Neste RE enables a future where all plastic products can be made of renewable and recycled materials

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Neste is launching a new product, Neste RE, a 100% renewable and recycled raw material for plastics and chemicals production, said Hydrocarbonprocessing.

It is a product for tackling climate change through reducing the need to use virgin fossil resources, while it also provides a new solution to the end-of-life related challenges the polymers and chemicals industries are facing today. Neste RE can be used in a wide range of plastics applications, from sports gear to toys, even in sensitive applications such as high-performing medical equipment. Neste RE makes it possible to use bio-based waste and residues and waste plastic in the manufacture of high-quality products.

World’s economy is only 8.6% circular today. The urgency to move towards a truly circular economy is high (source: IPCC Global warming report) and will deserve a variety of different technologies. Neste has a decade-long experience in developing and producing renewable and circular solutions for transportation, and is now extending its offering to the polymers and chemicals sectors. With this, Neste supports the reduction of crude oil dependency by providing more sustainable alternatives to the currently used virgin fossil-based feedstock in plastics and chemicals production.

"We need to take drastic action to achieve the necessary change towards a circular economy in materials. With Neste RE, we combine the best of renewable and recycled materials, to serve as a sustainable feedstock alternative for the polymers and chemicals sectors. This new product provides a new solution for the industry to close the circle of material flows. Neste RE is available globally, and together with like-minded partners, we can use Neste RE as a tool to change and revolutionize plastics,” says Lars Borger, vice president of Renewable Polymers & Chemicals at Neste.

Neste RE is both renewable and recycled: the product’s renewable components can be produced from waste and residue oils and fats and sustainably-produced vegetable oils. The recycled component is produced from chemically-recycled plastic waste that cannot be recycled mechanically, such as colored, multilayer or multi material packaging.

The more fossil resource based content is replaced with content from renewable or recycled origins, the better for our planet. In 2018, over 29 million tons of post-consumer plastic waste was collected, and of this, only 9.4 million tons was directed to recycling (source: Plastics Europe) – even less actually recycled. Furthermore, the share of global oil production used to produce plastics, which is currently 6%, may reach 20% by 2050 (source: New Plastics Economy, Ellen MacArthur Foundation). To tackle these numbers by accelerating the plastics industry’s transformation towards a circular bioeconomy, urgent action is required, collaboration among some of the industry forerunners playing a key role.

Neste’s collaborations are already bearing fruit: In 2019, Neste collaborated with LyondellBasell to produce the world’s first commercial-scale volumes of renewable, bio-based polypropylene. And in March 2020, Neste collaborated with Borealis to produce renewable polypropylene with renewable propane at a propane dehydrogenation facility for the first time in history. Clariant added an entire range of additives based on Neste RE. Together with Recycling Technologies and Unilever, Neste combines expertise to test and validate systems to chemically recycle waste plastics. In a strategic cooperation with Covestro, Neste is promoting the use of sustainable raw materials in plastics production, particularly in the production of polycarbonates. And, together with Jockey, Neste has a collaboration with a target to develop the market for rigid packaging from sustainable renewable and recycled materials for food and non-food applications.

Neste RE is available worldwide to the polymers and chemicals value chain including brands wishing to add bio-based and recycled content to their offering. Neste RE is a drop-in solution compatible with existing polymers and chemicals production infrastructures. Materials produced with Neste RE are of high quality – identical to plastic products made out of virgin fossil feedstock, e.g. recyclable similarly to their virgin fossil counterparts.

As MRC informed earlier, Neste, a leading producer of renewable diesel and sustainable aviation fuel and a forerunner as a provider of renewable and circular solutions for the petrochemical industry, and LG Chem, South Korea’s largest diversified petrochemicals company and a leading manufacturer of lithium-ion batteries for energy solutions, have announced their aim to build a strategic long-term partnership to develop and grow the biopolymers and biochemicals market globally, and more specifically, in the LG Chem’s home market Korea.

