Thirumalai Chemicals to invest in PA and fine-chemicals project in Dahej

Thirumalai Chemicals to invest in PA and fine-chemicals project in Dahej

MOSCOW (MRC) -- The board of Thirumalai Chemicals Ltd (TCL), at its meeting on the 2nd November 2021, approved the investment in a project to manufacture phthalic anhydride (PA) and fine-chemicals at its site in Dahej in Gujarat, India, according to Hydrocarbonprocessing.

The investment will be funded by TCL’s internal accruals and borrowings.

The project includes a 90,000 ton per year PA plant. It is scheduled for commissioning in H2 FY23-24. TCL already operates a PA plant at this site, commissioned about 6 mos ago. The project will use in-house technology.

TCL manufactures about 150,000 tons o fPA, food ingredients and fine chemicals at its existing sites in Ranipet and Dahej combined. TCL also manufactures about 50,000 metric t of maleic anhydride & derivatives from butane at its wholly-owned subsidiary in Malaysia.

TCL is currently implementing a large integrated butane to maleic anhydride and food ingredients (malic, fumaric acids & other derivatives) production facility, through a 100% owned step-down subsidiary in the United States. This facility is expected to be started-up in H2 FY23-24. TCL already produces these products in India and Malaysia since 1991.

As MRC reported earlier, in August 2021, Thirumalai Chemicals Limited announced its plan to execute a project to manufacture 180,000 tons per year of Phthalic Anhydride (PA) and 30,000 tons per year of Fine & Specialty Chemicals, at its existing site at Dahej, Gujarat, and Western India. The project is expected to be executed in two successive phases. Thirumalai expects to bring the first of these two phases on-stream in about 2 years after receipt of all needed approvals. Thirumalai Chemicals further said that the commissioning of the company’s first PA plant at Dahej, was delayed by the recent pandemic wave in Gujarat.

Phthalic anhydride is used widely to make colorants, resins for construction, infrastructure & housing, additives for polymers, including polyvinyl chloride (PVC), and inks.

According to MRC's ScanPlast report, Russia's overall production of unmixed PVC totalled 746,700 tonnes in the nine months of 2021, up by 4% year on year. All producers increased their output.

Thirumalai Chemicals Limited has been a leading producer of phthalic anhydride and derivatives over 45 years; its range of products includes Maleic Anhydride (produced by its subsidiary), food ingredients and fine chemicals. It presently has two manufacturing facilities - in South and West India; its subsidiary in Malaysia operates butane maleic anhydride & derivatives plants. All of these based on TCL’s in-house process technologies and engineering capabilities. The company sells its products primarily in India, South East Asia, Middle East and Europe, with some quantities in North America.
MRC

Clariant Chemicals India announced its financial results for the second quarter

Clariant Chemicals  India announced its financial results for the second quarter

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Clariant Chemicals (India) Limited, a focused, sustainable and innovative specialty chemical company today announced its financial results for the second quarter ended September 30, 2021, said the company.

The sales rose by 8%, at Rs. 194.9 crore, for the quarter ended September 30, 2021 as against Rs. 180.8 crore for the corresponding quarter in the previous year. However, Profit before exceptional item & tax stood at Rs. 6 crore for the quarter ended September 30, 2021, as compared to Rs. 12.2 crore for the quarter ended September 30, 2020.

For half year ended September 2021, the Profit before exceptional item & tax stood at Rs. 25.6 crore as compared to Rs. 16.3 crore for half year ended September 2020 – witnessing a strong recovery from the pandemic that has affected global trade in recent times. The Company reported sales of Rs. 407.6 crore in the first half of 2021, as against Rs. 309.8 crore for the corresponding half of the previous year.

