Azelis acquires firms in the Philippines

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Azelis has announced that it will acquire majority shares of Asia Primera Kimika (APKI) and Phil-Asiatic Supply & Services (PSSI), said Chemweek.

APKI and PSSI offer distribution and services in personal care, home care, paints, coatings, construction and inks, industrial chemicals and supply management.

Their strong market presence in personal care would benefit directly from the Philippine population’s increasing purchasing power and growing access to premium products, Azelis said.

“Entering the important and growing market of the Philippines will help us gain an even better coverage in the entire region which is key for us to attract new mandates with our existing principals,” said Laurent Nataf, CEO and president, Azelis Asia Pacific.

The deals are expected to close within the next three months. Financial details were not disclosed.

As MRC informed earlier, in October 2020, Azelis opened a new application and training center in Istanbul, Turkey. This center will service the Turkish food, personal care and pharma markets and will offer product advice, formulation development and technical research. Next to that, it will host customer meetings, interactive formulation workshops, supplier meetings and internal technical trainings.

We remind that Russia's output of chemical products rose in October 2020 by 7.2% year on year. At the same time, production of basic chemicals grew in the first ten months of 2020 by 6.3% 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-October output. October production of polymers in primary form grew to 857,000 tonnes from 852,000 tonnes in September. Overall output of polymers in primary form totalled 8,340,000 tonnes over the stated period, up by 17% year on year.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Honeywell announced that it has introduced a single-stage UOP Ecofining™ technology offering for the production of renewable diesel fuel, said Hydrocarbonprocessing.

The new single-stage technology is a fast-to-market, low capital cost solution that is ideal for repurposing an underutilized hydrotreating or hydrocracking unit, producing higher yields of renewable diesel fuel than other single-stage technologies.

The single-stage Ecofining process produces Honeywell Green Diesel fuel which is chemically identical to petroleum-based diesel and can be used as a drop-in replacement in vehicles with no modifications. It also features up to an 80-percent lifecycle reduction in greenhouse gas emissions compared with diesel made from petroleum.

The new process uses a combination of catalysts in a single unit to clean and remove oxygenates and other contaminants from the feedstock, and then isomerize the feed to improve its cold-flow properties. Due to its simplified design, the single-stage Ecofining technology can be put into service quickly, and with lower capital expense than other designs.

"Interest in renewable fuels production continues to grow as customers work to meet sustainability goals and find new uses for existing assets,” said Ben Owens, vice president and general manager, Honeywell Sustainable Technology Solutions. “The new single-stage Ecofining process can help a refiner meet stricter regulations for sustainable fuels production with significant revenue advantages and minimal equipment and space requirements."

The single-stage Ecofining process also provides greater flexibility to expand into a full two-stage Ecofining process in the future. Two-stage designs can process feedstocks including used cooking oils and animal fats, and produce renewable jet fuel. This established technology is ideal for refinery revamps where an additional reactor is available, or may be added, for green feed processing.

Honeywell UOP jointly developed the Ecofining process with Eni SpA. It converts non-edible natural oils and animal fats to Honeywell Green Diesel, which offers improved performance over biodiesel and petroleum-based diesel. The Ecofining process produces diesel with a cetane value of 80, substantially higher than the 40-to-60 cetane diesel commonly used in diesel engines today. As a result, this higher-cetane diesel fuel provides better engine performance with fewer emissions and can be blended with cheaper low-cetane diesel to meet transportation fuel standards.

The UOP Ecofining process is used in most 100%-biofeed units producing renewable diesel -- and all of the licensed renewable jet fuel production -- in the world today. UOP currently has licensed 20 Ecofining units in nine countries around the world, processing 12 different types of renewable feedstocks.

As per MRC, Honeywell announced a partnership with Princeps for petroleum refining supply chain solutions. Honeywell’s expertise in oil and gas planning will add Princeps’ petroleum solutions platform to its offerings to provide customers with industry-leading insights in determining the most profitable ways to operate their plants.

