Solvay unveils new film grades for production of front sheets for photovoltaic modules

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Solvay Specialty Polymers has launched two new film grades of Halar ethylene chlorotrifluoroethylene (ECTFE) that are specifically designed for front sheet applications for photovoltaic (PV) modules, as per the company's press release.

Halar PV ECTFE and Halar ECTFE UV blocking technology mark Solvay’s entrance into PV front sheet applications. The new products complement Solvay’s extensive material offering for PV modules which includes Solef polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) and Halar ECTFE for back sheets and Cogegum XLPO HFFR for cables and Polidiemme XLPO for innovative encapsulants.

The new film grades for front sheets expand Solvay’s penetration of the growing PV module market where it is already a key supplier of Solef PVDF and Halar ECTFE for PV back sheets. "With our broad product portfolio we are firmly positioned as a strategic supplier to the global PV market and this new launch signals our further commitment to the industry," said Philippe-Jacques Leng, global market manager for film for Solvay Specialty Polymers. "We believe this is a highly sustainable market that requires specially designed materials to meet the PV industry’s high-performance needs."

Halar PV ECTFE - a semi-crystalline, melt-processable fluoropolymer resin - can be extruded into a highly transparent film (over 90% light transmission). It provides excellent water vapor barrier in a wide range of temperatures and offers strong chemical resistance, exceptional fire resistance, and long-term weatherability, making it suitable for 20-plus years of direct exposure to sunlight.

Halar PV ECTFE is a highly viable alternative to competing materials such as glass (rigid, heavy, and breakable) and other fluorinated polymers, offering greater fire resistance, higher tensile modulus, and lower density than its direct competitors.

In addition to Halar PV ECTFE, Solvay has launched new Halar UV blocking technology which is the only solution of its kind in the industry. The new product offers the same properties as Halar PV but also employs patented technology to deliver long-lasting UV blocking performance to meet the solar industry’s 25-year performance life for PV modules.

Solvay's first partner in developing PV front sheet technology - Amcor Flexibles - is launching films based on the new Halar®ECTFE technology for the PV front sheet market. Films are available up to 1.5 meters wide and 50 microns thick.

As MRC reported earlier, in April 2014, Solvay signed an agreement to sell its polyvinyl chloride (PVC) compound business Benvic Europe to U.S. investment company OpenGate Capital, further improving the resilience of the Group’s portfolio. Benvic Europe mixes PVC and additives, pigments and stabilizers to make innovative plastic compounds, which are processed to serve markets ranging from cars and aircrafts to medical applications and construction.

As an international chemical group, Solvay assists industries in finding and implementing ever more responsible and value-creating solutions. Solvay generates 90% of its net sales in activities where it is among the world's top three players. It serves many markets, varying from energy and the environment to automotive and aerospace or electricity and electronics. The group is headquartered in Brussels, employs about 29,400 people in 56 countries and generated 9.9 billion euros in net sales in 2013.
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The first phase of Ilam petrochem complex was inaugurated in Iran

MOSCOW (MRC) -- President Hassan Rouhani has inaugurated the first phase of Ilam Petrochemical Complex, Trend reported.

President Rouhani and his accompanying delegation visited different parts of Ilam Petrochemical Complex and were briefed about the activities of the complex.

Ilam Petrochemical Complex is one of the country's big industrial projects that has the processing units of ethylene, heavy polyethylene (PE) and sulfur filtering unit as well as other peripheral services.

Ilam Petrochemical Complex is built in a 122-hectare area and is located 18 kilometers from Ilam city. It creates jobs in the province, make optimized use of the products of gas refinery and converting them valuable petrochemical products with more added value.

Launching Ilam Petrochemical will result in creation of downstream industries in the region, economic boom of the province and increasing the peripheral services at the regional level.

As MRC wrote previously, in January 2013, Iran opened a new petrochemical plant in the western province of Kermanshah. The Kermanshah Polymer Petrochemical Plant has an annual production capacity of 300,000t of heavy PE. It is expected to market nearly USD429mln petrochemical products annually.
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LANXESS begins 3-year revamp to regain lost clients, profit

MOSCOW (MRC) -- LANXESS AG Chief Executive Officer Matthias Zachert, five weeks into the role, said it will take as many as three years to regain lost customers and turn around the maker of synthetic rubber and agricultural chemicals, said Bloomberg.

Zachert is starting with a capital increase of 10 percent that raised about EUR430 million (USD598 million). That will help pay for a "painful" restructuring, which may include temporary and permanent plant closures, divesting units and partnerships in production and raw-material supply, he said on a call yesterday.

The 46-year-old executive said it won’t be a "quick fix" and the Cologne, Germany-based maker of synthetic rubber has to reestablish trust and then long-term contracts with lost clients. Lanxess last year posted its first annual loss since its 2005 stock-market debut and halved its dividend after focusing too heavily on the auto and tire industries.

