Sipchem, Hanwha Form Wire and Cable Polymers Compounding JV
Saudi Inernational Petrochemical Co. (Sipchem; Al Khobar, Saudi Arabia) and HanwhaChemical (Seoul) have signed an agreement to create an equally owned joint venture to produce special compounds for the wire & cable industry. The company, Wire & Cable Polymers Compounding Company, will invest SR225 million ($60 million) in a compounding plant at Sipchem’s Jubail, Saudi Arabia complex with completion targeted in the second quarter of 2013. The products will be used to make power cable insulation materials and will be marketed by the new company in the Mideast and Europe. The project will be financed by the partners and some, yet to be selected, financial institutions.
Feedstock for the compounding plant will be supplied by the International Polymers Co., a joint venture in which Sipchem has 75% and Hanwha the reminder. The company is building a plant at Jubail, which will produce 200,000 m.t./year of ethylene vinyl acetate and 125,000 m.t./year of low-density polyethylene, using the ExxonMobil Chemical process. Completion of this complex is planned for end 2013.
The compounding project forms part of Sipchem’s third phase expansion program. Sipchem’s existing affliliates produce methanol and butanediol, carbon monoxide, acetic acid, and vinyl acetate monomer.
Dow introduces new polyolefin
Dow Chemical is introducing Engage XLT, a new grade of polyolefin elastomer for TPOs used for automotive interior and exterior components. When compounded with polypropylene, this new material delivers a combination of benefits not previously possible with other TPO impact modifiers. Engage XLT provides a variety of benefits to compounders, molders, vehicle manufacturers and consumers. The compounder can take advantage of improved impact efficiency that enables lower elastomer loading in the TPO while still delivering excellent impact performance. This lower elastomer loading results in higher TPO stiffness and melt flow and allows part thin-walling for reduced final part weight which contributes toward improved fuel economy. Computer simulations have shown a reduction of up to ten percent in the total weight of a part made with Engage XLT. The simulations also demonstrate that the reduced wall thickness improves molding cycle times, and actual part molding has shown improved demolding characteristics for improved part quality. Engage XLT is delivered in free-flowing pellet form that can be easily handled in large-scale continuous compounding operations.
LyondellBasell: ‘Condo Cracker’ Project Is a Possibility
LyondellBasell says it plans to debottleneck its Channelview and LaPorte, TX crackers to increase ethylene supply amid strong demand. The company may also consider participating in a new U.S. ethane cracker project with another company, in what CEO Jim Gallogly called a “condo cracker.”
The debottlenecking could free up about 500 million lbs/year of ethane-based ethylene capacity, Gallogly said on conference call for investors. “We are actively working on expanding ethane supply, consumption, and ethylene production,” Gallogly says. “At Channelview, we are working on projects which would further lighten the plant’s feeds late over the next 18 months. We should be able to shift the mix toward producing an additional 500 million lbs/year of ethylene from ethane.”
The projects are still in early engineering stages, Gallogly says. The company has two crackers at Channelview, with combined capacity to produce about 3.86 billion lbs/year of ethylene and one cracker at La Porte, with the capacity to produce about 1.74 billion lbs/year of ethylene. Gallogly did not specify if both Channelview crackers would be debottlenecked or just one.
“LaPorte was made to debottleneck,” Gallogly says. “If you look at the configuration of the plant there is space right next to it for additional furnaces. It is ready-set-go on that; we just need to do some engineering and get the necessary permits.” The timing of the debottleneck payout at La Porte will depend on how fast LyondellBasell can get the permits in order to get started on expanding production. “We are at least a couple of years away before we see the benefits of that debottleneck,” Gallogly adds.
The company says it is currently exploring opportunities to study ethane cracker opportunities in the U.S. based on low-cost ethane. “Several of our competitors have made announcements to build world scale crackers based on low cost ethane, and we will also study that,” Gallogly says. “We are not ready to announce that we will participate in something of that sort, but if a new cracker gets built, if that is something we decide is a part of our viable future, it might make sense to participate in a joint cracker—a condo cracker,” he adds.
However, brownfield debottlenecking projects may make the most sense for the company, Gallogly says. “Over half of our plants have set new production records in the past year. Given the ethane cracking in the U.S. we have also pushed hard to expand our ability to crack lighter feeds over past few years,” he says. “We more than doubled our ethane cracking at our Channelview and Corpus Christi crackers. The modest capital that was spent had extremely quick payouts.”
The company announced first-quarter 2011 earnings of $660 million, up from $8 million in the year-ago period, on stronger sales volumes and improved margins in most of its business segments. Sales were up 25%, to $12.2 billion.
