Prices of film grade HDPE continue to go down in Russia

Prices of film grade HDPE continue to go down in Russia

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Oversupply continued to put pressure on prices of film grade high density polyethylene (HDPE) in Russia. Prices peaked in the first half of May, and a smooth roll-back has already begun since the middle of the month, which continued throughout June, according to ICIS-MRC Price report.

HDPE prices in Russia were dynamically rising in the first four months of 2021, following a similar price increase in the markets of Europe and Turkey. In April, the European and Turkish markets stopped putting pressure on polyethylene (PE) prices in the Russian market, and prices of film grade PE in Russia reached their peak in May. Since the second half of May, weak demand and oversupply have become the main reasons for the downward price trend.

Limited shipments of film grade HDPE from Kazanorgsintez did not affect the balance of the domestic market. Supply of PE from ZapSibNeftekhim and Stavrolen was more than enough to meet the market needs. In addition, PE imports from neighboring countries have begun to grow for the past two months.

A week earlier, some sellers reduced their film grade HDPE prices to Rb120,000/tonne, including VAT and delivery. At the beginning of this week, some market players, particularly, small-sized sellers for shipments of ZapSibNeftekhim's PE, already negotiated deals in the range of Rb118,000-118,500/tonne, including VAT and delivery.
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Borealis acquires 10% stake in innovative recycling solutions provider Renasci

Borealis acquires 10% stake in innovative recycling solutions provider Renasci

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Borealis, owned by Austrian energy major OMV, announces that it has entered into a multi-dimensional partnership with Renasci N.V., a provider of innovative recycling solutions and creator of the novel Smart Chain Processing (SCP) concept, as per the company's press release.

The partnership is another key enabler for Borealis to realise its ambitions to bring circular base chemicals and polyolefins to market, and to deliver on its promise to bring 350 kilotons of recycled polyolefins into circulation by 2025.

The SCP concept developed by Renasci is a proprietary method of maximising material recovery in order to achieve zero waste. It is unique because it enables the processing of multiple waste streams using different recycling technologies - all under one roof. At the newly-built Renasci SCP facility in Oostende, Belgium, mixed waste – plastics, metals, and biomass - is automatically selected and sorted multiple times.

After sorting, plastic waste is first mechanically recycled, and then in a second step any remaining material is chemically recycled into circular pyrolysis oil and lighter product fractions, which are used to fuel the process.

Other types of sorted waste such as metals and organic refuse are further processed using other technologies. In the end, only 5% of the original waste remains, and even this residual material is not landfilled, but used as filler in construction materials. Because of this extremely efficient way of processing, the overall CO2 footprint of these waste streams is greatly reduced – yet another advantage of the circular SCP concept.

Borealis circular cascade model sits at the heart of its ambition to achieve a truly circular economy, by combining carefully chosen technologies in a complementary and cascading way to achieve full circularity. In this way, Borealis aims to give plastic products multiple lifetimes in the most sustainable way possible. Starting with optimising product design, first for eco-efficiency, then for re-use and finally for recycling. Once a product has reached its end of life, we must close the plastics loop: first with mechanical recycling to make products with the highest possible value, quality and lowest carbon footprint; then utilising chemical recycling, as a complement to mechanical recycling, to further valorise residual streams which would otherwise go to incineration, or even worse to landfills. The valorised material from mechanical and chemical recycling is then processed with Borealis consisting of Borcycle M for mechanical recycling and Borcycle C for chemical recycling, providing high quality solutions for more sophisticated applications, such as food packaging and healthcare.

The SCP concept is aligned to Borealis’ ambition to close the loop on plastic waste as encapsulated in its circular cascade model.

Having acquired a 10% minority stake in the company, Borealis will collaborate closely with Renasci to evolve and scale up the unique SCP technology. This includes the development of future facilities which would source their feedstock entirely from household waste. The two companies also plan to identify and act on other promising investment opportunities in the circular economy sphere. In addition to the agreement to source the projected 20 kt circular pyrolysis oil annually, Borealis is also planning to purchase mechanically recycled material from Renasci’s Oostende facility.

As MRC reported earlier, in April 2021, Borealis commenced a new project to secure an increased supply of chemically recycled feedstock for the production of more circular base chemicals and polyolefin-based products. A feasibility study for a chemical recycling unit to be established at the Borealis production location in Stenungsund, Sweden, is now underway.

We remind that Borealis began to restart of its 625,000-metric tons/year steam cracker at Stenungsund, Sweden, in early January, 2021, but the declaration of force majeure remained in place then. The process of restarted lasted for several weeks. Force majeure at Stenungsund was declared after a fire started at the cracker on 10 May last year. A restart of the cracker was initially planned for the fourth quarter of 2020. The force majeure was lifted on 29 January, 2021.

Ethylene and propylene are the main feedstocks for the production of polyethylene (PE) and polypropylene (PP), respectively.

According to MRC's ScanPlast report, Russia's estimated PE consumption totalled 744,130 tonnes in the first four month of 2021, up by 4% year on year. Shipments of all PE grades increased. At the same time, PP deliveries to the Russian market were 523,900 tonnes in January-April 2021, up by 55% year on year. Supply of homopolymer PP and PP block copolymers increased, whereas shipments of PP random copolymers decreased.

