Synthos, Lummus Technology collaborate on bio-butadiene plant

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Lummus Technology is collaborating with Polish chemicals producer Synthos to produce bio-based butadiene (BD) technology, said the company.

Synthos has increased capacity of its proposed bio-BD plant to 40,000 tonnes/year from 20,000 tonnes/year, following the success of the feasibility study conducted by the partnership last year. The location of the plant has not been disclosed.

The technology is now ready for implementation and the project will move into the engineering and design phase. As well as the plant capacity, Synthos will license BASF’s BD extraction technology from Lummus through its subsidiary Green Circle, with the processing firm providing digitalisation capabilities to increase efficiency in the project.

Earlier it was reported that Synthos closed the production of polybutadiene rubber (PBK) in Kralupy nad Vltavou (Kralupy, Czech Republic) for scheduled repairs. This plant with a capacity of 100 thousand tons of PBK per year will be closed for one month.

As per MRC, Synthos announced the final investment decision for the construction of a new Butadiene Extraction Unit with associated logistic infrastructure to be built in Plock, Poland. Air Liquide Engineering and Construction licenses the BASF NMP Butadiene Extraction technology and has been awarded with the overall engineering, procurement and Construction services and supplies for the project. The commissioning of the Butadiene Extraction Unit and first production are scheduled for 2024. The Butadiene extraction Unit will have a BD capacity of 120 kt/y.

Synthos produces synthetic rubber for applications in tyre and technical rubber goods. Green Circle is involved in end-of-life plastics recycling, production of bio-based sustainable chemicals and decarbonisation solutions for new and existing assets.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Finproject, a Versalis (Eni) company, has obtained ISCCPLUS certification at its industrial sites in the Marche and Abruzzo regions for its Bio, Bio-circular and Circular Compounds and Bio, Bio-circular and Circular Plastic Products, produced using sustainable raw materials, said Eni on its site.

This achievement is an important step towards the goal of offering the market decarbonised and circular products. The availability of sustainable products comes following Finproject’s integration with Versalis (Eni), which in turn has ISCC PLUS certified plants in France (Dunkirk) and Germany (Oberhausen) from which Finproject is supplied with its raw material.

ISCC Plus is part of the ISCC (International Sustainability & Carbon Certification) scheme. This voluntary scheme allows companies along the supply chain to monitor and demonstrate the sustainability of their products through the verification of sustainability, traceability and mass balance requirements.

In 2022, Finproject will extend ISCC Plus certification to its Italian Padanaplast site and plants overseas, demonstrating the strength of its circular economy strategy, focused on an increasing use of sustainable raw materials.

As MRC informed previously, in September 2021, Versalis inked a deal to acquire the remaining 60% of the Marche, Italy, based industrial group Finproject. In July, 2020, Versalis had bought 40% of Finproject, which operates in the compounding sector and produces ultralight products.

Based for over 57 years in Morrovalle, in the Marche region of Italy, Finproject industrial group, today part of Versalis (Eni), is a vertically integrated organisation whose core business is focused on the production of compounds (mixtures created by dissolving polymer resins with additives and fillers) and foam injection moulding products. It manufactures and markets ultra-lightweight products under the XL EXTRALIGHT brand name for leading brands in footwear and other industrial sectors, including the spa, safety, automotive and furniture industries. Finproject is headquartered in Morrovalle (MC) where it has been operating for more than 57 years and has 11 production and research facilities across the world (Romania, India, China, Vietnam, Canada, Mexico and 5 in Italy) and three showrooms (USA, Brazil and Turkey). In 2017, it acquired Padanaplast, a pioneering company founded in 1971 and now leader in the production of specialist materials, from the Solvay Group.

Eni is an Italian multinational oil and gas company headquartered in Rome. It has operations in in 79 countries, and is currently Italy's largest industrial company. The Italian government owns a 30.3% golden share in the company, 3.93% held through the state Treasury and 26.37% held through the Cassa depositi e prestiti. Another 39.40% of the shares are held by BNP Paribas.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Hexion is strategically strengthening its manufacturing footprint in support of its ArmorBuilt Fire Protection product through an expansion of its Missoula, Montana site, said the company.