Dow Chemical Canada mulls US$41 mln expansion at Prentiss polyethylene plant
Dow Chemical Canada Inc. is planning a US$41 mln on expansion at its Prentiss polyethylene plant. The expansion project will take two years to complete and will comprise addition of new rail lines and installation of additional equipment to produce new grades of polyethylene using butene as feedstock. Three new rail sidings will be built on the northern edge of the site, providing room for 85 rail cars to store the pellets produced at the complex. Three shorter lines will be used to store rail cars full of butene, the feedstock used for the new addition. Another section of track will be built to improve movement of rail cars on the site and a new tank unloading area will be added. Among changes proposed by Dow is to a 24-hour, seven-day-a-week rail car unloading and loading system. Currently, loading and unloading only takes place between 7 a.m. and 10 p.m.
First phase of construction is expected to begin in May 2011 and be completed by October 2011. Second phase will be built from May to October 2012. Prentiss is home to Dow’s polyethylene plant, and two ethylene glycol plants operated by MEGlobal, a joint venture between Petrochemical Industries Company (PIC) of Kuwait, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Kuwait Petroleum Corporation, and The Dow Chemical Company.
Maryland county passes tax on plastic and paper bags
Montgomery County, Md., with a population of nearly 1 million people, has joined neighboring Washington, D.C., and become the second community in the United States to tax plastic and paper carryout bags.
The 5-cent tax on carryout bags passed May 3. It will go into effect Jan. 1, 2012, and apply to all retailers in the county. That’s more stringent than the Washington tax, which went into effect Jan. 1, 2010, and only applies to retailers that sell food in that city of nearly 600,000 people.
Like Washington, Montgomery County officials said it will use the funds that are collected for river, stream and litter cleanup.
Officials estimate that roughly 83 million carryout bags are currently handed out annually in the county. They calculate that the tax will bring in just $562,000 in fiscal year 2012 because of initial startup and collection costs, a projected 50 percent drop in bag use and because the tax will only be in effect for six months of that time frame.
In Washington, the use of carryout bags dropped 80 percent after the tax was enacted, and the city collected $2.1 million in bag taxes in 2010 compared to the $4 million it had estimated.
Montgomery County officials said revenues from the bag tax will likely rise to just over $1 million in fiscal year 2013 —the first full year of the tax. Revenues will fall steadily in subsequent years to about $423,000 by fiscal year 2017, officials estimate, because they project that overall bag use will continue to decline and be 85 percent lower than the base period by fiscal year 2017.
The Montgomery County bill exempts bags handed out for pharmaceutical prescriptions, newspaper and dry cleaning bags, bags initially intended for garbage or yard waste, and bags handed out at seasonal events such as outdoor farm markets, street fairs and yard sales.
In addition, restaurants would still be permitted to give customers paper bags to take home prepared or leftover foods and drinks.
County executive Isiah Leggett, who supported the bill, is expected to sign the bill shortly.
“It’s unfortunate that the county council would take this approach,” said Shari Jackson, director of the Progressive Bag Affiliates group in a statement issued by the American Chemistry Council. “Instead of entertaining recycling partnerships and programs, the county council chose a policy that punishes families by raising grocery costs unnecessarily … and could also have the unintended effect of dismantling [the] at-store recycling infrastructure.”
In its written opposition to the tax, ACC has urged the county to take a comprehensive reduce, reuse and recycle approach to its efforts to reduce plastic and paper carryout bag litter.
“When it comes to litter, we need workable solutions that are based on a comprehensive approach and avoid unintended consequences that could negatively impact residents and the environment,” Jackson wrote in a letter to the Montgomery County council. “What we’ve found to be an effective option are programs that make it easier for people to recycle their bags. We have found that you cannot ban or tax your way toward environmental stewardship and these policy approaches have unintended consequences that adversely affect not only consumers, but ultimately the environment.”
There are currently 21 plastic bag bans in the U.S. Oregon is considering a measure to ban plastic and paper carryout bags, which would be the first statewide ban of that type in the United States.
Southampton, N.Y., adopts plastic bag ban
Santa Clara County supervisors have passed a ban on plastic bags in unincorporated areas of the county, while a village in New York will prohibit retailers there from using non-biodegradable bags.
The bans are the fifth and sixth to be passed in the U.S. this year.
In Santa Clara, the board said the measure, which will go into effect Jan. 1, will affect 56 retailers who hand out an estimated 32,000 plastic bags annually. There is an exemption for plastic newspaper bags and for restaurants, non-profit groups and social organizations. The ban also will require that retailers charge at least 15 cents for paper bags in an effort to influence shoppers to use reusable bags.
The ban was passed by a 4-1 vote with board member Mike Wasserman —former mayor of Los Gates —dissenting. There was no opposition to the bill at the April 26 hearing.
