Ineos Agrees Another PP Technology Licence in China
Ineos Technologies has licensed its Innovene polypropylene (PP) process to to Ningxia BaofengEnergy Group Co., to be used in a 300,000-m.t./year plant at Ningxia, China. The unit will be designed to produce homo, random and impact copolymers PP.The olefin feedstock for the PP plant will be produced using locally sourced coal via the methanol-to-olefins (MTO) process, an increasingly important route to olefins in China,This is the fourth Ineos licence acquired by a Chinese company building an MTO plant.
Petrobras revises Comperj, reveals capacities
Brazil-based energy producer Petrobras has reconfigured its massive Complexo Petroquimico do Rio de Janeiro (Comperj) project, reflecting the company’s addition of a second refinery and the use of feedstock ethane.Petrobras also revealed proposed capacityfigures for several petrochemicals to be produced at the complex.
Under the previous plans, Comperj would rely on one refinery to produce feedstock naphtha for its downstream chemicals.
In addition, Comperj would use the resulting feedstock to produce 600,000 tonnes/year of polyethylene terephthalate (PET).
Under the new plans, Comperjwill have two refineries and a natural gas treatment plant, which will provide the complex with feedstock ethane. Petrobras made the changes so it could meet rising demand in Brazil.
In addition, Comperj will not immediately begin PET production. Instead, it will produce the PET intermediary paraxylene (PX). That PX feedstock will go to the Petroquimica Suape complex in northeast Brazil, satisfying half of that facility’s feedstock needs.
The Suape complex will produce 700,000 tonnes/year of purified terephthalic acid (PTA), the feedstock for PET.Under the latest timeline, the first refinery train will begin by 2014. It will have a capacity of 165,000 bbl/day. The second train will start in 2018.
A fluid catalytic cracker will also start in 2018. A steam cracker and a polypropylene (PP) train will start production in 2016, plus polyethylene (PE), styrene, EG and other chemical units. The second PP train will start in 2018. Production of PTA and PET could start after 2018.
Among refinery products, Comperj will produce 180,000 bbl/day of diesel; 40,000 bbl/day of kerosene and jet fuel; 9,000 bbl/day of base oils and lubricants and 50,000 bbl/day of naphtha.
Product New Old
PP 900,000 850,000
PE 960,000 800,000
Butadiene 154,000 160,000
PET n/a 600,000
Styrene 400,000 500,000
EG 380,000 600,000
Benzene 355,000 608,000
PX 480,000 n/a
Eastman buys Brazilian plasticizer maker
Eastman Chemical Co. has acquired Brazilian plasticizer maker Scandiflex do Brasil SA Industrias Quimicas for an undisclosed sum.
São Paulo-based Scandiflex has annual sales of $54 million. Officials with Kingsport-based Eastman said the acquisition will accelerate growth of the firm’s non-phthalate plasticizer business in Latin America.
Eastman produces Tritan-brand copolyester and other specialty plastics. The firm employs almost 10,000 worldwide and posted sales of $5.8 billion in 2010.
DuPont opens India auto tech center
DuPont Co.on Sept. 6 opened a technical center in Pune that will focus on the local automotive sector.
The center, one of four new DuPont Innovation Centers in the Asia Pacific, will focus on automotive topics including light weighting, improved performance, sustainability, alternative drive, safety, and comfort & design.
“The collaboration space in the center provides an environment for our customers and partners to connect real time with our team of 9,500 DuPont scientists, chemists and engineers located in 100 R&D and technical centers around the world,” said Balvinder Singh Kalsi, DuPont’s president of for South Asia, in a news release.
Wilmington, Del.-based DuPont’s other three centers in the Asia Pacific are located in South Korea, Taiwan and Thailand. The center in Korea serves the electronics and automotive industries, the one in Taiwan focuses on the electronics and communications, and Thailand’s will work on renewable energy initiatives and products.
Berry completes buy of Rexam closures business
Berry Plastics Corp. has completed its $360 million acquisition of Rexam plc’s specialty and beverage closures business.
Both Evansville, Ind.-based Berry Plastics and London-based Rexam confirmed the close of the deal on Sept. 1. The transaction was announced in June.
The former Rexam SBC division makes injection and compression molded specialty and beverage closures, jars, and other plastic packaging products for the food, beverage, industrial and household chemical, automotive and beauty end markets.
The business had 2010 sales of about $500 million and employs 1,500. It has eight manufacturing facilities —seven in the United States and one in Brazil. It also has joint venture plants in Malaysia and Mexico and a technical center in Perrysburg, Ohio.
Rexam purchased the business from Owens-Illinois Inc. in 2007.
Berry reported 2010 sales of $4.3 billion and had over 16,000 employees. It operates 84 manufacturing facilities globally.
For the third quarter, the company reported profit of $13 million on sales of $1.2 billion, compared to losses of $22 million on sales of $1.2 billion for the year-ago period.
Berry is owned by affiliates of Apollo Management LP and Graham Partners.
Ford to use soy-based PU foam in headrests
Ford Motor Co. is taking its use of soybean oil-based foam blends into another part of the car –headrests.
The Dearborn, Mich.-based automakerwas the first major automaker to begin using a soy foam blend when it put it into seats on the 2008 Mustang. It has now used in seats throughout Ford’s vehicle lineup. In 2010, the company began using soy foam blends in headliners.
Now Ford will use a foam with 25 percent soy-based content in head restraints in three-quarters of its vehicles, including the top selling F-150 truck, the Taurus sedan and Explorer sports utility vehicle.
Supplier Lear Corp. will make the restraints. The Southfield, Mich.-based company was also the development partner on previous soy-based foam parts with Ford.
Ford estimates it has cut its use of petroleum-based foam by 3 million pounds per year by adapting to the soy blends made using renewable sources.
Firm says new paper bags rival ‘green’ plastic bags
West Australian-based Earth Bags Australia Pty. Ltd. has launched what it claims is Australia’s first 100 percent recyclable paper bag, aimed at replacing so-called green polypropylene bags.
Called Earth Bag, the woven paper bags have a natural beeswax coating.
Reg Ferguson, Earth Bags Australia director, says the bags are already in use in the retail and food industries and are a viable option to replace PP bags.
It took Earth Bags Australia more than three years to research, develop and release the product. Ferguson said, to his knowledge, Earth Bags are Australia’s first biodegradable reusable bag and the first to be supported by scientific research.
He said Earth bags are chemical-free, can be used for up to two years and turn to compost 45 days after disposal in landfill.
“There are millions of reusable bags currently used in Australia. I don’t think people are aware the majority contain lead and petroleum products and are as harmful to the environment as plastic bags,” Ferguson said.
He said the bags are as strong, robust and practical as their PP counterparts, but produce about 20 percent fewer carbon emissions during manufacture and disposal.
At A$2.50 (US$2.64)a unit, Earth bags are more expensive than PP bags but Ferguson said the extra cost is offset by the future cost of trying to dispose of PP bags.
Research by scientists at Perth-based Murdoch University show the paper bags are better for the environment,Ferguson said.
Martin Anda, from the university’s School of Environmental Science, said: “Earth Bags contribute to the organic content of the soil once they have biodegraded. This reinforces their environmental benefits vs. green bags.”
Asian plastics groups step up battle against ocean litter
Asia’s plastic industry groups say they want to step up involvement to combat ocean litter and marine debris from plastics, as part of a global effort by launched earlier this year by the industry in North America and Europe.
