PolyOne ColorMatrix technology enables energy savings for Chinese PET packaging converters

MOSCOW (MRC) -- ColorMatrix, a subsidiary of PolyOne Corporation and a global leader in liquid color and additives for plastics, has announced that its patented Joule RHB liquid infra-red absorption technology is now approved for use in PET beverage packaging in China, as per the company's press release.

Adding this technology to bottle preforms enables improved recyclability and reduces energy consumption by up to 30% compared with reheat-free PET resin for substantial production cost savings.

Steven Chai, general manager, ColorMatrix Asia, said, "Joule RHB formulations have successfully delivered value through production efficiency and enhanced post-consumer recyclability for customers around the world. We can now work with PET manufacturers in China to help them improve sustainability, combat rising energy costs, and achieve greater market success."

Joule RHB offers energy gains and raw material savings throughout multiple processing steps by improving infra-red energy absorption. Environmental and raw material gains can be achieved throughout the packaging lifecycle, including the recycling stream. Its inorganic, titanium nitride (TiN) base means the additive can naturally withstand higher temperatures. Inherent blue toning properties help reduce the appearance of yellowing to maintain clarity, while the additive also retains its reheat capability even after long-term recycling.

"We currently manufacture Joule formulations at our facility in Suzhou for customers in other countries throughout Asia Pacific, enabling us to go to market in China immediately with local technical support and short lead times," added Chai.

As MRC reported earlier, PolyOne Corporation has recently announced the launch of NEU View Radiopaque Translucent Solutions, an innovative polymer formulation that provides catheter manufacturers and healthcare professionals enhanced material functionality and performance. Catheters made using the patent-pending NEU View technology provide optical visibility (translucent) when outside the body and superior visibility under X-ray (radiopaque) when inside the body.

PolyOne Corporation, with 2013 revenues of USD3.8 billion, is a premier provider of specialized polymer materials, services and solutions with operations in specialty polymer formulations, color and additive systems, polymer distribution and specialty vinyl resins.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Teknor Apex Company has completed the acquisition of Viking Polymers, LLC, a custom compounder with a diversified portfolio of specialty formulations and a particularly extensive involvement in rigid PVC and related materials for building and construction, reported the company on its site.

The amount of the deal was undisclosed.

Based in Jamestown, NC, USA, Viking Polymers has a nominal annual compounding capacity of 50 million lbs. (23,000 metric tons). The acquired business will be part of the Teknor Apex Vinyl Division, continue to operate in Jamestown, NC, and retain all employees, according to Louis R. Cappucci, Teknor Apex vice president and head of the Vinyl Division.

"While most of the business of the Vinyl Division of Teknor Apex has historically centered on flexible compounds, rigid PVC plays an increasingly important role in our continued growth," said Mr. Cappucci. "The acquisition of Viking Polymers adds substantially to our rigid PVC capabilities and represents a natural extension of our product portfolio into weatherable capstocks, CPVC compounds, and other specialties for the fast-growing building and construction market."

The chief applications for CPVC (chlorinated polyvinyl chloride) include hot and cold potable water systems and industrial piping. PVC, ASA, acrylic and alloys are custom formulated for applications ranging from house siding, windows, decks, railings, rainwater systems, and fences.

As MRC informed before, in December 2013, Teknor Apex Asia Pacific Pte Ltd., a subsidiary of Teknor Apex Company, completed a global restructuring of TPE brands and since then has combined all compounds for consumer product applications under the well-known Monprene brand. It now embraces a much broader portfolio of TPE technologies that provide a vast array of consumer values.

Teknor Apex is one of the world's leading custom compounders headquartered in Pawtucket, Rhode Island, USA. The company produces PA compounds in the UK, the USA, and Singapore. Teknor Apex is one of the world's leaders of specialty PVC compounds which are used in a wide range of applications from wire and cable to automotive, medical, consumer and industrial products. The company also produces thermoplastic elastomers, nylon, bioplastics, chemicals, specialty compounds.

Founded in 1994, Viking Polymers is a custom compounder specializing in thermoplastic compounds. PVC products offered by Viking Polymers include pelletized and dryblend rigid vinyl, flexible vinyl, and PVC-based blends and alloys.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Bayer MaterialScience has inaugurated its new coatings, adhesives and specialities laboratory at the DuBiotech premises, a major life science cluster, in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, as per GV.