Meanwhile, a Long Island village with a population of 4,000 has passed a measure prohibiting the use of non-biodegradable bags by retailers, markets and restaurants.
The Southampton Village Board voted 5-0 for the ban. Merchants have six months to start using paper or reusable bags. Violators face a $1,000 fine and up to 14 days in jail.
The village said plastic bags pose a danger to marine and avian life and frequently are found littering public places. The non-profit Citizens Campaign for the Environment said Southampton is the first New York state municipality to implement a ban on plastic bags. It said a similar ban exists in Westport, Conn.
In Oregon, a bill that would ban plastic bags and require retailers to charge 5 cents for paper bags is stalled in the Senate Rules Committee after passing the Senate Environmental and Natural Resources Committee late last month.
Earlier in April, Newport Beach, Calif., declined to enact a bag on plastic bags, citing potential litigation issues.
Twenty-one U.S. communities have plastic bag bans, and Washington, D.C., has a 5-cent fee on paper and plastic carryout bags.
Korea Kumho to invest US$110 mln by 2012 in capacity expansion to meet rising demand
Korea Kumho Petrochemical Co., a petrochemical unit of South Korea’s Kumho Asiana Group, said Tuesday that it will spend 120 billion won (US$110.5 million) by 2012 to expand its plants in a bid to meet rising demand, as per Asia Pulse.
Korea Kumho Petrochemical will increase the annual production capacity of solution styrene butadiene rubber (SSBR) to 84,000 tons from the current 24,000 tons at its plant in Yeosu, of styrene butadiene rubber (SBR) to 560,000 tons from the current 480,000 tons at its plant in Ulsan. It wil also set up a production line for nitrile butadiene latex (NB latex) with an annual production capacity of up to 120,000 tons at its Ulsan plant.
Mexico mulls expansion in shale gas production to support its petrochemical sector
Mexico is considering an increase in shale gas production to support its petrochemicals sector as per Reuters. The prolific shales of Texas are believed to extend across the border into northern Mexico. State oil monopoly Pemex completed its first shale gas well in March, tapping into the Eagle Ford formation in Coahuila state near the Texas border. However the company has been slow to get into the gas business due to low returns compared with oil drilling, forcing Mexico to import gas from the United States and in the form of liquefied natural gas.
QAPCO’s new low density polyethylene plant to be commercially launched in Q1-2012
QAPCO’s new low density polyethylene (LDPE-3) plant will have its commercial launch in the first quarter of 2012. To be located at Mesaieed, the new plant will have a capacity to produce 300,000 tpa LDPE. With this, Qapco will become one of the major low-density polyethylene producers in the world. Qapco’s two existing lines -LDPE 1 & 2 have production capacity of over 400,000 tpa.
Taiwan government mulls lifting a ban on setting up petrochemical activities in China
Taiwan is immediately evaluating the possibility of allowing companies to set up naphtha cracking operations in China. The government is considering lifting a ban on setting up petrochemical activities in China, as it’s president withdrew support for the controversial US$24 bln Kuokuang local refinery project, as per Reuters. As per current rules, Taiwan bans petrochemical firms from setting up upstream activities in political rival China, though downstream manufacturing of products such as plastics is allowed.
CMAI acquired by Colorado’s IHS Inc.
Publicly held consulting firm IHS Inc. on May 4announced it has acquired Chemical Market Associates Inc., which provides market analysis and business advisory services to the global plastics, petrochemical and specialty chemicals industries, among others.
IHS Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Jerre Stead said CMAI’s “comprehensive information and analysis adds to our event-driven supply-chain information strategy and the company’s price discovery and analysis business will broaden IHS commodities and cost information capabilities.
“CMAI’s unique and proprietary chemical information can be used throughout IHS to deliver additional high-value analytical services to our global customers,” Stead added.
CMAI is headquartered in Houston, with offices in Bangkok, Dubai, Dusseldorf, London, New York, Shanghai and Singapore.
This deal is already the fifth acquisition by IHS in 2011, and its 30th since 2007.
