Jinneng Chemical selects LyondellBasell technology for its new world scale PP plant in Shandong Province

MOSCOW (MRC) -- LyondellBasell has announced that Jinneng Chemical (Qingdao) Co., Ltd. has again selected LyondellBasell’s leading polypropylene (PP) technology for a new world scale production facility, as per LyondellBasell's press release.

The facility will include a 450 kiloton per annum (KTA) PP plant using LyondellBasell’s Spherizone technology as well as a 450 KTA PP plant using LyondellBasell’s Spheripol technology. The facility will be built in Qingdao City, Shandong Province, Peoples Republic of China.

“Jinneng Chemical’s choice to again use LyondellBasell’s PP technology for their Qingdao City facility, will enable them to produce a full range of PP products to serve an increasingly demanding Chinese polymer market” said Neil Nadalin, Director of Licensing at LyondellBasell. Nadalin added, ”Product differentiation is of increasing importance; and in selecting the Spherizone technology, our licensees are best prepared to take on that challenge. Additionally, we are very pleased that Jinneng Chemical has again chosen the easy-to-operate Spheripol process, as their phase 1 Spheripol process line approaches start-up”.

The Spherizone multi-zone circulating reactor (MZCR) provides a unique and innovative platform to manufacture PP products with novel architecture and enhanced product properties. With this contract, now more than 25 plants operating Spherizone process technology have been licensed worldwide.

Spheripol is the leading PP process with more than 30 million tons of licensed capacity. The latest fifth generation Spheripol technology includes process improvements that further maximize operational efficiency.

Both plants will commence operations using LyondellBasell’s Avant ZN catalyst.

As MRC reported earlier, in July 2021, LyondellBasell announced it had been selected by Jiangsu Fenghai High-tech Materials Co. to supply the technologies for a polyolefin project to be built in Lianyungang, Jiangsu, China. The new facility will include the production of 400,000-t/y PP, based on LyondellBasell?s Spheripol technology, and 300,000 t/y of high density polyethylene (HDPE) using its Hostalen ACP process.

According to MRC's ScanPlast report, Russia's estimated PE consumption totalled 1,396,960 tonnes in January-July 2021, up by 7% year on year. Shipments of all grades of ethylene polymers increased. At the same time, PP shipments to the Russian market were 841,990 tonnes in the first seven months of 2021, up by 29% year on year. Supply of propylene homopolymers (homopolymer PP) and block-copolymers of propylene (PP block copolymers) increased, whereas supply of statistical copolymers of propylene (PP random copolymers) subsided.

LyondellBasell is one of the largest plastics, chemicals and refining companies in the world. Driven by its 13,000 employees around the globe, LyondellBasell produces materials and products that are key to advancing solutions to modern challenges like enhancing food safety through lightweight and flexible packaging, protecting the purity of water supplies through stronger and more versatile pipes, and improving the safety, comfort and fuel efficiency of many of the cars and trucks on the road. LyondellBasell sells products into approximately 100 countries and is the world's largest licensor of polyolefin technologies.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Solvay, a science company delivering high performance materials for safe and reliable food packaging, has conducted a proof of concept showing that polyvinylidene chloride (PVDC) has the potential to be recycled. PVDC is used in food, beverage and healthcare multilayer barrier packaging across the world, said the company.

The proof of concept involves a process to recycle Ixan PVDC bioriented film from a post-industrial waste source from food packaging without compromising the performance of the high barrier polymer. It marks an important step towards more sustainable and circular packaging applications, with the potential to launch other initiatives like recycling post-consumer packaging containing PVDC.

"The proof of concept developed by our research team is a solution for PVDC packaging circularity. It shows there is a possibility to reintegrate the recycled polymer into future applications, meaning it can be re-used and re-blended with virgin materials – without losing or degrading its high barrier properties. It goes without saying that setting a global PVDC recycling stream is a huge task, so we are therefore inviting our fellow companies to work alongside us to introduce a way to recycle PVDC across the globe. We all have a role to play in the plastic packaging recycling challenge, and Solvay is committed to playing its part."

“The recycling technology developed by our team enables us to achieve the right quality so that the recycled PVDC meets the strict requirements for indirect food contact, creating the closed loop,” adds Yves Vanderveken, Senior Project Portfolio Leader R&I.

Maintaining the high quality of the polymer was essential to Solvay in their quest to find a sustainable solution. Solvay specialty polymer’s function of providing a strong barrier against water, oxygen and aromas is why it is used in essential applications to preserve food and reduce waste. A reduction of these properties would defeat its purpose.

