JGC Holdings launches joint research and development program with Bridgestone

MOSCOW (MRC) -- JGC Holdings Corporation announced the launch of a joint research and development (R&D) program with Bridgestone Corporation, the National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST), Tohoku University, and ENEOS Corporation, said Hydrocarbonprocessing.

This program is aimed at developing chemical recycling technologies that utilize used tires to achieve high-yield production of isoprene, a raw material for synthetic rubber. By combining the expertise and technologies of industry leading companies and academic institutions, JGC Holdings and its partners are working to develop recycling technologies that will contribute to the realization of a more sustainable society and to conduct demonstrations for the social implementation of these technologies by 2030.

Tire demand is expected to grow in the future in conjunction with rising automobile and transportation demand. Synthetic rubber is one of the primary materials used when producing tires and is generally manufactured using petroleum. Used tires are also utilized as fuel mainly through thermal recovery technologies in Japan. At the same time, it is projected that society will come to face issues related to resource depletion and climate change triggered by increased CO2 emissions in the future.

To ensure that it can continue to supply tires in more sustainable manner, JGC Holdings, Bridgestone, AIST, Tohoku University, and ENEOS has teamed up to kick off a co-creative program for developing chemical recycling technologies of used tire that combine the expertise and technologies of companies and academic institutions. In this manner, JGC Holdings and its partners are working to contribute to increased resource recycling and carbon neutrality across the value chains of the tire and rubber industry and the petroleum and petrochemical industry.

The R&D program will promote the social implementation of technologies for high-yield production of isoprene by decomposing used tires with a specialized catalyst. JGC Holdings will be tasked with designing pilot plants while AIST, Tohoku University, and ENEOS will be responsible for the development of chemical recycling technologies of used tires and the related evaluation technologies. As the project leader, Bridgestone will play a central role in the project, guiding demonstrations for social implementation by utilizing its rubber R&D resources and expertise in the tire and rubber industry.

This program on "recycling technologies to achieve high-yield production by decomposing at low temperatures and depolymerization of used tires (brought by Bridgestone)" is one of two R&D projects under the initiative called "developing chemical product manufacturing technologies utilizing used tires" promoted by the New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organization (NEDO) of Japan and adopted as part of "the Green Innovation Fund" of NEDO.

The Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry of Japan decided to develop the Green Innovation Fund toward the goal of achieving carbon neutrality by 2050, the sustainability goal of Japanese government. The plan aims to accelerate structural transformation in energy and industry sector and innovation through ambitious investment. The Green Innovation Fund continuously supports companies and other organizations, which address challenges to achieve the goal as part of their business from R&D to demonstrations to social implementation of the outcomes for the coming ten years.

Through this program, JGC Holdings, AIST, Tohoku University, ENEOS, and Bridgestone seek to help increase synthetic rubber recycling and achieve carbon neutrality in the tire and rubber and the petroleum and petrochemical industries and to contribute to the realization of a more sustainable society.

As per MRC, Bridgestone plans to sell its China-based synthetic rubber business, Bridgestone (Huizhou) Synthetic Rubber Co., Ltd. (BSRC), to LCY Chemical Corp. Bridgestone Corp. is selling its synthetic rubber production business in China to Taipei-based materials and chemicals supplier LCY Corp., in line with the group's mid-term (2021-2023) business plan to ‘rebuild earning power’.

As per MRC, American Bridgestone Firestone, a subsidiary of Japan's Bridgestone Corporation, halted production at its Styrene Butadiene Rubber (SBR) plant in Lake Charles, Louisiana, USA on February 15 due to cold weather in the region. The company confirmed that the 134,000 tonnes BSK per year plant is out of service due to problems associated with extreme weather conditions in the US Gulf of Mexico. Although electricity was restored to the plant, cold weather and power outages in the area resulted in the cutoff of water and other circulation needed to keep the plant running.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Air Liquide SA said Wednesday that 2021 net profit rose despite facing a sharp jump in energy prices, according to MarketWatch.

Net profit for the year was EUR2.57 billion (USD2.92 billion), compared with EUR2.44 billion in 2020, the industrial-gases company said.

Group revenue came to EUR23.34 billion, 14% higher than the previous year, after activities improved markedly across all areas, Air Liquide said.

Net profit was a touch above of expectations of EUR2.56 billion, while revenue beat views of EUR23.13 billion, according to analysts' estimates provided by the company.

Air Liquide said it faced a sharp and sustained rise in energy prices, though it improved its operating margin by adapting its pricing policy alongside EUR430 million in efficiencies.

"The group achieved an excellent performance, in spite of the ongoing pandemic and the strong inflationary pressures mainly related to the sharp increase in energy prices in the second half," Chief Executive Benoit Potier said.

For 2022, the Paris-based company said it is confident it will further increase its operating margin, and deliver recurring net profit growth, at constant exchange rates, assuming no significant economic disruption.