EPDM Roofing Association gets changes in VOC regulations
The EPDM Roofing Association (ERA), as part of its advocacy work on the issue of VOC regulations, is alerting the industry to new information concerning implementation dates in the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic states. Specifically, regulations in the District of Columbia, Massachusetts, Vermont and New Hampshire will not be made effective in time for implementation in 2011. VOCs (volatile organic compounds), found in adhesives and sealants used by the roofing industry, are regulated because high levels of emission of VOCs may contribute to the formation of ground-level ozone. As part of the effort to achieve federally mandated standards in the northeast and mid-Atlantic, the Ozone Transport Commission developed a model rule for adhesives and sealants. This model was based on regulations used in California, and incorporated provisions that were effective primarily in the climactic and market conditions of that state. Since the initial release of these model regulations, ERA has supported fair and reasonable efforts to reduce VOC emissions. However, since these conditions and practices differ significantly from those in the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic, ERA began an intensive campaign to inform individual state regulators of these differences and to ask for modifications in the regulations. Based on these concerns raised by ERA, several states have incorporated a seasonal implementation schedule into draft regulations, and others have drafted language to incorporate a seasonal implementation schedule into their final regulations. These changes have allowed and will continue to allow sufficient time to test and phase in new low VOC materials, make process changes to meet the new standards, and train state contractors.
Dow Chemical expects lawsuit decision in case versus Kuwait Petrochemical
Dow Chemical Co. expects a resolution this year in its complaint against Kuwait’s Petrochemical Industries Co. for backing out of a proposed US$17.4 bln joint venture in December 2008, as per Midland Daily News. Dow is seeking over US$2 bln in damages after PIC unexpectedly pulled out of the K-Dow Petrochemicals joint venture days before it was supposed to being operations. Dow was set to receive US$7.5 bln cash in the deal from PIC and another one-time US$1.5 bln payout from K-Dow once the company was formed. The deal fell through shortly before Dow purchased Rohm and Haas Co., and the US$9 bln was to go toward that purchase.
Dow Chairman and CEO Andrew Liveris said Thursday that both sides have finished submitting evidence and a decision is expected by the end of the year.
A resolution in the fourth quarter is an estimate based on the need for the arbitrators to complete their investigations and issue a decision, Liveris said.
India’s fifth PCPIR to be located in Tamil Nadu get approval
India’s fifth Petroleum, Chemicals and Petrochemical Investment Region (PCPIR) to come up in Tamil Nadu has been granted approval by the Cabinet secretary. The project, estimated to attract investment of Rs 92,000 crore, has received an in-principle approval from the Cabinet Secretary and is to go to the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs for approval. The proposed PCPIR is coming up on 250 sq km on the coastline of Cuddalore, around 200 km south of Chennai.So far four PCPIRs have been notified by the government, including Dahej in Gujarat, Haldia in West Bengal, Paradip in Orissa and Vishakhapatnam in Andhra Pradesh. Each notified zone is expected to bring in an investment, both domestic and international, to the tune of Rs 2 -3 lakh crore.
Solutia Inc. opens its new Vistasolar EVA manufacturing center in Suzhou
Solutia Inc. has announced opening of its new Vistasolarethylene vinyl acetate (EVA) manufacturing center in Suzhou, China. The new facility recently passed major testing milestones and is now ready to supply commercial-grade Vistasolar EVA encapsulant for use in solar modules. This announcement marks the latest in a series of investments Solutia has made to help solar module manufacturers lower the total cost of production and help make solar energy competitive with traditional sources of energy. Solutia is the market leader for EVA films in Europe and the first global supplier to build an EVA manufacturing center in China. Chinese solar module manufacturers currently produce more than half of all modules installed globally, and this new manufacturing center will strengthen Solutia’s position to reliably supply high-quality solar encapsulants to the Chinese photovoltaic market. Solutia also produces encapsulants in Germany, Belgium, the United States, Mexico and Brazil.
“The industry requires reductions in cost per watt for solar energy,” said Christopher Reed,Solutia photovoltaic business director. “By investing directly into China, our ability to reduce the total cost of production and enhance our service levels to Chinese module manufacturers is greatly improved.” This is Solutia’s first new EVA production facility to be developed after the acquisition of Etimex Solar GmbH of Germany. The facility is based at the company’s Suzhou, China manufacturing center, which also produces Saflex polyvinyl butyral (PVB) films. Solutia continues to be the only manufacturer of all major photovoltaic module encapsulant technologies, including EVA, PVB and thermal polyurethane (TPU). “Vistasolar has been a pioneer in EVA encapsulants since 1980. We intend to build on our market-leading position in Europe based on proven, high-quality formulations and finished product,” said Tim Wessel, president and general manager of Solutia’s Advanced Interlayers division. “Vistasolar EVA is the most recognized and trusted name for encapsulants in the world’s largest solar market. This enhances the bankability of the solar module.”
Huntsman joins biorefinery consortium
Huntsman Polyurethanes is joining a Canadian project that is exploring applications for tree bark.
The company will focus on converting bark into value-added intermediates for polyurethane, with a goal of improving the material properties and adding more renewable content.
The Bark Biorefinery Consortium Project has a total budget of C$5.25 million and is being funded by the Province of Ontario, with participating institutions and industry partners. Huntsman’s CoreScience unit will work with scientists from the University of Toronto.