The company reported Profit before exceptional items & tax of Rs. 6.0 crore for the quarter ended September 30, 2021, as compared to Rs. 19.6 crore for the quarter ended June 30, 2021 – witnessing a decline. The Sales declined by 8% at Rs. 194.9 crore, for the quarter ended September 30, 2021 as against Rs. 212.8 crore in the previous quarter. In general the overall industry was impacted by the increasing raw material and freight costs. The first half of this fiscal continued to exhibit strong resilience despite the headwinds faced by the markets.

As per MRC, Clariant says that its board has appointed Conrad Keijzer as the company’s new CEO, effective 1 January 2021. Hariolf Kottmann, Clariant’s executive chairman ad interim, will return to his position as chairman of the board, once Keijzer assumes responsibility.

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 1,868,160 tonnes in the first nine months of 2021, up by 18% year on year. Shipments of all grades of ethylene polymers increased. At the same time, PP shipments to the Russian market were 1,138,510 tonnes in the first nine months of 2021, up by 30% year on year. Supply of propylene homopolymer (homopolymer PP) and block-copolymers of propylene (PP block copolymers) increased, whereas supply of injection moulding PP random copolymers decreased significantly.

Clariant AG is a Swiss chemical company and a world leader in the production of specialty chemicals for the textile, printing, mining and metallurgical industries. It is engaged in processing crude oil products in pigments, plastics and paints.
MRC

Valero refinery outside of New Orleans produces soot that exceeds US limit

Valero refinery outside of New Orleans produces soot that exceeds US limit

MOSCOW (MRC) -- A Valero refinery outside of New Orleans recently produced lung-damaging soot at rates that exceeded federal limits while outpacing other major US refineries, reported Reuters with reference to disclosures by state and federal environmental regulators.

Soot, or small and fine particle pollution, has an outsized effect on poor and minority communities living near industrial sites, causing thousands of premature deaths each year from lung and heart damage, according to the EPA. In June, the EPA said it was reviewing whether to impose stricter limits on soot pollution.

The rate of pollution observed at Valero Energy's St. Charles refinery in Norco, Louisiana, based on EPA standards, is the highest among the 50 largest US refineries, according to the Reuters examination of stack test results.

It is rare for a US refinery to push up against or exceed the US Environmental Protection Agency limit on soot, which is among the most harmful pollutants, according to a Reuters examination of tests results since 2017.

Soot from St. Charles, which can process up to 215,000 bbl of crude oil every day, exceeded the federal limit during August pollution tests, sometimes by as much as 10% to 20%. Soot at that refinery has escalated since 2017, according to results from stack tests, used to measure fine particle pollution. Valero did not return messages seeking comment.

Currently, plants are required to restrict soot emissions to 1 pound or less for every 1,000 pounds of coke burned in a refinery's catalytic cracking units.

As MRC informed previously, San Antonio-based Valero Energy Corp, the second-largest US oil refiner plans to run its 14 refineries at between 88% and 92% of their combined capacity of 3.2 million barrels per day (bpd) in the fourth quarter.

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 1,868,160 tonnes in the first nine months of 2021, up by 18% year on year. Shipments of all grades of ethylene polymers increased. At the same time, PP shipments to the Russian market were 1,138,510 tonnes in January-September 2021, up by 30% year on year. Supply of propylene homopolymer (homopolymer PP) and block-copolymers of propylene (PP block copolymers) increased, whereas supply of injection moulding statistical copolymers of propylene (PP random copolymers) decreased significantly.
MRC

Big West Oil selected Honeywell to revamp alkylation unit

Big West Oil selected Honeywell to revamp alkylation unit

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Honeywell UOP announced today that Big West Oil has selected ISOALKY technology to produce high-quality alkylate used to make clean-burning motor fuels at its Salt Lake City refinery, said the company.

The refiner is the second in North America to revamp its existing hydrofluoric acid (HF) unit to ISOALKY. This announcement follows the commercialization of the technology by neighboring Chevron at its Salt Lake City Refinery earlier this year.