While the Asian groups did not detail any specific new initiatives, industry officials at an annual gathering of business associations in Bangkok on Aug. 30 said they would develop regional strategies and form an Asian cluster, with groups from India, Japan, Malaysia and possibly Australia taking the lead.
The Asian industry is under increasing pressure on litter, including bans on plastic bags like one enacted earlier this year in India, and its needs more information about what has worked elsewhere and could be adapted in Asia, said Callum Chen, secretary-general of the Asia Plastics Forum, which organized the Bangkok meeting.
“Governments and NGOs single out plastic as a punching bag,” Chen told the forum. “If we do not do something drastic and very quickly, it will lead on to other things. If I think plastic bags are not my problem, I am wrong. It will go up the value chain.”
The global effort launched in March with a declaration signed by 47 industry associations, including PlasticsEurope, the Canadian Plastics Industry Association and two chief groups in the United States, the American Chemistry Council and the Society of the Plastics Industry Inc.
Wilfried Haensel, executive director of Brussels-based Plastics Europe, addressed the Asian groups in a private session August 29.
In an interview on the sidelines of the APF meeting Aug. 30, Haensel said it was too early to discuss specific plans in Asia but he said, as an example, that the Operation Clean Sweep program to control pellet litter and waste at factories in the United States could be brought to Asia.
The Asian groups said they would work on the priorities identified by the global effort, including:
• Developing public-private partnerships aimed at preventing marine debris,
• Working with the scientific community to better understand the problem and possible solutions,
• Enforcing existing litter laws, and strengthening recycling and energy recovery programs.
Haensel said the plastics groups plans to meet next in mid-November in Dubai to discuss further steps.
Chen, who also is CEO of Malaysian molder Lee Huat Plastics Industries Sdn. Bhd., said the declaration has been signed by industry groups in India, Japan, Malaysia and the Philippines, and he said Vietnam, Thailand and Indonesia are also likely to join. He said he hoped the remaining countries in the 12 member APF would participate.
BASF invests in infrastructure at Ludwigshafen
BASF SE is developing its Ludwigshafen site in Germany with the addition of a center for work-life management and the modernization of office buildings.
BASF said it would also be creating room for a further 180 children at the LuKids day care center to help staff balance child care and work obligations.
In an Aug. 26 statement, BASF said its new center for work-life management would offer a social counseling service, as well as giving employees the opportunity to make nursing care arrangements for their relatives.
The German company also will be increasing capacity for some of its plastics materials. Those investment, which have previously been announced, include building a second production plant for Hexamoll DINCH plasticizers, and expanding its Styrodur C plant.
Italy to overtake Germany as largest solar PV market
The Italian market for solar photovoltaics(PV) is set to become the largest in the world, after the country installed three times the volume of the current global leader, Germany, in the first half of the year, according to a report from SolarPlaza BV.
In 2010, Italy installed 2,319,000 kW of solar power, supported by a feed-in tariff which provides financial incentives for consumers and business customers who install a solar power system, says the report.
The biggest market in the world in 2010 was Germany, which accounted for 50 percent of the global market in 2010. The country installed almost eight gigawatts of new solar PV power and, in one year, 40m solar panels covered 50m m2.
The other countries in the top ten were the Czech Republic (1,151,000 kW of Solar PV power installed in 2010), Japan (990,979 kW), the US (918,000 kW), France (719,000 kW), China (400,000 kW), Spain (392,000 kW), Australia (383,300 kW) and Belgium (357,860 kW).
Looking forward, Rotterdam-based SolarPlaza says the Czech Republic will drop out of the top 10 this year as the government is reducing the amount of financial incentives available. Japan may also creep higher in the table following the Fukushina disaster earlier this year, it adds.
China and India are also set to become major players. India has introduced the National Solar Mission and China recently announced its own feed-in tariff system.
Other new markets that will become more prominent are the Philippines, Israel, Canada and South Africa.
Mitsui Chemicals Switches IPA Production from Propylene to Acetone Feedstock
Mitsui Chemicals has announced plans to replace isopropyl alcohol (IPA) production based on propylene feedstock at its Osaka works with a new plant based on acetone, aproduct the company makes within its phenol operations. The company will replace a 28,000-m.t./year IPA plant based on propylene with a 60,000-m.t./year IPA facility, using acetone as raw material. Mitsui Chemicals says the project will cost an estimated Y3 billion and will be completed in 2013. The company will use inhouse technology and proprietary high activity catalyst. IPA is a solvent widely used in coatings and inks. The company says that there are likely to be shortages of propylene feedstock, which will lead to higher prices. Exports of IPA to Asia from Europe and the U.S. are expected to continue to fall, Mitsui Chemical says. The company plans to sell the output in Japan and in other Asian markets.
Evonik, Tasnee, and Sahara Proceed with Saudi SAP Plan
Evonik Industries and Saudi Acrylic Acid Co. (SAAC; Jubail) are going ahead with a previously announced superabsorbent polymers (SAP) project in Saudi Arabia. The companies have signed an agreement to form Saudi Acrylic Polymers Co. (SAPCo), a joint venture that will build a “triple-digit million euro” plant at Jubail designed to produce 80,000 m.t./year of SAP. Completion is scheduled for late 2013.
Fluor has been awarded the engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC) contract to build the SAP plant, which forms part of a new acrylic acid and derivatives complex being established at Tasnee’s Jubail site. The complex will benefit from “favorably priced propylene” supplied by an adjacent steam cracker operated by Tasnee Sahara Olefins, a Tasnee, Sahara Petrochemicals, and LyondellBasell jv.
Patrik Wohlhauser, Evonik board member/consumer, health, and nutrition, and Tasnee CEO Moayyed Al Qurtas, signed the jv agreement in Riyadh recently. “This is an important step for our group in the Middle East growth market and will significantly boost our leading position for superabsorbents,” Wohlhauser says. Evonik is a leading producer of SAP, a key basic material in the manufacture of diapers and feminine hygiene products. The new plant will use Evonik’s process technology.
Samco, a jv in which Tasnee Sahara Olefins has 75% and Dow Chemical holds the rest, is building the complex’s acrylic acid plant, which will supply feedstock to the SAP unit. The Samco acrylic acid plant will have capacity for 250,000 m.t./year and use Dow’s Rohm and Haas technology. Samco will also make acrylic esters. Samsung Engineering and Linde are the EPC contractors on the Samco complex, which will cost more than $1 billion and is due onstream in the first quarter of 2013. Dow will offtake a substantial quantity of the acrylic acid for use in water-based acrylic paints and coatings.
Berry Plastics will acquire Filmco
Berry Plastics announced the acquisition of 100 percent of the common stock of Linpac Packaging Filmco (“Filmco”) from Linpac USA Holdings. Pursuant to the acquisition agreement, Berry paid approximately $19 million for Filmco, subject to certain customary adjustments. The company expects the acquisition to be immediately deleveraging. Filmco is a manufacturer of PVC stretch film packaging. The Filmco business has one manufacturing location in Aurora, OH, and employs approximately 100 people. Filmco had 2010 annual net sales of $34 million.
