Evonik launches new heat-sealing binder in the market

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Evonik's methacrylate experts have succeeded in developing a new generation of heat-sealing bead polymers, as per the company's press release.

The new product, DEGALAN VP P 34, reduces the complexity of coating formulation enormously because only a single binder is used and only one solvent is therefore necessary. The reason is that DEGALAN VP P 34 is a bead polymer that is easily soluble in ethyl acetate, a commonly used, highly volatile solvent for heat-sealing lacquer formulations.

DEGALAN VP P 34 based formulations can be applied directly on the aluminum foil so that primers or formulations with a PVC-based adhesion promoter, which are still necessary today, can now be dispensed with.

Methacrylate binders from Evonik, marketed as DEGALAN, offer unique possibilities for formulation of heat-sealing lacquers. They are used in the sealing of yoghurt containers and pharmaceutical blister packaging.

The requirements placed on packaging coatings are high because packaging substrates can vary widely. Yogurt lids, for example, consist of aluminum or plastic; these in turn must be sealed to a variety of container materials such as polypropylene (PP), polystyrene (PS) and polyethylene terephthalate (PET).

As MRC informed before, Evonik Industries is paving the way for a new technology whose applications include automotive finishes that are more scratch-resistant than ever before. The specialty chemicals company has developed an industrial-scale method for producing silane-modified binders for automotive finishes. The advantage of these silane-modified binders: silane groups increase crosslinking density, making it possible to create automotive finishes that are flexible yet harder, leading to improved scratch resistance.

Evonik, the creative industrial group from Germany, is one of the world leaders in specialty chemicals. Its activities focus on the key megatrends health, nutrition, resource efficiency and globalization. Evonik benefits specifically from its innovative prowess and integrated technology platforms. Evonik is active in over 100 countries around the world. In fiscal 2013 more than 33,500 employees generated sales of around EUR12.9 billion and an operating profit (adjusted EBITDA) of about EUR2.0 billion.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Petrobras has now carried out the first petrochemical naphtha loading operation at its Abreu e Lima refinery (also known as RNEST), initiating the sales program for the product, said Hydrocarbonprocessing.

The first batch of petrochemical naphtha will be delivered to customer Braskem, a petrochemicals group with operations across Brazil. Of the total 56,650 m3 produced so far at RNEST, 18,063 m3 of the product was dispatched in this first load, according to company officials.

The ship FSL Singapore, moored at the Port of Suape, in Pernambuco, has been loaded with this volume, and it will now sail to Sao Sebastiao, in Sao Paulo, where the sale of the petrochemical naphtha to Braskem will be completed.

The petrochemical naphtha is produced in RNEST’s atmospheric distillation facility, pumped into storage tanks within the refinery, certified in line with the standards of the National Oil, Natural Gas and Biofuels Agency (ANP), and then pumped on board the respective ship, with logistics support from Transpetro.

Petrochemical naphtha is used to make intermediate products such as ethylene, propylene, butadiene, benzene and xylene in the Brazilian states of Bahia, Sao Paulo and Rio Grande do Sul.

These products are then transformed by Braskem itself, and also its customers, into plastics such as polyethylene, polypropylene, polystyrene and PET, as well as synthetic rubber, nylon yarns and various other products used in domestic industries.

As MRC wrote before, Brazilian state-run energy giant, Petroleo Brasileiro SA or Petrobras ( PBR ) has awarded two ultra-deepwater contracts to the project management, engineering and construction company, Technip ( TKPPY ). However, the value of the contracts has not been disclosed.

Headquartered in Rio de Janeiro, Petrobras is an integrated energy firm. Petrobras' activities include exploration, exploitation and production of oil from reservoir wells, shale and other rocks as well as refining, processing, trade and transport of oil and oil products, natural gas and other fluid hydrocarbons, in addition to other energy-related activities.

MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- A federal judge ruled Thursday that BP PLC is liable for spilling just over 3 million barrels of crude into the Gulf of Mexico in the 2010 Deepwater Horizon disaster, 24% less than federal prosecutors had claimed, reported The Wall Street Journal.

The ruling means that BP faces a maximum penalty of USD13.7 billion under the US Clean Water Act, down from the USD18 billion sought by the Justice Department.

