Repsol, Acteco to increase mechanical recycling capacity for polyolefins in Spain

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Repsol (Madrid, Spain) and mechanical recycling specialist Acteco say they are partnering on a project to increase the production capacity for recycled polyolefins at Acteco’s existing facility in Alicante, Spain. No investment figure has been given, said Chemweek.

Recycled polyethylene (PE) and polypropylene (PP) from the plant will be used in Repsol’s circular polyolefins plastics range, which incorporates a percentage of mechanically recycled materials and is designed for high-value applications and high technical requirements, it says. Repsol has previously set itself a target of recycling the equivalent of 20% of its polyolefins production by 2030, and says it has now launched more than 200 circular economy initiatives to reduce its carbon intensity.

The two companies have been working together since 2018 to promote new circular economy models through the recovery of polymers at the end of their useful lives and their reuse for new added-value products for sectors such as automotive, healthcare, packaging, construction, and infrastructure.

The alliance with Acteco will support Repsol in reaching its commitments regarding recycled plastics and enable it to offer customers various grades of circular polyolefins “that will allow them to increase the amount of recycled materials in their products,” says Jose Luis Bernal, executive director at Repsol Chemicals.

Other circular polyolefins initiatives by Repsol include chemical recycling of low-quality plastics and the development of a technology for the recycling of polyurethane foam, it says.

According to MRC's DataScope report, PE imports to Russia dropped in January-June 2020 by 7% year on year to 328,000 tonnes. High density polyethylene (HDPE) accounted for the main decrease in imports. At the same time, PP imports into Russia rose in the first six months of 2020 by 21% year on year to 105,300 tonnes. Propylene homopolymer (homopolymer PP) accounted for the main increase in imports.
MRC

Idemitsu Kosan to end petrochemical JV with BASF, close plant

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Japanese oil refiner Idemitsu Kosan said on Wednesday it will end its petrochemical joint venture with German chemical manufacturer BASF due to slumping demand at home and an oversupply caused by plant expansions in Asia, said Reuters.

The joint venture will in December close its Chiba plant for making butanediol, an organic compound used in stretchable fibres and engineering plastics.

Idemitsu said it will exit from the butanediol business.

As MRC reported earlier, BASF Total's cracker in Port Arthur, Texas, is undergoing maintenance and expected to restart on 23 July, 2020, according to the company's statement in a filing with Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ). An unexpected outage occurred at BASF Total Petrochemical’s joint-venture (JV) olefins unit at Port Arthur, Texas, on Thursday afternoon, 11 June, 2020. The cause of the outage is being investigated, with a compressor shutdown cited as a possible factor, according to TCEQ filing. The JV’s steam cracker at Port Arthur has a production capacity of more than 1 million metric tons/year of ethylene and 544,000 metric tons/year of propylene, according to IHS Markit data.

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

According to MRC's DataScope report, PE imports to Russia dropped in January-June 2020 by 7% year on year to 328,000 tonnes. High density polyethylene (HDPE) accounted for the main decrease in imports. At the same time, PP imports into Russia rose in the first six months of 2020 by 21% year on year to 105,300 tonnes. Propylene homopolymer (homopolymer PP) accounted for the main increase in imports.
MRC

Lanxess develops new range of bio-based MDI prepolymers

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Lanxess says it has developed a range of methylene di-para-phenylene isocyanate (MDI) polyether prepolymers containing renewable, bio-based raw materials that can replace existing fossil-based polyether prepolymers to manufacture highly durable polyurethane (PU) elastomers, said Chemweek.

The newly launched range of prepolymers allows PU processors to produce components with a reduced carbon dioxide (CO2) footprint of 20-30%, depending on the processing system, it says. Depending on the targeted system hardness, the share of bio-based raw materials varies between 30-90%, it adds.

The bio-based prepolymer range is in line with Lanxess’ sustainability strategy to be climate neutral by 2040, it says.

