Braskem and Haldor Topsoe achieve first production of bio-based MEG from sugar

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Braskem, the largest petrochemical company in the Americas and a world leader in the production of biopolymers, and Denmark-based Haldor Topsoe, a global leader in supply of catalysts, technology, and services for the chemical and refining industries, have announced that they achieved their first-ever demo-scale production of bio-based monoethylene glycol (MEG), reported CISION.

As a result of the collaboration between the two companies, the MOSAIK technology development has been progressing according to schedule at the demonstration unit located in Lyngby, Denmark.

The demonstration unit was started up in 2019 with the primary goal to demonstrate all key design features of the pioneering technology that transforms sugar into renewable MEG. Since then, the remaining process units of the plant have been built and put into operation, and the production process has been optimized.

MEG is a raw material for polyethylene terephthalate (PET), which has numerous applications and is an essential feedstock in sectors such as textiles and packaging, especially beverage bottles. Currently, MEG is predominantly made from fossil-based feedstocks, such as naphtha, gas, or coal. The global MEG market represents a value of approximately USD 25 billion.

The technology will also co-produce, in a lower quantity, monopropylene glycol (MPG), which has a wide variety of applications ranging from unsaturated polyester resins (UPR), commonly used in construction materials, to cosmetic products.

The next phase will involve providing samples to strategic partners for testing and validation. The results of the demonstration plant operations and the validation of products will be essential for the decision to deploy the technology on a commercial scale.

The development of bio-MEG is strategic to Braskem. "This first-ever production of MOSAIK-MEG is a major step forward in our project and underlines Braskem's commitment to the Circular Economy through renewable chemicals. This technology has the potential to revolutionize the PET market. That's why we are increasingly closer to start building this new value chain, so we can deliver the sustainable solution that society is looking for", says Gustavo Sergi, executive officer of Renewable Chemicals and Specialties at Braskem.

"We are extremely pleased to have achieved the first production of bio-based MEG together with Braskem. Topsoe's strategic vision is to deliver technologies to reduce or even eliminate carbon emissions from the production of fuels and chemicals. Advancing technologies to produce bio-based chemicals and making them a commercially attractive option is an essential step on the way to a more sustainable future," says Kim Knudsen, Chief Strategy & Innovation Officer at Haldor Topsoe.

As MRC informed before, in mid-November 2020, Braskem said it had completed a USD10-million expansion of its innovation and technology center at Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The expansion adds eight R&D labs, and equipment for developing technologies around catalysis, recycling, and 3D printing. This includes capabilities in catalysis and petrochemical process technologies, 3D printing research, as well as chromatography, polymer cracking and microscopy analyses.

MEG is used to produce PET, which is used in the manufacturing of plastic bottles, films, packaging containers, in the textile and food industries.

As per MRC' ScanPlast, calculated consumption of polyethylene terephthalate (PET) reached 52,71o tonnes in September 2020, down 27% compared to the same time a year before. Total consumption of PET in Russia in the nine months of 2020 reached 530,750 tonnes, down 22% than the same indicator last year.

Haldor Topsoe is a global leader in supply of catalysts, technology, and services to the chemical and refining industries. Topsoe aims to be the global leader within carbon emission reduction technologies by 2024. By perfecting chemistry for a better world, we enable our customers to succeed in the transition towards renewable energy. Topsoe is headquartered in Denmark and serves customers around the globe.

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).
MRC

Invista Completes Nylon 6,6 Capacity Expansion in Shanghai

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Invista has completed its nylon 6,6 polymer capacity expansion at its polymer plant at the Shanghai Chemical Industry Park (SCIP), according to Kemicalinfo.

The company added a 40,000 ton per year capacity bringing the plant’s total capacity to 190,000-ton per year.

“This new polymer capacity is part of Invista strategic investments to supply the strong local and regional demand for high-quality nylon products,” said Angela Dou, Invista’s Asia Pacific regional business director, nylon polymer.

“We estimate China could become the world’s largest consumer of nylon 6,6 in the next few years - with many growth sectors, including an increased demand for engineering polymers used in automotive, electrical & engineering markets, such as light weighting, powertrain parts optimization, electrification, and automation.”

