One sixth of overall European ethylene capacity was shut in November

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Through November, broadly one sixth of Europe's overall ethylene capacity was offline, according to Chemweek with reference to OPIS records.

The reduction in cracker capacity was sufficiently large to tighten the supply of ethylene and propylene, as the remaining petrochemical producers looked to maintain strong run rates in the region.

The major units that have seen reduced capacity through maintenance or operational issues included the 1.31-million metric tons/year Geleen and 940,000-metric tons/year Moerdijk crackers in the Netherlands; the 865,000-metric tons/year Wilton plant in the UK, which is partly ethane fed; the 625,000-metric tons/year Stenungsund facility in Sweden, also partly ethane fed; the 400,000-metric tons/year plant at Porvoo in Finland; and the 310,000-metric tons/year Wesseling cracker in Germany. The Porvoo plant is expecting a restart in early December.

OPIS is an IHS Markit company.

As MRC reported earlier, Borealis announces that its new naphtha cavern in Porvoo, Finland has now been safely commissioned as of October 2020. Having invested around EUR25 million in the construction of this 80,000 m3 facility, Borealis can now source and store naphtha for its Porvoo operations from the global market in a more flexible, cost-efficient, and secure way. The cavern can also accommodate renewable naphtha, making it possible for Borealis customers in future to draw on certified renewable polypropylene (PP) and polyethylene (PE), as well as renewable base chemicals, ethylene, propylene and phenol.

We remind that the light-feed 625,000-metric tons/year Borealis steam cracker at Stenungsund, Sweden, is expected to restart operations in the fourth quarter this year after a fire broke out at the plant in May, 2020. The cracker has been under force majeure ever since after the blaze at the plant on 10 May, which was subsequently brought under control the following day.

Ethylene and propylene are feedstocks for producing PE and PP.

According to MRC's ScanPlast report, Russia's estimated PE consumption totalled 1,760,950 tonnes in the first ten months of 2020, up by 3% year on year. Only high density polyethylene (HDPE) and linear low density polyethylene (LLDPE) shipments increased. At the same time, PP shipments to the Russian market reached 978,870 tonnes in January-October 2020 (calculated using the formula: production minus exports plus imports minus producers' inventories as of 1 January, 2020). Supply of exclusively of PP random copolymer increased.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) - Asia needs flexible liquefied natural gas (LNG) contracts with no links to oil prices to reflect changes to the market as demand recovers from the impact of the coronavirus pandemic, said Reuters.

Pradhan said gas buyers and sellers need to adjust to changing market dynamics after lower spot gas prices in last two years have encouraged buyers to favour short-term and spot deals instead of long-term oil-linked deals. "The LNG price determination for Asian consumers is still oil-linked, and this requires an urgent revision," Pradhan said at an International Energy Forum event.

India, the world's fourth largest liquefied natural gas importer, is aiming to raise the share of gas in its energy mix to 15% by 2030 from the current 6.3% and is investing $60 billion by 2024 to strengthen infrastructure. The country's top importer Petronet LNG is renegotiating pricing of gas bought under long-term deals with Qatar, after a spot price slump made oil-linked long-term deals unattractive.

"There is greater recognition to immediately address the rigidities in its marketing structures in LNG sector," the minister said referring to clauses like destination restriction. He said refined fuels and gas demand in India has recovered to pre-Covid levels and he hoped the country will remain a key global energy demand center.

India is doubling its natural gas grid to 34,500 kilometers and increasing annual gas import capacity to 61 million tonnes by 2022 from the current 42 million tonnes, he said.

As MRC informed earlier, ADNOC LNG has signed up to a six-year supply agreement with Vitol, the world’s largest independent energy trader, for the sale of 1.8 MMtpy of post-2022 LNG volumes and a two-year supply agreement with Total for 0.75 MMtpy of 2021 and 2022 LNG volumes.

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 density 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

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Japan may ban sales of new gasoline-engine cars by the mid-2030s in favour of hybrid or electric vehicles, public broadcaster NHK reported on Thursday, aligning it with other countries and regions that are imposing curbs on fossil fuel vehicles, said Hydrocarbonprocessing.

The move would follow Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga's pledge in October for Japan to slash carbon emissions to zero on a net basis by 2050 and make the country the second G7 nation to set a deadline for phasing out gasoline vehicles in a little over two weeks. Japan's industry ministry will map out a plan by the year-end, chief government spokesman Katsunobu Kato told a news conference on Thursday.

