The 2.5-million-t/y PTA line, which came online in January 2020, utilizes Invista's P8 PTA technology. The line also produces benzoic acid, using Invista's RP2PR technology.

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, April total estimated PET consumption in Russia virtually did not change year on year, totalling 60,840 tonnes (in April 2019 - 60,980 tonnes). 235,160 tonnes of PET chips were processed in Russia in January-April 2020.

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

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Air Products has extended chairman and CEO Seifi Ghasemi's term through September 2025, said Chemweek.

"Air Products continues to perform at an exceptional level and deliver on commitments in numerous areas, including financial performance, global growth, inclusion, technology, employee development and shareholder returns, to name a few," said Chad Deaton, lead director. "The board understands the importance of maintaining continuity as the company pursues even greater growth globally, and clearly, Seifi Ghasemi provides that strong leadership and direction."

Ghasemi, who will be 81 when the new term expires in 2025, was named chairman, president and chief executive officer of Air Products in 2014. “I am honored to be given the opportunity to lead Air Products for at least another five years," said Ghasemi.

As MRC wrote earlier, in December 2014, SIBUR-Khimprom (a subsidiary of SIBUR Holding) and Air Products entered into an agreement to build a new air separation unit in Perm and to supply the facility with locally produced gases. The unit came on-stream in 2016. After the commissioning Air Products will supply industrial gases for SIBUR-Khimprom over the next 20 years.

Besides, we remind that in September 2019, SIBUR, the largest petrochemical comples in Russia and Eastern Europe, and BASF, Geman petrochemical major, agreed to closely cooperate on sustainable development to share their best practices.

Ethylene and propylene are feedstocks for producing polyethylene (PE) and polypropylene (PP).

According to MRC's ScanPlast report, Russia's estimated PE consumption totalled 721,290 tonnes in the first four month of 2020, up by 4% year on year. Low density polyethylene (LDPE) and linear low density polyethylene (LLDPE) shipments grew partially because of the increased capacity utilisation at ZapSibNeftekhim. At the same time, PP shipments to the Russian market totalled 347,440 tonnes in January-April 2020 (calculated by the formula production minus export plus import). Supply exclusively of PP random copolymer increased.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Honeywell has recently announced that PKN Orlen plans to use the UOP Q-Max and Phenol 3G technologies to produce 200,000 metric tons per year of phenol at its facility in Plock, Poland, reported Hydrocarbonprocessing.

UOP is providing a license for the technology, in addition to basic engineering design services, plus key equipment, catalysts and adsorbents and technical services.

As part of the project, UOP will provide a cumene unit and a phenol unit with alpha methyl styrene hydrogenation. When completed, the new complex would increase PKN’s market position in high-margin petrochemicals including phenol and acetone.

"These technologies make it possible for PKN Orlen to extend its benzene production into phenol and acetone derivatives," said Bryan Glover, vice president and general manager of Honeywell UOP’s Petrochemicals & Refining Technologies business. "By doing so, PKN Orlen would be in a position to meet the growing demand for phenol and other petrochemicals in Poland and even become a net exporter of those products."

Cumene is the primary building block for making phenol and its derivatives. UOP’s Q-Max process converts benzene and propylene into high-quality cumene at low benzene-to-propylene ratios using regenerable catalysts that reduce byproduct transalkylation catalyst requirements, and lower utility consumption and capital requirements for downstream fractionation equipment.

The UOP 3G Phenol unit converts cumene into phenol with high yields and product quality, and low utility consumption. The phenol product is converted into plastics and other related materials, including bisphenol-A, a building block for polycarbonate plastics, and phenolic resins used to make durable laminated boards and industrial adhesives.

When integrated, the two technologies offer even lower utility consumption and a high yield of phenol, with outstanding operating flexibility, on-stream time, reliability and safety. UOP Q-Max technology is currently licensed in 26 units worldwide, with a total capacity of more than 9 million tons per year. The UOP phenol technology also is licensed in 22 units worldwide, with a total phenol capacity of more than 5 million tons per year.

As MRC informed before, in September 2019, Honeywell announced that PKN orlen had licensed the UOP MaxEne process, which can increase production of ethylene and aromatics and improve the flexibility of gasoline production. The project, for the PKN Orlen facility in Plock, Poland, was in the basic engineering stage then.

Phenol is one of the main feedstocks for the production of bisphenol A (BPA), which, in its turn, is used for the production of polycarbonate (PC).

According to MRC's ScanPlast report, Russia's estimated consumption of polycarbonate (PC) granules (excluding imports and exports to/from Belarus) rose in January-May 2020 by 19% year on year to 38,900 tonnes (32,700 tonnes a year earlier).
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- JXTG Holdings Inc, Japan’s biggest oil refiner, said it will spend 1.5 trillion yen (USD14 billion) for the next three years to drive its transformation into a supplier of low-carbon energy and materials, said Hydrocarbonprocessing.

The planned spending, mapped out under a new medium-term business plan through end-March 2023, is a 44% jump from the 1.04 trillion yen spent in the past 3 years. The fund will be used to strengthen its business in renewable energy, electronic materials and petrochemicals, JXTG Holdings President Tsutomu Sugimori said.

The new plan is based on an assumption that a decline in demand for petroleum products and others due to the pandemic will continue in the April-September half of the current financial year, he said. “We don’t know how long an impact from the pandemic will continue, but we don’t think the current trend toward a low-carbon society will change,” Sugimori told a news conference.

“We will stick to our long-term vision,” he said. Last year, the oil and metals group unveiled a long-term vision through 2040, reinforcing growth areas such as renewable energy, chemical products, power generation and electronic materials, based on an estimate that domestic oil demand will halve by 2040.

On Wednesday, the company added a new goal to become “carbon neutral” in 2040, by reducing emissions from refineries and boosting carbon-free assets such as renewable energy, hydrogen generation, and carbon capture and storage (CCS).

"The growing trend of boosting renewable energy won’t change despite a slump in oil prices," Sugimori said. The company also announced that Katsuyuki Ota, president of JXTG Nippon Oil & Energy, an energy unit of the group, will become JXTG Holdings’ president in June. Sugimori will become chairman.

As MRC informed earlier, JXTG Nippon Oil and Energy brought on-stream its cracker following a turnaround. The company resumed operations at the cracker on April 28, 2020. The cracker was shut for maintenance on February 27, 2020.

Ethylene and propylene are feedstocks for producing PE and PP.

According to MRC's ScanPlast report, Russia's estimated PE consumption totalled 383,760 tonnes in the first two month of 2020, up by 14% year on year. High density polyethylene (HDPE) and linear low density polyethylene (LLDPE) shipments increased due to the increased capacity utilisation at ZapSibNeftekhim. At the same time, PP shipments to the Russian market were 192,760 tonnes in January-February 2020, down by 6% year on year. Homopolymer PP accounted for the main decrease in imports.
MRC