Firefighters try to extinguish a fire at a Sinopec oil refinery in Nanjing, Jiangsu province

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Firefighters try to extinguish a fire at a Sinopec oil refinery in Nanjing, Jiangsu province June 9, 2014. About 200 firefighters were dispatched to put out the blaze, which broke out on Monday when the sulphur recovery facility at the refinery of Sinopec Yangzi Petrochemical Co. caught fire and exploded, Xinhua News Agency reported.

No casualties have been reported, it said.

The fire happened at a downstream chemical plant and has been put out. The explosion was likely caused by a fire which started at the wastewater-treatment equipment and spread to the nearby crude oil tanks. Located at Nanjing in east China, Sinopec Yangzi has a crude refining capacity of 160,000 bbl/day.

As MRC wrote before, an explosion in a Sinopec Corp oil pipeline in late November 2013 killed 35 people in Qingdao in eastern China on Friday, causing a blaze that took several hours to bring under control and halting operations at a major oil port.

China Petroleum & Chemical Corporation (SINOPEC) is a large scale integrated energy and chemical company with upstream, midstream and downstream operations. Sinopec is the worlds seventh biggest company by revenue.
It is one of the major petroleum companies in China. Sinopec's business includes oil and gas exploration, refining, and marketing; production and sales of petrochemicals, chemical fibers, chemical fertilizers, and other chemical products. Sinopec is China's largest manufacturer and supplier of major petrochemical products. It is the second largest producer of crude oil in China. Its refining capacity and ethylene capacity rank No.2 and No.4 globally.
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MOSCOW (MRC) -- Praxair on Monday announced the start-up of its new 600-tpd air separation unit in Memphis, Tennessee, expanding the company’s ability to supply gaseous and liquid oxygen, nitrogen and argon to customers across the southeastern US, said Hydrocarbonprocessing.

Praxair operates multiple plants and pipelines throughout the region that serve numerous industrial gas customers, including Nucor Steel Memphis and the Valero Memphis refinery.

Using innovative technology, energy-efficient processes and argon recovery, the facility will serve liquid-product customers, including the region’s growing automotive industry.

"Our new investment strengthens Praxair’s position as a leading supplier of industrial gases and will support our growing business in the region," said Jeff Barnhard, East Region vice president for Praxair’s US industrial gases segment.

"The plant will further enable Praxair to serve the full spectrum of customer needs, from cylinder gases to bulk and on-site gases."

As MRC wrote before, Praxair Volgograd LLC, a subsidiary of Praxair, Inc., in 2012 launched its first large-scale air separation plant in Volgograd, an industrial region in southern Russia. This plant produces oxygen, nitrogen and compressed air for Kaustik, a division of the Nikochem Group, under a long-term contract. The highly-efficient plant has a capacity of 350 tons per day and reduces Kaustik’s electricity consumption at the site by approximately 30%. The plant also supplys merchant products to local markets such as metals, metal fabrication, glass, automotive, food, electronics and healthcare.

Praxair, Inc. is the largest industrial gases company in North and South America, and one of the largest worldwide, with 2011 sales of USD11 billion. The company produces, sells and distributes atmospheric, process and specialty gases, and high-performance surface coatings. Praxair products, services and technologies are making our planet more productive by bringing efficiency and environmental benefits to a wide variety of industries, including aerospace, chemicals, food and beverage, electronics, energy, healthcare, manufacturing, metals and others.
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MOSCOW (MRC) -- Solvay Specialty Polymers – a leading global supplier of high-performance thermoplastics offered for use in a range of markets including implantable and non-implantable medical devices – has released a case study which highlights the use of its high-performance polymers in the healthcare field, said the producer in its press release.

Surgical retractors made of Ixef polyarylamide(PARA) and AvaSpire polyaryletherketone (PAEK)show strong commercial promise and are the latest examples from Solvay which showcase the advantages of high-performance polymers over metals in medical devices.

An active participant in the metal replacement market for over 25 years, Solvay undertook an innovative commercial approach by applying its knowledge and expertise to develop case studies that help customers see the cost and performance advantages of high-performance polymers in medical devices.

Solvay seeks to grow the metal replacement market by presenting these types of case studies directly to customers and also offering them at educational meetings throughout the country including the recent American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons (AAOS) conference in New Orleans and the MD&M East conference and exhibition in New York City.

As MRC wrote before, Solvay has completed the divestment of its polyvinyl chloride (PVC) compound business Benvic Europe to U.S. investment company OpenGate Capital, enhancing the resilience of the Group’s portfolio.

