Clariant EXOLIT OP 560 confirmed as safer flame retardant for polyurethane foam

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Clariant, a world leader in specialty chemicals, confirms that in its draft Alternatives Assessment report on flame retardants in flexible foam released in June, the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) identified Clariant’s oligomeric phosphonate polyol (OPP) flame retardant - marketed under the trade name Exolit OP 560 - as a safer alternative to pentabromo diphenylether (pentaBDE), traditionally used for giving fire protection to foam, reported the company on its site.

This is good news for the upholstery industry and other sectors looking for safer, environmentally more compatible flame retardants that meet internationally accepted flammability standards for flexible polyurethane foam.

The report is part of the EPA’s Design for the Environment program, which helps industries choose safer chemicals, and offers a basis for future decision-making by providing a detailed comparison of the potential public health and environmental impacts of chemical alternatives.

Exolit OP 560 is a reactive flame retardant that eliminates unwanted emissions since it becomes chemically bonded within the polymeric polyurethane foam structure. As a result, the Exolit OP 560 cannot leave the foam during use. Exolit OP is also halogen-free, and has a more favorable toxicological and environmental profile. In particular, it cannot bioaccumulate in humans and other organisms since it is "locked" into the foam. Further benefits for PU applications include excellent ageing stability, as well as low smoke density and smoke gas corrosivity in case of a fire. The phosphonate’s high effectiveness and good compatibility with natural polymers allow it to be used at low dosages in the foam matrix, which also adds to the foam’s excellent sustainability profile.

"Exolit OP 560 is not only halogen-free but becomes an integral part of the PU foam, creating possibilities to produce flexible foams with locked-in fire protection without the environmental and health concerns of traditional flame retardants," comments Adrian Beard, Head of Marketing Flame Retardants, Clariant. "The US-EPA report is a step forward in easing the identification of safer alternatives by PU foam producers and end-users."

Clariant is looking to expand capacity to meet increasing demand in the move toward more environmentally friendly and sustainable PU foams.

As MRC informed before, in June 2014, CB&I and Clariant announced that their new Ziegler-Natta (ZN) polypropylene catalyst plant in Louisville, Kentucky, is on schedule to begin production in 2015. The plant is part of a long-term strategic partnership between Clariant’s catalysts business and CB&I’s Lummus Novolen Technology business. Based at Clariant’s largest US production hub, the new facility will combine innovative catalysts jointly developed by both companies with high-capacity output.

Clariant AG is a Swiss chemical company and a world leader in the production of specialty chemicals for the textile, printing, mining and metallurgical industries. It is engaged in processing crude oil products in pigments, plastics and paints.
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MOSCOW (MRC) -- Boardwalk Pipeline Partners has announced that it has completed the previously-announced acquisition of Chevron Petrochemical Pipeline LLC, which owns the Evangeline ethylene pipeline system, from Chevron Pipe Line, according to Hydrocarbonprocessing.

Evangeline will be operated by Boardwalk Louisiana Midstream (BLM), a subsidiary of Boardwalk that provides transportation and storage services for ethylene and natural gas liquids (NGLs), natural gas storage and brine supply services for producers and consumers of petrochemicals through two hubs in southern Louisiana, the Sulphur Hub in the Lake Charles area and the Choctaw Hub in the Mississippi River Corridor.

"We are pleased to have completed the Evangeline acquisition that provides vertical integration with BLM’s extensive ethylene distribution system," said Kevin Miller, president of BLM.

"Adding these upstream assets strengthens BLM’s growth platform and further enhances our ability to provide reliable and flexible ethylene transportation and storage services to petrochemical customers in the growing Gulf Coast market," he added.

The Evangeline system is a 176-mi interstate pipeline capable of transporting approximately 2.6 billion lb/year of ethylene and is supported by long-term, fee-based contracts. Evangeline transports ethylene between Port Neches, Texas, and Baton Rouge, Louisiana, where it interconnects with BLM’s ethylene distribution system that includes BLM’s storage facilities at the Choctaw Hub.

As MRC wrote previously, in July 2014, United States supermajor Chevron gave up on conventional and unconventional gas exploration in Lithuania, having closed its office in Vilnius and ceded its stake in the company holding the Rietavas licence to Sweden’s Tethys Oil.

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Bashneft has started pilot operations at a new hydrogen production unit at the Bashneft-Novoil Branch, Oct. 8, said Hydrocarbonprocessing.

The ceremony to mark the completion of the large-scale investment project was attended by the Deputy Chairman of the Government of Bashkortostan Dmitry Sharonov and JSOC Bashneft’s President Alexander Korsik.

‘Commissioning of the new unit is an important milestone in the implementation of our strategy for upgrading production capacities, and marks the transition of the company’s refineries to a new technological heights, ’highlighted Bashnneft President Alexander Korsik. "Implementation of this large-scale project will ensure that 100% of the gasoline and diesel fuel we produce meets Euro 5 standard, but also make an additional substantial contribution to environmental protection."

The commissioning of the hydrogen production unit marks the completion of an important stage in Bashneft’s Ufa refinery upgrade programme aimed at meeting the requirements of Russia’s Technical Regulations on engine fuel quality. Presently, the new unit is the largest in Russia, with its rated capacity of 420 tpd.

Upon commissioning, total hydrogen production at the company’s refineries will nearly triple; given close cooperation between production sites, this will enable to fully satisfy the need for hydrogen. The unit will enable Bashneft to ensure that all automotive fuels it produces meet the Euro 5 emission standard and have an extremely low sulphur content of less than 10 ppm (0.001%).

