Evonik and Asiga collaborate on photopolymer-based 3D printing

Evonik and Asiga collaborate on photopolymer-based 3D printing for large-scale industrial manufacturing, said the company.

The specialty chemicals company Evonik and Australia’s 3D printer manufacturer Asiga are strengthening their collaboration in photopolymer-based 3D printing. Both companies aim to drive forward 3D printing large-scale industrial manufacturing by extending today’s capabilities of photo-curing technologies. Evonik is contributing its expertise in development and manufacturing of ready-to-use photopolymer materials. Asiga, in turn, is bringing its innovative strength in DLP 3D printers with their open material architecture to the joint effort.

Evonik’s new INFINAM photopolymers are ready-to-use high-performance formulations that can be processed seamlessly on Asiga’s DLP 3D printers.

Asiga is an innovation driver in desktop stereolithography, launching the world's first LED based DLP 3D printer in 2011. Today the company continues to focus on a range of process monitoring technologies which control part accuracy and production stability across many industries including medical and general manufacturing. Asiga's product line covers a broad range from powerful desktop 3D printers including their MAX series to large format floor standing such as the PRO 4K.

Last year, Evonik introduced first ready-to-use formulations of its new photopolymers product line for industrial 3D printing applications. INFINAM® TI 3100 L leads to high toughness and impact-resistant 3D parts which can withstand strong impact or permanent mechanical effects such as pressing or impact. INFINAM® ST 6100 L is setting-up a new benchmark in the category of high strength polymer resins. It combines tensile strength of 89 MPa, flexural strength of 145 MPa and HDT of 120 °C, and thus fills the material gap in ultra-high strength photopolymers. INFINAM® RG 3101 L combines excellent impact resistance with high-temperature resistance while exhibiting long-lasting thermomechanical performance.

Evonik’s 3D printing activities are bundled in the group’s additive manufacturing innovation growth field. The strategic focus is on the development and manufacturing industrial ready-to-use high-performance materials for all major polymer-based 3D-printing technologies. The specialty chemicals company thus drives 3D printing as a large-scale industrial manufacturing technology along the entire value chain. In this context, Evonik has organized its product range under the new INFINAM brand.

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.

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.

mrchub.com

Japan's biggest refiner, Eneos Corp, shut its Sendai refinery including the 145,000 bpd crude distillation unit (CDU) after a magnitude 7.3 earthquake jolted Japan's northeast coast off Fukushima late on Wednesday, reported Reuters with reference to a company spokesperson's statement.

The strong quake activated a safety shutdown system at the Sendai refinery, the spokesperson said on Thursday.

The refiner, a unit of Eneos Holdings Inc, also shut its Chiba refinery, including the 129,000 bpd CDU, as well as one of the two CDUs in its Kawasaki refinery, due to an external power outage, the spokesperson said.

Eneos does not know when the facilities will be back online, the spokesperson said, adding that there has been no confirmed damage on its facilities.

Tens of thousands of Japanese households remained without power on Thursday morning after the quake struck shortly before midnight.

As MRC wrote previously, ENEOS restarted its Sendai refinery in northeast Japanon 18 May, 2021. This refinery was hit by an earthquake on 1 May, 2021. Besides, on 18 May, the company shut down its Sakai refinery in western Japan for maintenance.

We remind that ENEOS Corporation restarted its naphtha cracker in Kawasaki on 1 February 2021. The company shut this cracker with an annual capacity of 515,000 tons/year of ethylene, 300,000 tons/year of propylene, and 105,000 tons/year of butadiene on 4 December, 2020, for repairment after a technical issue reported at the butadiene separation unit and initially planned to resume operations on 28 December, 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 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.

Japan's largest refiner JXTG Nippon Oil & Energy was renamed ENEOS Corporation on 25 June, 2020, as part of a wider re-organization of the parent company JXTG Holdings. The move, which also involved renaming the parent company to ENEOS Holdings upon approval at its annual shareholders meeting in June 2020, comes as it strives to be a more comprehensive energy and materials company under its 2040 vision announced in May, 2019. JXTG Holdings was formed as a result of a merger between JX Holdings and TonenGeneral in April 2017. This followed the establishment of JX Holdings as a result of the merger between Nippon Oil and Nippon Mining Holdings in April 2010.
MRC

Due to the earthquake that occurred at around 11:36 p.m. on Wednesday evening March 16th, whose epicenter was located off the Pacific coast of the northeastern region of Japan, Shin-Etsu Chemical and some of the Shin-Etsu Group Companies’ plants temporarily suspended operations, said the company.

