PET recycling rate is growing in Europe

(Plasteurope) -- Following a year-on-year gain of 6.5% last year European post-sorting PET collection grew by 140,000 t (equivalent to 5.6 bn bottles) in 2011, reaching almost 1.6m t in total. In percentage terms, the annual increase reached 9.4%, with a record 51% of all PET bottles in the market collected.

The overall EU 27 collection growth rate remained stable at 2%. PET recyclers are still able to absorb larger numbers of PET for reprocessing.

According to Casper van den Dungen, chairman of EuPR’s PET working group, "Capacity utilisation of our recycle plants is only 77% at present. This provides the challenge for municipalities, other collectors and industry to increase the current collection rate even further to load the recycling facilities already in place."

Exports of PET bales to the Far East claim that, in terms of end use, more than 50% of the resulting PET went towards containers for sheet or new packaging applications (divided evenly among bottles and jars as well as sheet and other thermoformed containers), while fibres accounted for 39% of PET flake. About 9% of recycled PET was used to make new plastic strapping tape.

As MRC report earlier, PET recycling industry is also growing in Ukraine. Thus, "Ukrenergoresyrsy" launches a new technological line for PET-bottle recycling in Khmelnitskaya region. PET bottles will be processed into PET flakes, "A" class.
MRC

(prw) -- La Seda de Barcelona has halted a plan to expand its plastics packaging division (APPE) after falling short in an attempt to raise capital for the project.

The Barcelona-based blamed tough financial conditions in Europe, and said it will look for alternative ways to finance the plan. The company was seeking capital to help APPE expand into new markets and different materials.

La Seda announced July 12 that it had aimed to raise €40m to finance the project, but to date it had only raised about EUR12.3m.

"The board of directors regrets that it has not been possible to complete the operation, which has been affected by current economic conditions in Europe," the company said.
MRC

(hydrocarbonprocessing) -- CB&I has been awarded a contract by Petronas for licensing and engineering design work on five petrochemicals units in Johor, Malaysia.

The project is part of the new Petronas refinery and petrochemicals integrated development (RAPID) project in Johor.

"CB&I is excited to be working with Petronas on this important project by providing several key technologies from our petrochemicals portfolio," said Daniel McCarthy, president of CB&I’s Lummus Technology.

"The RAPID project will allow Petronas to expand its products portfolio, capitalizing on the demand for higher value products in the region."

Lummus Technology said it will provide technology for a world-scale steam cracker complex comprising ethylene, butadiene, benzene, isobutylene and MTBE units.
MRC

(hydrocarbonprocessing) -- French oil major Total said Monday that its European refining margin indicator more than doubled to USD38.20/ton in the 2012 second quarter, up from USD16.30/ton in the same period a year ago.

The margin also nearly doubled from USD20.90/ton in the first quarter of this year, Total said in its quarterly chart of main indicators.

The indicator is not Total’s own margin, but an indicator "intended to represent the margin after variable costs for a hypothetical complex refinery located around Rotterdam in Northern Europe that processes a mix of crude oil and other inputs commonly supplied to this region to produce and market the main refined products at prevailing prices in this region."

European refining economics have been relatively weak for year.
MRC

(Azom) -- Arkema, a France-based chemical manufacturer, has declared a project to divest its tin stabilizer business to PMC Group, a New Jersey-based performance plastics and chemicals manufacturer.
This planned divestment of organometallic products includes Fascat catalysts, Thermolite tin stabilizers and fine chemicals. Therefore, Arkema strives to refocus its activities on expanding core specialty businesses.

On the basis of tin chemistry, Thermolite heat stabilizers are specifically utilized in the manufacturing pf PVC, which is mainly used in the construction sector, whereas Fascat catalysts are utilized in automotive specialties as well as in other applications. This organometallic activity, which is a part of Arkema’s functional additives business division, has announced sales of about EUR180 M in three continents.

Additionally, 4 industrial locations and 234 people across the globe will be involved in this project. The Beijing plant in China, the Carrollton KY, plant, and some assets at the Mobile (Axis) AL plant in the US will be shifted.

While processing PVC into finished products, heat or tin stabilizers are specifically utilized to prevent heat-induced decomposition. These stabilizers are often used in stiff and plasticized PVC.
MRC