As MRC reported earlier, in May, 2020, Honeywell announced that Enterprise Products Partners L.P. will use Honeywell UOP’s C3 Oleflex technology in its second propane dehydrogenation plant, called "PDH 2". Located near Mont Belvieu, Texas, PDH 2 will produce 750,000 metric tons per year of polymer-grade propylene as part of Enterprise’s expansion of propylene manufacturing capacity.

Propylene is the main feedstock for the production of polypropylene (PP).

According to MRC's ScanPlast report, 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) -- Nouryon (formely AkzoNobel Specialy Chemicals) says it has decided to rename its industrial chemicals subsidiary Nobian as part of the company's global growth and branding strategies, as per the company's press release.

The branding change will allow Nobian to develop its integrated European value chain for base chemicals under its own name and brand, the company says. It will also enable Nouryon to focus on growing its worldwide position in specialty chemicals, the company says.

“In the past two years, we have established a new organizational structure that allows our businesses, operations, and functions to focus on what they do best. We also launched a new strategy that aims to exceed our customers’ expectations, outgrow the competition, and increase the share of specialties in our portfolio,” says Charlie Shaver, chairman and CEO of Nouryon.

Nobian (Amersfoort, Netherlands) is a European leader in salt, chlor-alkali, and chloromethanes, Nouryon says. It employs about 1,800 people with manufacturing facilities in the Netherlands, Germany, and Denmark.

“We will continue to be owned by Nouryon as we grow our business under the new name Nobian, starting with the ongoing expansion of chloromethane production in Frankfurt, Germany, to better serve customers in the pharmaceutical and construction industries,” says Knut Schwalenberg, president of Nobian.

As MRC informed earlier, AkzoNobel Specialty Chemicals will upgrade its Rotterdam chlor-alkali plant to strengthen development of the local industrial cluster. The company will invest in a second, independent production line for chlorine and caustic soda and will also implement a series of other upgrades, starting with the implementation of new ‘e-flex’ technology, which automatically adjusts production in line with electricity supplies, as per the company's press release in 2018. The new production line, which is due for completion in 2021, will ensure a continuous supply of chlorine, including when one line is undergoing maintenance. It also enables the company to expand production capacity in the future to accommodate further demand growth. The Rotterdam plant is at the heart of an important industrial cluster for several essential chlorine derivatives including polyvinyl chlorie (PVC), epoxy resins and polyurethane.

We remind that November production of sodium hydroxide (caustic soda) in Russia were 111,000 tonnes (100% of the basic substance) versus 108,000 tonnes a month earlier. Russia's overall output of caustic soda totalled 1,165,600 tonnes in the first eleven months of 2020, down by 1.3% year on year.

Nouryon was officially formed in October 2018 after separating from AkzoNobel. The company manufactures everyday products, such as paper, plastics, building materials, food, pharmaceuticals, and personal care items. The company operates in over 80 countries around the world and its portfolio of industry-leading brands includes Eka, Dissolvine, Trigonox and Berol.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Novamont, a world leader in the development and production of biochemicals and compostable bioplastics, announced today it has acquired BioBag Group, a Norway based leading supplier of low-impact solutions for waste collection and packaging, said the company.

The acquisition will allow Novamont to benefit from BioBag's highly specialised independent distribution in areas where the buyer is less present. The two companies will be able to offer a more complete solution set to the market and to create long-lasting alliances with key stakeholders such as large retailers and communities. Together they plan to build even more demonstrators (innovative projects that enhance separate organic waste collection and composting systems) especially in North America, the Scandinavian countries, Eastern Europe and Australia.

The transaction is an important step forward in a collaborative journey that began twenty-five years ago. Novamont's original vision in the 1990's was to build an integrated value chain for bioplastics and biochemicals linked to initiating and improving the separate collection of organic waste. This became a monumental starting point for what is now called the circular bioeconomy to which both Novamont and BioBag have made important contributions.

Novamont has expanded considerably in the past decade, in particular through internal growth, by acquiring and regenerating obsolete industrial sites. This transaction will allow Novamont to further expand its compostable bioplastics business into Northern/Eastern Europe, North America and Australia. BioBag will continue to operate as an independent organization, with the same leadership team who has achieved excellent results over the past few years.