Construction of the unit started in September 2012. Over RUB 12 billion was invested in the project.

As MRC wrote before, The Moscow arbitration court froze the shares in OAO Bashneft, controlled by Evtushenkov’s OAO AFK Sistema, in connection with alleged violations during the privatization of the regional oil company.

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MOSCOW (MRC) -- Europe remains among the globe’s highest-cost production regions for chemicals. But the verge of losing its competitiveness, a robust supply of US ethane imports present an opportunity for some Western European producers, with a potential to radically transform region’s feedstock landscape, said Hydrocarbonprocessing, citing a new report from global consultancy IHS.

European producers are urged to innovate, further consolidate and rationalize to stay afloat, according to the report.

“With lack of investment in new plants and R&D, the chemical industry in Europe is in a stagnation phase,” said Michael Smith, vice president at IHS Chemical. “The competitive landscape forces Europe to concentrate on mature, domestic markets and leaves it vulnerable to imports. European producers must innovate to stay competitive.”

Globally, the chemical investment varies by region favoring demand growth centers, particularly fast-growing China, and low-cost producers, the US and the Middle East. The US, especially, has recently seen a robust influx of foreign investment due to availability of cheap ethane feedstock and energy.

“According to IHS Chemical forecasts, US ethane production will be in surplus, exceeding domestic requirements by around 300,000 barrels per day and growing. This surplus is expected to continue at least until 2030,” said Mukta Sharma, managing director with IHS Chemical.

In 2012, the last full year for which data are currently available, chemicals were the leading industry for FDI (foreign direct investment) flows into the US.

“Energy prices in Europe will remain high, but this is not the end of the world,” Smith said. “Producers already have been taking advantage of increased supplies of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) from international markets and they are looking for other ways to survive in this new world order. Ethane imports from the US seem to be an attractive alternative.

INEOS was the first to sign the contract to supply the US ethane for its crackers at Grangemouth, UK and Norway. Then two other producers followed with similar announcements. SABIC confirmed its intention to upgrade the plant at Wilton, UK, to enable greater feedstock flexibility, and Borealis signed an agreement to supply ethane for its cracker at Stenungsund, Sweden.

This week at EPCA, Italy-based petrochemical producer Versalis also confirmed its intention to convert its coastal cracker in Dunkirk to consume ethane imported from the US. Other producers also are believed to be exploring the opportunity, according to IHS Chemical.

Western Europe accounts for 17% of global ethylene production and remains an integral part of the global industry, says IHS Chemical. The US ethane availability presents an interesting alternative for European ethylene producers, especially Western European producers with costal units, who are today still heavily reliant on higher-stock naphtha feedstock.

Thoelke said that in terms of logistical integration, the Mediterranean crackers are not as well configured, on average, as the crackers in the north.

The rationalization of units in Europe will also progress further in the near term. Smith said producers will need to close old, uneconomical plants; particularly those that are not well integrated into refinery complexes or chemical clusters close to important consumer markets.

As the European market undergoes transformation, IHS Chemical said it expects to see European producers responding to the new market dynamics with innovative feedstock deals, cost reductions and a determination to stay competitive. IHS Chemical said the market will see the need for further closures, consolidation of operations and plant conversions.

MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Romania must be ready to take over Lukoil’s refinery there if the Russian company decides to close it amid an investigation into tax fraud allegations, President Traian Basescu said, as per Hydrocarbonprocessing.

A statement from Lukoil vice president Vladimir Nekrasov that the company may be forced to shut down its Ploiesti refinery is "an unacceptable threat," Basescu said in a televised speech in Bucharest.

Prime Minister Victor Ponta said Basescu’s comments were "angry and distressed" and that his government will "take all the measures" needed to ensure the country’s energy security and independence.

Romania has been in a dispute with Russia’s second-largest oil producer since on Oct. 2, when prosecutors searched the Ploiesti site on suspicion of tax evasion and money laundering, according to the Public Ministry in Bucharest.

Lukoil said the charges are groundless and that it will assist in the investigation. It’ll decide by tomorrow on restarting the refinery, Nekrasov said.

"You guys are free to leave Romania if you don't respect the law," Basescu said. "If, tomorrow, Lukoil decides not to resume production, I ask the government to be prepared to take over the refinery, both from a technical point of view and also to be ready to operate it."

Romania also froze Lukoil’s bank accounts as part of the investigation of what prosecutors said may be tax evasion amounting to about EUR112 million (USD142 million).

As MRC informed earlier, in June 2014, Lukoil Overseas said it was ready to begin recovering costs and getting paid for production at its West Qurna-2 project in Iraq. The Russian operator informed the Iraqi Ministry of Oil that it has "fulfilled its contractual obligations for first commercial production" at the major project on Wednesday. Lukoil said it had "successfully maintained an average daily production of at least 120,000 barrels for 90 days", meaning it has passed the threshold to begin recovering costs and receiving remuneration.

Lukoil is one of the world's biggest vertically integrated companies for production of crude oil & gas, and their refining into petroleum products and petrochemicals. The company is a leader on Russian and international markets in its core business, which accounts for over 20% of Russian oil production and 18% of the total Russian oil refining. Lukoil also controls two of the largest petrochemical plants in Russia and Ukraine: Stavrolen and Karpatneftekhim.
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