As MRC reported earlier, LG Chem, a South Korean petrochemical major, has shut down its naphtha cracker in Yeosu following a fire. The company said a fire broke out at its central control room at the Yosu cracker complex at around midnight local time (15:00 GMT) on 5 November. The country's largest chemical company said it was in the process of figuring out the cause of the fire. The facility can process about 1.2 million tonnes of ethylene per year (tpy).The cracker shutdown is expected to last at least three weeks.

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

According to MRC's DataScope report, PE imports to Russia decreased in January-November 2020 by 17% year on year and reached 569,900 tonnes. High density polyethylene (HDPE) accounted for the greatest reduction in imports. At the same time, PP imports into Russia increased by 21% year on year to about 202,000 tonnes in the first eleven months of 2020. Propylene homopolymer (homopolymer PP) accounted for the main increase in imports.

MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Brazil’s state-run oil company Petrobras is seeking 800 million reais (USD152 million) in compensation from engineering group Odebrecht in arbitration proceedings over its alleged violation of the shareholders agreement in petrochemical company Braskem, reported Reuters.

Petroleo Brasileiro SA, as the oil firm is known formally, said in a securities filing it had formalized the compensation request on Monday.

Odebrecht is seeking to sell its 38.3% stake in Braskem SA, while Petrobras aims to offload its 36.1% stake.

As MRC informed previously, Petrobras may need more than a year to divest its stake in Braskem, said Andrea Almeida, Petrobras CFO, in early July, 2020. She said during the company's recent webinar that Petrobras plans to give more time for potential investors to make offers for the company"s assets, including for its refineries and stakes at its petrochemical and fuel distribution affiliates. The divestment of Petrobras's stake in Braskem in 2020 would be desirable but "might not be possible" as the COVID-19 pandemic has changed market conditions, she said. The company plans to close part of its refinery sales in 2021. In December, Roberto Castello Branco, CEO of Petrobras, said that he wants to sell the company's stake in Braskem within a year. Petrobras owns 32.15% of Braskem.

We remind that Braskem is no longer pursuing a petrochemical project, which would have included an ethane cracker, in West Virginia. And the company is seeking to sell the land that would have housed the cracker. The project, announced in 2013, had been on Braskem"s back burner for several years.

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

According to MRC's DataScope report, PE imports to Russia decreased in January-November 2020 by 17% year on year and reached 569,900 tonnes. High density polyethylene (HDPE) accounted for the greatest reduction in imports. At the same time, PP imports into Russia increased by 21% year on year to about 202,000 tonnes in the first eleven months of 2020. Propylene homopolymer (homopolymer PP) accounted for the main increase in imports.

Headquartered in Rio de Janeiro, Petrobras is an integrated energy firm. Petrobras" activities include exploration, exploitation and production of oil from reservoir wells, shale and other rocks as well as refining, processing, trade and transport of oil and oil products, natural gas and other fluid hydrocarbons, in addition to other energy-related activities.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Research suggests the amount of plastic waste entering the world’s oceans could almost triple to 29 MMtpy by 2040, said Hydrocarbonprocessing.

It is a bleak prediction that highlights the scale of the challenge, which must be addressed not only by governments and consumers, but also by plastics manufacturers themselves. The solution may lie in the next-generation of degradable plastics.

As we discovered through the coronavirus pandemic, the problem with trying to phase out plastics – even the single-use variety - is that there is often nothing else to replace them with (as of yet). That is why, rather than focusing on plastics consumption, we should instead be directing resources towards finding sustainable solutions that address the issue of plastic waste at source.

New technologies are currently being developed as part of an industry push to prevent non-degradable materials clogging up our oceans. Scientific research now underway into the next generation of plastics aims to create products that can degrade efficiently, and which can be reused or recycled. While biodegradable plastics already exist, conventional non-degradable plastics still dominate for two simple reasons: they are more affordable and perform better than their more environmentally-friendly counterparts.

One approach to correcting this involves applying new chemistry to existing processes, which is something we are exploring at Aramco. Part of our ongoing research involves experimenting with subtle changes to the plastics manufacturing process, as they investigate ways to create conventional plastic products that degrade under specific conditions.