The likelihood of state interventions to lower carbon emissions is fuelling a technological race among carmakers to build electric cars and hybrid gasoline-electric vehicles that will lure drivers as they switch from gasoline models, particularly in the world's two biggest auto markets, China and the U.S.

Measures already in place in Japan mean Japanese automakers, particularly big ones such as Toyota Motor Corp with greater research and development resources, could use electric vehicle technology they have already developed at home.

Nissan Motor Co chief operating officer Ashwani Gupta last month told Reuters his company was ready to respond to Britain's decision to hasten a phase-out date for new petrol and diesel powered cars and vans by five years to 2030 because it was part of a global trend. Japan's industry ministry is considering requiring all new vehicles to be electric, including hybrid vehicles, NHK reported earlier, adding the ministry would finalise a formal target following expert-panel debates as early as the year-end.

Japanese automakers for now are keeping quiet on what impact those measures could have on their businesses. Toyota, Honda Motor Co, Nissan and its alliance partner Mitsubishi Motors Corp declined to comment. In Japan, the share of electricity vehicles is expected to increase to 55% in 2030, Boston Consulting Group said in a report on prospects for battery-powered cars.

Globally, "the speed of expansion of the share of electric vehicles will accelerate due to the fact that battery prices are falling more rapidly than previously expected," Boston Consulting said in the report. Japan, China and South Korea recently announced firm targets to end net emissions of carbon, which has given momentum for companies and banks to push for cutbacks to keep global warming in check.

Apart from Britain, parts of the United States and Canada, Norway and Germany, are or plan to imposed curbs on fossil fuel cars. The wider European Union is expected to decide on future restrictions as early as this month.

As per MRC, Agilyx Corp., Tigard, Oregon, and Toyo Styrene Co. Ltd., a Toyko-based affiliate of Denka Co. Ltd., have announced they are 30% complete with the final phase of developing the front-end loading design to deploy Agilyx's technology near Toyo Styrene’s facility in the Chiba prefecture of Japan. According to a news release from Agilyx, the facility will focus on recycling postuse polystyrene (PS) plastic back to a styrene monomer. In April, Agilyx had announced the licensing of its technology to Toyo Styrene.

According to MRC's ScanPlast report, Russia's estimated consumption of PS and styrene plastics totalled 362,820 tonnes in the first nine months of 2020, down by 1% year on year.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Trinseo, a global materials solutions provider and manufacturer of plastics, latex binders and synthetic rubber, has announced the inauguration of its Thermoplastic Elastomers (TPE) pilot facility in Hsinchu, Taiwan, as per the company's press release as of 2 December.

The new pilot facility represents a major step in Trinseo’s wider growth strategy for TPEs, enabling it to locally produce custom-engineered TPE and thermoplastic urethanes (TPU), together with its leading bioplastics portfolio, for key customers in the Asia-Pacific region.

The state-of-the-art pilot facility is built at Trinseo’s existing manufacturing site in Hsinchu, and will enable faster innovation cycles in close collaboration with customers for sustainably advantaged materials in the Automotive, Consumer Electronics, Footwear and Medical markets. It complements Trinseo’s existing main TPE development center in Mussolente, Italy, which is leading industry developments in the design and production of sustainable soft-touch plastics.

The new Hsinchu plant has been launched on schedule, despite the challenges associated with constructing a state-of-the-art facility during the global Coronavirus pandemic. Upon its opening, Trinseo celebrated 15,000+ safety hours in a development project that spanned three regions under the most challenging circumstances.

“We are very excited to start up the pilot facility for our custom-engineered TPE and thermoplastic urethanes (TPU) closer to customers in Asia-Pacific,” said Francesca Reverberi, Vice President, Engineered Materials and Synthetic Rubber, Trinseo.

“The pilot plant offers a potential platform through which Trinseo can fulfil increasing demand for TPEs, brought about by megatrends such as the growth in telemedicine and the convergence of medical and consumer electronics. These trends bring a requirement for more user-friendly and sustainable devices with greater use of soft-touch materials and bio-based plastics.”

The pilot plant will play a significant role in helping Trinseo achieve its 2030 Sustainability Goals, which specify that sustainably sourced materials will form the basis of 40% of Trinseo’s portfolio within a decade. Trinseo’s biobased and biodegradable TPE and TPU materials comprise a significant portion of the company’s environmentally friendly portfolio, and the pilot facility is expected to accelerate adoption and development of these solutions.