Kraton Performance Polymers completes isoprene expansion
Houston, TX -Kraton Performance Polymers has completed its multi-million dollar capital investment projects to support sales growth in Cariflex isoprene rubber. Kraton Polymers successfully converted a plant at its manufacturing site in Belpre, OH, for new solid isoprene rubber capacity. This production capability replaces the capacity from the Pernis, Netherlands, facility that was closed in 2009. Kraton Polymers also completed an IR latex expansion at its plant in Brazil, which increased production by 30 percent. Additionally, the company anticipates a new capacity addition at its Japan facility in about two years. Kraton Polymers’ investment in Cariflex isoprene rubber production capabilities is the company’s response to the medical industry’s requirement for alternative technology that eliminates the need for products made from NR, including surgical gloves, catheters, IV and medical stopper bottles, as well as medical components and consumer products. “The medical industry has a strong interest in reducing patient and medical staff allergy risks that are often associated with NR latex products.
Japan facing synthetic rubber shortage
Platts is reporting that concerns over shortages of synthetic rubber and polypropylene are growing as major Japanese automakers are set to increase their production between October 2011 and March 2012. Bridgestone has notified automakers that orders for passenger car tires will likely exceed its domestic output capacity, according to the report. The company is expected to face a shortage of an estimated 500,000 tires, or roughly 5 percent of orders received, this year. Bridgestone’s seven domestic plants making passenger car tires are operating around the clock and have no room to raise output. Procuring tires from plants overseas appears to be difficult due to strong demand there. Platt’s reported that Japan Polypropylene is having trouble keeping up with demand for PP. Inventories are running low at its 640,000 mt/year PP plantin Kashima, which shut down for about two months following the March 11 earthquake.
Sibur revives LDPE plant in Russian
By Richard Higgs
Plans for a 500,000 tpaLDPE plant in the south western Russian region of Astrakhan have been revived by the Russian petrochemicals producer Sibur Holding. As far back as 2008, the Moscow-based company was reported to have spent more than €6m in the preparation of the engineering design for a petrochemicals complex there. A provisional launch date for that facility was set for 2012.
But now, a new €1.3bn plan for a chemical complex, including upstream ethylene provision in addition to the polyethylene plant, forecasts a revised start up date of 2015.
The complex is reported likely to be located at the Gazprom Dobycha Astrakhan site operated by the giant state Gazprom oil and gas group which is expected to supply the polymer plant’s raw materials.
Media reports state that details of the project are due to be revealed next month (September) at the international economic forum being held in Sochi, Russia on the Black Sea.
NOVA Chemicals announces three agreements which support the revamp of Coruna Cracker
NOVA Chemicals has entered into three core agreements which support the revamp of its Corunna cracker to utilize up to 100% NGL feedstock. The first one is a transportation service agreement with Sunoco Pipeline L.P. for the transportation of ethane feedstock from the Marcellus Shale Basin to the Sarnia, Ontario region. The second one being a definitive agreement for long-term ethane supply from the Marcellus Shale Basin with Caiman Energy, LLC and the third one is a definitive agreement for long-term ethane supply from the Marcellus Shale Basin with a wholly-owned subsidiary of Range Resources Corporation.
“We are excited to have these critical strategic pieces in place,” said Randy Woelfel, Chief Executive Officer. “The capital project enabling our Corunna cracker to utilize up to 100% NGLs is on target, and we anticipate seeing all three project initiatives –safe, reliable pipeline transportation, ethane supply and facility upgrades –come together before the end of 2013.”
The company continues to work with other producers in the Marcellus region, including Statoil Marketing and Trading Inc., to secure additional ethane feedstock for its Corunna cracker. “The revamp of the Corunna cracker is step one in our ‘NOVA 2020’ vision and will position our Ontario assets as a highly competitive, robust platform that can drive further polyethylene growth,” added Woelfel.
Evonik, Tasnee and Sahara Sign Deal to Produce SAP in Saudi Arabia; Fluor Awarded Contract
Evonik Industries and Saudi Acrylic Acid Co. (SAAC; Jubail, Saudi Arabia) are going ahead with previously announced plans to produce superabsorbent polymers (SAP) in Saudi Arabia. The companies today signed an agreement to form Saudi Acrylic Polymers Co. (SAPCo) joint venture, which will build a “triple-digit million euro” plant at Jubail designed to produce 80,000 m.t./year of SAP. Completion is scheduled in late 2013.
Fluor has been awarded the engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contract to build the plant. The SAPCoSAP plant forms part of a new acrylic acid and derivatives complex being established at Tasnee’s Jubail site and will benefit from “favourably priced propylene” from an adjacent cracker operated jointly by Tasnee, Sahara and LyondellBasell.
Patrik Wohlhauser, Evonik’s board member/consumer, health and nutrition, and Moayyed I. Al Qurtas , deputy chairman of the supervisory board and CEO of Tasnee signed the joint venture agreement in Riyadh today. “This is an important step for our group in the Middle East growth market and will significantly boost our leading position for superabsorbents,” Wohlhauser says. Evonik is a leading producer of SAP, a key basic material in the manufacture of diapers and feminine hygiene products. Evonik will provide its process technology. The acrylic acid will be supplied by SAMCO, a joint venture between SAAC and Dow Chemicals.
Nearly 200 Fluor employees at its Haarlem, the Netherlands; Manila; and Al Khobar, Saudi Arabia offices as well as close to 700 workers at peak construction will work on the project. Fluor is already the contractor working on the acrylic acid project for SAAC.
Kraton Completes Isoprene Expansion Projects
Kraton Polymers says it has completed a previously announced project to convert a plant at its Belpre, OH facility for new solid isoprene rubber (IR) capacity. This production capability replaces the capacity from the Pernis, Netherlands facility that was closed in 2009 in order to reduce costs.
Kraton says it has also completed a debottleneck its Paulinia, Brazil isoprene rubber latex (IRL) plant, which increased production by 30%.
Thai SCC keen to invest US$1.1 bln to acquire stake in Indonesian petrochemical companies
Thailand’s top industrial conglomerate, Siam Cement Pcl confirmed an interest in buying stakes in two petrochemical companies in Indonesia worth a combined estimated US$1.1 bln (S$1.3 bln). Other details have not yet been disclosed, as per Reuters. Indonesian chemical producer Sulfindo Adiusaha is up for sale at an estimated US$700 mln and may draw interest from Siam Cement and South Korea’s Hanwha Chemical Corp. Separately, Singapore state investor Temasek Holdings is trying to sell its 23% stake in Indonesian petrochemicals maker Chandra Asri in a deal worth an estimated US$400 mln. Last week, Thailand’s PTT group said it was keen to buy a stake in Chandra Asri.
Albemarle to produce renewable base oils for Amyris, Cosan JV
US specialty chemicals producer Albemarle has agreed to supply base oils to Novvi, a joint venture between Amyris and Cosan focused on the development, production, marketing and distribution of renewable base oils fromBiofene, Amyris’ renewable farnesene.
Under the terms of the agreement, Albemarle’s fine chemistry services (FCS) division will serve as a custom scale-up and production partner for synthetic, renewable base oils for the lubricants market.
Novvi will marketNovaSpec, the venture’s synthetic renewable base oils produced at Albemarle, to finished lubricant manufacturers globally.
“Novvi seeks to be a leading supplier of renewable base oils for high-performance lubricants with reduced environmental impact,” said Lineu Moran, managing director of Novvi.
Pending regulatory activities, Albemarle expects to commence production ofNovaSpecbase oils in the near future at its facility in Orangeburg, South Carolina, utilizingBiofeneproduced and supplied by Amyris, it said.