We remind that Russia's output of chemical products rose in November 2020 by 9.5% year on year. At the same time, production of basic chemicals increased in the first eleven months of 2020 by 6.6% year on year, 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-November 2020 output. Last month"s production of polymers in primary form rose to 896,000 tonnes from 852,000 tonnes in October. Overall output of polymers in primary form totalled 9,240,000 tonnes over the stated period, up by 17.1% year on year.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Tronox Holdings plc announced 27 December that chairman and CEO Jeffry Quinn will take a leave of absence effective immediately after telling the board that he had been referenced as an unnamed individual in a US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) complaint regarding alleged insider in the shares of Ferro Corporation in February and March of 2016, said Chemweek.

Quinn served as a director of Ferro from May 2013 through August 2016. Neither Tronox nor Tronox’s shares are referenced in the complaints.

Tronox's board appointed John Romano, executive vice president and chief commercial and strategy officer, and Jean-Francois Turgeon, executive vice president and chief operating officer, as co-chief executive officers on an interim basis. In addition, Ilan Kaufthal, lead independent director, has been elected chairman on an interim basis.

An SEC complaint alleges that an unnamed Ferro insider, believed to be Quinn, or his fiancee provided a friend with information in February and March about a private equity firm’s interest in a transaction to acquire Ferro. The complaint alleges the friend, named as a defendant in the case, traded Ferro shares in an associate's name and tipped off other traders with the information. Media reports speculated on a private equity bid by Apollo in March 2016 and Ferro announced in May 2016 that it had retained a banker to advise on strategic alternatives.

Quinn has been a director of Tronox since 2011, was appointed president and CEO in December 2017, and was appointed chairman in March 2019.

As MRC informed earlier, Tronox Limited announced that it has received final approval from the European Commission to close its proposed acquisition of the titanium dioxide ("TiO2") business of The National Titanium Dioxide Company Limited, a privately held global chemical and mining company headquartered in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.

We remind that Russia's output of chemical products rose in November 2020 by 9.5% year on year. At the same time, production of basic chemicals increased in the first eleven months of 2020 by 6.6% year on year, 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-November 2020 output. Last month"s production of polymers in primary form rose to 896,000 tonnes from 852,000 tonnes in October. Overall output of polymers in primary form totalled 9,240,000 tonnes over the stated period, up by 17.1% year on year.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Mexican state-owned oil company Pemex said earlier this month that one of its refineries in the northern state of Nuevo Leon is operating normally after the state governor said the facility suffered two gas explosions, reported Hydrocarbonprocessing.

Pemex said on Twitter that “a loud noise” was heard coming from a stretch of water drainage at Pemex’s Cadereyta refinery.

“It did not cause major damages to people or structures,” Pemex said, adding that the cause of the incident will be investigated.

Earlier on 10 December, Nuevo Leon Governor Jaime Rodriguez said in a tweet that two gas explosions struck the refinery, causing light injuries to five people.

While the Cadereyta refinery features a crude processing capacity of 275,000 barrels per day (bpd), it only processed 97,000 bpd in October, according to Pemex data.

As MRC informed earlier, Pemex is advancing a refinery rehabilitation program that will enable it to process 1.2 million b/d of crude oil by the end of 2020 and evaluating a reconfiguration of its petrochemical facility at Cangrejera, Mexico, into what would be its eighth refinery.

We also remind that in 2016, Pemex shut its steam cracker at its Cangrejera complex for maintenance on February 15. The cracker was idle for about 14 days. The conducted repairs at the cracker were a part of planned maintenance.

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

According to MRC's DataScope report, PE imports to Russia decreased in January-November 2020 by 17% year on year and reached 569,900 tonnes. High density polyethylene (HDPE) accounted for the greatest reduction in imports. At the same time, PP imports into Russia increased by 21% year on year to about 202,000 tonnes in the first eleven months of 2020. Propylene homopolymer (homopolymer PP) accounted for the main increase in imports.

Pemex, Mexican Petroleum, is a Mexican state-owned petroleum company. Pemex has a total asset worth of USD415.75 billion, and is the world's second largest non-publicly listed company by total market value, and Latin America's second largest enterprise by annual revenue as of 2009. Company produces such polymers, as polyethylene (PE), polypropylene (PP), polystyrene (PS).
MRC