The Hsinchu plant is already supporting Trinseo’s sustainability aims by compounding best-in-class resins made with post-consumer recycled plastics, used primarily in consumer electronics. Furthermore, the plant will enable Trinseo to continue its evolution into a true solutions provider to customers in Consumer Electronics, Footwear, Medical, Automotive TPE and Appliances & Tools - with a strong focus on sustainability.

As MRC reported earlier, Trinseo and its affiliate companies in Europe have announced a price increase for all polystyrene (PS) an acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene (ABS) in Europe. Effective December 1, 2020, or as existing contract terms allow, the contract and spot prices for the products listed below rose as follows:

- STYRON general purpose polystyrene grades (GPPS) -- by EUR250 per metric ton;
- STYRON and STYRON A-Tech and STYRON X- Tech and STYRON C- Tech high impact polystyrene grades (HIPS) - by EUR250 per metric ton;
- MAGNUM ABS resins - by EUR305 per metric ton.

According to ICIS-MRC Price report, Russian producers are expected to settle December selling PS prices this week. Buyers anticipate an increase of about Rb8,000-10,000/tonne in December prices of Russian PS on the back of higher feedstock prices.

Trinseo is a global materials company and manufacturer of plastics, latex and rubber. Trinseo's technology is used by customers in industries such as home appliances, automotive, building & construction, carpet, consumer electronics, consumer goods, electrical & lighting, medical, packaging, paper & paperboard, rubber goods and tires. Formerly known as Styron, Trinseo completed its renaming process in 1Q 2015. Trinseo had approximately USD3.8 billion in net sales in 2019, with 17 manufacturing sites around the world, and approximately 2,700 employees.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) – Cargill, IFP Energies nouvelles (IFPEN) and Axens are joining forces to further develop and scale biobased acrylic acid, said Hydrocarbonprocessing.

The collaboration leverages Cargill’s experience with bio-based materials, IFPEN’s expertise in the field of catalyst and bioprocess development, and Axens’ catalyst manufacturing and industrial scale-up design process to commercialize the Procter & Gamble (P&G) company’s lactic-to-acrylic-acid technology, which Cargill licensed in earlier this year.

"More than 6 million tons of petro-based acrylic acid will be produced this year,” said Dr. Jill Zullo, Vice President of Biointermediates in Cargill’s Bioindustrial business. "By leveraging Cargill’s processing technology and IFPEN/Axens’ know-how in catalysis and scale up, we’re aiming to produce acrylic acid from renewable sources thereby reducing greenhouse gas emissions by more than 50 percent."

Since Cargill’s award-winning lactic acid technology is already commercially proven, efforts will focus on the catalyst and process development needed to convert lactic acid into biobased acrylic acid at scale – expertise for which IFPEN and Axens are world renowned. Biobased acrylic acid can be used in a variety of applications, from hygiene products to household paints, delivering more sustainable solutions on a wide range of consumer products.

"We’re thrilled to be working with IFPEN and Axens. Given their mutual commitment to furthering the bio-economy and demonstrated capabilities in catalysis and commercial scale up, we knew they were the right partners for this important project,” says Asheesh Choudhary, Global Business Development Director for Cargill’s Bioindustrial business. "We firmly believe that the combined expertise of the three partners, which includes our recognized experience in the field of bio-products, represents the strength of this project,” explains Jean-Pierre Burzynski, director of the Process Business Unit at IFPEN.

Pierre Beccat, EVP Technology Development and Innovation at Axens adds: “We are very proud to be associated to Cargill and IFPEN to develop a solution in the field of bio-products thus bolstering Axens’ ambition to be a major player in the bio-economy. The technology was developed in P&G’s corporate laboratories and Axens is very excited to develop it to an industrial scale as this technology could have a significant impact on the marketplace."

The companies are advancing the technology according to staged milestones. Although it will be several years before it is ready to be deployed at commercial scale, test samples could be ready for potential customers sometime within the next 12 months.

As per MRC, Axens says it will license its alpha-olefins production technology to Baltic Chemical Plant LLC (BCP LLC), a subsidiary of RusGazDobycha (Moscow, Russia), for its gas-based petrochemical project at Ust-Luga, near St. Petersburg, Russia.

According to MRC's ScanPlast report, Russia's overall PE production totalled 1,712,400 tonnes in the first seven months of 2020, up by 58% year on year. Linear low density polyethylene (LLDPE) accounted for the greatest increase in the output.
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