Evonik, Linde develop membrane-based technology to extract hydrogen from natural gas

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Evonik Industries and Linde say that their joint membrane-based technology for natural-gas processing can efficiently separate hydrogen from natural gas blend at the point of extraction, according to Chemweek.

The companies say that a demo plant at Linde's Dormagen, Germany, site will act as a showcase for the efficiency and cost effectiveness of their joint technology. Further details have not been disclosed.

“The economic viability of extracting hydrogen from the current natural gas infrastructure depends largely on the efficiency of the gas separation technology. Membrane selectivity is a key success factor,” says Harald Schwager, deputy chairman of Evonik.

The technology, jointly developed by the two companies through a partnership announced in 2018, combines various technologies to separate the hydrogen, such as Linde’s pressure swing adsorption technology and Evonik’s HISELECT membranes, to deliver hydrogen at purity rates of up to 99.99%, they say.

“This high-purity stream of hydrogen could then be delivered to fueling stations, for example, to power fuel-cell vehicles. But it’s not just a source of energy; it’s also a valuable feedstock especially for the chemicals industry,” says Jurgen Nowicki, executive vice president at Linde and CEO of the Linde Engineering business.

As MRC reported earlier, in mid-October, 2020, Linde GmbH and Shell announced an exclusive collaboration agreement on ethane-oxidative dehydrogenation (E-ODH) technology for ethylene production. The catalytic process is an alternative route to ethane steam cracking, offering the potential of economic advantages, acetic acid co-production and significantly lower overall carbon footprint through electrification of power input.

Ethylene is the main feedstock for the production of polyethylene (PE).

According to MRC"s ScanPlast report, Russia's estimated PE consumption totalled 1,594,510 tonnes in the first nine months of 2020, up by 1% year on year. Only high denstiy polyethylene (HDPE) shipments increased.

Evonik is one of the world leaders in specialty chemicals. The focus on more specialty businesses, customer-oriented innovative prowess and a trustful and performance-oriented corporate culture form the heart of Evonik’s corporate strategy. They are the lever for profitable growth and a sustained increase in the value of the company. Evonik benefits specifically from its customer proximity and leading market positions. Evonik is active in over 100 countries around the world with more than 36,000 employees.
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Braskem loss deepens on Alagoas costs, sales volume up

Braskem loss deepens on Alagoas costs, sales volume up

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Braskem (Sao Paulo, Brazil) reports a net loss for the third quarter of 1.413 billion Brazilian reais (USD258 million), down from a loss of RD888 million (USD222 million) in the year-ago quarter, reporter Chemweek.

The company attributes the loss mainly to RD1.413 billion in additional costs related to mining damage in Alagoas and to depreciation of the reais versus the US dollar. Revenue totaled R15.992 billion (USD2.972 billion), up 20% year-over-year (YOY) from RD13.368 billion (USD3.370 billion). Resin sales volume increased both sequentially and YOY.

“In the third quarter, in line with the company’s strategy of prioritizing sales to the Brazilian market, the company surpassed 1,050,000 (metric) tons of resins sold, a historical sales record in Brazil,” says Braskem. “In the United States, sales normalized and in the quarter, the company recorded a sales volume in excess of 400,000 tons of (polypropylene (PP)in the North American market.”

Recurring EBITDA was USD699 million, 126% higher sequentially owing to a better spreads for PE in Brazil and Mexico and PP in the US, and increased sales volume in Brazil and the US. The figures increased 69% YOY on better spreads for polyethylene (PE) and polyvinyl chloride (PVC) in Brazil, PP in Europe, and PE in Mexico, as well as higher sales volume in Brazil, the US, and Mexico.

In Brazil, EBITDA was USD529 million, up 148% sequentially and 94% YOY, the result mainly of higher resins and chemicals sales volumes better spreads in PE. Resin sales volume increased 47% sequentially and 20% YOY. “Due to the recovery in demand for resins in the Brazilian market, the utilization rate of the crackers in Brazil normalized and, in the third quarter, was 87%, which represented an increase compared to 2Q20 (17%) and 3Q19 (2%),” says Braskem.

EBITDA in the US and Europe totaled USD133 million, up 223% sequentially and 47% YOY. Braskem cites higher sales volume in the US, noting that its production units in the US operated at 99% during the quarter - up 9% sequentially and 8% YOY. PP demand in Europe was down on depressed demand into automotive. Combined resin sales volume increased 10% sequentially and 8% YOY.

Mexico’s EBITDA came to USD97 million, “in line” sequentially and YOY. The Braskem Idesa joint venture imported 42,000 metric tons (8,000 b/d) of ethane from the US to complement supply from Pemex, allowing it to lift PE utilization to 84% in the quarter. Resin sales volume dropped 2% sequentially on inventory replenishment while increasing 12% YOY on improved availability of product for sale.

