Evonik Vland Biotech joint venture commences operations

The newly founded joint venture Evonik Vland Biotech, based in Binzhou, China, commenced operations on January 1, 2024, said the company.

The two parent companies, Evonik China and Shandong Vland Biotech, want to jointly expand the market presence of their products, such as probiotics for the gut health of livestock in the Greater China region, and develop new products and solutions. The joint venture was officially opened in Qingdao on March 14.

The partnership with Vland is an essential part of Evonik's strategy to provide the feed industry with biosolutions such as probiotics for animal gut health. “Vland and Evonik have been partnering for nearly 10 years. Through this relationship, we have created a strong foundation on which we can build”, said Johann-Caspar Gammelin, head of Evonik's Nutrition & Care division, which includes the Animal Nutrition business.

Evonik's biotech platform focuses on the development of biosolutions that enable a healthy life for all. This includes innovations at the interface between chemistry, biotechnology, pharmacology and data science, with which the company is opening up new horizons. One example of this is skin applications, which can complement the current activities in Evonik's Care Solutions portfolio.

“Over the past decade, Vland and Evonik have been continuously broadened the scope of our cooperation and deepened our partnership,” said Arron Chen, Chairman and President of the Vland Group. “With the joint venture now fully operational, we are poised to capitalize on our expertise on the animal gut health and deliver effective and efficient products and solutions for our customers in China and worldwide.”

The joint venture is based at the Vland Biotech Park in Qingdao and uses Vland's production facilities in Huimin. It positions itself as an innovative solution provider with a focus on customer proximity, quality and speed.

"Based on the strong innovation capabilities, application technology know-how and excellent reputation of both parent companies, Evonik Vland Biotech will bring innovative products and solutions to the market, always focusing on the value proposition for our customers," said Dr. Xu Wang, General Manager of the joint venture.

Under the agreement with Vland, Evonik will also distribute the joint venture's portfolio outside the Greater China region. The joint venture thus complements Evonik's gut health portfolio with new components for formulated products and enables new solutions for gut health.

Gut health solutions form the core of the specialty business of Evonik's Animal Nutrition business line. Probiotics such as Ecobiol®, Fecinor®, GutPlus® and GutCare® are currently the main products in the gut health portfolio. Probiotics consist of live microorganisms that are added to animal feed to maintain or restore the microbial balance in the gut, thereby increasing the animal's resilience.

Evonik China Co., Ltd. and Shandong Vland Biotech Co., Ltd. announced their intention to establish a joint venture in October 2023. Evonik is the majority shareholder of Evonik Vland Biotech (Shandong) Co., Ltd. with 55 percent of the shares.

We remind, Evonik has launched a highly sustainable new catalyst product, Octamax, that improves sulfur removal performance for refinery fuel. The technology consists of uniquely selected NiMo and CoMo catalysts regenerated and enhanced at optimal conditions for use in cracked gasoline hydrodesulfurization units.

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Shell has published its first energy transition update since the launch of its Powering Progress strategy in 2021, said Hydrocarbonprocessing.

At our Capital Markets Day in June 2023, we outlined how our strategy delivers more value with less emissions, emphasizing the “more value” part. In this energy transition update, we are focusing on how the same strategy delivers “less emissions”.

Our target to achieve net-zero emissions by 2050 across all our operations and energy products is transforming our business. We believe this target supports the more ambitious goal of the Paris Agreement to limit global warming to 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels. Shell’s strategy supports a balanced and orderly transition away from fossil fuels to low-carbon energy solutions to maintain secure and affordable energy supplies.

“Energy has made an incredible contribution to human development, allowing many people around the world to live more prosperous lives. Today, the world must meet growing demand for energy while tackling the urgent challenge of climate change. I am encouraged by the rapid progress in the energy transition in recent years in many countries and technologies, which reinforces my deep conviction in the direction of our strategy,” said Wael Sawan, Shell’s Chief Executive Officer.

