Total to build new PS plant in China

MOSCOW (MRC) -- French Total, Europe’s third-largest oil company, is in plans to start a new polystyrene (PS) plant in China, reported Apic-online.

A Polymerupdate source in China informed that the plant is lanned to be started in September 2015.

To be located at Ningbo, China, the plant is expected to have a production capacity of 200,000 mt/year.

As MRC informed previously, Total will permanently shut its high density polyethylene (HDPE) line in Belgium. The plant will be shut owing to weak margins which have arisen on account of cheap imports in the region. Located at Antwerp in Belgium, the line has a production capacity of 70,000 mt/year.

Besides, Total intends to invest EUR160m before 2016 to adapt its petrochemical platform in Carling, in the Lorraine region of eastern France, and to restore its competitiveness.

Total S.A. is a French multinational oil and gas company and one of the six "Supermajor" oil companies in the world with business in Europe, the United States, the Middle East and Asia. The company's petrochemical products cover two main groups: base chemicals and the consumer polymers (polyethylene, polypropylene and polystyrene) that are derived from them.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Showa Denko (SDK) has decided to establish a new production site for thermosetting bulk molding compound (BMC) in Zhuhai, Guangdong Province, China, jointly with Eternal Materials Co., Ltd., a synthetic resin manufacturer based in Taiwan, said Plastemart.

SDK Group aims to strengthen its BMC business through this establishment of its second BMC production site in China.

BMC is a thermosetting bulk molding compound made from unsaturated polyester resin as main component, kneaded together with glass fiber and other additives. BMC is used as headlamp reflectors and engine covers for car applications, and encapsulation material for home electrical appliances and precision parts. BMC is also expected to be used much more as encapsulation material for motors installed in electric vehicles and hybrid vehicles. On molding BMC parts, BMC is required to have thermal resistance, water-resistance, electric properties, and dimensional accuracy. SDK Group has high competitiveness not only in its ability to produce and market BMC, but also in its capability to design customized BMC molded parts to satisfy customer's requirements.

As MRC wrote before, Showa Denko is in plans to shut its vinyl acetate monomer (VAM) plant for maintenance turnaround in March 2015. It is planned to remain off-stream for around one month. Located at Oita in Japan, the plant has a production capacity of 175,000 mt/year.

Showa Denko K.K. is mainly engaged in the petrochemical business. The Petrochemical segment manufactures and sells olefin, organic chemicals and others. The Chemical Product segment supplies chemicals, industrial gases, special gas and functional drug for semiconductors, functional high molecular materials, among others.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- The dependence of the Russian market on polypropylene (PP) imports continued to decline. January PP imports fell by 18% year on year and totalled 8,700 tonnes, according to MRC DataScope.

The growth of domestic production allowed to significantly reduce the dependence of the Russian market on foreign supplies last year. PP imports fell by 22% in 2014 to 168,600 tonnes. This trend continued this year, January PP imports decreased to 8,700 tonnes from 10,600 tonnes in January 2014 and 11,200 tonnes in December 2014.

The overall structure of PP imports by grades looks the following way over the stated period.

Last month's imports of propylene homopolymer (homopolymer PP) decreased to 2,800 tonnes versus 4,800 tonnes in January 2014 and 3,200 tonnes in December 2014.
Producers of injection moulding products accounted for the main imports of homopolymer PP.

January imports of block copolymers of propylene (PP-block) dropped to 2,000 tonnes from 2,500 tonnes over the same month of 2014 and 2,700 tonnes in December. Pipes producers accounted for the main reduction in shipments.

Last month's imports of statistical propylene copolymer (PP-random) were 2,100 tonnes versus 1,400 tonnes in January 2014 and 2,500 tonnes in December. Local BOPP films producers almost doubled their purchasing of propylene copolymers, whereas producers of pressure pipes reduced their imports by almost 2.5 times.

Imports of other polymers of propylene totalled 1,800 tonnes over the said period.

MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) - Russia's imports of polycarbonate (PC) were 929 tonnes in January 2015, down 75% in the same time year on year, according to MRC DataScope report.

This significant decline in demand for imported PC resulted, primarily, from the devaluation of the rouble and the price rise in the domestic market. Because of the current economic situation in Russia, many converters can not afford to work on imported feedstock. The market of ready products is not ready to accept the price rise of the final products. Some companies had to suspend operations.

Especially this applies to those sectors of the PC market, which is completely dependent on external markets (bottle grade PC). Traders said that buyers more carefully planned procurement of the feedstock to avoid the excess of stocks inventories. In particular, this applies to purchases of imported material. One of the reason for the decrease in PC imports in January was the sufficient stocks of imported material.

Market participants reported in late January the shortage of Russian extrusion PC in the market. However, the demand for imported PC did not improve because of its high price. The way out of the situation for the converters was increasing the share of recycled materials in the production, or even a full switching to the recycled material.

In case of further weakening of the rouble market players expect a drop in demand for imported PC, with increased share of Russian PC consumption. However, the full import substitution of imported PC is not possible in the Russian market so far because of lack of capacity. At the same time, smaller converters, most likely not be able to continue to work, as they can not overcome the break-even point based on the current PC price level.


Russia's PC imports decreased to about 35,000 tonnes, down 8% year on year. Demand for imported extrusion PC granulate increased to 26,300 tonnes in 2014, up 4% year on year.


MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Clariant, a world leader in specialty chemicals, has announced the global availability of an expanded range of MEVOPUR standard masterbatches and compounds in the popular polycarbonate (PC) resin, reported the company on its site.

The move offers medical devices manufacturers a consistent and traceable supply of products that support the acceleration of medical device regulatory approval processes.

For five years Clariant has been a pioneer in offering a globally available standard color ranges, in multiple polymer carriers, where the ingredients of the masterbatch have been pre-tested according to ISO10933-1 and US Pharmacopoeia 87 and 88 (USP Class VI). In 2010 Clariant introduced the brand MEVOPUR for products specifically developed for the medical device and pharmaceutical packaging markets. These products are produced under controlled manufacturing process in EN-ISO13485 certified plants on three continents. In the same year the first 'ISO/USP standard colors' in polyolefins and PEBA elastomers were launched.

Polycarbonate (PC) resins are often chosen for medical device applications because they offer a combination of properties such as clarity, toughness and heat resistance e.g. for steam sterilization. In addition, PC is used as one component in 'alloys' such as PC/ABS resins; often selected for use in the outer casing of drug-delivery pen devices. To maximize the properties it is important that the carrier for the masterbatch is compatible with the PC or PC/ABS resin. Clariant has addressed this issue by using a medical grade PC resin in the new products added to the MEVOPUR range.

Clariant’s MEVOPUR standard colorants are based on biologically-evaluated ingredients using the test protocols of USP monographs 87, 88 for Class VI devices or ISO10993 parts 4, 5, 10, 11 and 18. "The continuous expansion of the standard portfolio plus Clariant’s expertise in color design shows we are committed to trying to simplify the life of a project engineer or regulatory manager by reacting to the requirements of the healthcare industry," explains Duckworth.

As MRC reported before, Clariant's Masterbatches, a devision of the world leader in specialty chemicals Clariant, has recently presented two innovative products - REMAFIN-EP white masterbatches and Hydrocerol nucleating agents, which cater to the needs of India’s pharmaceutical and infrastructure industries, respectively.

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. Clariant India has local masterbatch production activities at Rania, Kalol and Nandesari (Gujarat) and Vashere (Maharashtra) sites in India.
MRC