US WR Grace loses bidding in business acquisition
US-based catalyst producer WR Grace’s recent loss in the bidding for a business drew no immediate comments from other possible buyers on Wednesday.
Earlier this year, WR Grace was in talks to make what it called a strategic acquisition, one that would significantly improve the company’s business plan and growth strategy in the upcoming years, according to court documents.
WR Grace did not elaborate on other details of the possible deal, including whether its catalyst or building-materials division would acquire the business.
On 29 July, WR Grace learned that it was not the successful bidder in the auction.
As company policy, WR Grace does not comment on acquisitions.
If the auction was for a catalyst business, possible bidders could include Albemarle, BASF, INEOS and LyondellBasell, all of which produce catalysts.
Albemarle would not comment on the auction. BASF and LyondellBasell did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
A spokesman for INEOS’s North American business was unaware of any acquisitions by the company.
As far as the seller, it could be Dow Chemical.
Earlier this year, sources in the financial community said Dow was trying to sell its licensing and catalyst business.
Dow’s PP catalyst and licensing business includes its UNIPOL, CONSISTA D7000 Donor and SHAC Catalyst process technologies.
Dow did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Dow’s catalyst and licensing business was not included in the $350m (€240m) PP deal with Braskem.
Methanex Restarts Atlas Plant After Unplanned Outage
Methanex has restarted its Atlas methanol facility at Point Lisas, Trinidad following an unplanned outage on July 20. Production was down for about a month, curtailing annual output by nearly 100,000 m.t./year. The plant, which has the capacity to produce about 1.7 million m.t./year of methanol, is expected to run for about two weeks before shutting again for scheduled maintenance in September, sources say. The duration of the turnaround was not specified.
JX Nippon and SK Global Chemical to Form Petchem JV
JX Nippon Oil & Energy (Tokyo) and SK Global Chemical, the petrochemical business of SK Innovation (Seoul), formerly SK Energy, plan to establish a petrochemicals joint venture at Ulsan, Korea, press reports say. The planned 50-50 jv will mainly produce para-xylene, and will involve an investment of about ¥90 billion ($1.14 billion). The 1-million m.t./year facility will be online in 2014, reports add.
Indian Oil to Establish Bio-energy Research Center
Indian Oil Corp. (IOC; New Delhi) says it has signed a memorandum of understanding with the Indian government’s department of biotechnology (DBT), to set up a DBT–IOC Centre for Advanced Research on Bio-energy at Faridabad, India. The center will be built at IOC’s research and development complex at Faridabad and will involve a cost Rs530 million ($12 million) during the first five years of operation and DBT will invest half of the amount.
“Breakthroughs are needed to replace oil with plant based fuels and hope lies on biotechnological interventions and creation of this center is expected to fulfill our aspirations in this area,” says R.S. Butola, chairman of IOC.
Start up of PET MTR® plant at Alco-Naphtha JSC in Kaliningrad
Uhde Inventa-Fischer and Alco-Naphtha JSC started up the first state-of-the-art, energy-efficient MTR® plant for the production of high-quality PET to be built on European soil, in the spring of 2011. The production plant is located at Alco-Naphtha JSC’s site in Kaliningrad, and with an annual capacity of 240,000 tons, is the biggest single-train PET plant in Europe. Uhde Inventa-Fischer’s MTR® technology enables Alco-Naphtha to produce a high-quality PET resin, which has found wide acceptance in the start-up company’s target markets.
Uhde Inventa-Fischer’s scope of supplies included the permit engineering, the basic and detail engineering, supply of all equipment for the plant and supervision of the erection during construction, installation and commissioning. In addition, the operating personnel were also trained by experienced Uhde Inventa-Fischer specialists. Particularly noteworthy was the successful cooperation between Uhde Inventa-Fischer and its Russian sister company OOO Uhde of Dzerzhinsk. Under the contract between Uhde Inventa-Fischer and Alco-Naphtha, OOO Uhde provided key local services, such as the local OSBL engineering and permit engineering with strict regard for the statutory regulations. The MTR® process used at the plant replaces the cost-intensive solid-state post condensation (SSP) process, thus achieving a significant reduction in energy and maintenance costs combined with low investment costs.
At the same time, feedstock consumption is considerably reduced without affecting the high product quality. The MTR® process is based on the 2-reactor high-viscosity technology developed by Uhde Inventa-Fischer and applies the patented ESPREE® and DISCAGE® reactors to ensure production of the required high melt viscosity on a sustained basis.
New automotive TPV introduced by ExxonMobil Chemical
Houston, TX -ExxonMobil Chemical has introduced Santoprene 121-XXM200 TPV high flow thermoplastic vulcanizate (TPV) grades for automotive parts requiring improved appearance and easier processing, such as glass encapsulated weatherseals for quarter lights and side fixed glass applications. Santoprene 121-XXM200 TPV grades exhibit a low dynamic viscosity which results in enhanced flow over a wide range of shear to producemolded seals with excellent surface appearance and no flow marks. Processability is improved as the injection pressure can be reduced by about 30-40 percent, injection temperatures can be lowered by 10 degrees C (50 degrees F) and shorter cycle times are possible, depending on part size and wall thickness. This may lead to sustainability benefits through less glass breakage and lower energy consumption, along with the fact that TPVs are also fully recyclable. In addition, cost savings are possible due to simplified processing and reduced cycle times. The higher gloss levels of Santoprene 121-XXM200 TPV grades increase design flexibility, and specific mold graining can be used to match the surface aspect of extruded profiles. Santoprene 121-XXM200 TPV gradesoffer compression and tension set comparable to EPDM rubber, and exterior UV-resistance that meets OEM specifications. Requiring lower injection pressure, the new TPV grades are less sensitive to flow direction during molding. As a result, there is less risk of part warping, making it easier to set process conditions and mold design. Available in two hardness levels, 60 durometer A and 75 durometer A, Santoprene 121-XXM200 TPV can be used as a drop in replacement for existing materials.
India’s JBF to build 390,000 tpa PET Plant at BP’s Geel site (9-8-2011)
BP PLC and Indian polyester manufacturer JBF Group have inked a deal for feedstock supply by the UK energy giant to a new manufacturing unit to be built by JBF, as per Dow Jones Newswire. The long-term supply deal is for BP-produced purified terephthalic acid (PTA), which will be used by JBF in the manufacture of polyethylene terephthalate (PET). The new 390,000 tpa facility will be located on BP’s existing petrochemical complex in Geel, Belgium adjacent to a BP production site in Belgium. Costs of buildingthe new facility would be borne by JBF.
Mayor wants to ban bags before London Olympics
Boris Johnson, the mayor of London, has added fuel to the plastic bag debate with talk of banning free carrier bags from the capital by the start of the 2012 Olympics.
“Plastics bags are an unnecessary scourge on our environment and I’ve set out my ambition to make London a plastic bag-free city,” he told the Daily Mail. “Whilst London doesn’t have the powers to implement bans or charges, I am keenly following Wales’s efforts to solve this problem.”Johnson, who claimed that carrier bags “disfigure ditches,” can’t introduce a London-wide ban on free carrier bags without an act of Parliament.
Mexico rejects plastic bag bans, embraces industry plan to boost recycling
In the space of a couple of years, Mexico’s largely pro-recycling plastics industry has outwitted bag ban proponents in the Mexican capital and is taking the fight to the provinces and South America.
