Lubrizol receives approvals for Thai CPVC venture with Sekisui

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Lubrizol Corp. has received all necessary regulatory approvals to proceed with its previously announced chlorinated polyvinyl chloride (CPVC) joint venture with Sekisui Chemical Co. in Thailand, said the company in its press release.

Lubrizol said the partners will invest about USD50-million to build a 30,000-t/y CPVC resin plant in the first phase. This phase, for which a specific location was not given, is expected to be fully operational by late 2014 or early 2015.

A second phase will double capacity to 60,000 t/y with a further USD50-million investment and is scheduled to begin production by the end of 2016.

Lubrizol's involvement in the joint venture is part of a multi-phased USD400-million expansion of the company's global CPVC resin and compounding manufacturing capacity. Lubrizol is building a new 55,000-t/y resin and 65,000-t/y compounding plant in Louisville, Ky., and a new compounding plant and warehouse in Dahej, India. In April 2014 Lubrizol announced the groundbreaking for a new TempRite chlorinated polyvinyl chloride (CPVC) compounding plant in Dahej, India.

The Lubrizol Corporation, a Berkshire Hathaway company, is an innovative specialty chemical company that apart from its production develops and supplies technologies to customers in the global transportation, industrial and consumer markets. Lubrizol's advanced polymer technology delivers exceptional performance for the plumbing, fire sprinkler, industrial and other building and construction related applications. Lubrizol is providing innovative solutions for its customers high-performance application needs and remains committed to ongoing investment in its CPVC capabilities that support future growth.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- PolyOne Corporation, a premier global provider of specialized polymer materials, services and solutions, presented its specialty portfolio for automotive interiors to designers and engineers at the 2014 WardsAuto Interiors conference, reported the company on its site.

These advanced technologies, including soft-touch materials as well as colorants and special effects, enable customers to design new features that boost consumer appeal and reduce manufacturing complexity.

Recently, PolyOne introduced Geon VBX vinyl powder formulations based on innovative technologies that offer maximum design freedom and efficient production of soft-touch surfaces. These new materials meet or exceed OEM airbag safety requirements for instrument panels and provides up to 15% faster cycle times and 35% lower scrap rates, when compared to standard materials.

Additional featured solutions that provide design freedom and manufacturing improvements include:

- Paint-free metallic finish: OnColor FX Metal colorants – providing visually appealing metallic finishes without the need for a secondary painting process;
- Marking alternative: OnColor FastMark additives – enabling parts such as signal stalks and trunk/hood release handles to be permanently laser etched with images, symbols and words;
- Premium surfaces: OnColor FX Granite colorants – creating a premium fabric look on surfaces that utilize molded-in texture.

As MRC informed earlier, in February 2014, PolyOne Corporation announced the addition of new capabilities to its OnColor HC Plus portfolio. These expanded offerings add medical-grade LDPE, nylon, PEBA, PS and PVC to the globally available palette of specialty healthcare colorants, and are pre-certified to meet or exceed biocompatibility requirements for ISO 10993 and/or USP Class VI protocols.

PolyOne Corporation, with 2013 revenues of USD3.8 billion, is a global provider of specialized polymer materials, services, and solutions. PolyOne is a provider of specialized polymer materials, services and solutions with operations in specialty polymer formulations, color and additive systems, polymer distribution and specialty vinyl resins.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- With smart materials being one of the fastest growing areas of materials technology, SABIC and Cima NanoTech, a Singapore and US-based company, have announced the joint development of a plastics industry first: a transparent conductive polycarbonate film that has the potential to revolutionize the materials used in consumer electronics, household goods, automotive, architecture and healthcare, reported Sabic on its site.

The new material, designed to provide "next generation" functionality, has the potential to further enhance performance, enable new innovative applications and open doors for new product designs, Ernesto Occhiello, SABIC Executive Vice President, Technology and Innovation, explained. This could translate into faster response touch screens for consumer electronics, transparent "no-line" anti-fogging capabilities for automotive windows, better EMI shielding effectiveness for electronics, and transparent WiFi/Bluetooth antennas for mobile devices like smartphones, tablets, laptops and all-in-one computers.

Aligned with SABIC’s focus to provide solutions that will solve industry challenges, SABIC engaged in a joint collaboration with Cima NanoTech in the latter half of 2013 to develop the promising new material, which will be available for customer trials later this year.

"Transparent conductive polycarbonate is a breakthrough material that customers in consumer electronics and other important industries have been seeking," Matt Gray, Director of Marketing, Consumer Electronics for SABIC’s Innovative Plastics business, said. "Our work with Cima NanoTech is strategically aligned with our commitment to continuous innovation in areas of importance to our customers," Gray noted.

