Shell Chemicals to supply Braskem with polypropylene

Shell Chemicals and petrochemical company Braskem have entered an agreement to bring bio-attributed and bio-circular polypropylene to the US market, said the company.

Shell will supply the feedstocks to allow Braskem to manufacture polypropylene for sustainable options to meet growing consumer demand in the packaging, film, automotive and consumer goods markets.

Shell is replacing hydrocarbon feedstock with a bio-attributed and bio-circular feedstock in its polypropylene product.

The independently certified materials are based on a mass balance approach. This is an independent accounting process widely used across the chemical industry.

Both companies aim to reduce their carbon emissions, with Shell’s target being to reduce absolute emissions by 50% by 2030 compared to 2016 levels on a net basis. The agreement is a step for them both towards achieving their sustainability goals.

We remind, Saudi Basic Industries Corp. (SABIC) denied plans to bid bid to acquire a stake in the Brazilian petrochemical company Braskem. The company clarified in a statement today, Feb. 21, shared with Argaam, that media reports based on Brazilian newspaper Valor about the deal are incorrect.

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New Energy Chemicals, the new subsidiary of biofuel and biochemicals developer New Energy Blue, is to provide material science company Dow with biobased ethylene for the production of low-carbon plastics, said Packaging-gateway.

New Energy Chemicals’ biobased fuel and chemicals are derived from crop residues. In late 2025, its biomass refinery in Mason City, Iowa, US will begin converting local corn stalks into between 16 and 20m gallons per year of highly decarbonised (HD) cellulosic ethanol and 120,000 tons of clean HD lignin. Lignin has high value as a fossil substitute in markets such as that for decarbonising steel production.

Millions of HD gallons will head to Texas, where New Energy Chemicals will convert it into bio-based ethylene. This will be transported via a pipeline to Dow‘s US Gulf Coast operations for the production of renewable plastics for fast-growing end markets such as packaging.

Dow’s use of bio-based feedstocks from New Energy Blue is expected to be certified by ISCC [International Sustainability and Carbon Certification] Plus, an international sustainability certification programme with a focus on the traceability of raw materials within the supply chain.

As Dow intends to mix agriculture-based ethylene into its existing manufacturing process, ISCC Plus’s chain of custody certification would allow its customers to account for bio-based materials in their supply chains.

We remind, US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued a final rule today prohibiting ongoing uses of chrysotile asbestos, the last form of asbestos currently used in or imported to the United States. The EPA said the ban is the first rule to be finalized under the 2016 amendments to the Toxic Substances and Control Act (TSCA) and “marks a major milestone for chemical safety after more than three decades of inadequate protections and serious delays.”

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BP’s 435,000-bpd Whiting, Indiana (U.S.), refinery has returned to normal operations for the first time since a February plantwide power outage, said Hydrocarbonprocessing.

Gasoline prices in the Chicago-area climbed by at least 20 cents a gallon in the days following the Feb. 1 power outage at the Whiting plant, the largest refinery in the U.S. Midwest.

"The Whiting Refinery is back to normal operations," company spokesperson Christina Audisho said in a emailed statement.

BP in February planned to begin preparing the Whiting refinery for restart late that month and would carry the restart out in the first part of March.

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

At our Capital Markets Day in June 2023, we outlined how our strategy delivers more value with less emissions, emphasising 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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W. R. Grace & Co. announced the opening of its expanded fine chemical contract development and manufacturing (CDM) facility in South Haven, Mich, said Chemengonline.

Grace executives and local community leaders joined more than 200 employees at the site for a ribbon cutting to mark completion of the 21-month project.

With 25% more capacity, the expansion makes room for a new 4,000 gallon HASTELLOY centrifuge and three 4,000-gallon, multi-use chemical reactors, strengthening Grace’s ability to serve growing demand for Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients (APIs).

“The newly expanded South Haven facility cements our position as a leading North American contract development and manufacturing organization (CDMO) and a leading employer in the community,” said Ed Sparks, Chief Executive Officer, Grace. “Equally important, the expansion solidifies our commitment to helping our fine chemical customers bring life-saving and life-changing drug therapies to people everywhere.”

“The additional capacity and cutting-edge equipment in South Haven bolster our ability to grow with our current and future customers through every stage of fine chemical manufacturing – from research and development, to clinical trials, scale-up services and commercial production of custom molecules and compounds,” said Brenda Kelly, President, Materials Technologies, Grace.

Serving the pharmaceutical market for more than 40 years, the South Haven facility produces APIs, regulatory starting materials (RSMs) and drug intermediates in quantities from kilos to tons, compliant with the FDA’s current Good Manufacturing Practice (cGMP) regulations. The site integrates with Grace’s Tyrone, PA, facility to offer customers flexibility in meeting pharmaceutical and nutraceutical production needs with a U.S.-based supply chain.

We remind, W.R. Grace & Co. announced that China Coal Shaanxi Energy & Chemical Group Co., Ltd. has expanded its license for Grace’s UNIPOL PP process technology, doubling its polypropylene production capacity from 300 to 600 kilotons per annum. The agreement also includes Grace’s UNIPOL UNIPPAC process control software enabling China Coal Shaanxi Company to drive improvements in metrics such as throughput, onstream time, and continuity.

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