“Mexico is winning the battle against ‘bagophobes’ and the biodegradable lobby,” Eduardo de la Tijera, a consultant and former president of the Mexican plastics industry association (Anipac), told Plastics News on Aug. 3.
“It’s a victory for common sense and for those who know it’s better to recycle than to biodegrade,” said Juan Antonio Hernández, president of Industriales de Bolsas Plásticas de México AC (Inboplast), a group of 40 companies which make 60 percent of the plastic bags produced in Mexico.
In March 2009, Mexico City’s 66-member Legislative Assembly amended its Solid Waste Law, ordaining it illegal for all commercial outlets in the capital to give away plastic bags that were not biodegradable after Aug. 18, 2010.
Heavy fines and even jail time for transgressors were introduced, although they have never been applied, as Mexico City Mayor Marcelo Ebrard appeared unimpressed by the legislation.
Lobbyists, including De la Tijera and Hernández, plus representatives from retailers association Antad, kept pressuring not only the legislature but the capital’s environment minister Martha Teresa Delgado Peralta.
Speculation was rife Delgado was leaning towards recycling to solve the city’s worsening garbage disposal problem. In late July, she published a list of norms for the industry in the capital’s Official Gazette. It favors recycling over the use of biodegradable processes.
“I’m very pleased because everything we proposed was accepted,” said De la Tijera, a co-owner of Grupo Texne, of Mexico City. “I was in charge of writing down the proposals and 99 percent of what I wrote is in the norms.”
For example, he said, oxy-biodegradable and biodegradable bag makers will have to prove the degrading properties of their additives at Mexican, rather than foreign, laboratories.
At least 10 percent of the content of plastic bags distributed to shoppers in the capital must be recycled material, a percentage that is already standard within the Mexican plastic bag industry, according to De la Tijera.
Morelia, Michoacan-based Hernández said Inboplast’s partners have raised the percentage of recycled materialin their bags from 18 to 25 percent in just six months. Their target is 40 percent.
Inboplast, which has monthly sales of $93 million and employs 10,000, according to Hernández, put a $2.1 million recycling plant in the municipality of Arandas, in the western state of Jalisco, on stream in January.The norms, which also oblige store owners to promote garbage separation, will be applicable from next July.
As for the bag ban legislation, “it’s completely dead and there’s no chance that it will be revived,despite the resistance of some legislators,” De la Tijera said.
He described it as a victory for Inboplast and Antad (Asociación Nacional de Tiendas de Autoservicio y Departamentales AC).
“Anipac merely aligned with the proposal that Inboplast and Antadput to the ministry. The norms focus first and foremost on sustainable production and consumption.”
However, Hernández is still worried that “politicians and some ecologists don’t understand the process of transforming plastics and are taken in by the romantic and false claims made about biodegradable additives… You can’t make policy from behind a desk.”
De la Tijera believes many state and municipal governments, that often follow the capital’s lead on legislation, will now change their anti-recycling attitudes.
“Inboplast has already spoken to legislators in at least half a dozen states about focusing on sustainable production instead of bans and biodegradable bags.
“Mexico is winning the battle against ‘bagophobes’ and the biodegradable lobby, as opposed to what is happening in the United States and South America. We can defeat bans.”He said across the region “governments are following what’s happening in Mexico very closely.”
Comments: We are delighted to read about the success that the Mexican Plastic Bag Associations have achieved by engaging the minister and administration in a fact based dialogue to reverse a bag ban legislation. Yes there would be lessons to learn not only by American associations but over 40 or 50 national plastic associations facing ban legislation which are being forced by politicians from Canada to China, India to Italy and Middle East to Malaysia.Governments that overlook scope of doing more with less using plastics & the huge benefits of recycling waste are being mislead by degradable material lobbies which promise waste disappearance as a panacea to litter problems. In the long run if our finite resources must be conserved for sustainable development & environment burdens of alternative materials accessed, policy makers will have to consider LCA studies and attacking people’s litter habits before banning all plastic bags erroneously.More details of the Mexico story would be definitely welcome.
Solutia adding PVB resin capacity in Malaysia
Solutia Inc. is adding a polyvinyl butyral (PVB) resin plant at its Kuantan, Malaysia, facility, in order to better serve the Asia Pacific markets.
The new capacity will be used to cost-effectively meet the increasing demand for Saflex sheet produced by Solutia’s two manufacturing lines in Suzhou, China, said Eric Nichols, president and general manager of Advanced Interlayers division, in a news release.
The advances in resin technology have resulted in scalable, less capital-intensive plants that fully leverage Solutia’s 80-year history of developing PVB technologies, he added.
The Kuantan location is recognized for its efficient operations, high-quality workforce and ability to serve the broader region’s rapidly growing markets, the company said. Kuantan is also home to Solutia’s Crystex insoluble sulfur manufacturing facility, the largest of its kind in the world.
The Kuantan resin plant is the third in a series of investments in the region to meet the demand of the burgeoning laminated glass market across Asia Pacific.
In 2007, Solutia opened the Suzhou plant, the fifth manufacturing site for its Saflex PVB interlayers. In 2010, Solutia announcedthe addition of a second PVB manufacturing line in the Suzhou plant, featuring enhanced capabilities to serve the architectural, photovoltaic and automotive markets in China and the Asia Pacific region. The Suzhou site is also home to a new Saflex customer service testing lab, dedicated to supporting laminated glass customers in the region.
Solutia’s Saflexinterlayers are used in nearly 40 percent of laminated architectural and automotive glass worldwide, and they are also used to encapsulate thin film photovoltaic solar cells.
Solutia manufactures Saflex PVB interlayers in Gent, Belgium; Santo Toribio, Mexico; San Jose Dos Campos, Brazil; Springfield, Mass., USA; and Suzhou, China.
In the second quarter, the Advanced Interlayers division’s net sales totaled $232 million, an increase of $24 million or 12 percent from the same period in 2010, and adjusted EBITDA increased $8 million to $52 million.
“The second quarter reflects the global strength of the Advanced Interlayers business, highlighting the diversity of end markets and further penetration of innovative, premium products,” said James R. Voss, executive vice president and chief operating officer.
Dow expands production of solar films
Dow Chemical Co. is adding capacity for its Enlight-brand polyolefin encapsulant films in Map Ta Phut, Thailand, and Schkopau, Germany.
The films are used in solar panels. According to Dow, the company will build two new manufacturing plants next year that will more than triple the company’s capacity to make the specialty films.
“Converting solar energy into an efficient source ofelectricity is an area of expertise Dow will continue to develop,” says Brij Sinha, global market manager for photovoltaics, said in a news release. He said demand for photovoltaic modules has been growing at about 30 percent annually.
Dow started making the films at its Findlay, Ohio, plant in December 2010.
Dow settles with EPA, to pay $2.5 million penalty
MIDLAND, MICH. (Aug. 1, 1:55 p.m. ET) –The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced that Dow ChemicalCo. has agreed to pay a $2.5 million civil penalty to settle alleged violations of the Clean Air Act, Clean Water Act and the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act at its chemical manufacturing and research complex in Midland.
According to EPA, Dow violated the Clean Water Act’s prohibition against discharging pollutants without a permit and violated the RCRA’s requirements for hazardous waste generators. The company violated the Clean Air Act requirements for monitoring and repairing leaking equipment and for failing to comply with reporting and recordkeeping requirements.
The violations stemmed from four site visits between August 2005 and August 2006, and a clean air inspection in March 2007 –all at the Midland facility.
