Evonik invests in US medical device start-up

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Evonik Venture Capital has invested in CircumFix Solutions, a Tennessee, US-based start-up that has developed a new sternal closure device to improve patient recovery after open chest surgery, as per the company's press release.

The patented orthopedic device, made of a high-performance polymer from Evonik, closes and holds the sternum securely together after surgery.

“We are seeing a revolution in implantable medical devices with the shift from metal to high-performance polymers and this investment supports that shift,” said Bernhard Mohr, head of Evonik Venture Capital. “Patients and doctors can benefit enormously from a technology that is safe, reliable and enhances recovery.”

CircumFix’s medical device is composed of a slender chest plate placed on the sternum and held in place by fasteners that encircle the sternum and are affixed to the plate. The construct allows for even “load sharing” of bone and device and restricts motion, which increases stability and reduces pain. Surgeons can close the sternum faster and more easily than with traditional devices. Should a further operation be needed the device can be quickly reopened and closed again. It is safe and comfortable as a permanent implant. In comparison to some metal devices currently on the market, bones and tissue aren’t damaged.

The Evonik material used in the closure device is an implant grade polyether ether ketone, or PEEK. The material is biocompatible - not harmful or toxic to living tissue - and bioinert - it doesn’t initiate a response from the body. These properties as well as being hydrophobic - repelling water - significantly reduce the chance of infection. Being made from PEEK polymer means that the device is transparent to x-rays and therefore doesn’t interfere with post-surgical diagnostics.

“The investment will deepen our relationships across the medical technology industry and with engineering companies,” said Marc Knebel, head of Medical Systems at Evonik. “At the same time, we can reach US clinical experts in orthopedics, many of whom are less aware of PEEK as an alternative to titanium and stainless steel.”

The US sternal closure device market was estimated at USD1.4 billion for 2021 with more than 700,000 procedures performed per year. The market is expected to grow at a compound annual growth rate of 5 percent reaching USD1.9 billion by 2026.

The investment will allow Evonik to build on expertise already acquired in implant-grade high-performance polymers. PEEK is already used in spine, skull, jaw and face surgery as well as orthopedics and has high potential to be used in other medical applications.

Evonik markets its high-performance polymer Polyether ether ketone under the name VESTAKEEP.

As MRC reported before, Evonik is investing a three-digit million-euro sum in the construction of a new production plant for bio-based and fully biodegradable rhamnolipids. The decision to build the plant follows a breakthrough in Evonik's research and development. Rhamnolipids are biosurfactants and serve as active ingredients in shower gels and detergents. Demand for environ-mentally friendly surfactants is growing rapidly worldwide.

We remind that in February, 2020, Dow and Evonik entered into an exclusive technology partnership. Together, they plan to bring a unique method for directly synthesizing propylene glycol (PG) from propylene and hydrogen peroxide to market maturity.

Propylene is the main feedstock for the production of polypropylene (PP).

According to MRC's ScanPlast report, PP shipments to the Russian market were 1,363,850 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.

Evonik is one of the world leaders in specialty chemicals. The company is active in more than 100 countries around the world and generated sales of EUR12.2 billion and an operating profit (adjusted EBITDA) of EUR1.91 billion in 2020. Evonik goes far beyond chemistry to create innovative, profitable and sustainable solutions for customers. About 33,000 employees work together for a common purpose: to improve life today and tomorrow.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Shell has become the first supplier of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) in Singapore, and plans to start blending the fuel at its plant in the aviation hub, reported Reuters with reference to the company's statement on Thursday during an event at the Singapore Airshow.

The first batch of SAF was blended in Europe, Shell said in a statement.

"We have delivered some (SAF) to our customers SIA Engineering Company and the Republic of Singapore Air Force," said Doris Tan, head of aviation Asia Pacific & Middle East.

Shell has also completed an upgrade of its Singapore facility, which will enable it to blend SAF in the city-state itself, while it also aims to test the supply chain it is establishing for SAF in Asia.

Aviation, which accounts for 3% of the world's carbon emissions, is considered one of the toughest sectors to tackle due to a lack of alternative technologies to jet fueled-engines.

"Alongside investing in our capabilities to produce SAF, we are also focused on developing the regional infrastructure needed to get the fuel to our customers at their key locations," said Jan Toschka, Global President, Shell Aviation.

The SAF supplied is made from waste products and sustainable feedstocks and will be blended at an approved ratio of up to 50% with conventional jet fuel, Shell said.

In its neat form, SAF can reduce lifecycle emissions by up to 80% compared with conventional fuel, it added.

As MRC wrote before, Shell Chemicals expects its new petrochemical complex in southwest Pennsylvania to come online by the end of 2022, Royal Dutch Shell CFO Jessica Uhl said February 3, during the company's Q4 2021 earnings call.

