Jurong Aromatic Corporation installs new equipement at its aromatic complex

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Xylene splitter, a xylene separation tower used to produce aromatics, has been installed by the Jurong Aromatic Corporation (JAC) in Jurong Island, the petrochemical hub of Singapore, as per Fibretofashion.

The splitter weighing 1,147 tonnes is 108m tall and has a diameter of 8m. On completion of the Jurong Aromatic plant in early 2014, the plant is expected to produce 800,000 tpa of paraxylene, which will be supplied to textile manufacturers.

The xylene splitter was installed by the company as part of its USD 2.4 billion Jurong aromatic project in the island. The project was scheduled to start its operations by August 2011 but was delayed due to financial crisis.

As MRC reported earlier, after a three-year delay caused by the credit squeeze during the global financial crisis, Jurong Aromatics' new petrochemicals project in Singapore was finally launched with strong support from Korea. The project involves development of a condensate splitter and aromatics facility on Jurong Island, with production capacity of 1.5 mln tpa aromatics and 2.5 mln tonnes of fuel.

The major investors of the project are Korea’s SK Group, with a 30% stake, Chinese polyester maker Jiangsu Sanfangxiang Group, which holds 25%, Glencore International with a 10% share in the project, Arovin and Shefford Investments (equity investment houses based in India) with about 10% stake each, 5% stake held by the Economic Development Board of Singapore and the balance 10% is held by other minority shareholders based across the region.

Paraxylene is an aromatic hydrocarbon used for manufacturing purified terephthalic acid (PTA).
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MOSCOW (MRC) -- DuPont, the US Chemical giant, has announced that its Cedar Creek site in Fayetteville will close by November, according to Fayobserver.

DuPont Teijin Films US LP plans to consolidate production of internal PET polymer for its U.S. business at its Hopewell manufacturing site in Chester, Va. The Cedar Creek site will end PET polymer production by the middle of this year, the company said, and the 50-acre site will close by November 30.

The polyester chips made in Cumberland County are used in polyester films that can be found in products including panel displays, diabetes test strips and bar codes, Hubble said.

The Cedar Creek site opened in 1967 as a nylon plant. It has been subdivided and changed hands and functions over the years. DuPont currently occupies about 25% of it.

DuPont Teijin Films is a global joint venture partnership between E.I. du Pont de Nemours and Co. and Japan's Teijin Corp. DuPont Teijin Films makes a range of polyester films for markets including electronics, packaging, safety, health and protection, digital imaging and industrial applications.

We remind that, as MRC informed previously, earlier this year DuPont Co. struck a deal to sell its car paint business to Washington-based investment firm Carlyle Group LP for USD4.9 billion. The transaction is expected to close in the first quarter of 2013.

DuPont is an American chemical company that was founded in July, 1802. DuPont was the world's third largest chemical company based on market capitalization and ninth based on revenue in 2009. DuPont manufactures a wide range of chemical products, leading extensive innovative research in this field. The company is the inventor of many unique plastics and other materials, including neoprene, nylon, Teflon, Kevlar, Mylar, Tyvek, etc. The company was the developer and main producer of Freon used in the production of refrigeration equipment.
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MOSCOW (MRC) -- The fresh sanctions imposed by the Bulgarian Government on the recycling companies have evoked widespread criticism and protests. The Bulgarian Industrial Association (BIA) has gone to the extent of writing an open letter to the President and other government officials to voice their protest, said Plasticsinfomart.

The new law insists that the companies with office buildings must either enter into a contract with a licensed recycling firm in recycling their wastes or depend on the municipal recycling system wherever the number of inhabitants exceeds 5000. The law in enforced with effect from 2013 onwards. The fines charged for not complying with the law can be as high as Euro 5000.

The BIA highlights that there exists practical difficulties in implementing the law in all regions of the country. A large number of small to medium sized companies operating in the market will face the heat. The smaller players may be compelled to quit business. Moreover it may discourage foreign potential investors from setting up new business in the country.

The law as such has no clarity, as per BIA. It may lead to corruption and malpractices. BIA has requested the Government to re-look the new sanctions taking into consideration, the worse economic situation prevailing in the country.