“This compliance program should serve as a model for industry and will go a long way to assure future violations will not happen again at this facility,” said Ignacia Moreno, assistant attorney general for the Environment and Natural Resources Division at the Department of Justice, in a statement. “Dow worked cooperatively with the government to resolve this matter and in doing so set an example for responsible compliance with our nation’s environmental laws.
DAK prepares to close on Wellman PET deal
DAK Americas LLC expects to close on the acquisition of Wellman Inc.’s PET resins business by the end of this month.
The deal includes facilities in Bay St. Louis, Miss., that employ 165.
DAK announced Aug. 1 that the waiting period under the Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvement Act has expired without request for additional information from the U.S. Federal Trade Commission.
DAK has U.S. PET plants in Wilmington, N.C.; Fayetteville, N.C.; Charleston, S.C., and Columbia, S.C.
IPIC Secures Cepsa’s International Expansion; Al Qubaisi Becomes CEO
International Petroleum Investment Co. (IPIC; Abu Dhabi) says it plans to boost the growth and international expansion of Compañía Españolade Petróleos (Cepsa; Madrid), following IPIC’s acquisition of Total’s 48.83% stake in Cepsa for €3.7 billion ($5 billion). The board of Cepsa, has following the acquisition, appointed IPIC’s managing director Khadem Al Qubaisi as Cepsa’s CEO. Santiago Bergareche will continue as chairman of the board of Cepsa. “We are in the final process of a change in the company’s shareholding structure, which will culminate with the sale of the minority shareholdings on 19 August,” Bergareche says. After that IPIC willbe Cepsa’s only shareholder. Al Qubaisi has “repeatedly confirmed his commitment to guarantee and promote [Cepsa’s] growth and international expansion,” Bergareche says. The changes will consolidate Cepsa’s leadership position in Spain’s energy sector andtransform the company into a global player.
The changes in shareholding structure have also led to other new appointments at Cepsa. The board has appointed Cepsa’s Chief Technology Officer, Pedro Miró, to the newly-created post of COO, while five Total directors have been replaced by three new board members, Mohamed Badaway Al Husseiny, Hamdan Al Hamed, and James Sullivan. Cepsa will continue to be a Spanish company headquartered in Madrid. Miró will be responsible for Cepsa’s E&P, marketing and refining, and petrochemicals operations.
IPIC has been a shareholder in Cepsa since 1988 when it bought a 9.6% stake in the Spanish company. In 2009, it purchased Banco Santander’s and Union Fenosa’s stakes in a deal that raised IPIC’s stake in Cepsa to 47.1%. IPIC’s total investment in Cepsa has been put at some €7.5 billion, making it the most important investment within IPIC’s current portfolio, as well as one of the biggest investments made in Spain during the last few years, Cepsa says. Cepsa stands to benefit from the synergies with IPIC companies, which in the petrochemicals field, include Borealis and Borouge, as well as Nova Chemicals.
The European Commission last month cleared IPIC’s acquisition of Cepsa, despite overlaps in the markets for phenol and acetone. Both Cepsa and Borealis, in which IPIC has a 64% stake, produce phenol and acetone. However, the commission’s investigation concluded that IPIC’s and Cepsa’s combined market shares are moderate and that a number of credible competitors will remain active in these markets.
Formosa Closes 28 Plants Following Fires; Market Disruptions Expected (update)
Formosa Plastics has been ordered to close 28 major manufacturing facilities at Mailiao, Taiwan following the seventh fire to break out there in recent weeks, local sources tell CW. The latest fire occured on July 30. The closures, for an unspecified period of time to allow a thorough inspection of all of the facilities by third parties, are expected to cause major market disruptions, particularly in Asia, CW has learned. They come after Taiwan’s President Ma requested that the government asses the difficulties at the Mailiao site. The government made four decisions: all of the production facilities and sites where the seven fires occurred should be shut down for inspection; all of the pressure vessels that are made of the same materials that were used in the propylene desulfurization reactor that ignited in the latest incident should be listed and filed by the Industry Development Bureau (IDB; Taipei) within one week; Formosa should plan separately for successive shutdown inspection of all of the units within the complex within one year; and all of the inspections should be verified and supervised by third parties. A five-member team of experts from refinery and petrochemical company CPC (Taipei), working with the IDB team, is currently helping to assess the situation.
Formosa’s four subsidiaries, Formosa Petrochemical Corp., Formosa Plastics, Formosa Chemical & Fiber, and Nan Ya Plastics have closed a total of 28 plants. Formosa Petrochemical shuttered 10 plants including three oil refinery lines; the No. 1 ethylene plant, designed to produce 700,000 m.t./year of ethylene; a lube base oil unit; a fuel oil hydrodesulfurization facility; and a catalytic cracking unit.
Formosa Plastics has closed three plants: a vinyl chloride monomer unit; a high-density polyethylene plant; and a methyl methacrylate facility. Nan Ya Plastics shuttered 10 plants including four ethylene glycol (EG) plants, an isononanol facility, a 2-ethyl hexanol plant, two butanediol facilities, and a bishenol A unit. Formosa Chemical & Fiber closed five plants including its No. 1 aromatics complex, two styrene plants, and two polycarbonate facilities.
The latest fire occurred in the third line within the Formosa Petrochemical refinery. A propylene desulfurization reactor exploded and the leak, coupled with the high temperature, caused a “big fire,” one source says. The accident led to the resignations of Formosa Group president C. Y. Su and Wilfred Wong, chairman of Formosa Petrochemical. It is not clear at this time who will succeed Su. The group is currently led by William W. Wong, elder brother of Wilfred Wong.
Of Formosa’s olefin facilities, only the steam cracker No. 3, which is designed to produce 1.2 million m.t./year of ethylene is still running but it too is scheduled to be taken off line this month for a planned, early turnaround, CW has learned. Analysts have expressed concerns about the implications for Formosa. “We expect the fire to weigh on the share prices of the Formosa sisters in the near term,” says Jeremy Chen and Lily Chen, analysts at Morgan Stanley (Taipei). Formosa safety record has been tarnished and investor confidence in its management is fading, they say. The stock price of the four members of the Formosa Group plummeted NT$200 billion ($6.9 billion) yesterday.
The impact of the 28 plant shutdowns on petrochemical markets is potentially huge. Formosa Plastics is the second-largest producer of polyvinyl chloride and the Nan Ya subsidiary is among the top four makers of EG. Formosa Chemicals and Fibre, meanwhile, is a major global player in purified terephthalic acid.
The accidents have also cast doubt on Formosa’s expansion plans. The company announced plans earlier to expand the third cracker by 500,000 m.t./year and construct several facilities as part of a fifth wave of expansion. These plans included entry into new product areas including several types of synthetic rubber. Formosa has since relocated the project to its site at Ningbo, China.
Different source for same news:Formosa’s Polyethylene and EVA plants shut
Formosa Plastics Corp (FPC) has shut its polyethylene (PE) and ethylene vinyl acetate (EVA) units at Mailiao complex as a cautionary measure following a fire at the site late on 26 July.
The affected facilities comprise a 264,000 tpa linear low density PE (LLDPE) plant, a 350,000 tpa high density PE (HDPE) unit and a 240,000 tpa low density PE (LDPE)/EVA swing plant. Duration of the shutdown remains unclear.