We remind that production at Braskem's new PP plant in the US was at 36,000 tonnes in October, close to the monthly production capacity of the plant of around 38,000 tonnes.

As MRC reported previously, Brazilian petrochemical producer Braskem's 450,000 mt/year PP plant in LaPorte, Texas, along the Houston Ship Channel completed its initial commercial production, as per the company's statement as of Sept. 10. "The launch of commercial production at our new world-class PP production line in La Porte clearly affirms Braskem's position as the North American polypropylene market leader," Braskem America CEO Mark Nikolich said in a statement. With a USD750 million investment, the new PP plant's construction started in October 2017 and was completed in June, 2020.

Braskem operates five other US PP plants in Texas, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia, with a cumulative capacity of 1.57 million mt/year that the company acquired. The new plant in La Porte, Texas, is Braskem America's first PP new build.

According to MRC's ScanPlast report, PP shipments to the Russian market reached 880,130 tonnes in the first nine months of 2020 (calculated using the formula: production minus exports plus imports, exluding producers' inventories as of 1 January, 2020). Supply increased exclusively of PP random copolymer.

Braskem S.A. produces petrochemicals and generates electricity. The Company produces ethylene, propylene, benzene, toluene, xylenes, butadiene, butene, isoprene, dicyclopentediene, MTBE, caprolactam, ammonium sulfate, cyclohexene, polyethylene theraphtalat, polyethylene, and polyvinyl chloride (PVC).
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Permanent oil refinery closures accelerate as pandemic bites

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Permanent refining capacity closures expected for 2020-2021 have risen to about 1.7 million bpd as the COVID-19 pandemic hammers demand for oil products, the International Energy Agency said, said Hydrocarbonprocessing.

About a dozen refinery closures have been announced in the past few months, the IEA said, with the bulk of capacity closures - over 1 million bpd - happening in the United States. “There were capacity shutdowns planned for 2020-2021 prior to COVID-19, but the bulk of the new announcements reflect pessimism about refining economics in a world suffering from temporary demand collapse and structural refining overcapacity,” the IEA said in its monthly report.

In 2019, global crude refining capacity stood at 102 million bpd, catering for 84 million bpd of refined oil products demand. That shrank to 76 million bpd in 2020 and is expected to be 80 million bpd in 2021, the IEA said. This week, Royal Dutch Shell said it will halve crude processing capacity and cut jobs at its 500,000 bpd Pulau Bukom oil refinery in Singapore.

In Europe, Petroineos plans to mothball nearly half of its 200,000 bpd refinery at Grangemouth in Scotland, and Gunvor will shutter its 110,000 bpd Antwerp oil refinery in Belgium. The outlook for refining remains mixed, with traditionally low-value naphtha and fuel oil possible bright spots in the new year, Vitol chief executive Russell Hardy told the Reuters Commodity Trading Summit this week.

He said the 1.6-1.7 million bpd of capacity closures already announced to take place by the end of 2021 to early 2022 could grow by a further 1 million bpd. Plateauing fuel demand, tightening environmental rules and overseas competition have prompted several European and U.S. refiners to opt for converting plants to produce biofuels.

As MRC informed earlier, Chemical railcar traffic in North America continues to make up the year-to-date deficit with 2019 while holding firm versus 2018. Volume for the year through 7 November was down 3.8% from 2019 and down 5.5% from 2018, compared to declines of 4.0% and 5.5%, respectively, for the year through 31 October. On a four-week basis, volume was up 0.4% from 2019 and down 4.4% from 2018 (chart), weakening slightly from the previous week, when the respective figures were up 0.8% and down 3.2%.

As MRC informed earlier, Russia's output of chemical products rose in September 2020 by 6.7% year on year. At the same time, production of basic chemicals increased by 6.1% year on year in the first nine months of 2020, according to Rosstat's data. According to the Federal State Statistics Service of the Russian Federation, polymers in primary form accounted for the greatest increase in the January-September output. Last month's production of primary polymers decreased to 852,000 tonnes from 888,000 tonnes in August due to shutdowns in Tomsk, Ufa and Kazan. Overall output of polymers in primary form totalled 7,480,000 tonnes over the stated period, up by 16.4% year on year.

According to MRC's ScanPlast report, Russia's estimated PE consumption totalled 1,594,510 tonnes in the first nine months of 2020, up by 1% year on year. Only high denstiy polyethylene (HDPE) shipments increased. At the same time, PP shipments to the Russian market reached 880,130 tonnes in the nine months of 2020 (calculated using the formula: production minus exports plus imports, excluding producers' inventories as of 1 January, 2020). Supply increased exclusively of PP random copolymer.
MRC

Merck to integrate sustainability further into its corporate strategy

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Merck KGaA has presented its new sustainability strategy, with which it aims to integrate sustainability more deeply as an essential component of its corporate strategy, according to Chemweek.

