INEOS to improve ethylene production capacity

(Fibre2fashion) -- INEOS, the leading petrochemical firm in US, intends to enhance the ethylene production capacity of its Texas based Chocolate Bayou facility by 6.5 percent, next year, Richard
Longden, Group Communications Manager of the company, has said.


The company plans to enhance its ethane cracking capacity and to develop infrastructure facilities associated with the complex. For the purpose, the company has already obtained requisite permits for engineering and construction works.


By end of next year, the project is seen to add an extra 115,000 tons per year (tpy) capacity to the Chocolate Bayou complex's existing capacity.

Presently, the company operates two crackers at Chocolate Bayou, which have a combined capacity of 1.792 million tpy.


Besides its Chocolate Bayou facility, the company also has a high density polyethylene (HDPE) facility at La Porte, Texas, which has a capacity of 950,000 tpy. It also operates another HDPE plant at Cedar Bayou, Texas,in association with Chevron- Phillips Chemical.

Last December, INEOS said it had shortlisted three locations on the US Gulf Coast as preferred locations for its proposed 500,000 tpy ethylene oxide (EO) and derivatives facility. It said it would select a location from Chocolate Bayou, Plaquemine, Louisiana, Battleground and La Porte.


MRC

Axel introduces process aid for modified polymers

(axel) -- Axel Plastics Research Laboratories Inc. has a new proprietary process aid for processing polybutylene terephthalate and PBT resin blends. "Axel's goal has been to offer a process aid additive that will offer improved flow of PBT and PBT resin blends," notes Axel product manager Nancy Teufel in a news release.


"We now have that with MoldWiz INT-35PHT, which allows more flexibility in the incorporation of filler types and loading levels, as well as an easier cavity fill and release performance for those same resins."
Tests on a polycarbonate/PBT blend show the product can decrease resin viscosity, reduce fluctuations in torque and boost output by as much as 100 percent, the Woodside, N.Y., firm claims. Tests were done at loading levels of 0.3 to 1 percent and showed no sacrifice in physical properties of molded parts.


MoldWiz INT-35PHT, a blend of modified polymers, organic fatty amides and glycerides, is a free-flowing powder or 100 percent active pellet.


MRC

Mitsui Chemicals to enhance PP capacity in Thailand

(chemmonitor) -- The Japan-headquartered maker Mitsui Chemicals decided to enhance polypropylene production at its Thailand site. The capacity will be increased by 18,000 tonnes per year. It will move up to 0.14 million tonnes per year. The firm is to construct a new line for this purpose.

The line will initiate activity in July-September of the existing year. The rise is targeted to satisfying the demand from a downstream automotive materials sector. The company will build a new storage unit, as well.

The Mitsui Chemicals Group has targeted intensification and expansion of polypropylene production in seven major world markets (Japan, United States, Mexico, Europe, Thailand, China, and India). The production augmentation in the Thailand will reinforce the Company's already world top class production capability for automotive material use polypropylene.


MRC

SM production suspended in Iran's Assaluyeh

(chemmonitor) -- The Iranian maker Pars Petrochemical was forced to suspend operations at one of its plants late in the previous month. The facility generates styrene monomer (SM). The plant's nameplate capacity is 0.6 million tonnes per year.


A decision to close the manufacturing unit was driven by utilities issues.
The company announced force majeure on SM produced at the facility on January 29.


Petrochemical Commercial Co. (PCC), established in 1990, is one of the largest business corporations in the Middle-East involved in marketing and sales of petrochemical products in the international markets as well as supplying Iran's petrochemical downstream industries.


MRC

Arkema completes acquisition of two Chinese chem companies

(arkema) -- Arkema has finalized the acquisition of Chinese companies Hipro Polymers, a producer of specialty biosourced polyamides 10.10, and Casda Biomaterials, the world's leading producer of sebacic acid processed from castor oil.


"This acquisition represents a large development potential for Arkema. It offers significant growth drivers for our high-tech polyamides, and will help us become the only chemical manufacturer in the world to offer the full range of polyamides 10, 11 and 12. Positioned in the green chemistry sector, this acquisition of companies in China fits in well with the growth strategy conducted by the Group in the last 5 years, " stated Thierry Le Henaff, Arkema Chairman and Chief Executive Officer.


By adding Hipro Polymers' PA10.10 to its existing high performance polymer portfolio, Arkema is strengthening its world leading position in specialty biosourced polyamides, which currently enjoy 15 to 20% annual growth. Arkema's strong reputation and application know-how in end-markets will help speed up the development of Hipro Polymers, in particular in transportation (automotive, trucks), renewable energies, and electronics. Hipro Polymers' site, near Shanghai, will see its polyamide production triple from mid-2012.

With Casda Biomaterials, the world's leading producer of sebacic acid, Arkema benefits from integrated feedstock for the production of PA10.10, and, through this strategic intermediate, will supply diversified world markets such as lubricants, plasticizers and corrosion-inhibiting additives, as well as the fast-growing biosourced and biodegradable polymers market.

Casda Biomaterials has been operating a new production line since 2010, using a reliable and competitive process, located in a recent industrial zone south of Beijing.


MRC