KLJ Group commences PA production in India

India's chemical maker KLJ Group has incorporated a 100,000 tonnes/year phthalic anhydride (PA) unit at the Jhagadia complex, marking backward integration that will enable the company to utilise approximately 70-75% of the material produced for captive consumption, said Indianchemicalnews.

The plasticizers and PA production facility (BIS Certified) at the Jhagadia Industrial Estate, Bharuch, Gujarat, is an investment of approximately Indian rupees (Rs) 12bn (USD145m).

The facility has a production capacity of 300,000 tonnes of phthalate plasticizers, 100,000 tonnes of PA, 3,500 tonnes of maleic anhydride (MA) and 700 tonnes of benzoic acid annually, the company said in a statement.

We remind, KLJ Plasticizers (KLJ) in 2021 started cjstrustion a new 100,000 tonne/year phthalic anhydride (PA) capacity at Jhagadia in western Gujarat state by 2023. This is part a planned greenfield integrated phthalate plasticizers and PA complex at the site, on which the company is investing about Indian rupees (Rs) 7bn (USD96m). The initial capacity for phthalate plasticizers would be 250,000 tonnes/year, which is also expected to commence operations by 2023.

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NOVA Chemicals and UK-based Plastic Energy have agreed to explore the feasibility of a pyrolysis-based chemical recycling facility at the Sarnia petrochemicals hub in southern Ontario, said the company.

The plant, with an initial processing capacity of 66,000 tonnes/year, would be the largest of its kind in Canada. Plastic Energy has a process for treating post-consumer plastic waste. Recycled polyethylene (PE) manufactured using Plastic Energy-produced feedstock, called TACOIL, has identical properties to virgin PE, according to the company.

The Canadian project will likely use mixed plastic waste as a feedstock - mixed polyolefin fractions of mixed plastic waste - as all of the Plastic Energy plants do. Recycling post-use plastics offered “tremendous value” to further the circular economy, Greg DeKunder, vice president, Circular Solutions, at NOVA, said in announcing the potential project on Wednesday.

“This agreement with Plastic Energy is a prime example of two companies working together to create timely, effective and sustainable solutions that will help us make progress towards our 2030 recycled plastics ambitions, while diverting hard-to-recycle segments of plastic waste away from landfills,” he said.

NOVA aims to reach 30% recycled content as a share of its total PE sales by 2030. Financial details were not disclosed. ExxonMobil also has plans for a chemical recycling project at Sarnia.

We remind, NOVA Chemicals Corporation announced strategic senior leadership changes that will allow the company to continue the successful implementation of its Roadmap to Sustainability Leadership, remain at the forefront of sustainable polyethylene production, and underscore its commitment to reshaping plastics for a better, more sustainable world.

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North American chemical railcar traffic fell for a sixth straight week, with loadings for the week ended 24 June down 2.8% year on year to 43,927, according to the latest freight rail data from Association of American Railroads.

Chemical loadings fell in the US and Canada but rose in Mexico. For the first 25 weeks of 2023 ended 24 June, North American chemical rail traffic was down 3.0% year on year to 1,130,426, with the US down 4.7%, to 777,339 loadings.

In the US, chemical railcar loadings represent about 20% of chemical transportation by tonnage, with trucks, barges and pipelines carrying the rest. In Canada, chemical producers rely on rail to ship more than 70% of their products, with some exclusively using rail.

We remind, North American chemical railcar traffic fell for a fifth straight week, according to the latest freight rail data from Association of American Railroads. Chemical railcar loadings for the week ended 17 June fell 6.8% year on year to 43,148, with shipments in both the US (-6.5%) and Canada (-8.4%) declining.

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China’s plastic products output was around 6.3m tonnes in May 2023, down by 3.3% year on year, according to data from the National Bureau of Statistics of China.

The output totalled 29.35m tonnes in January-May 2023, down by 2% year on year. China produced about 77.72m tonnes of plastic products in 2022, down by 4.3% from 2021. Downstream run rates in some regions were low in 2022 due to COVID-related lockdowns. This, together with decreasing overseas orders caused by economic recessions abroad, contributed to the year-on-year fall in the plastic products output.

The year-on-year decline has narrowed in January-May this year, on the back of recovering social and economic activities with China entering a new stage of COVID-19 response.

We remind, China’s Kingfa Science & Technology will step up investments in the recycling business with a target to expand its production capacity of recycled plastics to 1m tonnes/year by 2025 from 400,000 tonnes/year in 2021. The company will add 400,000 tonnes/year of capacity to existing sites in China and another 200,000 tonnes/year with grassroot projects in Europe and southeast Asia.

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Nouryon announced an expanded channel partnership with IMCD for its lubricant and fuel solutions, which includes the distribution of select Armolube® and Armeen® additives in the US and Europe, said the company.

The agreement aligns with Nouryon’s strategic focus on partnering with market leaders to better serve customers. “The channel partnership with IMCD will enhance the industry’s ability to formulate lubricants and fuels that meet next-generation legislation and original equipment manufacturer requirements. The recent expansion of our partnership with IMCD allows us to better support customers within automotive and industrial applications in the US and Europe,” said Joppe Smit, Senior Vice President of Natural Resources at Nouryon.

Nouryon has dedicated research and development synthesis labs and application centers around the world to support surface analysis and innovation. With a broad portfolio of lubricant and fuel additives, Nouryon’s offering includes, among others, friction modifiers, corrosion inhibitors, grease thickeners, detergents, and anti-wear components for application across multiple segments such as automotive, marine, industrial, and metalworking. The portfolio also contains a selection of ash-free and naturally derived additives to help formulators adhere to new regulations.

“Our partnership with Nouryon reinforces IMCD’s dedication to delivering world-class chemistries and solutions to the lubricants and energy markets,” said Marco Madeddu, Global Business Group Director, IMCD Lubricants & Energy. “Nouryon’s innovative line of surfactants and polymer solutions complements our comprehensive product portfolio of additives and synthetic base fluids. Our dedicated sales team and technical experts are well-poised to explore new solutions-based opportunities for both Nouryon and our valued customers.”

We remind, Nouryon, a global specialty chemicals leader, announced that it has signed a 30-year power purchase agreement (PPA) with Convergent Energy and Power to supply 2-megawatt (MW) of solar power to Nouryon’s manufacturing site in Morris, IL, US. The onsite solar field is expected to be operational in the second half of 2024.

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