"It’s going to be a very long and winding road," Zachert said on the call, commenting on his decision to take the post. “I knew upfront about very tough decisions like fixing the balance sheet structure, closing plants, terminating contracts and reducing workforce. This is not easy stuff to do."

LANXESS AG reported net income for the first quarter of EUR 25 million or EUR 0.30 per share, flat with the prior-year level, said the producer in its press release.

Sales were down by 2.5% to EUR 2 billion as the encouraging increase in volumes in all segments did not offset the drop in selling prices and negative currency effects.

LANXESS AG reported net income for the first quarter of EUR 25 million or EUR 0.30 per share, flat with the prior-year level. Sales were down by 2.5% to EUR 2 billion as the encouraging increase in volumes in all segments did not offset the drop in selling prices and negative currency effects.

LANXESS is a leading specialty chemicals company with sales of EUR 8.3 billion in 2013 and roughly 17,300 employees in 31 countries. The company is currently represented at 52 production sites worldwide. The core business of Lanxess is the development, manufacturing and marketing of plastics, rubber, intermediates and specialty chemicals.
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Petrobras first-quarter profit seen falling on output, costs

MOSCOW (MRC) - Brazil's state-run oil company, Petroleo Brasileiro SA, will likely report a one-third drop in first-quarter profit from a year earlier, on slack output, rising costs and a weakening Brazilian currency that erased gains from a fuel-price increase, said Reuters.

Net income in the period likely fell 32 percent to 5.24 billion reais (USD2.41 billion), according to the average forecast of 11 analysts surveyed by Reuters. Net income in the first quarter likely fell 17% from the fourth quarter. Petrobras plans to report first-quarter results after markets close on Friday.

The company is struggling to implement a USD221 billion, five-year investment plan as government fuel-price controls and soaring costs starve the company of cash. Rio de Janeiro-based Petrobras has the highest debt levels and lowest profitability of any major oil company.

Despite giant new offshore oil and gas discoveries, investors have been shunning its shares. Six years ago it was one of the world's 10 biggest companies by market value. Today's market cap of USD102 billion is only about one-third of its 2008 peak.

Petrobras' annual profit could rise by more than half in 2014 from 2013 to 36.2 billion reais if the company is more skillfully managed and freed by the government to raise domestic gasoline and diesel prices in line with world prices, Paula Kovarsky, oil company analyst at Banco Itau BBA in Sao Paulo, wrote on Thursday in a note to investors.

The company, though, faces a series of difficulties dragging on revenue, cash flow and profit. Petrobras' average oil and natural gas output in the first quarter was the lowest in five years, the result of slipping flows from older fields and regular delays in bringing giant, new offshore areas on line. As MRC wrote before, Petrobras, was in talks to sell off its Argentine unit as part of a USD9.9 billion divestment plan.

Petroleo Brasileiro S.A. or Petrobras is a semi-public Brazilian multinational energy corporation headquartered in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. It is the largest company in the Southern Hemisphere by market capitalization and the largest in Latin America measured by 2011 revenues.
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BASF presents Ultramid for flexible packaging films derived from renewable raw materials

MOSCOW (MRC) -- BASF offers high performance Ultramid (polyamide), which is derived from renewable raw materials with certified biomass, said the company in its press release.

The share of renewable raw materials in the sales product is then indicated in the respective quantity. A third-party certification confirms to customers that BASF has used the required quantities of renewable raw materials which the customer has ordered in the value chain.

The resulting Ultramid, which is produced according to the so called mass balance approach, is identical in terms of formulation and quality but associated with lower green house gas emissions and saving of fossil resources . Also , existing plants and technologies along the value chain can continue to be used without changes.

As MRC wrote previously, BASF is building a new Ultramid polymerization plant with a capacity of 100,000 metric tons per year in Shanghai, China. The new plant is planned to start up in 2015.

With over 60 years' experience, BASF is the leading supplier of high-quality polyamides and polyamide intermediates for technical plastics, films, fibers and monofilaments. Its product range includes Ultramid B (polyamide 6), Ultramid C (polyamide 6/6.6 copolymer) and Ultramid A (polyamide 6.6).

BASF operates Ultramid polymerization plants in Ludwigshafen, Germany; Antwerp, Belgium; Freeport, Texas and Sao Paulo, Brazil. The production of polyamide for film, textile and carpet fiber as well as for engineering plastics applications is integrated into BASF’s global Verbund structure with polyamide intermediates (i.e. adipic acid, anolon, caprolactam), chemical raw materials (i.e. ammonia, cyclohexane, sulfuric acid), energy, by-product recovery, logistics and other services.
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