To meet the continued strong demand, Hexion previously announced two capacity expansions at its Portland, Oregon manufacturing site in 2021. The Missoula site expansion will enable Hexion to significantly increase its capacity to serve customers more easily in the Western United States and beyond, which are areas prone to wildfires. The new capacity is expected to come online in fourth quarter of 2022.

Hexion’s ArmorBuilt Fire Protection product offers a durable, fire mitigation safeguard for securing critical infrastructure. The state-of-the-art smart material that is triggered by heat protects a renewably sourced power infrastructure – wooden utility poles – while substantially minimizing the cost of disruption and repair. ArmorBuilt has also passed two industry approved wildfire simulation burn tests for fire resistance With its insulating and self-healing properties, ArmorBuilt provides a safe and reliable burn-prevention material for a variety of industries that are potentially affected by fires, including wildfires.

As previously announced, Hexion is working closely with one of the largest wood pole producers in North America to make ArmorBuilt wrap the specified solution for Pacific Gas & Electric Company to protect their utility pole infrastructure in wildfire prone areas. Hexion also continues to strategically expand its manufacturing capabilities for other adhesive applications around the globe, such as the expansion of its Brimbank, Australia, site.

We remind, Hexion Holdings Corporation announced that it has completed the sale of its epoxy-based Coatings and Composite businesses, which includes the epoxy specialty resins and base epoxy resins and intermediates product lines for approximately USD1.2 billion to Westlake Chemical Corporation.

Based in Columbus, Ohio, Hexion Inc. is a global leader in thermoset resins. Hexion Inc. serves the global adhesive, coatings, and industrial markets through a broad range of thermoset technologies, specialty products and technical support for customers in a diverse range of applications and industries.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Samsung Engineering, one of the world’s leading engineering, procurement, construction and project management companies, announced that it had signed a EUR1 bln contract with China National Chemical Engineering & Construction Corporation Seven (CC7), a Chinese state-owned construction company, for the engineering and procurement for the ethane cracker in gas to chemicals project in Russia, according to Hydrocarbonprocessing.

Baltic Chemical Complex, the original owner of the contract, previously signed an EPC contract with CC7 in 2019. The project is located at the Gulf of Finland near the seaport of Ust-Luga, Leningrad Oblast, 110 km southwest of St. Petersburg, Russia.

Samsung Engineering’s work of scope includes an ethane cracker unit with a total design capacity of 2.8 MMtpy (ethylene 1.4 MMtpy, 2 Trains) and procurement for the project.

The ethane cracker unit is the core process element of the plant. The Baltic Ethane Cracker Project produces ethylene from separated C2 out of natural gas.

The ethane cracker in gas to chemicals project marks a major milestone for Samsung Engineering with its first project in Russia. Samsung Engineering entering the Russian market is achieving further diversification in their overseas markets.

As MRC reported before, in April, 2021, RusGazDobycha, a business partner of Russian gas giant Gazprom, started building a chemical plant as part of a massive gas processing cluster on the shores of the Baltic Sea. The cluster is designed to process annually 45 billion cubic metres of natural gas, produce 13 million tons of LNG, 3.6 million tons of ethane and up to 1.8 million tons of LPG. A first stage of the cluster is set to come on stream in 2024, while the second is to be launched in 2025.

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 2,265,290 tonnes in the first eleven months of 2021, up by 14% year on year. Shipments of all grades of ethylene polymers increased. At the same time, 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.
MRC

1. Asahi Kasei net income increased amid record sales

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Asahi Kasei's net income surged to yen (Y) 140.7bn in April-December 2021, up by 75.9% year on year from the same period of 2020, supported by record high sales and operating income, said the company. Net sales, operating income and net income were all at new record highs for the April-December period, the company said in a statement. In the Material business, operating income more than doubled to Y91.7bn in April-December 2021 compared with Y42.8bn in the same period a year earlier amid higher petrochemical prices as well as increased shipments of engineering plastics.

MRC