Novamont's CEO Catia Bastioli said: "This agreement allows Novamont to expand its model of circular bioeconomy. By joining our best skills and energies and fully integrating our supply chains we can better serve our partners upstream and downstream while further accelerating circular solutions for different market sectors and for communities pursuing our goal of producing more with less."

BioBag's CEO Kjell Ivar Bache is very pleased with the new owners and sees the acquisition as a win-win: "We have been close partners with Novamont for decades and for BioBag this is like coming home. With Novamont, BioBag becomes part of a world-leading bioplastics and biochemicals company. This will enable further international growth together. We are truly excited!" said Mr. Bache.

The advisors involved on the buyer's side were Hi.Lex and Hjort for legal and PWC for financial, tax and labour, whereas the seller's counsels were Bryan Garnier for M&A and Wiersholm for legal.

As MRC informed earlier, Mater-Bi, a company wholly controlled by the Novamont group, is a manufacturer of ORIGO–BI, biopolyesters with a high level of renewables, components of MATER-BI compostable bioplastics. The plant has been built to manufacture PET by reconversion of the former Mossi & Ghisolfi plant. The renovation included regeneration, modification and in some cases wholly renewal of its various sections to implement innovative technologies developed by Novamont in the form of a continuous process.

As per MRC's ScanPlast, Russia's estimated PET consumption reached 61,110 tonnes in November 2020, up by 1% year on year. Overall PET consumption in Russia reached 648,110 tonnes in the first eleven months of 2020, down by 18% year of year.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Neste and Avfuel Corporation announced a strategic partnership to create an efficient, continuous supply of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) in the U.S., said Hydrocarbonprocessing.

Neste will provide Avfuel with SAF in volumes able to meet the growing demands of Avfuel’s customers, including fixed base operators (FBOs), airports, flight departments, original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) and commercial operators. Avfuel will be a branded SAF distributor for Neste, and will sell it under the brand name Neste MY Sustainable Aviation FuelTM.

The strategic partnership positions Avfuel as one of the first United States companies able to supply its customers with SAF on a continuous basis. Monterey Jet Center (KMRY) – an Avfuel-branded FBO in Monterey, California – will be the first customer to receive a consistent supply of SAF. With the first delivery scheduled for the first quarter of 2021, Neste and Avfuel will work with Monterey Jet Center to ensure that the supply chain, from production through invoicing, functions smoothly before rolling the program out to a larger customer base.

"This strategic partnership is an exciting development for the industry’s sustainability initiative and a natural next step in response to aviation’s growing demand for SAF. It combines Neste’s leading SAF production and marketing expertise with Avfuel’s leading distribution logistics and branding proficiencies for our global network of FBOs and fuel consumers. Together, we are able to support aviation’s sustainability goals and enhance supply availability at a commercial scale, filling an immense gap in the industry’s supply chain. Avfuel is proud to partner with the Neste team, who demonstrate a deep commitment to aviation and sustainability efforts for a brighter, cleaner world,” said Craig Sincock, President and CEO of Avfuel.

"This collaboration is about so much more than just creating a supply chain. We are really providing passengers a meaningful way to reduce their carbon footprint when traveling on a business or private aircraft,” said Chris Cooper, Vice President, Renewable Aviation, North America, Neste. “Thanks to great partners like Avfuel, travelers who care about the health of our planet will be able to choose to board an aircraft flying on SAF."

Neste has been at the vanguard of sustainable aviation fuel production for nearly a decade and the company expects to have the capacity to produce some 1.5 million tons (515 million gallons) of SAF annually by 2023. Neste’s SAF is made from sustainably sourced, renewable waste and residue materials. It is a drop-in fuel that offers an immediate way to directly reduce greenhouse gas emissions from aircraft, requiring no new investments, modifications or changes to the aircraft or fuel distribution procedures.

As MRC informed earlier, Neste has a target to process annually over 1 MM tons of waste plastic from 2030 onwards. The company plans to use liquefied plastic waste as a raw material at its fossil oil refinery to upgrade it into high-quality drop-in feedstock for the production of new plastics.

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