This expansion is Invista’s fourth continuous polymerization line at SCIP where the company now has 30,000-ton per year autoclaves and 160,000-ton per year continuous process nylon 6,6 polymer capacity.

Pete Brown, Invista’s executive vice president, nylon polymer, added, “The additional polymer capacity is another key element of Invista’s integrated nylon 6,6 value chain at SCIP where we also have a 215,000-ton per year hexamethylenediamine (HMD) plant and a 400,000-ton per year adiponitrile (ADN) plant currently under construction.”

The completion comes nearly two weeks after the company’s ADN project at the SCIP secured a final construction permit.

Construction commenced this June. The new approval will enable the company to start construction work in the remaining areas. ADN is an intermediate ingredient used in the production of nylon 6,6.

As MRC reported previiously, in early November 2020, Invista and Hengli Petrochemical (Huizhou) reached agreement to license INVISTA’s P8 PTA technology for two purified terephthalic acid (PTA) lines. These two lines will be installed at Xiachong, Daya Bay, Huizhou City, Guangdong province, China. The kick-off meeting was successfully concluded on October 23, 2020, between Hengli, Invista and CTCI (the engineering contractor).

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' ScanPlast, calculated consumption of polyethylene terephthalate (PET) reached 52,71o tonnes in September 2020, down 27% compared to the same time a year before. Total consumption of PET in Russia in the nine months of 2020 reached 530,750 tonnes, down 22% than the same indicator last year.
MRC

Eastman to hike tertiary amines capacity in Belgium

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Eastman Chemical (Kingsport, Tennessee) says it will make a “major investment” to expand production capacity for tertiary amines at its facility in Ghent, Belgium, by the end of 2021, said Chemweek.

The specific size of the capacity hike and the investment value has not been given. The company is also considering further investments at its tertiary amines unit at Pace, Florida, where it has already significantly increased capacity, making it the largest such unit in the world, it says. The investment to “significantly increase” capacity at Ghent is being made to help customers meet the need for hand sanitizers, wipes, sprays, liquid dish soap, and other household cleaning products, according to Eastman.

Eastman will continue to invest in tertiary amines if its customers support its expansions, says Bob Ash, product director/care chemicals at Eastman. "We appreciate their patience as we complete the work. In the meantime, our units are running at a high level," he says.

Tertiary amines are key raw materials for surfactants used in a wide variety of industrial, personal and home care markets.

As MRC informed previously, Air Liquide plans to invest over USD160 million in new capacity and upgrades to support a long-term agreement under which the company will supply additional gaseous oxygen, nitrogen, and syngas to Eastman Chemical’s Longview, Texas, facility.

We remind that in 2016, Eastman Chemical's chief executive Mark Costa announced that the company wanted to reduce its surplus ethylene and commodity intermediates, but did not intend to sell its cracker in Longview, Texas.

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.

Eastman is a global specialty chemical company that produces a broad range of products found in items people use every day. With a portfolio of specialty businesses, Eastman works with customers to deliver innovative products and solutions while maintaining a commitment to safety and sustainability. Its market-driven approaches take advantage of world-class technology platforms and leading positions in attractive end-markets such as transportation, building and construction and consumables. Eastman focuses on creating consistent, superior value for all stakeholders. As a globally diverse company, Eastman serves customers in more than 100 countries. The company is headquartered in Kingsport, Tennessee, USA and employs approximately 14,500 people around the world.
MRC

Chinese INE considers Singapore for marine fuel futures delivery

Chinese INE considers Singapore for marine fuel futures delivery

MOSCOW (MRC) -- The Shanghai International Energy Exchange (INE) is considering using oil storage sites in Singapore owned by PetroChina Co as a delivery point for its low-sulphur fuel oil futures contract, reproted Reuters with reference to two sources with direct knowledge of the matter.

The INE's move would be the first time a Chinese futures contract would be deliverable outside of China and could boost liquidity for the contract, as well as help to influence pricing for shipping fuel.

Low-sulphur fuel oil (LSFO) is required as ship fuel to meet new maritime emissions regulations that went into effect this year. Singapore is the world's biggest ship-fueling port.

The INE posted a notice on its website seeking market feedback on allowing LSFO futures contract buyers to take deliveries outside China, but did not give a location or a start date for the change.

