Lotte Chemical uses BASF stabilizer to deliver high-clarity medical PP for syringes used in COVID-19 vaccinations

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Lotte Chemical, a major Korean chemical company, has produced the polypropylene (PP) required for medical applications using BASF’s Irgastab, a non-discoloring processing stabilizer. With the rollout of COVID-19 vaccinations worldwide, the need for syringes made from PP has increased exponentially, as per BASF's press release.

Lotte Chemical’s medical PP has been applied to the LDS (low dead space) syringes developed by a medical syringe manufacturer in South Korea. These specialized products are designed to minimize the amount of a drug left in the device after injection which leads to reduced vaccine wastage. As a result, LDS syringes are in huge demand globally as it is estimated to enable 20% more people to get the dose with the same amount of vaccine.

Plastics used for medical applications require sterilization. This causes degradation and discoloration of the polymer. “Irgastab serves to ensure that medical PP remains safe and suitable for use,” said Hermann Althoff, Senior Vice President, Performance Chemicals Asia Pacific, BASF. “It provides processing stability without discoloration to polypropylene during compounding and injection molding, which is vital for LDS syringes as the materials need to be certified for high-clarity.”

As the need for syringes is expected to explode for the vaccination against COVID-19, Lotte Chemical is expanding the development of special PP materials to ensure strict production quality control of medical materials, including high-clarity PP, and to accommodate the growing needs related to healthcare and safety.

Plastic syringes, and many other medical applications, help to protect human health and safety as one key pillar for a sustainable future. The sustainability benefits of Irgastab also extend to the protection of the environment and valuable resources by shielding plastics in sensitive applications at lower concentrations than alternate solutions.

As MRC reported earlier, in June 2021, Trinseo, a global materials company and manufacturer of plastics, latex binders, and synthetic rubber, and BASF, the world's petrochemical major, announced the intention to expand their businesses with the production of styrene monomer (SM) based on circular feedstock. Trinseo had procured first supplies of SM based on circular feedstock from BASF for use in its Solution-Styrene Butadiene Rubber (S-SBR) and polystyrene (PS) products. Trinseo supplies S-SBR to major tyre manufacturers while its PS products are used in applications such as food packaging and appliances. The first few customers had already processed the material, said the company.

According to MRC's ScanPlast report, PP shipments to the Russian market were 727,160 tonnes in the first six months of 2021, up by 31% year on year. Supply of homopolymer PP and block-copolymers of propylene (PP block copolymers) increased. Supply of statistical copolymers of propylene (PP random copolymers) subsided.

BASF is the leading chemical company. It produces a wide range of chemicals, for example solvents, amines, resins, glues, electronic-grade chemicals, industrial gases, basic petrochemicals and inorganic chemicals. The most important customers for this segment are the pharmaceutical, construction, textile and automotive industries.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) - NPP POLYPLASTIC, the largest Russian manufacturer of thermoplastic composite materials, has increased shipments of compounds by 13% in the first half of the year, the company said.

"Indicators of sales of the trading house Polyplastic, an authorized commission agent of NPP Polyplastic, increased by more than 13% compared to the same period last year, deliveries outside the Russian Federation increased, respectively, by 6.6%," the company said.

In 2021, a Russian compounder entered the Polish market with its materials. The first shipment took place in April, and by the end of the six months a cooperation agreement was signed with one of the leading distributors of this European country.

“In general, we managed to overcome the crisis associated with the shocks at the beginning of the year and a sharp rise in prices for basic raw materials. could, tried to restrain the rise in prices. But they had to be raised due to the dynamics of the increase in the cost of raw materials ", - said the general director of the trading house" Polyplastic "Pavel Kruglov.

Earlier it was reported that RPC "POLYPLASTIC" plans to modernize 50% of production lines by 2025 in terms of automation of the control system and traceability of production process data.

Research and Production Enterprise "POLYPLASTIC" specializes in the production of thermoplastic composite materials and polymer raw materials for processing by injection molding, injection molding and extrusion and occupies a leading position in the Russian market of compounds based on thermoplastics. The company is in the TOP-10 among European compounders. The total production capacity of the enterprise is more than 115,000 tonnes per year.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) - Huhtamaki (Finland) has signed an agreement to acquire Turkey's Elif Holding A.S., a major supplier of environmentally friendly flexible packaging, for EUR412 mn (USD483 mn), the company said in a statement.

In a press release, the company notes that the acquisition is in line with the Finnish packaging manufacturer's growth strategy to 2030 in terms of geographic reach, technological capabilities and product mix. This allows Huhtamaki to expand its flexible packaging production capacity in Turkey, which the company considers to be one of the countries with the greatest growth in the future.

The Elif business will become part of the company's Flexible Packaging business segment. Bridging financing for the USD500 mn acquisition of Elif is supported by Citibank, which also acted as a consultant on the transaction.

In addition, the two companies share similar commitments in three areas: environmental, social and corporate, and in supporting their clients to achieve their sustainability goals.

The deal is subject to Turkish antitrust approval and is expected to close after regulatory approval. Both companies will continue to operate as usual until the closure.

Earlier it was reported that Finnish Huhtamaki Flexible Packaging Europe received approval from the European industry group RecyClass (Belgium) for its three new laminated polyethylene tube technologies, developed in collaboration with Czech company Zalesi and toolmaker Plastuni Lisses, part of the Somater Group. Tubes made with this technology from HDPE with easy to apply direct printing have been tested in an independent laboratory.