Now that this initial breakthrough has been achieved, Solvay is urging fellow companies operating within the plastics industry to work together to turn the recycling of PVDC into reality. There is a particular need to introduce the infrastructure required to collect and segregate packaging containing PVDC.

"It goes without saying that setting a global PVDC recycling stream is a huge task, so we are therefore inviting our fellow companies to work alongside us to introduce a way to recycle PVDC across the globe. We all have a role to play in the plastic packaging recycling challenge, and Solvay is committed to playing its part," adds Claire Guerrero.

The results of this proof of concept are opening new possibilities to test the recyclability concept on other packaging applications using PVDC.

We remind that BASF-YPC, a 50-50 joint venture of BASF and Sinopec, undertook a planned shutdown at its naphtha cracker on 30 April 2020. The company initially planned to start turnaround at the cracker on April 5, 2020. The plant remained under maintenance unitl 18 June, 2020. Located in Jiangsu, China, the cracker has an ethylene capacity of 750,000 mt/year and propylene capacity of 400,000 mt/year.

According to MRC's ScanPlast report, Russia's estimated PE consumption totalled 1,396,960 tonnes in January-July 2021, up by 7% year on year. Shipments of all grades of ethylene polymers increased. At the same time, PP shipments to the Russian market were 841,990 tonnes in the first seven months of 2021, up by 29% year on year. Supply of propylene homopolymers (homopolymer PP) and block-copolymers of propylene (PP block copolymers) increased, whereas supply of statistical copolymers of propylene (PP random copolymers) subsided.

Solvay is a science company whose technologies bring benefits to many aspects of daily life. With more than 24,100 employees in 64 countries, Solvay bonds people, ideas and elements to reinvent progress. The Group seeks to create sustainable shared value for all, notably through its Solvay One Planet plan crafted around three pillars: protecting the climate, preserving resources and fostering better life. The Group’s innovative solutions contribute to safer, cleaner, and more sustainable products found in homes, food and consumer goods, planes, cars, batteries, smart devices, health care applications, water and air purification systems. Founded in 1863, Solvay today ranks among the world’s top three companies for the vast majority of its activities and delivered net sales of EUR10.2 billion in 2019. Solvay is listed on Euronext Brussels (SOLB) and Paris and in the United States, where its shares (SOLVY) are traded through a Level I ADR program.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- TotalEnergies said that it expected a big rise in renewable-based electricity, solar and wind forms of energy, partly due to a general increase in electrification in the industrial and business world, reported Reuters.

TotalEnergies added it expected that oil in general would plateau before 2030, while natural gas would continue to play a role as a transition fuel.

Producers and traders had said at an industry conference on Monday that global oil demand was expected to reach pre-pandemic levels by early next year as the economy recovers, although spare refining capacity could weigh on the outlook.

As MRC wrote previously, the gasoline-producing fluidic catalytic cracker (FCC) is expected to remain shut until the end of September at TotalEnergies SE’s 225,500-barrel-per-day (bpd) Port Arthur, Texas, refinery.

We remind that in November 2019, Total disclosed that it is evaluating construction of a new gas cracker at its Deasan, South Korea, joint venture (JV) with Hanwha Chemical.

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 1,396,960 tonnes in January-July 2021, up by 7% year on year. Shipments of all grades of ethylene polymers increased. At the same time, PP shipments to the Russian market were 841,990 tonnes in the first seven months of 2021, up by 29% year on year. Supply of propylene homopolymers (homopolymer PP) and block-copolymers of propylene (PP block copolymers) increased, whereas supply of statistical copolymers of propylene (PP random copolymers) subsided.

TotalEnergies is a broad energy company that produces and markets energies on a global scale: oil and biofuels, natural gas and green gases, renewables, and electricity. The company rebranded itself from Total to TotalEnergies during Q2 2021. The French firm has announced allocating part of surplus revenues to share buybacks. Its 105,000 employees are committed to energy that is ever more affordable, clean, reliable and accessible to as many people as possible. Active in more than 130 countries, TotalEnergies puts sustainable development in all its dimensions at the heart of its projects and operations to contribute to the well-being of people.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- LANXESS has developed a hot cast and cold cure system for PU cast elastomers, said the company.

With this new technology, a Vibrathane MDI ether prepolymer can be cured with a novel Vibracure curative at room temperature driving ease of use, energy savings, EH&S improvement and, last but not least, a significant reduction of CO2 emissions.

As the novel Vibrathane & Vibracure system is cured at ambient temperature, the processor can turn off hot tables or ovens, decreasing significantly the risk of burn associated with hot surfaces and, therefore, improving the operator’s safety. The new MDI ether based prepolymer also facilitates the manufacturing of larger and complex parts such as mining pipelines which curing process is always challenging and productivity limited by equipment occupancy.

