Explosion and fire at Dutch Shell chemical plant

MOSCOW (MRC) -- A fire triggered by an explosion at a Shell chemical plant in styrene monomer (SM)/propylene oxide (PO) plant (MSPO-2) at Moerdijk in the Netherlands has been brought under control, said BBC.

Fire crews managed to extinguish the blaze in the early hours of Wednesday, officials say. Two people suffered minor burns, but the cause of the blast - heard from more than 30km (20 miles) away - remains unknown.

A spokesman for Shell told that the factory was in operation 24 hours a day but that all personnel who were on site at the time had been accounted for.

The mayor of Moerdijk, Jan Klijs, said there appeared to have been a leak of benzene, but it was not yet known whether it was methylbenzene or ethylbenzene. Local media quoted residents as saying the ground "shook like an earthquake".

The local authority announced on Wednesday morning that the fire had been extinguished. It withdrew earlier advice for people living nearby to keep windows and doors closed.

The factory makes oil-based chemicals for use in products that range from car components to insulation materials.

The Shell complex was also hit by a serious fire in 2012.

Royal Dutch Shell plc is an Anglo-Dutch multinational oil and gas company headquartered in The Hague, Netherlands and with its registered office in London, United Kingdom. It is the biggest company in the world in terms of revenue and one of the six oil and gas "supermajors". Shell is vertically integrated and is active in every area of the oil and gas industry, including exploration and production, refining, distribution and marketing, petrochemicals, power generation and trading.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Eastman Chemical Company, a global specialty chemical company, has increased prices on the following products on 1 June 2014, or as contracts allow, reported the company on its site.

These increases are due to elevated operating costs, especially in raw materials.

Thus, the prices for the said products rose as follows:
- Endex pure monomer hydrocarbon resins: list price increase of USD 0.05/lb (USD 0.11/kg) globally. Offlist price increase of USD 0.05/lb (USD 0.11/kg) globally;
- Kristalex pure monomer hydrocarbon resins: list price increase of USD 0.05/lb (USD 0.11/kg) globally. Offlist price increase of USD 0.05/lb (USD0.11/kg) globally;
- Piccolastic pure monomer hydrocarbon resins: list price increase of USD 0.05/lb (USD 0.11/kg) globally. Offlist price increase of USD 0.05/lb (USD0.11/kg) globally;
- Piccotex pure monomer hydrocarbon resins: list price increase of USD 0.05/lb (USD 0.11/kg) globally. Offlist price increase of USD 0.05/lb (USD0.11/kg) globally;
- Plastolyn pure monomer hydrocarbon resins: list price increase of USD 0.05/lb (USD 0.11/kg) globally. Offlist price increase of USD 0.05/lb (USD0.11/kg) globally.

As MRC informed before, brand owners can now select Eastman Tritan copolyester and Eastar copolyester from Eastman Chemical Company for carbon filtration and reverse osmosis systems. Unlike polycarbonate (PC), both materials are made without bisphenol A (BPA), a big advantage for brand owners looking to answer consumers’ needs for BPA-free products. Tritan and Eastar provide a clear view of the filtration media, without the breakage and durability issues associated with some clear plastics, including styrene acrylonitrile copolymers (SAN). The glasslike clarity of Tritan and Eastar also allow for greater tinting flexibility, compared with the noticeable blue cast of SAN.

Eastman (headquartered in Kingsport, Tennessee, USA) is a global specialty chemical company that produces a broad range of products found in items people use every day. With a portfolio of specialty businesses, Eastman works with customers to deliver innovative products and solutions while maintaining a commitment to safety and sustainability. Its market-driven approaches take advantage of world-class technology platforms and leading positions in attractive end-markets such as transportation, building and construction, and consumables. As a globally diverse company, Eastman serves customers in approximately 100 countries and had 2013 revenues of approximately USD9.4 billion.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Celanese Corporation, a global technology and specialty materials company and a global leader in EVA emulsions, has announced that due to market conditions, including the global supply unavailability of vinyl acetate monomer, it will increase the price of vinyl acetate-based emulsions sold in the Americas, as per the company's press release.

PVAc homopolymer, vinyl acetate ethylene (VAE) and vinyl acrylic emulsions will increase by up to USD0.04/wet pound (USD90/tonne) effective June 16, 2014, or as contracts allow.

