Solvay unveils a breakthrough highly dispersible silica for productivity and performance of automotive tires

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Solvay Silica is unveiling Efficium a breakthrough Highly Dispersible Silica (HDS), an innovative reinforcing filler which allows for higher productivity and greater flexibility in producing green passenger car and truck tire compounds, reported the company in its press release.

Highly Dispersible Silica is a benchmark for energy-saving and high-performance tires for passenger cars. Efficium offers breakthrough benefits for the automotive industry, allowing for increased productivity due to its impact on mixing and extrusion throughput and adding flexibility thanks to its silanization control and reformulation opportunities without compromising on rolling resistance, wear and grip. Efficium® strongly facilitates the conversion from carbon black to HDS compounds.

"We have recognized the needs of tire manufacturers for a more cost-competitive silica technology to differentiate their product offer with an innovative solution that also supports demanding energy efficient and safety requirements. Efficium Highly Dispersible Silica opens up the answers to these needs on a superior property balance over other silica or silica-based solutions" said Christian Leger, Global Business Director of Solvay’s Silica Global Business Unit. "Efficium provides a unique and flexible solution to meet the global needs of sustainable mobility".

To meet expected demand beyond current trial and testing by major tire manufacturers, Solvay is making Efficium HDS globally available from three different production sites consistently with its business continuity management policy.

We remind that, as MRC wrote previously, in December 2014, Solvay announced that it had acquired Dhaymers, a Brazilian manufacturer of specialty esters, entering the skin care market and expanding its presence in industrial lubricants and mining industries in Latin America.

Solvay Silica is the inventor of Highly Dispersible Silica (HDS) in the 1990's and a key player in energy-saving tires. Its innovative solutions provide tire manufacturers worldwide with the means to progress in sustainable mobility. With nine manufacturing sites and four R&I laboratories on as many continents, Silica also offers a range of applications in personal care, such as toothpastes and exfoliating beads, in animal nutrition, high-performance membranes and in rubber reinforcement.

Solvay S.A. is a Belgian chemical company founded in 1863, with its head office in Neder-Over-Heembeek, Brussels, Belgium. The company has diversified into two major sectors of activity: chemicals and plastics. Solvay supplies over 1500 products across 35 brands of high-performance polymers пїЅ fluoropolymers, fluoroelastomers, fluorinated fluids, semi-aromatic polyamides, sulfone polymers, aromatic ultra polymers, high-barrier polymers and cross-linked high-performance compounds.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Russia produced 6,400 tonnes of polycarbonate (PC) last month, up by 4% year on year, according to MRC ScanPlast.

Injection moulding PC grades accounted for 42% in the total output, wheres extrusion grade PC accounted for 58%.

Last year, Kazanorgsintez, Russia's only domestic PC producer, reduced its production of injection moulding PC granules almost two-fold year on year, which was caused by the refusal to ship PC to foreign markets (Asia) and by production of extrusion grade PC for the domestic market. The plant has resumed exports of injection moulding PC since last December.

There is a potential for imports substitution for domestic producers on the back of a significant devaluation of the national currency, which now takes place in the Russian Federation. At the same time, it becomes more attractive to sell products in currency to foreign markets.

February is a pre-season month in the extrusion grade PC segment. Demand and prices for material will start to grow with the onset of spring and will reach their peak in early May. Converters sought to build up minimum stocks before a seasonal prices rise under more favorable economic conditions. At present, it is not economically feasible to have stocks both of material and finished products because of the lower converters and end-users' creditworthiness.
Therefore, Russia's domestic PC market did not experience such a need in material in January and February, as it was earlier. Consumption is expected to decline both in quantities and value terms.

Last year's capacity of the extrusion grade PC market reached 80,000 tonnes. Demand might reach 8,000 tonnes during the months of seasonal peaks of buying activity (May and September), while it does not exceed 6,000 tonnes in the usual months.

MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Celanese Corporation, a global technology and specialty materials company and a global leader in vinyl acetate ethylene (EVA) emulsions, has announced its support of a multi-year initiative to advance composites manufacturing capabilities through a public-private effort between the US Department of Energy (DOE) and consortium members that includes five states, five universities, and numerous corporate partners, as per the company's press release.

The Institute for Advanced Composites Manufacturing Innovation (IACMI), led by The University of Tennessee, Knoxville, was selected by the US DOE to become a national institute aimed at creating better composite materials and technologies for rapid deployment within the automotive, wind turbine and compressed gas storage industries. Celanese is among the consortium of 122 companies, nonprofits, and universities led by the University. IACMI will work to develop lower-cost, higher-speed, and more efficient manufacturing and recycling processes for advanced composites.

"Celanese is a global leader in the development and manufacturing of advanced materials that today are used to help reduce weight, improve efficiency and drive innovation in the auto industry," said Scott Sutton, vice president and general manager of the engineered materials business of Celanese. "We see this public-private partnership as an opportunity to support composite materials advancements and manufacturing that can help the auto industry develop the next generation of low-emission, fuel-efficient, safe and affordable vehicles."

As MRC wrote previously, last year, Celanese Corporation developed new emulsion products for architectural paints. The company also expanded its product portfolio for the coatings and adhesives industries, including Celansese's solvents, vinyl acetate monomer, EVA polymers and emulsions.

Celanese Corporation is a global technology leader in the production of differentiated chemistry solutions and specialty materials used in most major industries and consumer applications. Based in Dallas, Texas, Celanese employs approximately 7,400 employees worldwide and had 2013 net sales of USD6.5 billion.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- German chemical company Lanxess is discussing the sale of a minority stake in its synthetic-rubber unit with potential buyers including Saudi Arabian Oil Co., according to people with knowledge of the matter, reported Hydrocarbonprocessing.

Two proposals have already been submitted, with one party interested in a stake of about 40%, said two people, who asked not to be identified because details of the sale process are private. Lanxess confirmed in an e-mailed statement that it’s in talks with potential partners for its synthetic-rubber business, which generated about EUR4.5 billion (USD5.1 billion) in 2014 sales. The company didn't give more details.

Lanxess CEO Matthias Zachert is looking for a partner with access to cheap crude-oil and gas-related raw materials amid overcapacity and pressure on prices in the market for synthetic rubber used in car tires.

Saudi Aramco, the world’s largest crude exporter, would have the financial clout to aggressively expand the business globally to take on low-cost competitors in emerging markets, including India’s Reliance and Russia’s Sibur.

For Saudi Aramco, teaming up with Lanxess would be a significant step in its ambition to move from oil production toward chemicals and products closer to the consumer. It would help the company emulate petrochemical maker Saudi Basic Industries Corp., which set up a partnership with ExxonMobil in 1980.

As MRC informed before, in July 2013, Lanxess opened ts first production facility in Russia. In the new plant at the Lipetsk site, Lanxess subsidiary Rhein Chemie manufactures polymer-bound rubber additives for the markets in Russia and the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), primarily for the automotive and tire industries. A production facility for the bladders used in tire production is to be added in 2016. The overall investment volume in euros amounts to a seven-digit figure.

Lanxess is a leading specialty chemicals company with sales of EUR 8.3 billion in 2013 and roughly 17,300 employees in 31 countries. The company is currently represented at 52 production sites worldwide. The core business of Lanxess is the development, manufacturing and marketing of plastics, rubber, intermediates and specialty chemicals.
MRC