The collaboration, leveraging both Cima NanoTech’s proprietary SANTE nanoparticle technology and SABIC’s world-renowned LEXAN film, a polycarbonate material, has resulted in the development of a new series of transparent conductive materials that are lightweight with excellent transparency, outstanding conductivity and high flexibility.

As MRC reported before, designed specifically to help customers in the beverage industry reduce transportation losses, SABIC has broadened its stretch film portfolio to include one of the first commercially available materials in Europe to combine polypropylene (PP) and linear low density polyethylene (LLDPE). The film’s high holding force (up to 12% compared to current solutions) for superior load stability is ideal for protecting heavy loads and is the result of SABIC’s constant focus on innovation and expertise in combination know-how. This film solution helps customers meet the demand for high-performance and optically-clear solutions, and can help them reduce costs.

SABIC is a diversified manufacturing company, active in chemicals and intermediates, industrial polymers, fertilizers and metals. It is the largest public company in Saudi Arabia. It is the largest company in the Middle East.
SABIC is currently the second largest global ethylene glycol producer and is expected to become number one after the introduction of these new projects. SABIC is the third largest polyethylene manufacturer, the fourth largest polyolefins manufacturer and the fourth largest polypropylene manufacturer. It is also the world's largest producer of mono-ethylene glycol, MTBE, granular urea, polyphenylene and polyether imide.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Ingleside Ethylene, the 50/50 joint venture between Occidental Chemical (OxyChem) and Mexichem, announced Friday that it received the necessary permits for its new ethylene cracker in Ingleside, Texas, said Hydrocarbonprocessing.

The permits were awarded by the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ). Issuance of the permits, combined with the already completed front-end engineering and design study, will enable Ingleside Ethylene to construct the 550,000 tpy cracker and start commercial operations in the first quarter of 2017, as previously planned.

The cracker will be located at OxyChem’s complex in Ingleside and be operated by OxyChem. The project is expected to create approximately 1,700 jobs at the peak of construction and more than 150 permanent jobs once operations begin.

"Issuance of environmental permits is an important milestone in the development of this world-class project and allows Ingleside Ethylene to move forward on schedule," said Chuck Anderson, president of OxyChem. "When operational, the facility will enable our companies to take advantage of shale gas development in the United States and further enhance our positions as leaders in the global chemical industry."

OxyChem and Mexichem have entered into a long-term strategic supply relationship, in which essentially all of the ethylene produced from the cracker will be consumed by OxyChem in the manufacture of vinyl chloride monomer (VCM) utilizing its existing VCM capacity. VCM will be delivered to Mexichem to produce polyvinyl chloride (PVC resin) and PVC piping systems.

The joint venture announced in December that it had awarded the approximately USD1 billion engineering and construction contract to CB&I. As MRC wrote before, the cracker joint venture is the second involving a Mexican company to be announced in the past three years. In March 2010 Brazilian petrochemicals giant Braskem SA and Mexico's Grupo Idesa SA de CV formalized an agreement with Pemex Gas y Petroquimica Basica to build a USD2.5 billion petrochemical complex, called Ethylene XXI, in Coatzacoalcos, which will include an ethylene cracker and three polymerization plants. Production at that site is scheduled to start in late 2015.

MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- According to a new contract signed between Abu Dhabi Terminals (ADT) and Borouge, ADT will design, construct and operate a state-of-the-art packaging facility for Borouge’s export products at Khalifa Port,said Mpponline.

Khalifa Port, supported by excellent location within Borouge logistic network and the right connectivity along with ADT’s operational excellence, is the primary UAE gateway for Borouge’s products to their customers around the world. Based on this agreement, the new packaging facility will enhance Borouge’s overall packaging capacity and supply chain network flexibility.

"Advanced packaging solution that ADT is going to provide us under this agreement, will further strengthen our supply chain capabilities and support our growth. In addition to the existing packaging facilities in our Ruwais plant and in our regional hubs in China and Singapore, the new packaging facilities and services in Port Khalifa will give us more flexibility to better serve our customers and achieve our business targets all over the world," said Abdulaziz Alhajri, CEO of Borouge.

Borouge produces 2 million tonne of polyolefins at its petrochemical plants in Ruwais and is currently expanding its industrial complex that will be resulted in increasing its total production capacity to 4.5 million tonne in 2014. The new packaging facility set to be built at Khalifa Port is expected to be completed in early 2015 with a total capacity of 385,000 metric tonne.

"ADT and Borouge have a long-term relationship with Khalifa Port receiving the first shipment of polyethylene (PE) for export from Borouge in October 2012, which was only one month after the start of operation at the Port," said Martijn Van De Linde, CEO of ADT.
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