This announcement is in addition to the price increases for the same vinyl-based emulsions which were announced on March 7, 2014 and effective April 1, 2014, and announced on January 10, 2014 and effective on February 1, 2014.

As MRC informed previously, Celanese Corporation raised its April prices of vinyl acetate-based emulsions sold in the Americas as follows: PVAc homopolymer, EVA and vinyl acrylic emulsions will increase by up to USD0.03/wet pound (USD70/tonne).

This price increase affects all applications including, but not limited to, adhesives, paints and coatings, building and construction, nonwovens, glass fiber, carpet, paper and textiles.

Celanese Corporation is a global technology leader in the production of differentiated chemistry solutions and specialty materials used in most major industries and consumer applications. Based in Dallas, Texas, Celanese employs approximately 7,400 employees worldwide and had 2013 net sales of USD6.5 billion.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Major European plastics supplier Borealis has developed a portfolio of polypropylene compounds with a post-consumer recycled content for use in interior, exterior and under-the-hood automotive applications, said the producer in its press release.

Developed for Borealis' European customers, the three Daplen grades will enable the automotive industry to satisfy the need for materials with 'enhanced sustainability while ensuring performance on par with virgin materials', according to the company.

"We see a clear trend towards the use of recyclates together with virgin materials," states Jost Eric Laumeyer, global marketing manager for engineering applications for the Austria-headquartered company. "Today, answering the call for materials with increased sustainability and increasing resource efficiency is no longer an aspiration but a business imperative for the automotive industry."

As MRC wrote before, Jacobs Engineering Group has received a contract from Borealis to provide engineering, procurement, project management and construction management services for a project to increase cross-linked polyethylene (XLPE) capacity at its manufacturing site in Stenungsund, Sweden.

Borealis is a leading provider of innovative solutions in the fields of polyolefins, base chemicals and fertilizers. The only polyethylene (PE) producer in Sweden, Borealis’ Stenungsund facilities include a PE plant, a cracker for ethylene and propylene production, and an innovation center focused on research and development for infrastructure markets.

MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- The Acrylic Polymers Business Line of Evonik Industries AG (in Podolsk) began producing extruded PLEXIGLAS solid sheets in Russia ten years ago and has been increasing its market share in the country ever since, as per Evonik's press release.

"Having a local presence was crucial if we were to strengthen our business in Russia’s growth market and continue to expand," said Michael Traxler, Head of the Acrylic Polymers Business Line at Evonik.

Evonik entered this market through the OOO DESTEK joint venture, in which it has a majority interest. DESTEK supplies the Russian market with several thousand metric tons of extruded PLEXIGLAS per year. Its main customers are from the illuminated advertising, noise protection, and furniture construction industries.

DESTEK has an outstanding distribution network that ensures supplies to the entire Russian market. In response to the strong demand for high-quality PLEXIGLAS products, Evonik started to expand production capacity back in 2009.

"In doing so, we advanced our growth strategy in Russia, further increased the availability of our products, and shortened delivery times," explained Andrey Ivanov, Director General of DESTEK.

DESTEK also offers specialty PLEXIGLAS products from other sites in the global production network of the Acrylic Polymers Business Line. To market these more effectively in Russia, Evonik opened a light studio in Podolsk in 2013 in which customers can see all of the benefits of PLEXIGLAS for themselves.

Evonik Industries is a worldwide manufacturer of PMMA products sold under the PLEXIGLAS trademark on the European, Asian, African and Australian continents and under the ACRYLITE trademark in the Americas.

As MRC informed previously, Evonik Industries is paving the way for a new technology whose applications include automotive finishes that are more scratch-resistant than ever before. The German specialty chemicals company has developed an industrial-scale method for producing silane-modified binders for automotive finishes. The advantage of these silane-modified binders: silane groups increase crosslinking density, making it possible to create automotive finishes that are flexible yet harder, leading to improved scratch resistance.

Evonik, the creative industrial group from Germany, is one of the world leaders in specialty chemicals. Its activities focus on the key megatrends health, nutrition, resource efficiency and globalization. Evonik is active in over 100 countries around the world. In fiscal 2013 more than 33,500 employees generated sales of around EUR12.9 billion and an operating profit (adjusted EBITDA) of about EUR2.0 billion.
MRC