Solvay S.A. is a Belgian chemical company founded in 1863, with its head office in Neder-Over-Heembeek, Brussels, Belgium. The company has diversified into two major sectors of activity: chemicals and plastics. Solvay supplies over 1500 products across 35 brands of high-performance polymers – fluoropolymers, fluoroelastomers, fluorinated fluids, semi-aromatic polyamides, sulfone polymers, aromatic ultra polymers, high-barrier polymers and cross-linked high-performance compounds.
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MOSCOW (MRC) -- Sasol Chemicals North America and INEOS Olefins & Polymers announced Monday that they have reached final investment decision to form a joint venture to build a high-density polyethylene (HDPE) plant in La Porte, Texas, as per Hydrocarbonprocessing.

The 50/50 joint venture will produce 470,000 tpy of bimodal HDPE using Innovene S process technology licensed from INEOS Technologies.

The ethylene required for the production of the HDPE will be supplied by Sasol and INEOS in proportion to their respective ownership positions.

"This project will expand Sasol's presence in the global chemical market and complement our North American growth strategy," said Fleetwood Grobler, Sasol's group executive for global chemicals. "Its location offers several benefits, including access to US Gulf Coast infrastructure and proximity to our current and proposed ethane cracker and derivatives complex in Southwest Louisiana."

INEOS will operate the HDPE plant at its Battleground manufacturing complex in La Porte. Plant start-up is expected in the 2016 calendar year.

"This investment will allow INEOS to meet our customer's needs for additional bimodal products," said Dennis Seith, CEO of INEOS Olefins & Polymers. "It also supports INEOS's strategy to invest and to capture synergies on our major sites."

The definitive agreements are in the process of being finalized, and all relevant permits have been obtained. Because the plant will be debt financed, the investment decision is conditional on achieving financial close.

Sasol and INEOS announced their intention to form this joint venture in July 2013.

Sasol Limited is an integrated energy and chemical company based in Johannesburg, South Africa. It develops and commercialises technologies, including synthetic fuels technologies, and produces different liquid fuels, chemicals and electricity.

INEOS is a global manufacturer of petrochemicals, speciality chemicals and oil products. It comprises 15 businesses each with a major chemical company heritage. Its production network spans 51 manufacturing facilities in 11 countries throughout the world.
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MOSCOW (MRC) -- SABIC, Kringlan Composites and other industry partners are working to further advance the development of the world’s first thermoplastic composite wheel, said Compositesworld.

This ground breaking innovation leverages SABIC’s proprietary ULTEM resin and Kringlan’s proprietary three-dimensional composite design capabilities to create a material solution that can be used to replace traditional materials, such as metal and aluminum alloy, helping reduce weight and emissions and potentially save manufacturing costs across industries from aerospace to automotive, and consumer goods.

"This ongoing collaboration with Kringlan is an excellent example of how we identify innovative companies with unique technology to collaborate on developing industry for the benefit of the downstream industries that we serve," said Thierry Materne, Vice President, Technology & Innovation for SABIC’s Innovative Plastics business. He adds that compared to other thermoplastic materials, ULTEM offers superior strength at high temperatures, dimensional stability and chemical resistance.

To advance the wheel’s development, Kringlan and SABIC have been working on a prototype for a German automotive manufacturer. This innovative and lightweight wheel will be strong, light, stunning in design and offers a more sustainable solution through . Not only can emissions associated with the vehicle’s use phase be reduced, the wheel can also be manufactured with less environmental impact compared to conventional processes and it offers full system recyclability.

As MRC wrote before, SABIC has broadened its stretch film portfolio to include one of the first commercially available materials in Europe to combine polypropylene (PP) and linear low density polyethylene (LLDPE). The film’s high holding force (up to 12% compared to current solutions) for superior load stability is ideal for protecting heavy loads and is the result of SABIC’s constant focus on innovation and expertise in combination know-how. This film solution helps customers meet the demand for high-performance and optically-clear solutions, and can help them reduce costs.

SABIC is a diversified manufacturing company, active in chemicals and intermediates, industrial polymers, fertilizers and metals. It is the largest public company in Saudi Arabia. It is the largest company in the Middle East.
SABIC is currently the second largest global ethylene glycol producer and is expected to become number one after the introduction of these new projects. SABIC is the third largest polyethylene manufacturer, the fourth largest polyolefins manufacturer and the fourth largest polypropylene manufacturer. It is also the world's largest producer of mono-ethylene glycol, MTBE, granular urea, polyphenylene and polyether imide.
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