As MRC wrote earlier, Air Liquide, BASF and Shell are joining Calpine, Chevron, Dow, ExxonMobil, INEOS, Linde, LyondellBasell, Marathon Petroleum, NRG Energy, Phillips 66 and Valero to collectively evaluate and advance emissions reduction efforts in and around the Houston industrial area. Three additional companies have announced their support for exploring the implementation of large-scale carbon capture and storage (CCS) technology in and around the Houston industrial area.

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 2,487,450 tonnes in 2021, up by 13% year on year. Shipments of all grades of ethylene polymers increased. At the same time, PP shipments to the Russian market totalled 1,494.280 tonnes, up by 21% year on year. Deliveries of homopolymer PP and PP block copolymers increased, whreas.shipments of PP random copolymers decreased significantly.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Borealis (Vienna), one of the world’s leading providers of advanced and circular polyolefin solutions and a European market leader in base chemicals and fertilizers; and Fortum, an energy company and the third largest CO?-free power producer in Europe, have signed a long-term power purchase agreement (PPA) to source renewable energy from two onshore wind farms to be built in Finland, said Borealis on its site.

As of mid-2024, the new wind farms, majority-owned and operated by Fortum, will supply over 800 gigawatt hours (GWh) of renewable power to Borealis production operations in Porvoo, Finland, over the course of eight years. Both Borealis and Fortum move closer to realising their climate neutrality goals thanks to the scale and duration of this agreement.

The new long-term PPA involves the sourcing of electricity from two onshore wind parks to be built approximately 400 km northwest of Borealis production operations in Porvoo. Together, the two parks, Pjelax-Bole and Kristinestad Norr, will consist of 56 wind turbines with an annual power generation of approximately 1.1 terawatt hours (TWh). Both farms will be majority-owned and operated by Fortum Oy. Construction started in January 2022, with operations anticipated to begin by the middle of 2024 at the latest. Borealis has secured around 10% of the total output of the two wind farms for an eight-year period upon the project’s commissioning in 2024. The over 800 GWh of renewable power supplied within the scope of this PPA is roughly equivalent to the average annual electricity consumption of 8000 Finnish households.

Borealis and Fortum share the conviction that industry decarbonisation can only be achieved by working together. Fortum is partnering with its industry and infrastructure clients to develop smart, cost-efficient, and sustainable solutions to energy supply. On one level, the new Borealis and Fortum PPA is providing a significant boost to the Finnish chemical industry, which aims to achieve carbon neutrality by 2045. On another level, the PPA marks a milestone for Borealis: once the new Fortum project comes online in 2024, the Borealis Group will have reached the 20% mark in its aim to source at least 50% of the electricity consumed in its own production operations from renewable sources by the year 2030. Moreover, the renewable electricity generated within the framework of this PPA will reduce the Scope 2 emissions (CO2 emissions resulting from the generation of purchased electricity consumed by the company) at its Finnish operations by 28,000 tons /year, or a total of 224 kilotonnes Scope 2 emissions over the eight-year duration of the PPA.

As MRC reported earlier, Borealis has delayed the start-up of a new, world-scale propane dehydrogenation (PDH) plant at its existing production site at Kallo, Belgium, which is the company's biggest investment in Europe, until Q3 2023, citing Covid-19. The plant in Kallo in the port of Antwerp was previously targeted to begin operations by the end of next year.

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 2,487,450 tonnes in 2021, up by 13% year on year. Shipments of all grades of ethylene polymers increased. At the same time, PP shipments to the Russian market totalled 1,494.280 tonnes, up by 21% year on year. Deliveries of homopolymer PP and PP block copolymers increased, whreas.shipments of PP random copolymers decreased significantly.

Borealis is owned by OMV AG and Mubadala Investment Co., the Abu Dhabi state investment company. Borealis is a leading provider of innovative solutions in the fields of polyolefins, base chemicals and fertilizers. With headquarters in Vienna, Austria, Borealis currently employs around 6,500 and operates in over 120 countries.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Chevron Phillips Chemical (CPChem) is investing in Infinity Recycling’s circular plastics fund, said Hydrocarbonprocessing.

The fund, registered in Luxembourg, will invest in advanced recycling businesses, which convert plastic waste back into virgin grade feedstock for the manufacturing of new products, focusing first in Europe with the ambition to expand globally.

Recycling plastic waste enables valuable materials to be reused instead of ending up in a landfill or unintended places in the environment. Recycling is an important part of the solution to create a circular economy for plastics, together with design for circularity, collecting and sorting infrastructures, consumer engagement and guiding policies. Collaboration across the entire value chain is needed to solve the plastic waste challenge.

Infinity Recycling’s circular plastics fund aims to accelerate the transition from a linear to a circular plastic economy by investing in advanced recycling technologies. Complementary to mechanical recycling, advanced recycling technologies are expected to play a key role in increasing recycling rates needed for the development of a sustainable, circular economy for plastics.

Benny Mermans, vice president of sustainability at CPChem said: “Our company is committed to ensuring plastics continue to deliver much needed societal benefits while also producing our life-enriching products sustainably, leaving behind the lightest footprint and enabling others to do so as well. Plastic waste is a valuable resource and keeping it in the loop as long as possible will contribute to the creation of a circular economy for plastics. Through this investment in Infinity Recycling’s fund, our company aims to accelerate the development of the most promising advanced recycling technologies, bridge gaps in the value chain and prove the complementarity of mechanical and advanced recycling, all important steps to accelerate change for a sustainable future."