No plant employees suffered any injuries, and there was no large damage to the facilities.

With safety as our utmost priority, the plants that temporarily suspended operations are sequentially resuming their operations upon carrying out the process of inspections to confirm plant safety.

We remind, on 16 Feb 2022, Shin-Etsu Chemical Co Ltd announced plans to invest over $695 M to expand its silicone manufacturing plants across Japan to meet a very strong demand for advanced functional products. According to the company, the new plant investments will expand the manufacturing capacity of "highly diversified" kinds of silicone resins, fluids, and rubber end products by 2025. The expansion project will start with Shin-Etsu's main facility, the Gunma Complex in Gunma Prefecture, and will be followed by two other facilities in Naoetsu, Niigata Prefecture, and Takefu, Fukui Prefecture.

mrchub.com

As a result of the increasing raw material price of nonferrous metals, natural gas, electricity and other key raw materials used in its catalyst production process, Topsoe will increase prices across its catalyst product line, according to Hydrocarbonprocessing.

The general price adjustment will take effect immediately.

As MRC reported earlier, in February 2021, Haldor Topsoe and Acron Group signed a MoU with the purpose of jointly working within green technologies area. The MoU includes initiatives within joint development of technologies aimed to reduce GHG emissions (СО2 and N2O) at the existing production sites of Acron Group and development of promising projects for new products with minimum environmental impact. Acron Engineering, a Russian engineering research center, which is a part of Acron Group, will be engaged in the work.

We remind that in October 2021, Dow (Midland, Michigan), the world's petrochemical major, and Haldor Topsoe partnered to promote the circular economy. About 300 million tons of plastic waste is produced every year on a global scale. The partnership between Dow and Topsoe marks a new initiative to efficiently convert waste plastics to circular plastics, keeping them out of the environment and responsibly reclaiming their value.

Plans include Dow to proceed with the design and engineering for a 10,000 ton per year market development unit using Haldor Topsoe’s PureStepTM technology to purify pyrolysis oil feedstock derived from waste plastics for use in circular products. Dow’s development unit will advance the technology for industrial-scale purification of circular feedstocks, which will be used to meet strong market demand for circular polyethylene (PE).

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.
MRC

Azelis announces the acquisition of 100% of the shares of Whitfield Chemical Group Limited, a well-regarded distributor focused on coatings, adhesives, sealants and elastomers and rubber & plastic additives in the UK, said the company.

This acquisition reinforces Azelis’ position in industrial chemicals, and specifically in the CASE and R&PA market segments in the UK. WhitChem’s long-standing relationships with blue-chip principals and product portfolio strengthen Azelis’ lateral value chain in the UK, whilst their wide customer base and strong local technical sales team further expands the Group’s product offering and customer reach.

WhitChem employs 30 staff and generates the vast majority of their sales in the UK, with some exports to Ireland. Following the closing, the WhitChem management will stay and support the integration into Azelis, remain committed to growing the business, and further strengthen Azelis’ CASE & R&PA team.

As MRC informed earlier, in June 2021, Azelis announced the extension of its distribution scope with CP Kelco in India, Indonesia, Malaysia and Thailand. CP Kelco’s product range is a significant addition to Azelis’ portfolio and the new agreement marks an important milestone in the strong and continuously developing collaboration between both companies globally.

Besides, Azelis made two acquisitions in July, 2021, both in South Korea. The most recent agreement, announced on Jul. 14, is the proposed takeover of Seoul-headquartered Coseal, which specializes in the distribution, repackaging and blending of agricultural/horticultural surfactants. This transaction is expected to close in the third quarter of 2021, when all of Coseal’s 45 employees, along with its owner and CEO Sang Jin Kang, will transfer to the Belgium-based distributor.

Nearly two weeks earlier, on Jul. 1, Azelis revealed it had purchased MH, a local distributor in the food ingredients market, providing the multinational specialty chemicals distribution group with a foothold in the food and health segment. Also headquartered in Seoul, MH is a family-owned business, supplying products such as gluten, starches, sweeteners and functional food ingredients.

Azelis is a leading distributor of speciality chemicals and food ingredients present in over 50 countries across the globe with around 2,200 employees. Our knowledgeable teams of industry, market and technical experts are each dedicated to a specific market within Life Sciences and Industrial Chemicals.

mrchub.com