Founded in 1972, Elif has set a goal by 2025 to develop packaging that is 100% recyclable, recyclable or compostable. The company specializes in high quality environmentally friendly flexible packaging based on recycled polymers in both the post-industrial and consumer sectors.

Elif operates a state-of-the-art system for the collection and disposal of industrial plastic scrap at both its own and customers' premises, and over 90% of the company's current product portfolio is recyclable and the product range also includes compostable films.

In Russia, Khukhtamaki has two production sites - in Ivanteevka (Moscow region) and in Alabuga (Tatarstan), where it produces packaging for the catering sector and packaging for eggs.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- US refinery and chemical plant workers agreed to focus on pay and health insurance in coming union contract talks, said people familiar with United Steelworkers (USW) union deliberations, setting up a conflict with refiners struggling to throw off losses from weak demand, reported Reuters.

Proposals setting an agenda for pay increases, improved health insurance and severance pay were adopted at the union's national oil bargaining policy conference conducted online. The national agenda must still be approved by local union members.

Three-quarters of the 30,000 oil and chemical plant workers represented by the USW must approve the plan before it can be used in negotiations that begin in January between the union and Marathon Petroleum Corp, which is the lead negotiator for oil companies.

The current three-year agreement expires at 12:01 a.m. on Feb. 1, 2022.

The talks with refinery and chemical plant owners will get underway as the Delta variant of the coronavirus is threatening to reduce petroleum demand more than a year after the initial outbreak of the COVID-19 disease forced lockdowns and work-from-home policies.

The pandemic cut gasoline consumption 13% last year, forcing some refiners to shut production lines and take on new debt to finance operations.

This will be the second round of negotiations since a nationwide strike in 2015 saw 7,000 workers from 12 refineries and three chemical plants join picket lines. It was the first nationwide strike in 35 years.

As MRC informed before, earlier this month, the international president of the United Steelworkers (USW) union, Thomas Conway, called for refinery and chemical plant workers to include decarbonization as part of contract proposals to be made to US oil companies in January. In remarks to the USW national oil bargaining policy conference, Conway said decarbonization projects should be viewed as necessary capital investment programs.

We remind that Marathon, the nation’s largest refiner, was chosen to replace Shell Oil Co, the US arm of Royal Dutch Shell, which was the lead negotiator for the oil companies from the late 1990s through 2019. Shell has reduced the number of the refineries it operates in the United States and by the end of this year will operate only one plant. The 2022 contract talks will come after national refining capacity fell 4.5% in the COVID-19 pandemic.

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 1,176,860 tonnes in the first half of 2021, up by 5% year on year. Shipments of exclusively low density polyethylene (LDPE) decreased. At the same time, PP shipments to the Russian market were 727,160 tonnes in the first six months of 2021, up by 31% year on year. Supply of homopolymer PP and block-copolymers of propylene (PP block copolymers) increased. Supply of statistical copolymers of propylene (PP random copolymers) subsided.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Citgo Petroleum reported a slim, second-quarter profit, its first in seven quarters, as higher fuel exports helped offset weak margins and the impact of a fuel pipeline shutdown, reported Reuters.

Earnings at the US refining arm of Venezuela's state oil company Petroleos de Venezuela have been under pressure since it lost access to Venezuelan oil due to US sanctions. Citgo is also battling possible seizure by creditors seeking to collect on unpaid debts incurred by PDVSA and Venezuela.

The eighth-largest US refiner posted a USD3 million profit, its first since the third quarter of 2019, for the three months ended June 30 as exports rose and the utilization rate at its plant in Lemont, Illinois hit 97%. It suffered a $5 million net loss in the second quarter a year ago.

"Given the multiple challenges we have faced during 2020 and the first half of 2021, this return to profitability is particularly satisfying," Citgo Chief Executive Carlos Jorda said in a statement. Citgo fell deep into the red last year as the COVID-19 pandemic slashed demand for motor fuel.

In May, it reduced production at its 418,000 barrel per day (bpd) Lake Charles, Louisiana, refinery, the largest of its three facilities, after the Colonial fuel pipeline was taken out of commission for a week following a cyberattack.

Total refinery throughput was 732,000 bpd, from 575,000 bpd a year earlier. Exports rose to 130,000 bpd, from 87,000 bpd a year earlier. However, its Corpus Christi, Texas plant ran at a weak 78% utilization rate, hurt by operational and third-party outages.

A planned overhaul at Corpus Christi will be pushed back to the first quarter of next year, helping reduce expenses and lift production this year.

As MRC wrote before, in September 2020, Citgo Petroleum Corp said it did not plan to idle its 418,000 barrel-per-day (bpd) Lake Charles, Louisiana, refinery damaged by Hurricane Laura. Rumors have circulated since Laura’s passage over the Lake Charles area on Aug. 27 that Citgo was considering shutting the refinery for an indefinite period because of the extent of the damage and continuing low demand for motor fuels in the COVID-19 pandemic.

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 1,176,860 tonnes in the first half of 2021, up by 5% year on year. Shipments of exclusively low density polyethylene (LDPE) decreased. At the same time, PP shipments to the Russian market were 727,160 tonnes in the first six months of 2021, up by 31% year on year. Supply of homopolymer PP and block-copolymers of propylene (PP block copolymers) increased. Supply of statistical copolymers of propylene (PP random copolymers) subsided.
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