This application and development lab will offer local technical support to the industry across the Middle East and Africa. Focussing on key application areas like construction, automotive, industrial, plastic, wood and furniture coatings it will also lead to the development of polyurethane coatings for diverse applications including sealants for construction joints as well as airport tarmacs and solvent-free coatings for pipe applications, says Bayer. It is also planned that the laboratory will provide tailor-made solutions to the manufacturers of adhesives and sealants for the transportation, construction, furniture, packaging and shoe industries.

According to the company, the lab will work in close cooperation with Bayer’s global competence network having its established laboratories and technical centres in India, China, Japan, Russia, Brazil, USA, Spain, and Germany. DuBiotech, offering international standard services and facilities, hosts the state-of-the-art laboratory that is equipped with advanced testing and application equipment, meeting global standards and guidelines.

As MRC wrote previously, Bayer MaterialScience has recently acquired DuPont's aniline production facility in Baytown, Texas. Aniline is a primary feedstock used to manufacture methylene diphenyl diisocyanate (MDI), a versatile chemical used to produce rigid polyurethane foams for insulation in the construction industry, as well as coatings, adhesives, sealants, elastomers and binders.

Headquartered in Pittsburgh, Pa., BMS is part of the global Bayer MaterialScience business with approximately 14,800 employees at 30 production sites around the world.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Abu Dhabi Polymers Co. (Borouge), a joint venture of Abu Dhabi National Oil Co. and Borealis, is undergoing start-up activities on its USD 4.5-billion third phase expansion in Ruwais, Abu Dhabi, as per GV.

Borealis, in announcing its financial results for 2013, said the cracker is scheduled to begin production "at the end of the first quarter of 2014." The 1.5-million t/y cracker will complement Borouge’s existing 600,000-t/y and a 1.5-million-t/y crackers at the Ruwais site.

The third phase expansion project, which had initially been scheduled to come on stream during 2013, will also increase the venture’s polyolefins capacity to 4.5-million t/y from 2-million t/y. The additional capacity includes two Borstar enhanced polyethylene (PE) plants having a combined capacity of 1.08-million t/y, a 350,000-t/y low-density PE plant and two Borstar enhanced polypropylene plants with a total of 960,000 t/y of capacity.

As MRC informed previously, in January 2014, Honeywell was awarded four contracts worth a combined USD40 million over an 18-month duration for the Abu Dhabi Polymer Company’s Borouge 3 petrochemicals complex in Ruwais, Abu Dhabi. Honeywell will be the main automation contractor (MAC) for this project, providing Linde and other engineering, procurement and construction (EPCs) contractors involved in the project with integrated control and safety systems.

Honeywell’s technologies have previously been implemented in the Borouge 1 project in 1999 and the Borouge 2 project in 2010, and will continue to help Borouge meet its goal of expanding capacity of the plant, making it the largest integrated polyolefins site in the world.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Arkema, a France-based chemical manufacturer, is launching its first range of liquid thermoplastic resins under the brand Elium, which is transformed using the same processes as composite thermosets, said the producer in its press-release.

The exciting new technology won an award in 2013 at JEC and is being used in 2014 because it is lightweight, cost-effective and recyclable. Elium resins polymerize quickly and can be used to design structural parts as well as aesthetic elements in a number of applications anywhere from the automotive and transportation industries to wind power, athletic equipment and the building sector.

Elium is it an easy resin to use for lightweight and resilient composite parts. Composite parts made from Elium are 30-50% lighter than the same parts made from steel, but offer the same resistance. When combined with Arkema Luperox peroxide initiators, Elium can be molded into complex design forms for composite parts and perfectly blends with glass or carbon fibers. As a bonus, it is also compatible with conventional thermosetting resin transformation technologies, which cuts down the costs of transformers.

In addition to the Elium range, Arkema is developing a polyetherketoneketone (PEKK) called Kepstan to replace metal in extreme conditions (offshore, aviation), the Rilsan range, a high-performance powdered or granulated polyamide that is 100% bio-sourced and makes thermoset composites resistant to abrasion and shock at very high or low temperatures.

As MRC wrote before, Arkema officially started its new 60,000 MTY emulsion polymers facility on its Changshu platform. The plant, part of Arkema’s Coating Resins business unit, will serve customers in the Asia Pacific region with a full line of waterborne emulsion polymers for coatings and adhesives applications.

Arkema is a global industrial and speciality chemical company made up of three business segments; Vinyl Products, Industrial Chemicals and Performance Products. It is present in over 40 countries with 14,000 employees and sales of more than EUR6bn.
MRC