However, Singapore could be used as a delivery point for the LSFO contract before the end of the year, the two sources said.

"The new plan gives traders, especially those large bunker fuel players in Singapore, greater flexibility to take deliveries as they see more economic and convenient, versus say Zhoushan (in China)," said one of the sources.

PetroChina International, a unit of PetroChina, was Singapore's top marine fuel supplier in 2019. The company owns a 25% stake in Singapore's Universal Terminal oil storage site at Jurong Island in the island city-state's southwest.

An INE spokesman declined to comment on the matter. PetroChina and Singapore's Maritime Port Authority did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

The INE's yuan-denominated LSFO contract has traded 4.9 million lots through October since it started up in June, or about 320 million barrels, the exchange said.

The INE and China aim to grow the contract, for fuel oil with a sulphur content of 0.5%, into an Asian benchmark for the ship fuel. The current benchmarks are for cargoes sold in Singapore.

As MRC informed before, state-owned PetroChina plans to spend about Yuan 10 billion (USD1.49 billion) annually in the next five years for low carbon emission transitions as part of the company"s effort to meet Beijing"s call for carbon neutrality by 2060, according to the statment of Wei Fang, Assistant Secretary to the Board & Head of Investor Relations, during the company"s Q3 result briefing. PetroChina, China"s top integrated giant, had produced 4.43 million boe/d of oil and gas in January-September. Wei said the company targets to achieve near zero emission by 2050 and is currently drafting the new green and low carbon development plan in line with PetroChina"s 14th Five-Year Plan for 2021-25.

We remind that PetroChina has nearly doubled the amount of Russian crude being processed at its refinery in Dalian, the company's biggest, since January 2018, as a new supply agreement had come into effect. The Dalian Petrochemical Corp, located in the northeast port city of Dalian, was expected to process 13 million tonnes, or 260,000 bpd of Russian pipeline crude in 2018, up by about 85 to 90 percent from the previous year's level. Dalian has the capacity to process about 410,000 bpd of crude. The increase follows an agreement worked out between the Russian and Chinese governments under which Russia's top oil producer Rosneft was to supply 30 million tonnes of ESPO Blend crude to PetroChina in 2018, or about 600,000 bpd. That would have represented an increase of 50 percent over 2017 volumes.

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, excluding producers' inventories as of 1 January, 2020). Supply increased exclusively of PP random copolymer.

PetroChina Company Limited, is a Chinese oil and gas company and is the listed arm of state-owned China National Petroleum Corporation, headquartered in Dongcheng District, Beijing. It is China"s biggest oil producer.
MRC

TechnipFMC receives notice to proceed with EPC contract for LNG facility

MOSCOW (MRC) -- TechnipFMC has received a Notice to Proceed for a major EPC contract by Sempra LNG and Infraestructura Energetica Nova, S.A.B. de C.V. (IEnova) at their Energia Costa Azul (ECA) LNG facility in Baja California, Mexico, according to Hydrocarbonprocessing.

The project will add a natural gas liquefaction facility with nameplate capacity of 3.25 MMtpy to the existing regasification terminal using a compact and high efficiency mid-scale LNG design.

This addition will allow for natural gas liquefaction and LNG export capability at the ECA LNG facility, which has been operating as a regasification terminal since 2008. ECA LNG is one of Sempra LNG’s strategically located natural gas liquefaction infrastructure projects currently in development in North America.

TechnipFMC has been involved in this project since 2017, including the delivery of the FEED.

Arnaud Pieton, President of Technip Energies, stated: “We are very pleased to have been selected by Sempra LNG and IEnova for this strategic development. This project is fully aligned with our selective approach through very early stage involvement. We look forward to bringing our global project execution capabilities and our extensive LNG track record to this exciting project. LNG plays a major role in the energy transition, and we are proud to leverage our expertise to support this journey.”

As MRC wrote previously, in October 2020, TechnipFMC said it had been awarded a contract by Shell to supply eight new ethylene furnaces at the Moerdijk petrochemicals complex in the Netherlands. The contract is described as “significant” by TechnipFMC, a term it uses to cover value between USD75 million and USD250 million.

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.
MRC