Previous research has shown that incorporating bark products into other polymers can result in improved thermal stability and fire resistance, as well as improved adhesive properties.
“Next generation bark-based additives are expected to further advance green developments in the polyurethane industry. We are delighted to be working with Huntsman on this project,” project leaders Ning Yan and Mohini Sain at the University of Toronto said in a news release.
Niek van Wiechen, global core science director at Huntsman Polyurethanes, said the program has many parallels with the company’s own R&D efforts.
“This is a great opportunity to turn forest residue into valuable commercial products. We look forward to sharing our knowledge with consortia colleagues and exploring new avenues in polyurethane chemistry with some of the best academic minds in the world,” he said.
Bayer to invest $120 million in Baytown
Bayer MaterialScience said May 3 that it will invest $120 million into its Baytown site –the company’s largest manufacturing facility in the United States.
At Baytown, which BMS described as a keystone of the group’s global manufacturing strategy, the investment includes:
• For MDI (methylene diphenyl diisocyanate), environmental upgrades, reliability improvements and minor debottlenecking.
• For TDI (toluene diisocyanate), improved process technology, environmental upgrades, and energy efficiency and reliability improvements that will increase productivity.
• For polycarbonate, reliability upgrades and quality improvements for advanced optical applications.
“Our Baytown plant is a critical asset in the Bayer MaterialScience global portfolio,” said Tony Van Osselaer, member of BM’s executive committee and head of industrial operations. “It is a first-rate manufacturing facility and these significant investments are our commitment to keeping it fit for the future.”
Additional investments are designed to improve the reliability of the infrastructure throughout the site.
“These comprehensive upgrades will support the growth we are anticipating in the NAFTA region,” said Greg Babe, president and CEO of Bayer Corp. and Bayer MaterialScience LLC.
Teknor Apex introduces new brand in Asia
Teknor Apex Co. has established a new corporate name for its operations that serve Asia, the Middle East and Oceania–the region that stretches from Saudi Arabia to New Zealand.
Teknor Apex Asia Pacific Pte Ltd. replaces Singapore Polymer Corp., a business that Pawtucket, R.I.-based Teknor Apex bought in 2001.
A sister company in China, Teknor Apex Suzhou Advanced Polymer Compounds Co. Ltd., already has a similar name, and Stanly L.K. Tan became managing director of both enterprises in 2010.
“Combining all of our operations under the Teknor Apex brand represents the culmination of a decade-long process of integration that has created one company in fact—not just in name,” Tan said in a news release.
“Whether our customers are based in Saudi Arabia, India, China, or Australia, they now have the assurance of dealing with a single organization having uniform standards, product designations, business practices, and regulatory approvals.”
Teijin reopens film plant following quake
Teijin Ltd. has resumed partial operations at its PET film plant in Utsunomiya, Japan, which had closed as a result of the March 11 Japan earthquake.
The Tokyo-based company said the Teijin DuPont Films Ltd. plant restarted on April 30. The company plans to gradually return the plant to full-scale production by mid-June.
The company had previously announced that the TeijinDuPont Films plant in Ibaraki resumed operations on March 25, and it now is operating at full scale.
“The disaster’s exact impact on the Teijin Group’s consolidated business results remains unclear at this stage. If Teijin concludes that group performanceis expected to experience a significant impact, relevant information will be disclosed immediately,” the company said May 2.
Bioplastics supplier Cereplast planning to open production plant in Italy
Bioplastics supplier Cereplast Inc. plans to open a major production plant in Assisi, Italy, in late 2012.
In a May 2 news release, officials with El Segundo, Calif.-based Cereplast said the new plant will open with annual production capacity of about 110 million pounds, and is expected to double that capacity by the end of 2013.
“This is a significant step in Cereplast’s evolution,” Chairman and CEO Frederic Scheer said in the release. The new plant will help Cereplast “meet soaring demand for this material in the European market,” he added.
The 125,000-square-foot plant is expected to create 150 new jobs at the site and at area businesses, officials said. The location was chosen in part because Cereplast generates 85 percent of its sales from Europe. At present, the firm’s only production plant is an 80 million-pound-capacity site in Seymour, Ind.
Cereplast develops and manufactures sustainable plastics based on corn and other materials. Its materials are sold into a variety of processing methods, including injection molding, thermoforming and blow molding.
In 2010, Cereplast posted sales of $6.3 million –more than double its 2009 sales total. But Cereplast also posted a loss of almost $7.5 million for the year, after losing almost $6.1 million in 2009.
For 2011, Cereplast has set a much higher sales goal of $32 million –more than five times its 2010 result. The firm increased its expectation from $28 million to $32 million after recording sales of just over $7 million in the first quarter.