The main aims of the strategy are to develop sustainable science and technology, integrate sustainability into all the company's value chains by 2030, and achieve climate neutrality and reduce its resource consumption by 2040, Merck says. The company will report annually on the current implementation status of the strategy.

Merck says it wants the new strategy to contribute to the achievement of the United Nations sustainable development goals. It says it is integrating the topic of sustainability into its business strategies and will be taking the goals of the sustainability strategy into account when making business decisions. The company is also planning to link the variable pay of its board and senior management with progress made in achieving the three sustainability goals.

As MRC wrote previously, Merck KGaA has announced the opening its M Lab Collaboration Center in Shanghai, China. Merck Innovation Hub, the first in China, started in late 2019, with the company announcing a 100 million renminbi (USD14 million) seed fund injected into the China Innovation Hub.

Besides, Merck KGaA said in August, 2020, it plans to build an EUR18-million (USD20.6 million) laboratory facility at Buchs, Switzerland, to support its rapidly growing reference materials business. The facility will include laboratory and office space in a three-story, 1,125-square-meter building, Merck says. Completion of construction is scheduled for December 2021 and the move to the facility is planned for early 2022, the company says. Merck anticipates that about two dozen jobs will be created.

We remind that Russia's output of chemical products rose in September 2020 by 6.7% year on year. At the same time, production of basic chemicals increased by 6.1% year on year in the first nine months of 2020, according to Rosstat's data. According to the Federal State Statistics Service of the Russian Federation, polymers in primary form accounted for the greatest increase in the January-September output. Last month's production of primary polymers decreased to 852,000 tonnes from 888,000 tonnes in August due to shutdowns in Tomsk, Ufa and Kazan. Overall output of polymers in primary form totalled 7,480,000 tonnes over the stated period, up by 16.4% year on year.

Headquartered in Darmstadt, Germany, Merck opened an OLED application center in Pyeongtaek, Korea, in 2015. Merck Korea now has 11 operation sites and some 1,200 employees and operates businesses in functional materials, health care and life sciences. The functional materials business encompasses advance materials for information technology products such as displays and semiconductors. It also includes cosmetics and paints for automobiles.
Its health care business involves pharmaceuticals and medical devices for treatments of cancer, multiple sclerosis and infertility. The life sciences business deals in an extensive portfolio of over 300,000 products used for protein research, cell biology, antibodies, water purification and microbiome tests.
MRC

Solvay to offer employees financial reward for their efforts during COVID-19

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Solvay says it will devote up to EUR16.0 million (USD18.9 million) of the cash it generates this year to provide a "special reward" to all its non-executive employees worldwide in recognition of their efforts throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, said Chemweek.

The reward is on top of the company’s yearly bonuses and will be paid out before the end of the year, Solvay says. Solvay delivered record free cash flow of EUR801 million in the first nine months of 2020, and says this has allowed it to resume investments for the future, unlocking EUR60 million in capital expenditure, and enabled it to invest in its people.

"Our record cash generation over the past six quarters, and our efforts to cut costs and focus on what is essential, are thanks in large part to our employees who worked diligently from home or showed up every day onsite to make essential products, as all our plants remained operational throughout the crisis," says Ilham Kadri, CEO of Solvay.

Separately, Lanxess announced last week that it would pay a special bonus to employees for their commitment during the COVID-19 pandemic.

As MRC informed earlier, Solvay and Composites One have entered an exclusive negotiation period for the acquisition of Solvay’s Process Materials (PM) business by Composites One. The PM business provides a broad array of vacuum bagging materials including bagging films, breather fabrics, release films and fabrics, peel plies, sealant tapes plus valves and hoses. Additionally, the business is a leader in the manufacture of tailored consumable kits and hard and soft tooling.

As MRC informed earlier, Solvay SA said it will close two plants making composites for Airbus SE and Boeing Co. in a sign the deepening aerospace crisis is hitting suppliers of even the latest aircraft materials. The Belgian chemical maker is adding to savings achieved in the past year following the grounding of Boeing’s 737 Max. The latest measures from Solvay Chief Executive Officer Ilham Kadri will lead to about 570 job cuts, or 20% of the workforce in Solvay’s composites unit.

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

According to MRC's ScanPlast report, Russia's estimated PE consumption totalled 1,594,510 tonnes in the first nine months of 2020, up by 1% year on year. Only high denstiy polyethylene (HDPE) shipments increased. At the same time, PP shipments to the Russian market reached 880,130 tonnes in the nine months of 2020 (calculated using the formula: production minus exports plus imports, exluding producers' inventories as of 1 January, 2020). Supply increased exclusively of PP random copolymer.

Solvay S.A. is a Belgian chemical company, one of the largest in Europe and the world with a market share of 27%, is the second largest PVC producer and the fourth largest caustic soda producer in Europe. The company's activities are concentrated in two main areas - the chemical sector (plastics production) and the pharmaceutical sector.
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