We remind that Royal Dutch Shell plc. said in November, 2021, that its petrochemical complex of several billion dollars in Western Pennsylvania is about 70% complete and in the process to enter service in the early 2020s. The plant's costs are estimated to be USD6-USD10 billion, where ethane will be transformed into plastic feedstock.

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.

Royal Dutch Shell plc is an Anglo-Dutch multinational oil and gas company headquartered in The Hague, Netherlands and with its registered office in London, United Kingdom. It is the biggest company in the world in terms of revenue and one of the six oil and gas "supermajors". Shell is vertically integrated and is active in every area of the oil and gas industry, including exploration and production, refining, distribution and marketing, petrochemicals, power generation and trading.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- TotalEnergies and Honeywell announced an agreement to promote the development of advanced plastic recycling, said Hydrocarbonprocessing.

Under this agreement, Honeywell will supply TotalEnergies with recycled polymer feedstock (RPF) using Honeywell’s UpCycle process technology at the recently announced Honeywell and Sacyr advanced recycling plant, intended to be built in Andalucia, Spain. TotalEnergies will purchase and convert this raw material into virgin-quality polymers, which could be used for food-grade packaging and other high demanding applications.

The UpCycle plant, which will be owned by a JV between Honeywell and Sacyr, is planned to process and convert yearly 30,000 t of mixed plastic waste into RPF, that may otherwise be destined for landfill or incineration. The projected startup of the UpCycle plant is expected in 2023, with RPF to be used for the manufacturing of high-quality polymers in TotalEnergies’ European-based production units. With identical properties to virgin polymers, the recycled polymers are expected to be suitable for a wide range of applications including food-grade applications, such as flexible and rigid food packaging containers.

"We are pleased to partner with Honeywell to tackle the issue of plastic waste through the development of advanced plastic recycling, and thereby the circular economy, one of the pillars of sustainable development. This project—with a 2023 targeted startup—will contribute to meet our ambition of producing 30% recycled and renewable polymers by 2030," said Valerie Goff, Senior Vice President, Polymers at TotalEnergies.

"Plastics demand will continue to grow, so it’s critical to create a linkage between waste management and plastics production to strengthen a circular flow of plastics," said Ben Owens, Vice President and General Manager, Honeywell Sustainable Technology Solutions. "The relationship with TotalEnergies will provide a strong recycled polymer feedstock offtake partner and coupled with our recently announced advanced recycling plant with Sacyr, Honeywell is leading the drive toward a more circular plastics economy."

As per MRC, Honeywell announced that Lotte GS Chemical Corp. will use Honeywell UOP Q-Max, Phenol 3G, and Evonik MSHP technologies to produce more than 565,000 metric tons per year of phenol and acetone at its petrochemicals facility in Yeosu, Korea. UOP is providing a license for the technology, in addition to basic engineering design services, key equipment, catalysts and adsorbents and technical services.

As MRC reported earlier, in March 2021, Honeywell announced that Hengli Petrochemical Co. Ltd. successfully used Callidus burner technology from Honeywell UOP to minimize nitrogen oxide (NOx) and carbon monoxide (CO) emissions in China, and reduce the impact of these emissions while ensuring safe and stable operations.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Neste plans to produce its first batch of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) in Singapore by the end of 1Q 2023 after the COVID-19 pandemic delayed its expansion project, reported Reuters with reference to a senior executive's statement on Wednesday.

"It's been delayed due to the pandemic as we were already hoping to be on stream in 2022," Neste's Executive Vice President for Renewable Aviation, Thorsten Lange, told Reuters.

"But the revised plan is now fully on track."

Neste produces renewable fuels, mainly from waste and residues such as used cooking oil, animal fat from food industry waste, fish fat from fish processing waste and residues from vegetable oil processing.

Neste plans to start SAF production at the end of 1Q 2023 and then onwards ramp up output to an annual capacity of 1 MMt, Lange said in an interview on the sidelines of the Singapore Airshow.

The Singapore Airshow has opened to a limited crowd of trade visitors on Tuesday with the organizers expecting the biennial event to attract more than 13,000 trade attendees, much less than nearly 30,000 in 2020 and around 54,000 in 2018.

Aviation, which accounts for 3% of the world's carbon emissions, is considered one of the toughest sectors to tackle due to a lack of alternative technologies to jet fueled-engines.

Lange said he has had "very promising" discussions this week in Singapore, while Japan aiming for 10% sustainable jet fuel for airlines by 2030 is "very encouraging."

"What is typical for Asia is they may be lagging behind for the time being ... but that could massively change within the next two to three years," Lange added.