Total Petrochemicals toMake New-Generation EPS at Feluy, Belgium
Total Petrochemicals plans to modify one of the two polystyrene (PS) lines it acquired from Polimeri Europa at Feluy, Belgium, last year to produce a new generation expandable polystyrene (EPS). Total says its research teams have developed technology to produce the new polymer, which has improved technical and insulating properties compared with conventional EPS.
The company bought the two PS lines, which have combined capacity for 160,000 m.t./year,last year. The new line will start production in early 2013. This investment, and the subsequent launch of the new EPS range, will ensure the long-term continuation of styrenics production at the Feluy site, Total says. The second line at the site will be used to manufacture all grades of PS, including high-impact polystyrene and general-purpose polystyrene. Total operates four other PS production sites in Europe: Carling and Gonfreville in France; El Prat, Spain; and Stalybridge, U.K.
BASF adding systems house in Tianjin
BASF SE broke ground April 20 on its new polyurethane systems house in Tianjin.
The facility will offer customized polyurethane solutions to its customers, supported by local production, in-house sales, technicalservice and development teams.
The plant is expected to start up in 2012 and will join BASF’s worldwide network, which currently includes 38 system houses.
“The Northern China region is witnessing a thriving PU market with above-average growth rates and considerable increases in production and demand in the years to come,” said Melanie Maas-Brunner, senior vice president of polyurethanes in Asia Pacific, in a news release.
She highlighted BASF’s capacity to provide service rapidly growing sectors such as construction and automotive, as well as emerging markets for renewable energysuch as wind and solar energy.
China is already the largest polyurethane market in the world and is forecast to maintain strong growth in the coming decade, noted BASF. The company already has two systems houses and regional development centers in Shanghai and Nansha.
Sabic, Asahi Kasei and Mitsubishi form JV
Saudi Basic Industries Corp, Asahi Kasei Chemicals Corp. and Mitsubishi Corp. have signed an agreement to form a limited liability company, Saudi Japanese Acrylonitrile Co.
The company will build a plant to make acrylonitrile (AN) and sodium cyanide (NaCN), with subsequent sales and distribution to be carried by the partners.
The agreed plan is to establish world-scale plants with capacities of 200,000 metric tons per year of AN and 40,000 metric tons per year of NaCN at one of the Sabic affiliates’ sites in Jubail Industrial City, Saudi Arabia.
Mohamed Al-Mady, Sabic vice-chairman and CEO, said: “A key driver for the project is Saudi Arabia’s National Industrial Clusters Development Program aimed at growing and diversifying the Kingdom’s manufacturing sector.
“AN and NaCN are very important chemicals for the downstream diversification into acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS), carbon fiber, acrylic fiber, acrylamide and others which serve various industries such as automotive, construction, water treatment, oil recovery, personal care, consumer goods, pharmaceuticals, electronics, gold mining and many others.”
Reliance to Invest $12 billion in Value-Added Chemicals in the Next Five Years
Reliance Industries (RIL) says it plans to invest between $10 billion-$12 billion in chemicals over the next five years. Mukesh Ambani, chairman of RIL, in a wide-ranging inverview with The Economic Times of India, said that the company plans to create a huge rubber business from scratch, with the intention of catering to the Asian tire industry. “In technological innovation, we will see a lot of development potential in what I call value-added chemicals,” he said. The company is reinvesting in polyester and plastics as the quality of life in India improves and at the same time it is developing a whole new rubber business. “We will make RIL one of the world’s largest players in rubber as the whole tire industry moves to Asia,” Ambani said. Growth in the automotive sector in the next 10 years is China, India and Asia-focued, he said.
RIL’s growth strategy focuses on a mix of old economy businesses and newer ones, close to the cutting-edge frontiers of technology. Ambani calls the two business sectors ‘energy’ and ‘consumer’. At present most RIL revenues come from the energy segment but this is expected to change significantly in the future. “Energy is a 30-year old business for us, but consumer is just two years old,” he said.
RIL is already building several synthetic rubber manufacturing complexes. It has formed a joint venture with Sibur (Moscow) to construct a 100,000-m.t./year butyl rubber complex at Jamnagar and it is also planning to build a 75,000-m.t./year styrene butadiene rubber facility at its Hazira site and a 40,000-m.t./year polybutadiene rubber plant at Vadodara.
Nippon Shokubai Builds Acrylic Acid Plant, Triples Superabsorbents Capacity in Indonesia
Nippon Shokubai says it will build a new acrylic acid plant at its Cilegon, Indonesia site and triple the capacity of a previously announced superabsorbents project at the site. The company, one of the leading global producers of superabrorbents, will spend $300 million on the project.