As MRC wrote earlier, the polymer wastes makes about 12% of all the household wastes in Russia. During one year, the country produces nearly 800,000 tonnes of plastic wastes, the bulk of which is stored in landfills and only 10% is recycled.
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MOSCOW (MRC) -- Pinuform, a manufacturer of Wood Plastic Composite (WPC) in Germany, is increasing its production capacity by investing in WPC profile extrusion systems from KraussMaffei Berstorff, said Plasticsinfomart.

The extrusion lines, which recently went into operation at the Leipzig plant, Germany, comprise three WPC twin screw extruders in different sizes in addition to a twin screw extruder for compounding wood flour pellets, the German machinery supplier announced. "Our customer is convinced of the merits of our systems, as it uses our same-direction twin screw extruder to compound wood flour and polypropylene (PP) based pellets, which, in the next stage, are extruded on our opposite-direction twin screw extruders to make the final product," explains Michael Finkenzeller, Product Manager with responsibility for WPC Extrusion at KraussMaffei Berstorff.

“Firstly, we use it to recycle the wood chips from our planing mill in an eco-friendly way and, secondly, we use it to produce WPC decking profiles of outstanding quality, which are in demand by our customers. Another side benefit is that we are able to market the pellets separately,” enthuses Holger Sieck, Managing Director of Pinuform. KraussMaffei Berstorff says its same-direction twin screw extruder is particularly suited to cost-effective direct metering of components, since the residual moisture content (up to a maximum of 12%) can be optimally discharged through venting ports.

Meanwhile, the opposite-direction parallel twin screw extruder, equipped with a powerful high-torque drive, ensures high output levels. The processing unit, which features special wear protection, is suited to the extrusion of natural fiber reinforced plastics and, therefore, ensures long machine service life.

As MRC wrote earlier, two leading pipe manufacturers from Russia have recently chosen KraussMaffei Berstorff as a systems supplier for premium-quality technology and invested in PO pipe extrusion systems.

The KraussMaffei Group is a global leader in the plastics and rubber processing industries. The company covers all areas of injection molding machinery, extrusion technology and reaction process machinery, which gives it a unique selling point in the industry.

MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Bioplastics manufacturer Cereplast Inc. has announced it generated approximately USD300,000 in new revenue during the final two weeks of January 2013, said Canplastics.

According to the El Segundo, Calif.-based company, the new revenue is in addition to the USD500,000 in revenue announced in mind-January.

Cereplast attributes the most recent set of orders to the bioplastic demand in Italy that is resulting from the country’s ban of traditional plastic bags. “The Italian Application Decree, which mandates that companies discontinue the use of traditional plastic bags in favor of bioplastic bags or other alternatives, continues to drive demand for Cereplast Compostables blown film grades,” said the company in a statement, noting that the next milestone will be the formal publication of the decree, which is expected to further increase demand for bioplastic film.

The Italian parliament voted on Dec. 13, 2012 to confirm proposed sanctions on companies using traditional plastic bags. Once the Application Decree is officially published Italian companies will have 60 days to switch to bioplastic bags or other alternatives.

"The Italian market for bioplastic blown film is once again gaining momentum," said Frederic Scheer, Cereplast chairman and CEO. "As a result of government legislation and mandates being passed down by the Italian parliament, the sales trend is continuing. We anticipate demand from this key region to approach similar sales volumes that we experienced in 2011. We are encouraged by the sales data we are analyzing, which is pointing to a strong 2013."

As MRC wrote earlier, recently Cereplast introduced Biopropylene (R) 109D and reported the commercialization of Cereplast Algae Bioplastics. Biopropylene 109D is an injection molding grade manufactured with 20% post-industrial algae biomatter.

Cereplast Inc. is a bioplastics designer and manufacturer. Cereplast uses corn, tapioca, potatoes and algae, including polylactic acid polymer (PLA), to produce compostable plastic resins designed to serve as an alternative to petroleum-based plastics. Cereplast’s expandable resin ranges are used worldwide in the food packaging, food service, automotive, consumer electronics, cosmetics and consumer packaging industries.
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