UOP Technology Selected for Propylene Plant in China
UOP, a Honeywell subsidiary, says that it has been selected by Zhejiang Julong Petrochemical Co., to provide technology for a new plant to produce propylene at Zhejiang Julong’s facility at Pinghu, Zhejiang province, China. The plant is expected to start up in 2013 and will produce 450,000 m.t./year of propylene. UOP will provide engineering design, technology licensing, catalysts, adsorbents, equipment, staff training and technical service for the project. China’s propylene consumption accounts for more than 15% of worldwide demand and is growing at about 5%/year-6%/year, UOP says.
Zhejiang Julong Petrochemical is a wholly owned subsidiary of Zhengjiang Changjiang Energy Development Co. (Wenzhou, Zhejiang province). The new propane dehydrogenation unit at the Pinghu facility will use UOP’s C3 Oleflex technology to convert propane to propylene.
JX Nippon Oil & Energy and SK Innovation jointly produce petrochemicals and lubricating oils
Japan’s JX Nippon Oil & Energy Corp will cooperate for a new venture in petrochemicals and lubricating oils with SK Innovation Co of South Korea, as per Nikkei Business Daily. A total of 120 bln yen (US$1.52 bln) will be invested in two new production ventures at SK’s refinery complex in Ulsan, South Korea, of which JX Energy will invest over 50 billion yen.
The new petrochemicals and lubricants factories will be located at SK innovations’ refinery complex in Ulsan with an investment outlay of 90 billion yen. For petrochemicals, the JX Holdings Inc unit will form a 50:50 venture with SK Global Chemical Co, a unit of SK Innovation. Production of paraxylene at the 1 mln tpa plant, is expected to come online sometime in 2014. This will be one of the largest PXplants in the world.
Sipchem invests over SR 150 million in a new center for Research and Development
The Saudi International Petrochemical Company (Sipchem) announced that it has spent over SR150 mln to construct its corporate Research and Product & Application Center -at the Dhahran Techno Valley (DTV) of King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals (KFUPM). Sipchem has previously signed a memorandum of understanding with the Ministry of Petroleum and Minerals and King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals for the establishment of the center on a 15000 square meters area at DTV. Based on this memorandum Sipchem shall construct, manage and operate this center.Sipchem has already started the construction of the center at the site. The center has been designed on the most modern building designs that contain state-of-the-art laboratories and equipment with the objective of developing the usage of polymer products and the downstream industries in the Kingdom which currently include more than 860 plants. The company targets to start operation of the center in the middle of 2012. The center will work in close coordination with various organizations in the King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals and with an objective to render science and technology and chemistry and polymers technology handy to everybody school and university students in particular, to make them aware of the importance of polymers and chemical industries and the job opportunities that these industries may create. To build the knowledge economy that the Kingdom strives to achieve, it is necessary that that the Saudi youth, men and women alike, be trained and enlightened on scientific, research and engineering aspects and this is the role that the Sipchem center is expected to play. The center is expected to concentrate its research on the basic usage of the films which are used in the production of solar cells and thin sheets for agricultural usages, flexible pipes necessary for wooden and paper industries, dyes and electric cables including fiber optic cables and other products that support the national program for the development of industrial complexes. The center will also contribute to enhancing the cooperation in the field of research through the use of laboratories, equipment and the exchange of experiences between the university and other research centers in the Kingdom and Sipchem organization.
Gevo to build hydrocarbon processing demo plant at Silsbee, Texas
Gevo Inc. has announced plans to work with South Hampton Resources, Inc., a subsidiary of Arabian American Development Co, to build a hydrocarbon processing demonstration plant outside of Houston in Silsbee, Texas. This demonstration plant is expected to process up to 10,000 gallons/month of Gevo’s isobutanol into a variety of renewable hydrocarbon materials including jet fuel for engine testing, isooctane for gasoline, isooctene and paraxylene for polyethylene terephthalate (PET). Gevo will supply other potential customers with material for product qualification and evaluation. The demonstration plant is slated for completion before the end of 2011. The contract between the companies is for two years with one-year extensions thereafter.”This demonstration plant allows us to complete the value chain from isobutanol to renewable hydrocarbon fuels and chemical intermediates which is one of our key strategic objectives,” said Patrick Gruber, Ph.D., CEO of Gevo. “With the operation of this plant, Gevo intends to demonstrate its fully integrated biorefinery –going from renewable carbohydrates all the way to fungible hydrocarbon materials used across the refining and petrochemical industries. We expect this plant to showcase the value of our renewable hydrocarbons and drive future customer demand.”South Hampton Resources, Inc. has contracted to provide Gevo with toll-manufacturing services at its Silsbee, TX facility and complete the final design and engineering package for the demonstration plant from preliminary plans supplied by Gevo.
BASF to Expand Polystyrene Board Production
BASF plans to expand its production of its extruded polystyrene insulation material Styrodur® C for rigid foam panels (XPS) at Ludwigshafen, Germany by about 17% to 1.52 million cu meters, up from its current production capacity of 1.3 million cu meters. The new capacity is slated to start-up at the end of 2011.
“By increasing our capacity we are aiming to establish our new XPS products, which represent a major advance in insulation performance and processing, within the construction sector in the long run, says Giorgio Greening, head of BASF’s global business unit Foams.“The demand for energy-efficient building insulation products rises continuously,”he says. The European XPS market is currently growing by 3-5%/year, driven by rising energy prices and legal regulations on thermal insulation in new and old buildings.
The new production capacity will feature manufacturing technology that will enable BASF to produce its new XPS products Styrodur Neo and Styrodur HT products as well as its standard XPS products. The plant extension is incorporated into the existing production structure, but will have a more elaborate configuration and will operate using anoptimized method, the company says.
Styrodur C is pressure-resistant, water-repellent and rot-proof. It has been protecting homes against heat, cold and moisture for more than 45 years, BASF says. Styrodur Neo, a gray XPS with integrated graphite particles, shows a 20% higher insulation performance than competitive materials, the company adds.
Sasol Secures Majority of Gevo’s Isobutanol Through 2013
Isobutanol producer Gevo(Englewood, CO) says it has entered into a definitive, commercial off-take agreement with Sasol Chemical Industries Limited. The deal is expected to include the majority of Gevo’s 2012 and 2013 production capacity. Sasol will use the isobutanol to producesolvents and specialty chemicals.
Gevo says it aims to produce about 110 million gals/year of isobutanol by 2013, and 350 million gals/year by 2015. Together with Redfield Energy (Redfield, SD), the company is retrofitting a Redfield 50-million gals/year ethanol plant into a 38-million gals/year isobutanol plant. It is expected to coming online in the fourth quarter of 2012. Gevo plans to bring an 18 million gals/year isobutanol unit by next summer after retrofits are complete at an ethanol plant it acquired at Luverne, MI. It also has an ethanol-to-isobutanol retrofit jv with an undisclosed partner.
Gevo raised $95.7 million in a February initial public offering, but soon after was hit with a patent infringement suit by DuPont’s Butamax Advanced Biofuel (Wilmington, DE) joint venture with BP. Lanxess owns a 9.1% stake in Gevo.
Butamax sues Gevo over patent infringement claim
In Delaware, Butamax Advanced Biofuels filed a patent infringement lawsuit against Gevorelating to use of Butamax’s biobutanol technology, which was covered by a foundational patent granted by the USPTO last month. The patent encompasses biocatalysts developed to produce isobutanol.