As per MRC, Chevron Phillips Chemical announced today plans to expand its propylene business with a final investment decision for a new C3 splitter unit. The unit’s location will be in Baytown, Texas, within the company’s Cedar Bayou facility. Its expected capacity is 1 billion lbs./year with targeted start up in 2023. The company chose S&B Engineers and Constructors to engineer, procure and build the project. Site construction activities will commence in January 2022.

As MRC informed previously, in March 2018, Chevron Phillips Chemical, part of Chevron Corp, successfully introduced feedstock and commenced operations of a new ethane cracker at its Cedar Bayou facility in Baytown, Texas. At peak production, the unit will produce 1.5 million metric tons/3.3 billion lbs. per year. This unit is one of the largest and most energy efficient crackers in the world. In September 2017, the company announced the successful commissioning and start-up of two new Marlex polyethylene (PE) units in Old Ocean, Texas, based on the company’s proprietary MarTech technologies. Together, these assets form the bulk of the company’s US Gulf Coast Petrochemicals Project (USGCPP), which was first announced in 2011.

Headquartered in San Ramon, California, Chevron Corporation is the the second-largest integrated energy company in the United States and among the largest corporations in the world. Chevron is involved in upstream activities including exploration and production, downstream activities including refining, marketing and transportation, and advanced energy technology. Chevron is also invested in power generation and gasification processes.

MRC

MOCOW (MRC) -- Solvay has entered into an agreement to license its leading-edge hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) technology to Hubei Sanning Chemical Industry Co. Ltd. for its 500 kilotons per year caprolactam facility with a planned launch by end of 2023, as per the company's press release.

“This is the first licensing agreement Solvay has allocated for its proprietary hydrogen peroxide mega scale high productivity process technology in China,” said Peter Browning, president of Solvay Peroxides global business unit. “The licensing model provides a process design package for the construction of the H2O2 mega plant by Hubei Sanning Chemical alongside its new caprolactam facility, with access to Solvay’s operating experience and range of services to ensure optimized and reliable H2O2 plant operation.”

Solvay is the leading global producer and supplier of hydrogen peroxide solutions and a technology leader in the hydrogen peroxide production process operating several H2O2 mega plants. Hubei Sanning Chemical will install a single H2O2 production line providing a capacity of 200 kilotons per year to be utilized entirely as a raw material in the production of caprolactam, the monomer used to manufacture nylon 6 (PA6) products such as yarns and filaments.

Solvay will also provide Hubei Sanning Chemical with its proprietary chemicals for the anthraquinone process, which ensure a reliable and consistent high productivity H2O2 process.

“We are honored to be awarded Solvay’s first license for its world-renowned hydrogen peroxide production technology in China,” said Wanqing Li, chairman of Hubei Sanning Chemical Industry. “The new H2O2 mega plant in China and Solvay’s collaboration will be key for us to build the new project for caprolactam, PA6 and downstream products.”

Nylon 6 is a versatile polymer used in a variety of industries such as automotive, electrical and electronics, and when extruded as fibers is extensively used in the textile industry for clothing and home furnishings and for nets in the fishing industry.

As MRC reported earlier, in August, 2020, through the acquisition of the Solvay polyamide (PA) business, BASF enhanced its R&D capabilities in Asia Pacific with new technologies, technical expertise, and upgraded material and part testing services. BASF is planning to integrate the R&D centers from Solvay into its R&D existing facilities in Shanghai, China, and Seoul, Korea. The enhanced capabilities will boost BASF’s position as a solution provider to develop advanced material solutions for key industries.

We remind that BASF shut down an unspecified unit at its 420,000-metric ton/year steam cracker site in Ludwigshafen, Germany, due to a technical defect. Unscheduled flaring started on 13 January, 2021, at the northern part of the Ludwigshafen site and was expected to last until 17 January, 2021.

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 2,487,450 tonnes in 2021, up by 13% year on year. Shipments of all grades of ethylene polymers increased. At the same time, PP shipments to the Russian market totalled 1,494.280 tonnes, up by 21% year on year. Deliveries of homopolymer PP and PP block copolymers increased, whreas.shipments of PP random copolymers decreased significantly.

Founded in 1969, Hubei Sanning Chemical Co., Ltd is one of China’s biggest manufacturers of agricultural chemicals, fine chemicals and petrochemicals located in Yichang City in western Hubei province. The company’s diverse range of products include coal-derived chemicals, ammonia, nitrogen and potash fertilizers, sulphuric acid, phosphoric acid, nitric acid, hydrochloric acid and lactam-derived products. Since 2007 it operates as a subsidiary of Shanxi Jincheng Anthracite Mining Group Co., Ltd. with 5,500 employees which includes 500 R&I technicians. The company delivered 12.247 billion RMB in sales in 2020.

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.
MRC