"Having a mandate in place provides demand certainty."

Singapore's flagship carrier Singapore Airlines will use blended SAF from ExxonMobil, which will be supplied by Neste.

As MRC wrote before, Neste has successfully concluded its first series of trial runs processing liquefied waste plastic at its Porvoo refinery in Finland. After kicking the series off with its first-ever industrial scale trial run with liquefied waste plastic in 2020, Neste has conducted additional runs in 2021. In the course of the trial runs, Neste has been able to upgrade liquefied waste plastic to drop-in solutions for plastic production and develop industrial scale capabilities to upgrade recycled feedstocks. Trials pave the way for continuous and commercial activities. Neste has set itself the goal of processing more than 1 MM tons of plastic waste per year from 2030 onwards.

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.

Neste (Helsinki) creates solutions for combating climate change and accelerating a shift to a circular economy. The company refines waste, residues and innovative raw materials into renewable fuels and sustainable feedstock for plastics and other materials. The company is the world’s leading producer of renewable diesel and sustainable aviation fuel, developing chemical recycling to combat the plastic waste challenge. In 2020, Neste's revenue stood at EUR11.8 billion, with 94% of the company’s comparable operating profit coming from renewable products.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Asian refiners, traditionally big buyers of Iranian oil, are keen to resume imports from Iran if there is an agreement to revive a 2015 nuclear deal, which could pave the way for more supply on global markets and soften prices, said Hydrocarbonprocessing.

Most Asian buyers halted Iranian oil imports in 2019 after former U.S. President Donald Trump withdrew from the nuclear deal with Iran and re-imposed sanctions on Tehran's oil exports. Indirect talks between Iran and the U.S. on the nuclear deal resumed last week. Western diplomats have indicated they hoped to have a breakthrough by now, but tough issues remain unresolved.

Oil prices are at their highest in more than seven years as fears of disruption in Russian energy supplies have boosted Brent and U.S. crude futures. Refiners are also paying record spot premiums for crude produced in Europe and the Middle East as producers struggle to meet a robust recovery in demand after the pandemic.

With the prospect of a new Iran deal, South Korea, previously one of Tehran's leading oil customers in Asia, said on Wednesday it had held working-level talks on resuming imports of Iranian crude oil and unfreezing Iranian funds. A major South Korean refinery is watching the developments at the nuclear talks, a company source said, as Iranian crude oil is cost-competitive and easy to process compared with other grades such as Mexican oil.

"As long as the two countries decide to resume oil trade, we can purchase crude from Iran," this source said. "Since we've previously used crude oil from Iran, we don't need to test the oil at our facilities," he added. Japan's top refiner Eneos Holdings Inc will consider resuming oil imports from Iran if an agreement to revive a 2015 nuclear deal is reached, its chairman said on Thursday.

"We have not begun such preparations yet, but we will consider resuming imports of crude oil from Iran as one of our procurement options if an agreement over the nuclear deal is reached," Eneos Chairman Tsutomu Sugimori told reporters. It will take about two-to-three months to resume oil imports from Iran if and after such an agreement on the nuclear deal is made as the refiner will need to make various arrangements such as insurance and shipping, Sugimori said.

A refiner from India, Iran's number two customer, is in talks with Iran for sourcing its oil, an Indian refining source said, adding that it was also waiting for more clarity on the nuclear deal. The sources declined to be identified due to sensitivity of the matter. Iran has kept some exports flowing despite sanctions as intermediaries find ways to disguise the origins of the imports and China, Iran's biggest customer, has been a big destination.

Last month, China's customs reported the first import of Iranian crude in a year. Russia-Ukraine tensions have raised volatility in global oil prices, but positive developments in the U.S.-Iran negotiations have raised hopes of Iranian oil returning to markets, helping to calm oil prices, Claudio Galimberti, Senior Vice President at Rystad Energy said in a research note.

As MRC informed earlier, Indian Oil Corp, the country's top refiner, said that it would resume purchases of Iranian oil if Washington lifts sanctions against Tehran over its disputed nuclear programme. The European Union official leading talks to revive Iran's nuclear deal said on Wednesday he was confident an agreement would be reached as the negotiations adjourned, although European diplomats said success was not guaranteed with very difficult issues remaining.

As MRC informed previously, in the first week of June, 2021, Eneos Corp restarted the 168,000-bpd No.1 CDU at its Kashima refinery, east of Tokyo, after it was shut on May 11 due to system trouble. The refiner, which is a unit of Eneos Holdings Inc, restarted the 105,000-bpd No.3 CDU at its Mizushima-B refinery, western Japan, in early June, 2021. The CDU was shut on Feb. 25 for turnaround.
MRC