Borealis is a leading provider of innovative solutions in the fields of polyolefins, base chemicals and fertilizers. With headquarters in Vienna, Austria, Borealis currently employs around 6,500 and operates in over 120 countries.
MRC

PP production in Russia increased by 13% in January-May

MOSCOW (MRC) - Russia's production of polypropylene (PP) increased to about 851,100 tonne in first five months of this year, up 13% year on year, compared to the same period of 2020. Three producers increased their output, according to MRC's ScanPlast report.

Russian plants' total PP production fell to 158,000 tonnes in May from 160,500 tonnes a month earlier, ZapSibNeftekhim reduced its capacity utilisation because of a shutdown for a short turnaround in April-May. Russia's overall PP production reached 851,100 tonnes in January-May 2021, compared to 756,500 tonnes a year earlier. Three out of seven producers increased their capacity utilisation, with SIBUR Tobolsk/ZapSibNeftekhim accounting for the greatest growth in the output.

The structure of PP production by plants looked the following way over the stated period.

In May, SIBUR Tobolsk / ZapSibNeftekhim actually kept the April level of capacity utilisation, the total polypropylene production rate was 76,900 tonnes (at the end of April - beginning of May, the company carried out scheduled maintenance). Tobolsk complex's PP overall output reached 439,300 tonnes in the first five months of 2021, up by 25% year on year.


Omsk Poliom also kept its capacity utilisation at the level of April, and, as a result, produced about 17,400 tonnes of PP. Overall, the Omsk plant produced about 86.800 tonnes of PP over the stated period, up by 10% year on year.

Nizhnekamskneftekhim produced a little less then 18,700 tonnes of propylene polymers in May, which corresponded to the previous month's figure. The Nizhnekamsk plant's overall output of polymer reached 91,400 tonnes in January-May 2021, compared to 92,100 tonnes a year earlier.

Tomskneftekhim produced 13,300 tonnes of propylene polymers last month versus 12,800 tonnes a month earlier. Total PP production by the producer increased to 64,800 tonnes in January-May 2021, up 1% year on year.


Ufaorgsintez worked in May with lower capacity utilisation, the final indicator of polypropylene production amounted to about 9,500 tonnes against 11,500 tonnes a month earlier. The Ufa plant's overall output of polymer reached 53,400 tonnes in the first four months of 2021, down by 3% year on year.

Neftekhimiya (Kapotnya) produced 13,000 tonnes of PP last month, compared to 12,500 tonnes a month earlier. The plant's overall PP output reached 62,900 tonnes over the stated period, which was the same as in 2020.

Stavrolen (Lukoil) produced slightly over 9,200 tonnes of propylene polymers in May versus 11,000 tonnes a month earlier. The Budenovsk plant's overall output of propylene polymers reached 52,100 tonnes in the first five months of 2021, which was the same as in 2020.

MRC

Avient acquires UK-based Magna Colours

Avient acquires UK-based Magna Colours

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Avient, formerly PolyOne, expands its sustainable solutions portfolio with the acquisition of Magna Colours, according to Seeking Alpha.

Founded in 1978 and based in Barnsley, U.K., Magna is a developer of next-gen water-based ink technology that provides innovative and high-performance solutions.

The MagnaColours materials will join Avient's existing specialty inks portfolio, besides prominent brands such as Wilflex and Rutland.

"Magna represents an important investment in sustainable solutions, as brand owners seek alternatives to legacy technologies," said Robert M. Patterson, Chairman, President and CEO, Avient Corporation.

Avient expects its inks portfolio to grow as the coronavirus crisis is becoming less of a threat to economic and social activities, it added.

As MRC reported previously, in January 2021, Avient Corporation announced the official opening of its new CycleWorks facility in Pogliano, Italy. The new lab and plant will conduct chemistry testing and evaluations to help customers meet the challenge of plastics recycling and advance the goal of a circular economy. The demonstration plant mimics real-world recycling conditions in a research environment, said Avient.

On 1 July 2020, PolyOne and Clariant Masterbatches joined together as Avient, a company focused on specialised and sustainable material solutions with projected 2020 pro forma revenues of approximately USD 3.7 billion. Avient has approximately 9,100 employees and is certified ACC Responsible Care and a founding member of the AEPW.
MRC

Clariant will increase the prices of its additives by up to 25%

Clariant will increase the prices of its additives by up to 25%

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Effective immediately, Clariant will increase the prices of its additives by up to 25%, said the company.

The adjustments will be applied globally to all wax additives, performance polymers, halogen-free flame retardants, stabilizers and other performance additives.

The move is necessary due to the cumulative impact of continued raw material cost increases, challenges in the availability of raw materials, and rapid rises in energy and freight costs.

Clariant's additives provide performance and processing advantages to a wide variety of markets, including plastics, coatings & inks, and consumer.

As per MRC, Clariant, a specialty chemicals major, is selling its pigments business to a consortium consisting of pigment maker Heubach Group (Langelsheim, Germany) and private investment firm SK Capital (South Korea). The combined business will operate under the Heubach name and create a leading global pigments business with annual sales of more than EUR 900 million (USD1.09 billion).

According to MRC's ScanPlast, the total estimated PET consumption in Russia increased in January-April 2021 by 13% compared to the same period a year earlier and amounted to 263,660 tonnes. 78.3% of the increase in consumption falls on the share of bottled PET granulate due to the virtual absence of exports and an increase in the volume of imports. In April, the total estimated consumption amounted to 80,150 tonnes, which is 34% more than in the same month last year.
MRC