“Shell has a very important role to play in providing the energy the world needs today, and in helping to build the low-carbon energy system of the future. Our focus on performance, discipline and simplification is driving clear choices about where we can have the greatest impact through the energy transition and create the most value for our investors and customers. We believe this focus makes it more, not less, likely that we will achieve our climate targets. By providing the different kinds of energy the world needs, we believe we are the investment case and the partner of choice through the energy transition,” said Sawan.

Our energy transition plans cover all our businesses. Liquefied natural gas (LNG) is a critical fuel in the energy transition, and we are growing our world-leading LNG business with lower carbon intensity. We are cutting emissions from oil and gas production while keeping oil production stable, and growing sales of low-carbon energy solutions while gradually reducing sales of oil products such as petrol, diesel and jet fuel. As one of the world’s largest energy traders, we can connect the supply of low-carbon energy to demand, as we have done for many years with oil and gas.

We remind, Royal Dutch Shell, the Anglo-Dutch oil and gas giant, has officially lifted the force majeure on the supply of phenol and acetone to Deer Park, Texas, USA. According to market sources, the line, boasting a substantial capacity of 363,000 tonnes of phenol and 225,000 tonnes of acetone annually, has resumed full operational status. The declaration of force majeure, made in mid-October the previous year, had stemmed from a technical malfunction that temporarily disrupted the supply chain.

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LyondellBasell said it was seeing a better market in North America for its chemicals so far into 2024 due to low ethane feedstock costs and better gasoline spreads, while the markets in Europe and China continue to be weaker, said Hydrocarbonprocessing.

With gasoline refining margins improving from the last quarter of 2023, the oxyfuels & refining segment was seeing an uptick, CEO Peter Vanacker said at the J.P.Morgan Industrials Conference. Oxyfuels are a key component of clean-burning, high-octane gasoline, which improves fuel efficiency, engine performance and air quality.

U.S. vehicle miles rising to pre-pandemic levels was also boosting the segment, Vanacker said. LyondellBasell also expects the bipartisan infrastructure law to support its building & construction segment during the second half of 2024.

Chemical companies experienced a lackluster 2023 as they struggled to offload inventory amid a slowdown in demand in major markets such as Europe and China, where recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic has been weaker than expected.

Vanacker added that while disruptions in the Red Sea reduced the availability of imports, volumes were improving in Europe as customers were turning to local supply, with lower natural gas prices also reducing cost pressures.

In China, the targeted stimulus efforts haven't yet resulted in an improvement in demand even after the Lunar New Year, he said.

We remind, LyondellBasell, the world’s largest licensor of polyolefin technologies, today announced that Inner Mongolia Rongxin Co., Ltd. (Inner Mongolia Rongxin), will use the LyondellBasell Spheripol and Hostalen Advanced Cascade Process (Hostalen ACP) technologies for its new facility. The process technology will be used for a 500 kilotons per annum (KTA) Spheripol polypropylene plant and a 400 KTA Hostalen ACP high-density polyethylene plant, to be built in Ordos City, Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, P.R. China.

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Trinseo PLC (Wayne, Pennsylvania) has advanced plans to divest its styrenics businesses by initiating the sale of its 50% stake in Americas Styrenics LLC (AmSty; The Woodlands, Texas), said the company.

the company announced on March 13. Trinseo, which expects to find a buyer within a year, said the proceeds will be used to pay down a portion of the recently issued $1.077 billion of term loans maturing in 2028.

The loans, obtained in September 2023 to refinance debt due in 2024 and 2025, where secured against Trinseo’s stake in AmSty, a joint venture with Chevron Phillips Chemical Company LLC (The Woodlands). In 2023, AmSty’s polystyrene business accounted for about 88% of Trinseo’s equity earnings, or $57 million, according to Trinseo’s Form 10-K.

“The sale of our ownership in AmSty is a logical step in our transformation as a specialty materials and sustainable solutions provider,” said Frank Bozich, president and CEO. “By executing the contractual ownership exit provision, we have a clear pathway to divest our interest in the joint venture. We expect the exit process to lead to a definitive arrangement no later than early 2025.”