The decision by Judge Carl Barbier surprised analysts following the case, coming days before BP is set to appear in his court for a related trial on how much it should pay for each barrel spilled. That tranche of the complex case, which begins on Tuesday, will determine the total fine under the Clean Water Act.

Thursday’s decision narrows the range of penalties BP could face, which could make a settlement more feasible, said Tom Claps, a legal analyst for Susquehanna Financial Group. But the judge is "not giving the parties a lot of time to sit down" to negotiate, he added.

As MRC wrote before, BP plans to invest over USD200 million to upgrade its purified terephthalic acid (PTA) plants at Cooper River, South Carolina and Geel, Belgium. The investments will position these assets amongst the most efficient PTA manufacturing facilities in the world.

BP is one of the world's leading international oil and gas companies, providing its customers with fuel for transportation, energy for heat and light, retail services and petrochemicals products for everyday items. BP is the world's largest PTA producer with about 7,1 million tonnes of annual production.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Saudi Arabia’s Yanbu National Petrochemical Co (Yansab) reported a 39.7% rise in fourth-quarter net profit, beating analysts’ forecasts as productivity and sales increased from a year earlier, said Gulfbusiness.

The firm, a subsidiary of Saudi Basic Industries Corp (SABIC), made a net profit of SAR617.8 million (USD164.6 million) in the three months to Dec. 31, up from SAR442.2 million in the same period of 2013, a statement to the Saudi bourse said.

Analysts polled by Reuters on average forecast Yansab would make a quarterly profit of SAR558.3 million.

The company said the profit rise was due higher production and sales compared to a year earlier when there was a temporary plant shutdown.

Yansab’s 2014 net profit was SAR2.48 billion, down from SAR2.64 billion in 2013, a drop it attributed to lower sales prices for some products as well as higher costs.

As MRC wrote before, Yansab announced it will be shutting its ethylene glycol plant in April 2015 for between 35 and 60 days for planned maintenance.

The objectives of Yansab, a subsidiary of Saudi Basic Industries Corp (SABIC), are to engage in manufacturing of petrochemical products (ethylene, ethylene glycol, high density polyethylene, low linear density polyethylene, polypropylene, butene 1, butene 2, MTBE and BTX) in accordance with its Articles of Association, and other applicable regulations in the Kingdom. The Company commenced its Commercial operations on 1 March 2010.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- The Salalah, Oman-based PET maker believes the pending opening of its initial U.S. facility near Cincinnati is just the first in a series of projects that will see the company expand operations around the world in the coming years, said Plasticsnews.

Eastern Europe, Western Europe, South America and even Asia also are being considered as locations for growth.
Octal was founded in 2006 on a belief that PET is not just a plastic, but the plastic when it comes to packaging.
"We wanted PET to assume its proper place in the packaging universe as a globally supplied preferred packaging substrate,” Chief Operating Officer Joe Barenberg said. “Our view is that PET was really the king of plastics."

With its headquarters in Oman now cranking out nearly 1 million tons of pellet and sheet PET annually, the company has grown to the point where it’s time to look elsewhere for opportunities to build off of success there.
Octal’s new Ohio location that will take in flaked skeletal waste from its thermoforming customers and extrude that material into new food-grade sheet.

This closed-loop approach will help Octal manufacture new recycled sheet on a regional basis instead of having to only rely on the company’s flagship facility for all of that material. While West Chester, Ohio, near Cincinnati is the first of these recycling and extrusion facilities planned by the company, it certainly will not be the last, the COO said.
Barenberg and Octal envision a series of similar sites — locations that take in waste from customers and create new sheeting — in key markets around the world.

As MRC wrote before, Octal has announced that phase two in the expansion plan of its state-of-the-art PET complex in Salalah has been successfully completed within budget and on time.

OCTAL, based in the port city of Salalah, Oman, is the largest PET resin manufacturer in the Middle East and the largest integrated PET sheet manufacturer in the world. Company's focus on PET responds to converging global trends of consumer lifestyles that increasingly demand convenience packaging and the industry"s growing need for environmentally friendly products and improved economics throughout the value chain.