A number of patent applications by Butamax have been successfully accepted into the United States Patent and Trademark Office Green Technology Pilot Program for accelerated review. Butamax was formed as a BP/DuPont joint venture to develop and commercialize biobutanol as a next generation renewable biofuel for the transport market, and is poised for commercial launch from 2012/2013.
Same article, different source:
Butamax Advanced Biofuels(Butamax) is a Delaware-based joint venture between BP and DuPont formed in 2009 to develop biobutanol.
Biobutanol is an advanced biofuel which has some important advantages over ethanol, including an energy content closer to that of gasoline and the capacity to create higher blend concentrations with gasoline.
Butamax ownsU.S. Patent No. 7,851,188, entitled “Fermentive production of four carbon alcohols” (’188 Patent). The ’188 Patent is directed to Butamax’s biobutanol production technology and recombinant microbial host cells that produce the biofuel.
Last month Butamax suedGevo, an Englewood, Colorado, advanced biofuels company, for infringement of the ’188 Patent.
The complaint(Butamax_Complaint), filed in federal court in Delaware, alleges that Gevo’s isobutanol production pathway infringes the ’188 Patent:
According to the complaint, Gevo has produced isobutanol using such microbial host cells in a retrofitted ethanol production facility and is converting another ethanol facility for isobutanol production.
Butamax is seeking an injunction and monetary damages.As far as I know, thisis the first instance of biofuel patent litigation involving a major oil company. With the oil majors increasingly involved in biofuels startups via research funding, buyouts, and JVs like Butamax, it won’t be the last.
A bio-based succinic acid joint venture between ASF and CSM
BASF SE and Purac, a subsidiary of CSM nv, recently announced the start of negotiations to form a joint venture for the production of bio-based succinicacid. The companies have been conducting research under a joint development agreement on bio-based succinic acid since 2009. The balancing strengths in fermentation and downstream processing led to the development of a sustainable and highly efficient manufacturing process based on a proprietary microorganism. The demand for succinic acid is expected to grow strongly in the near future. Main drivers are expected to be bioplastics, chemical intermediates, solvents, polyurethanes and plasticizers.
The newly developed process combines high efficiency with the use of renewable substrates and the fixation of the greenhouse gas CO2 during the production. This results in a positive eco-footprint and makes bio-based succinic acid an economically and ecologically attractive alternative to petrochemical substitutes. The employed microorganism Basfia succinici producens is a natural producer of succinic acid and can process a wide variety of C3, C5 and C6 renewable feedstocks, including biomass sources.
“We aim to be the first commercial producer in the market with a 25,000 tons capacity fermentation production plant at the Purac site near Barcelona, Spain, with the intention to start up by 2013 at the latest,” said Gerard Hoetmer, CEO of CSM. “In addition, we are already planning a world-scale plant with a capacity of 50,000 tons to account for the expected demand growth. This partnership has enormous potential as it leverages the combined competencies of two leading companies in their fields.”
During the existing cooperation critical steps of the jointly developed production process have been validated in several successful production campaigns. The resulting volumes were used to evaluate the market. “The goal is to globally provide a high product quality and offer security of supply to the customers,” Fabrizio Rampinelli, MD of Purac, added. “Through this bio-based succinic acid collaboration we aim to add another important new growth-pillar to our bio-based polymers and green chemical business.”
Kraton-Formosa joint venture to produce HSBC polymer grades
Kraton Performance Polymers (Kraton) Formosa Petrochemical Corporation (FPCC) hae inked an agreement for a 50:50 joint venture to construct and operate a 30 kiloton hydrogenated styrenic block copolymer HSBC) plant, to be located in Mailiao, Taiwan. The plant will be operated by the joint venture and Kraton will undertake the global marketing of all products manufactured at the facility. This is subject to the completion of the necessary definitive agreements. The agreement establishes a framework between Kraton and FPCC governing all commercial, operational, technical and management aspects of the planned joint venture company. The paper work will be finalized by end of 2011 and the plant operations will in the H2-2013. The cost of the plant is currently expected to range from US$165-200 mln.”In response to growth in global demand for our differentiated grades of HSBCs, we have been evaluating alternatives for additional capacity that would employ Kraton’s latest state-of-the-art technology for producing HSBCs. This announcement is the result of a comprehensive one-year site selection process involving significant Kraton resources, during which we considered several possible investment alternatives,” said Kevin M. Fogarty, Kraton’s President and CEO. “FPCC’s significant project execution expertise and operational resources will help ensure timely completion of the construction phase of the project. We view this joint venture project as the first step in a long-term relationship with FPCC, which may provide for future capacity expansions. Moreover, as an integral part of this strategic growth investment at Mailiao, FPCC’s petrochemical complex will provide the joint venture with on-site, competitive feedstock inputs, including butadiene, as well as site services and utilities,” Fogarty added. “When completed, this investment will provide significant, additional supply capability, and provide a platform to launch a series of new innovative polymers, to serve the impressive growth plans of our Asian and global customers.””FPCC is pleased to form this partnership with Kraton, the global leader in the manufacture of hydrogenated styrenic block co-polymers, which represent a high value segment of a growing specialty polymer of the Asia Pacific markets,” said Wilfred Wang, Chairman of FPC. “This joint venture framework is consistent with FPCC’s strategy of expanding our portfolio into high value downstream businesses. With FPCC’s manufacturing and operations at our Mailiao site providing an excellent infrastructure, feedstocks,utilities and essential services, we have envisaged the success of this win-win deal for both parties.”
Ban on plastics bags in Australia’s Northern Territory from September 1, 2011
Akin to the approach adopted by South Australia, the Northern Territory legislation will prohibit the supply by retailers of plastic bags with handles that are made of polyethylene polymer less than 35 microns thick. Retailers should check with their supplier if they are unsure about the composition or thickness of the bags they are supplying. Legislation was passed by the NT Legislative Assembly in February 2011. Phase-out period commenced on May 1, 2011, and the ban will commence on September 1, 2011. In the Territory, like South Australia, the ban will not extend to:
” Reusable ‘Green bags’ (heavy polypropylene plastic bags designed to be reused over 100 times).
” Recycled bags you bring along yourself.
” Heavier retail (or boutique) bags, typically used by clothing and department stores.
” Biodegradable bags that state they meet the Australian Standard AS 4736-2006.
” Barrier bags, the type dispensed from a roll, typically for items such as loose fruit and vegetables.
Charge on plastic carry bags impact retail usage in India
The Ministry of Environment and Forests’ Plastic Waste (Management and Handling) Rules, 2011, notification dated February 4 states that no carry bags shall be made available free of cost by retailers to customers. As a result retailers have started charging for plastics carry bags. The charge varies from Re 1 to Rs 7 per bag. This has resulted in an initial drop of 30% in plastics bag consumption by retailers, since the first week of July, because of the introduction of the pricing policy.
Petrobras’ plan to invest US$11 bln in Mexico till 2015
Petroleo Brasileiro (Petrobras) plans to invest US$11 bln in oil exploration, production and refining projects in Mexico uptil 2015. Most of the investment will go into petrochemical plants and refineries in Mexico’s Gulf states. Petrobras plans to invest in Mexico’s Etileno XXI project in Coatzacoalcos comprising ethanol processing plant for with capacity to produce 1 mln tons of ethylene and its derivatives. Outputfrom the project will meet a large chunk of demand that is currently satisfied by imports from the US.
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