Nippon Shokubai announced last year that its PT Nippon Shokubai Indonesia subsidiary will build a 30,000-m.t./year superabsorbents plant at Cilegon, for completion in 2013, with acrylic acid supplied from the existing 60,000 m.t./year acrylic acid plant at the site. Stronger than anticipated demand for superabsorbents, used largely in diapers, has prompted Nippon Shokubai to triple the capacity of the superabsorbents project to 90,000 m.t./year and build an 80,000-m.t./year acrylic acid plant, raising the total acrylic acid capacity at Cilegon to 140,000 m.t./year. Mechanical completion of the project is expected in February 2013 with commercial production starting in August that year.
Nippon Shokubai, last fall, completed construction of a 60,000-m.t./year superabsorbents plant at its Himeji, Japan plant, which the company says has reached full capacity utilization. On completion of the project in Indonesia, Nippon Shokubai’s global superabsorbents capacity will reach 560,000 m.t./year, including 320,000 m.t./year in Japan and 240,000 m.t./year overseas. The company’s acrylic acid capacity will grow to 700,000 m.t./year, including 240,000 m.t./year outside Japan.
Toray to Build Spunbond Manufacturing Facility in Indonesia
Toray Industries and its Toray Advanced Materials Korea (TAK;Seoul) subsidiary say they plan to enter the high-performance polypropylene spunbond business in Indonesia. A new company dubbed Toray Polytech Jakarta (TPJ) will be established in September 2011 at Toray’s site at Tangerang, Indonesia. A production facility with a capacity of about 20,000 m.t./year will be built at the site, and it is expected to start full-scale production in June 2013. TAK will have 65% stake in TPJ, and Toray and Toray Industries Indonesia (Jakarta) will have 25% and 10% stake respectively.
Demand for disposable diapers is expected to grow at a rapid pace in ASEAN countries on the back of high economic growth and changes to lifestyle brought about by rising incomes, Toray says. The market for disposable diapers in Indonesia is estimated to grow at 14%/year, increasing from about 1.9 billion diapers in 2010 to 3.7 billion diapers in 2015, prompting major hygiene product manufacturers to build new production facilities and expand existing facilities, Toray says. These manufacturers have been looking to procure raw materials locally, and the demand for polypropylene spunbond is expected to reach about 84,000 m.t./year in 2015 in the ASEAN region, Toray says.
Toray group’s polypropylene spunbond business currently has production capacity of about 43,000 m.t./year at TAK; and 38,000 m.t./year at Toray Polytech Nantong (Nantong, China), and the product is sold to several countries in Asia.
Nova Chemicals Inks Another Ethane Supply Deal to Feed Sarnia Cracker
Nova Chemicals says it has signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with a wholly-owned subsidiary of Range Resources Corporation (Fort Worth, TX) for a long-term supply of ethane from the Marcellus Shale basin. The ethane will supply Nova’s Sarnia, ON petrochemical complex, which typically runs a heavier feedslate. The company has been looking for ways to boost ethane supply to fuel its crackers, as increased U.S. production of natural gas and lower prices have decreased the volumes of natural gas flowing northward and reduced ethane availability.
“We are very pleased to be working with Range Resources as one of the key feedstock suppliers for our Corunna cracker,” Randy Woelfel, CEO of Nova Chemicals. “With the execution of this MOU, we have made significant progress towards realizing our goal of assuring our Corunna cracker is the destination of choice for Marcellus based natural gas liquids.”
In addition to finalizing a definitive purchase and sale agreement with Range Resources, and customary reviews and approvals, the arrangement is subject to Nova Chemicals finalizing a pipeline transportation agreement to transport Marcellus shale-derived ethane into the Sarnia, petrochemical market.
Nova has announced a spate of several similar agreements to boost its ethane supplies at both its Sarnia and Joffre, AB complexes, including recent deals with Caiman Energy’s (Dallas, TX), and Hess and Mistral Energy (Calgary).
Dow Selects Freeport Site for an On-Purpose Propylene Plant
Dow Chemical says its proposed on-purpose propylene plant will be built at its Freeport, TX complex. Dow’s CEO Andrew Liveris revealed the plant’s location during a recent first-quarter conference call. Dow, on April 21, announced plans to build two on-purpose propylene plants, including one in Texas, with a combined capacity for 900,000 m.t./year.
Dow now plans to build a world-scale on-purpose facility at Freeport, for completion in 2015, and explore options to commercialize technology to produce propylene from propane, with start up of that unit planned by 2018. These investments will reduce Dow’s net purchases of propylene to less than 10% of the company’s total use in the U.S., Liveris said.
