Polystyvert constructing commercial polystyrene-recycling plant in Canada

Polystyvert Inc. (Montreal, Queb., Canada) announces the construction of its first full-scale commercial plant to produce recycled polystyrene in Greater Montreal, said Chemengonline.

Representing an investment of USD40 million, this plant will recycle 9,000 tons of post-consumer and post-industrial polystyrene waste annually, with a high degree of contamination. This amount is equivalent to 15% of the polystyrene buried in Quebec each year.

Among the partners, it is important to note the participation of two blue-chip partners in the polystyrene industry who will contribute to the financing of the plant. The supply of raw materials is ensured, as well as the sale of recycled polystyrene.

Polystyvert’s patented technology addresses an essential need in waste management, namely the ability to recycle a material that was once considered difficult to recycle. Thanks to advanced purification, it is now possible to remove contaminants and produce high-quality plastic. This recycled plastic exhibits identical physical and chemical characteristics to virgin resin, while also allowing a reduction in greenhouse gas emissions of up to 90%.

The recycled resin can be used to manufacture products intended for the same applications as virgin resin. In line with Quebec’s and Canada’s economic and environmental objectives, this transformative project benefits from the support of both levels of government.

We remind, Montreal-based specialty recycling company Polystyvert has closed a round of funding to facilitate the development of a full-scale polystyrene (PS) recycling plant. The round includes new investor BEWI Group, a European provider of packaging, components, and insulation solutions, and said to be one of the largest integrated expandable PS (EPS) producers in Europe with an annual EPS production capacity of 200,000 tons, as well as new private investors.

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Russia's energy minister Nikolai Shulginov said on Friday that there was enough gasoline to meet Russian domestic demand, downplaying the possibility of restrictions on exporting the fuel, said Reuters.

Last month he said that Russia was considering restricting its exports of gasoline and would propose such a measure if needed.

"We discussed export restrictions in relation to rising prices on the wholesale market ... the pressure from the wholesale market on retail ... Otherwise, our market is provided with production, our oil refining is growing as well as the production of motor fuels," Shulginov told Russia-24 TV.

According to the Kommersant daily, Russian gasoline exports grew by 37% year on year to 2.5 million tons from January to May, despite the impact of Western sanctions.

We remind, Russia agreed to extend its existing 0.5 million bpd curbs into 2024, Angola and Nigeria agreed to give up their unused quotas. The United Arab Emirates was allowed to boost its production quota by 0.2 million bpd to 3.2 million from 2024.

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LyondellBasell Industries N.V. (Rotterdam, the Netherlands) and AFA Nord, a leading recycler of agricultural film, have agreed to create a 50:50 joint venture (JV) that intends to recycle post commercial flexible secondary packaging waste, said Chemengonline.

The joint venture company, LMF Nord GmbH, plans to build a mechanical recycling plant in Northern Germany to turn Linear Low Density Polyethylene (LLDPE) and Low Density Polyethylene (LDPE) waste into quality recycled plastic materials for use in flexible packaging. Start of production is expected for early 2025.

Secondary plastic packaging, such as stretch or shrink film, is mainly used to hold packed consumer goods together and protect them during transportation and storage from contamination and damage. Until today, this material is difficult to recycle into high-quality raw materials that can meet the requirements of the packaging industry regarding strength and transparency of their final product.

“This Joint Venture will provide recycled LDPE and LLDPE materials and complements our existing CirculenRecover range of high density polyethylene and polypropylene products,” says Yvonne van der Laan, LyondellBasell’s executive vice president, Circular and Low Carbon Solutions. “It adds to our efforts in advanced recycling and delivers against our integrated hub strategy, where we invest upstream to provide feedstock from various plastic waste streams. With this efficient full suite of solutions we continue to be the preferred partner of our customers.”

We remind, Lyondell Basell Industries said on Wednesday that it plans to delay its refining business exit from year-end 2023 to no later than the end of the first quarter 2025. The company said in April it would close its Houston refinery by the end of 2023 after two failed attempts to sell the plant, and the closing of Lyondell's five U.S. refineries in the past two years.

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PPG announced that it has partnered with Satys, a French industrial group active in aircraft sealing, painting and surface treatment, to provide electrocoating (e-coat) of original equipment manufacture (OEM) aircraft parts, said the company.

Under the agreement, Satys will install a PPG AEROCRON™ e-coat primer system at its facility in Dugny, France.

“PPG is proud to partner with Satys to provide our innovative e-coat technology in close proximity to key aerospace OEMs,” said Sam Millikin, PPG global director, coatings and sealants, Aerospace. “Our customers in France will benefit from the PPG Aerocron system, which produces a more uniform finish on the aircraft parts, using less paint than traditional spray-applied methods.”

With the PPG Aerocron technology, metal aircraft parts are dipped into a bath of chrome-free electrocoat primer and charged with electrical current to apply the coating, resulting in an even surface finish, a consistent coating thickness and no drips, runs or sags in the cured paint film. E-coat is a sustainable, waterborne system that produces minimal waste, has low volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and helps reduce aircraft fuel consumption due to weight savings provided by the lower paint usage.

“We are always looking for innovative and efficient ways to improve our aircraft painting capabilities for our customers, as well as contributing to the decarbonization of the aerospace industry,” said Christophe Cador, president and CEO, Satys.

The 2,100-gallon (eight cubic meters) e-coat tank at Dugny will be the largest in Europe, allowing a single operator to coat several parts at once, further increasing the efficiency of the process. The coated parts are corrosion and chemical resistant and compatible with industry standard pretreatments and topcoats.

We remind, PPG announced the opening of a Color Creation Lab in collaboration with automaker Chery Automobile Co., Ltd. At the facility, located in Wuhu, China, PPG color stylists and Chery designers will create new colors tailored to specific vehicle designs, from initial color recommendations to final materials for application in Chery’s manufacturing plants.

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Shell plc will update investors on its strategy to create more value with less emissions, and deliver increased shareholder returns through a balanced energy transition, said the company.

“We are investing to provide the secure energy customers need today and for a long time to come, while transforming Shell to win in a low-carbon future. Performance, discipline, and simplification will be our guiding principles as we allocate capital to enhance shareholder distributions, while enabling the energy transition,” said Shell Chief Executive Officer, Wael Sawan.

Today’s update reflects Shell’s balanced approach as it operationalises its Powering Progress strategy.

An enhanced focus on performance and stronger capital and cost discipline will underpin higher shareholder distributions of 30-40% of CFFO through the cycle, compared with 20-30% previously, through a combination of dividends and share buybacks. Shell will raise the dividend per share by an expected 15%, effective from the second quarter 2023 interim dividend, payable in September, and commence share buybacks of at least $5 billion for the second half of 2023, subject to Board approval.

We remind, Shell (London) has agreed to pay nearly USD 10 mn (EUR 9.3 mn) for breaking emissions rules at its Monaca polyethylene complex in the US state of Pennsylvania, according to the office of governor Josh Shapiro, which said the resin maker had formally acknowledged the violations.

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