"We are pleased to announce that Big West Oil has selected the ISOALKY technology for our North Salt Lake refinery," said Mike Swanson, President – Refining Division of Big West Oil. "We chose ISOALKY after assessing its key advantages over conventional alkylation technologies. The project will improve operational efficiency at the refinery and represents a key component of our Tier III solution in delivering lower sulfur gasoline to the Utah market."

The ISOALKY™ technology is designed to meet the refining industry’s needs for a cost-effective alternative to conventional liquid acid systems that offers process safety advantages. Using a non-aqueous liquid salt, or ionic liquid, the revolutionary new catalytic process is handled with standard personal protective equipment and produces a valuable high-octane blending component that helps lower the environmental impact of gasoline.

"ISOALKY technology is quickly becoming the preferred solution to meet the rising demand for cleaner-burning fuels, without the complex handling requirements and environmental risks of conventional liquid acid technologies,” said Laura Leonard, vice president and general manager, Honeywell UOP Process Technologies. “Big West Oil chose ISOALKY because they saw the benefits of this groundbreaking technology, which marries Chevron’s operational experience with UOP’s decades of experience in licensing and designing over 200 alkylation process units."

ISOALKY™ technology can be used in new refineries as well as in existing facilities undergoing capital expansion or retrofit applications. ISOALKY™ technology has wider and improved feed flexibility relative to conventional alkylation technologies. Ionic liquids are regenerated on-site with a simple process, eliminating the need for road or marine transportation for offsite regeneration and polymer byproduct handling.

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 were 1,138,510 tonnes in January-September 2021, up by 30% year on year. Supply of propylene homopolymer (homopolymer PP) and block-copolymers of propylene (PP block copolymers) increased, whereas supply of injection moulding statistical copolymers of propylene (PP random copolymers) decreased significantly.

Honeywell UOP is a leading international supplier and licensor of process technology, catalysts, adsorbents, equipment, and consulting services to the petroleum refining, petrochemical, and gas processing industries. Honeywell UOP is part of Honeywell’s Performance Materials and Technologies strategic business group, which also includes Honeywell Process Solutions, a pioneer in automation control, instrumentation and services for the oil and gas, refining, petrochemical, chemical and other industries.
MRC

NPC to build a carbon-neutral ammonia and methanol production facility

NPC to  build a carbon-neutral ammonia and methanol production facility

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Northern Petrochemical Company (NPC) announced a plan to build a carbon-neutral ammonia and methanol production facility located within Alberta's Greenview Industrial Gateway, said Hydrocarbonprocessing.

The complex is set to begin development in spring 2023 and conclude in fall 2026. According to Geoff Bury, president and CEO of NPC, the natural gas facility will use CCUS to produce up to 200 tons of blue methanol and blue hydrogen per year that can be converted to ammonia.

"When we were trying to decide where we were going to put this facility, we looked around the world, various different international jurisdictions, and we landed on Alberta to a large degree because of the Alberta government's support for the petrochemical industry," Bury said, adding there were other key local advantages, including access to natural gas, water and rail lines.

As per MRC, Topsoe will validate its electrified technology for cost-competitive production of sustainable Methanol from biogas as well as other sustainable products. The global annual production of methanol is around 110 MM tons. With close to 1.4 ton CO2 being emitted per produced ton methanol, the emission reduction potential – and hereof the positive societal impact – is enormous, assuming all methanol is being produced by means of a carbon neutral process and sustainable feedstock, leaving a significant positive societal impact.

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 1,868,160 tonnes in the first nine months of 2021, up by 18% year on year. Shipments of all grades of ethylene polymers increased. At the same time, PP shipments to the Russian market were 1,138,510 tonnes in January-September 2021, up by 30% year on year. Supply of propylene homopolymer (homopolymer PP) and block-copolymers of propylene (PP block copolymers) increased, whereas supply of injection moulding statistical copolymers of propylene (PP random copolymers) decreased significantly.
MRC