MOSCOW (MRC) -- Brazil-based petrochemical company Braskem and the Repauno Port and Rail Terminal in Greenwich Township, New Jersey, have announced the import of propylene to the US East Coast, said Packaging-gateway.
A vessel arrived at Repauno’s new multi-use port terminal facility in Gibbstown, New Jersey, in what is said to be the first import of its kind in more than a decade in the region.
The import is part of Braskem’s initiative to increase the availability of feedstock to provide propylene for its polypropylene (PP) manufacturing facility in Marcus Hook, Pennsylvania.
The Marcus Hook facility has an annual production capacity of 415,000t of PP, which is used in the food packaging and medical sectors among others.
Braskem America Polypropylene vice-president Alexandre Elias said: “Our new partnership with Repauno provides Braskem with increased flexibility and optionality to import propylene particularly when international prices are competitive. "Additionally, it provides the flexibility to import in the event of supply disruptions to the asset.
We remind that Brazilian petrochemical producer Braskem's 450,000 mt/year PP plant in LaPorte, Texas, along the Houston Ship Channel completed its initial commercial production, as per the company's statement as of Sept. 10. "The launch of commercial production at our new world-class PP production line in La Porte clearly affirms Braskem's position as the North American polypropylene market leader," Braskem America CEO Mark Nikolich said in a statement. With a USD750 million investment, the new PP plant's construction started in October 2017 and was completed in June, 2020.
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 PP shipments to the Russian market were 1,363,850 tonnes in January-November, 2021, up by 25% year on year. Supply of homopolymer PP and block-copolymers of propylene (PP block copolymers) increased, whereas supply of injection moulding PP random copolymers decreased significantly.
Braskem S.A. produces petrochemicals and generates electricity. The Company produces ethylene, propylene, benzene, toluene, xylenes, butadiene, butene, isoprene, dicyclopentediene, MTBE, caprolactam, ammonium sulfate, cyclohexene, polyethylene theraphtalat, polyethylene, and polyvinyl chloride (PVC).
MRC