As per MRC, Lanxess' net profits in the second quarter of 2020 were almost eight times higher than in the same period of the previous year, to EUR798 million (USD943 million). This is primarily due to the sale of its 40% stake in chemical park curator Currenta to Macquarie Infrastructure and Real Assets in April, which resulted in a disposal gain of EUR740 million. Sales declined 16.7% year on year, to EUR1.44 billion, due to weak demand across many industries and lower raw material prices, the company says. EBITDA and EBIT shrank by 23.8% and 57.3%, to EUR198 million and EUR61 million, respectively.

Russia's output of chemical products rose in June 2020 by 2.6% year on year. However, production of basic chemicals increased year on year by 4.9% in the first six months of 2020. According to the Federal State Statistics Service of the Russian Federation, polymers in primary form accounted for the greatest increase in the output in January-June. Production of benzene was 106,000 tonnes in June 2020, compared to 110,000 tonnes a month earlier. Overall output of this product reached 721,000 tonnes over the stated period, up by 3.9% year on year.
MRC

PP imports into Kazakhstan increased by 25% in Jan-June, exports down by 8%

MOSCOW (MRC) - Imports of polypropylene (PP) into Kazakhstan exceeded 21,800 tonnes in first six months of this year, up 26% compared to the same period of 2019. PP exports decreased by 8%, reported MRC analysts.

June PP shipments to Kazakhstan grew to 4,900 tonnes from 4,700 tonnes a month earlier, local converters increased their purchasing of homopolymer PP in Azerbaijan and Uzbekistan. Total PP imports into the country exceeded 21,800 tonnes in January - June 2020, compared with 17,500 tonnes in the same time a year earlier. At the same time, the forced turnaround of the local manufacturer's capacities led to a decrease in export sales.

The structure of PP imports by grades looked the following way over the stated period.

Imports of propylene homopolymers in June actually remained at the level of a month earlier and amounted to slightly more than 4,200 tonnes, local companies significantly increased their purchases of homopolymer PP producers from Azerbaijan and Uzbekistan, while imports from other countries decreased. Overall imports of homopolymer PP reached 18,200 tonnes in the first six months of 2020, compared to 14,100 a year earlier.

Shipments of propylene copolymers rose to 613 tonnes in June from 453 tonnes a month earlier, local pipes producers raised their purchasing.
Thus, imports of propylene copolymers reached 3,700 tonnes over the stated period, compared to 3,400 tonnes a year earlier. Kazakhstan's PP exports over the first six months dropped to 9,900tonnes, whereas this figure was 10,800 tonnes a year earlier. Such a significant decrease in export volumes was due, among other things, to the long shutdown of the local producer, the Neftekhim LTD Company in April- June of the current year.

MRC

Chevron reports fire at Pasadena, Texas facility

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Chevron Corp on Tuesday reported a fire at its 112,229-barrel-per-day (bpd) Pasadena, Texas facility, reported Reuters with reference to a community information line.

"At this time, flames, smoke may be noticeable to the community. We are coordinating with local officials, and working to resolve the issue as soon as possible," the company reported.

Chevron was not immediately available for a comment.

As MRC informed before,Chevron Corp restarted the 112,229 barrel-per-day (bpd) Pasadena, Texas, refinery night after completing a multi-unit overhaul that was extended because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Thus, the entire refinery was shut from mid-April with the last units returning to production in mid-July.

We remind that US-based Phillips 66 remains open to developing another ethane cracker for its Chevron Phillips Chemical (CP Chem) joint venture, the refiner's CEO said in March 2018.

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

According to MRC's DataScope report, PE imports to Russia dropped in January-June 2020 by 7% year on year to 328,000 tonnes. High density polyethylene (HDPE) accounted for the main decrease in imports. At the same time, PP imports into Russia rose in the first six months of 2020 by 21% year on year to 105,300 tonnes. Propylene homopolymer (homopolymer PP) accounted for the main increase in imports.

Headquartered in San Ramon, California, Chevron Corporation is the the second-largest integrated energy company in the United States and among the largest corporations in the world. Chevron is involved in upstream activities including exploration and production, downstream activities including refining, marketing and transportation, and advanced energy technology. Chevron is also invested in power generation and gasification processes.
MRC