AmSty’s production assets include 737,000 metric tons per year of polystyrene (PS) capacity in the US, 190,000 metric tons per year of PS capacity divided between Brazil and Columbia, and 953,000 metric tons per year of styrene monomer capacity in the US, according to data from S&P Global Commodity Insights.

Trinseo has for several years been restructuring its portfolio to focus on markets with higher growth, higher margins, and more stable earnings such as engineered materials and coatings, adhesives, sealants, and elastomers (CASE). In 2021, the company sold its synthetic rubber business to Synthos S.A. for $491 million, bought Arkema’s polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA) business for $1.38 billion, and bought PMMA producer Aristech for $445 million.

In November 2021, Trinseo announced that it was exploring the sale of its styrenics activities, including the company’s feedstocks and polystyrene reporting segments as well as its stake in AmSty. The effort was put on hold in July 2022, with Trinseo explaining that deteriorating conditions in the financial markets and economic uncertainty, particularly in Europe’s energy markets, had made it difficult to get the right price. In May 2023, however, Trinseo put styrenics back on the block.

Trinseo’s polystyrene and feedstocks segments had combined sales of $909 million in 2023. Trinseo’s wholly owned styrenics assets include 370,000 metric tons per year of polystyrene capacity divided among locations in Schkopau, Germany; Tessenderlo, Belgium; and Cilegon, Indonesia, according to data from S&P Global Commodity Insights. Trinseo shut down its Bohlen, Germany, styrene plant at the end of 2022, and the company plans soon to shut down its only other styrene plant, located at Terneuzen, Netherlands.

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Evonik has launched a highly sustainable new catalyst product, Octamax, that improves sulfur removal performance for refinery fuel, said Hydrocarbonprocessing.

The technology consists of uniquely selected NiMo and CoMo catalysts regenerated and enhanced at optimal conditions for use in cracked gasoline hydrodesulfurization units. The cost-effective solution from Evonik maximizes sulfur removal and improves octane level retention to meet current gasoline pool requirements, extending the business line’s sustainable catalyst offerings within refinery applications.

“Refiners face a complex balance of commercial viability in a competitive market, while remaining environmentally conscious. At Evonik, we are committed to creating sustainable, value-added catalytic processes and solutions for our customers,” says John Kennedy, Evonik Catalysts Vice President and General Manager of the Americas region.

He added, “We look forward to better serving refiners with our extended catalyst expertise and product offerings, now across a greater range of refinery applications. The launch of Octamax is a great example of our commitment to Next Generation solutions at Evonik, that also helps customers improve their bottom line.”

Octamax reduces potential landfill waste by regenerating spent catalysts that can be re-used. This reduces reliance on fresh catalysts, helping to save valuable raw materials – and supporting refineries’ sustainability efforts.

Jignesh Fifadara, Global Director of HPC Catalysts at Evonik Catalysts and responsible for sustainability issues in this field, says: “The worldwide push for lower sulfur content in gasoline is putting refiners under pressure to comply with new limits. They are being challenged to find new ways to optimize performance and profitability, while operating units at higher severity.

“Octamax presents a high-performance and cost-effective solution for Fluid Catalytic Cracking [FCC] gasoline post-treatment units, allowing refiners greater flexibility.” The product offers equal or better octane selectivity to alternative fresh catalysts and allows refiners to lower sulfur in gasoline without impacting target cycle length.

Octamax can be used by refineries processing FCC Naphtha that are looking to maintain or improve octane levels, while producing ultra-low sulfur gasoline. Its application is also suitable for refineries looking to maximize sulfur credits, by taking advantage of improved catalyst HDS activity.

We remind, Evonik Industries AG said it has signed an agreement to sell its superabsorbents business to International Chemical Investors Group for an enterprise value in the low triple-digit million euro range. The agreement also includes the assumption of pension obligations by ICIG, the company said. The final transfer of the business is planned for mid-2024 following approval by the relevant competition authorities

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