Energy consumption has always drawn attention from polyurethane processors as it accounts for a significant proportion of the total manufacturing costs. Depending on the polyurethane plant set up, this system can drive savings up to 40 to 50% of the total energy consumption.

The novel Vibrathane & Vibracure hot cast / cold cure system is one of the company’s latest initiatives to enable the PU industry to improve their carbon footprint. Gerald King, Head of Application Technology EMEA at LANXESS Urethane Systems, says: “Sustainability has increasingly come into focus within the last decade and, by driving clear energy savings, with this new development we offer our customers a more sustainable product and thus contribute to climate protection."

The 3K system can be processed by meter mix machine or by hand. It has been chemically designed to offer PU processors full flexibility in producing a wide range of elastomers from a single prepolymer reaching a hardness range from 60 A to 55 D. The cold cure system shows a similar performance in final elastomer properties to the equivalent hot cure.

LANXESS’ new development addresses an important concern of PU processors towards easy processing, cost savings and time efficiency, while allowing the industry to support sustainability objectives.

As per MRC, LANXESS is continuing the systematic expansion of its production for synthetic iron oxide pigments. The company is the only supplier worldwide to produce these pigments using the Laux process. Specialty chemicals company LANXESS has expanded its capacity for black synthetic iron oxide pigments at its Krefeld-Uerdingen site by more than 5,000 metric tons per year.

According to ICIS-MRC Price report, the deficit for PET remained in the Russian domestic and foreign markets. Spot PET prices have been increasing since the beginning of the month, and spot buyers of the material have to pay a much higher price for PET chips at the end of the third quarter than contractual ones.

LANXESS is a leading specialty chemicals company with sales of EUR 6.1 billion in 2020. The company currently has about 14,800 employees in 33 countries. The core business of LANXESS is the development, manufacturing and marketing of chemical intermediates, additives, specialty chemicals and plastics. LANXESS is listed in the leading sustainability indices Dow Jones Sustainability Index (DJSI World and Europe) and FTSE4Good.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Roald Johannsen, PPG vice president of automotive coatings for Europe, the Middle East and Africa, has been elected chairman of the board of the European Council of the Paint, Printing Ink and Artists’ Colours Industry (CEPE), the US-based coatings major said.

He succeeds Andre Vieira de Castro, CEO of Portugal-based Argacol – Tintas e Vernizes, who has been CEPE chairman since October 2020.

The biggest challenge for the European coatings industry is to ensure that the sector stays ahead of the fast-changing regulatory environment and that it remains competitive, Johannsen said.

Based at PPG’s European headquarters in Rolle, Switzerland, Johannsen has more than 30 years of experience in the paints and coatings industry across several geographies and sectors. He joined the CEPE board in September 2018 and has served as vice chairman for the past year.

“I am honored and privileged to assume the role of CEPE Chairman. I have a real passion for this industry and I want to ensure the best possible representation, so that paints, coatings, printing inks and artists’ colors are seen as part of the solution to enhance and enable sustainability," Johannsen said.

He adds, “I am looking forward to working with the CEPE board and team and all our stakeholders to raise the image and relevance of the coatings sector and increase awareness of the important role it plays in supporting the carbon neutral ambitions of the European Union’s Green Deal, Circular Economy Action Plan and Chemical Strategy for Sustainability. Our biggest challenge going forward is to ensure that our sector stays ahead of the fast-changing regulatory environment and we remain competitive."

As MRC reported earlier, in June 2021, PPG announced an expansion of its coatings manufacturing capacity in Europe for packaging applications. The investments at sites in The Netherlands and Poland will support growing customer demand in the region for the latest generation of coatings for aluminum and steel cans used in packaging for beverage, food and personal care items. The projects include a further expansion of the company’s location in Tiel, The Netherlands, which will increase the plant’s production capacity for PPG INNOVEL non-BPA internal coatings for beverage cans by 30%. Expected to be completed in the first quarter of 2022, the project follows a 50% expansion completed at the end of 2020.

BPA is the main feedstock for the production of polycarbonate (PC).

As per MRC's ScanPlast, Russia's overall estimated consumption of polycarbonate (PC) granules totalled 50,300 tonnes in the first half of 2021 (excluding imports and exports to/from Belarus), compared to 47,300 tonnes a year earlier. Demand increased by 6%.

PPG Industries Inc. is an international American company manufacturing paints and varnishes, chemicals, optical components, specialty materials, glass and fiberglass. The company includes over 150 production units and representative offices in more than 60 countries around the world. PPG is one of the 500 largest US corporations by sales.
MRC