Dow’s olefins expansion plan also incudes the addition of 2.3million m.t./year ethylene capacity through the restarting of its St .Charles complex at Hahnville, LA plant by end 2012, improving or increasing feedstock flexibility at its Plaquemine, LA and Freeport sites by 2014, and by building a world-scale ethylene plant on the U.S. Gulf Coast by 2017. The St. Charles complex was shuttered in 2009. “Taken together, these actions will allow us to increase our ethylene capabilities by as much as 20% in the United States over the next two to three years…and allow usto deliver as much as 90% of our North American ethylene from ethane”, Liveris said.
Mitsubishi Chemical Studying Biobased Butanediol Joint Venture with Genomatica
Mitsubishi’s global reach. Biobased chemical firm Genomatica(San Diego) says it has signed a memorandum of understanding with Mitshubishi Chemical to study a potential joint venture to build Asia’s first commercial-scale biobased 1,4-butanediol (BDO) production plant. The jv would leverage Genomatica’s one-step bio-BDO technology and Mitsubishi’s expertise in BDO applications and sales, Genomatica says.
Mitsubishi is among the top five BDO producers globally and uses much of its BDO internally to produce products such as polybutylene terephthalate (PBT). The company is also looking beyond the use of bio-BDO in existing markets, having earlier this month established a 50-50 joint venture company with PTT (Bangkok) for the production of polybutylene succinate (PBS), a 100% biodegradable plastic made from succinic acid and BDO.
“We respect and share Genomatica’s vision of the importance of sustainability for the chemical industry—and we recognize their achievements with C4 chemicals, which are strategic to us,” says Hiroaki Ishizuka, representative director of Mitsubishi Chemical Corporation. “Asia is the fastest-growing chemicals market in the world and we see great potential to deliver bio-based chemicals to this market as a growing complement to our current conventionally-sourced chemicals. We believe that a strategic partnership with Genomatica will provide market-leading economics and quality which will benefit both parties.” Mitsubishi was among the investors in Genomatica’s recent $45 million funding round, the companies say.
The commercial-scale plant will likely be co-located at a Southeast Asia sugarcane or cassava processing facility, Bill Baum, Genomatica’s board chairman and executive v.p./chief business development officer tells CW. He expects the deal to be completed “well before the end of the year,” and the plant’s capacity to be on the order of 100 million lbs/year. The global market for petroleum-based BDO is around 3 billion lbs/year, he adds.
Meanwhile, Genomatica is proceeding with a demonstration-scale unit at Tate & Lyle’s Decatur, IL corn wet mill. The company expects start-up to begin in the fourth quarter, with most of the runs completed by the first quarter of next year, Baum says.
Genomatica is also looking into developing a route to BDO from cellulosic sources. Earlier this month, the company announced a partnership with Mossi & Ghisolfi Group’s Chemtex subsidiary (M&G; Tortona, Italy) to develop a second-generation production process for bio-BDO.
Russia’s NKNH signs Finish styrene monomer deal
Russian petrochemicals company Nizhnekamskneftekhim (NKNH) has signed a deal to supply plastics processors in Finland with styrene monomer over the next three years.
The company, based in Nizhnekamsk in Russia’s semi-autonomous republic of Tatarstan,is due to deliver styrene valued at nearly €37m to the Finnish offshoot of global expandable polystyrene (EPS) producer StyroChem between 2011 –2013.
NKNH is also set to supply the monomer to Ashland Finland, the subsidiary of US speciality chemicals group Ashland Inc. which operates resin plants in Porvoo and Tampere, Finland. That deal will see styrene worth more than €18m supplied in the period of 2011-12, according to the Tatarstan government.
Agreements were signed by the companies during a recent official visit to Finland by the Russian republic’s president Rustam Minnikhanov reported his news service.
NKNH is a major Russian synthetic rubber and polystyrene producer as well as manufacturing polyolefins and their raw materials. The Tatarstan government holds a 29% stake in the group.
During 2009, NKNH reported a company turnover of €1.5bn with a net profit of €10.6m.
NKNH, an important exporter of synthetic rubber, plans to expand its production of the products through to 2014 to meet growing foreign demand, the company revealed last year.
DuPont opens China automotive technology centre
DuPont opened an automotive development centre 21 April within its existing Shanghai research and development centre, joining similar automotive centres the company has in the US, Europe and Japan.
The company is opening the centre to build stronger links to China’s automotive market, and because technology and materials development will be critical to that country’s growing auto makers, said Tony Su, president of DuPont Greater China.
The company said the centre would have laboratories focused on material development, prototyping, auto parts performance and reliability testing, as well as a design centre.
“The investment in our automotive capabilities in China is the next stage of our vision to create a strong network of automotive development and support centres around the world,” said David Glasscock, global automotive technology director, in a statement.
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