Replacing metal parts with engineering plastics to boost growth

MOSCOW (MRC) -- The demand for engineering plastics in the US is expected to rise 2.6 % per year to 5.1 billion pounds in 2019. The replacement of metal parts with engineering plastics as well as new technological advancements that allow engineering plastics to penetrate new applications will continue to drive growth, as per GV with reference to Freedonia industry study.

Engineering plastics will continue to replace metal parts in new applications. However, increased demand for engineering plastics will be hampered by weak growth in mature markets as well as increasing competition from lower cost commodity resins.

The largest markets for engineering plastics will continue to be the motor vehicle, electrical and electronic markets. The motor vehicle market will increasingly rely on engineering plastics to reduce vehicle weight in order to improve fuel efficiency. However, the construction and the medical and consumer markets will provide the fastest growth. A significant rebound in construction activity is projected to occur and will provide opportunities for engineering plastics, especially in applications such as lighting, window glazing, and skylights for non-residential buildings. Medical applications will continue to drive growth going forward because of engineering plastic resins’ mechanical strength, ability to withstand sterilizing processes, and compatibility with the human body.

Nylon, acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene (ABS), and polycarbonate will continue to be the three largest engineering plastics by volume, accounting for three-quarters of the total demand in 2019. Nylon will post the most rapid increases of the three and will remain the largest engineering plastic. This growth will be driven mainly by nylon supplanting metals in underhood motor vehicle applications. Gains for ABS will be the slowest of all engineering plastics, restrained by competition from lower-cost resins and maturity in major applications. Polycarbonate will benefit from strong growth in the construction and the medical and consumer markets, but overall will track the industry average due to the continued decline in CD and DVD sales.

Smaller-volume engineering plastics such as polyphenylene sulfide, sulfone polymers, fluoropolymers, and poly-ketones will exhibit the fastest growth. Specialized use in mature markets, as well as utilization in new products such as advanced batteries, photovoltaic modules, and medical implants, will drive overall demand. These resins will see greater use in electrical and electronic and motor vehicle markets, where they are typically used to fill specific high-temperature needs and their greater cost can be economically justified.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Petronas Chemical Group (PCG) has taken off-stream its low density polyethylene (LDPE) plant unexpectedly, as per Apic-online.

A Polymerupdate source in Malaysia informed that the plant was shut on June 23 owing to a fire. The impact of the fire on production levels could not be ascertained.

A restart date for the plant has not been decided.

Located in Kertih, Malaysia, the plant has a production capacity of 255,000 mt/year.

As MRC wrote previously, in February 2015, Muhibbah Engineering (M) Bhd ( Financial Dashboard) clinched a USD32 million (RM116 million) construction subcontract for the Petroliam Nasional Bhd's (Petronas) Refinery and Petrochemicals Integrated Development (Rapid) project in Pengerang, Johor.

As a result of the revised date for a final investment decision, the Rapid refinery is now scheduled to start operations in the fourth quarter of 2017 and the remaining plants in the complex are scheduled to be commissioned in 2018. Rapid, part of Petronas’ larger Pengerang Integrated Complex project, will include a 300,000-b/d refinery, which is due to start up by early 2019 and will supply naphtha and liquid petroleum gas feedstock for the petrochemical portion of the complex. The complex will have the capacity to produce 7.7-million t/y of various petrochemicals.

Petronas, short for Petroliam Nasional Berhad, is a Malaysian oil and gas company wholly owned by the Government of Malaysia. The Group is engaged in a wide spectrum of petroleum activities, including upstream exploration and production of oil and gas to downstream oil refining; marketing and distribution of petroleum products; trading; gas processing and liquefaction; gas transmission pipeline network operations; marketing of liquefied natural gas; petrochemical manufacturing and marketing; shipping; automotive engineering; and property investment.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- PolyOne Corp., a premier provider of specialized polymer materials, services and solutions, today celebrated the grand opening of its new Asia Innovation Center in Shanghai, China, said Hydrocarbonprocessing.

The new facility enables collaborative innovation, accelerates application development and increases speed-to-market for customers in the Asia-Pacific region, according to company officials.

In today's opening ceremony event, customers and local officials participated in tours and demonstrations that showcased how PolyOne differentiates its products and services in the specialty marketplace.

"We are proud and excited to be expanding in Asia in support of our customers and our dedicated PolyOne associates who serve them," said Robert M. Patterson, CEO of PolyOne. "We continue to invest in Asia so that our customers can innovate and grow, and that's exactly what will take place through improved collaboration at our advanced, new innovation center."

The facility is strategically located in a hi-tech industrial park in the JinQiao Development Zone in Shanghai. The center houses cutting-edge laboratory facilities, an interactive product display and a modern training facility, where customers can collaborate with PolyOne's technical and marketing experts to accelerate development.

Activities will include regional and global R&D projects, focusing on high-growth end markets, such as healthcare, packaging, transportation, electronics, and consumer goods. The facility also now serves as the company's regional headquarters.

"Our commitment to customers in Asia has never been stronger," said Rob Bindner, vice president of the Asia region at PolyOne. "This is clearly evident in our continued investment and success with regional and multi-national customers who rely on PolyOne for specialty solutions and services."

As MRC reported earlier, in 2014, PolyOne Corporation announced the addition of new capabilities to its OnColor HC Plus portfolio. These expanded offerings add medical-grade LDPE, nylon, PEBA, PS and PVC to the globally available palette of specialty healthcare colorants, and are pre-certified to meet or exceed biocompatibility requirements for ISO 10993 and/or USP Class VI protocols.

PolyOne Corporation is a global provider of specialized polymer materials, services, and solutions. PolyOne is a 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) -- The French energy firm Total says it has pulled out of the Shtokman natural gas project in the Barents Sea --a project which has been frozen for two years -- ceding its stake to Russian gas giant Gazprom, said Vedomosti.

"Total has passed to Gazprom its 25 percent share in Shtokman Development AG and expressed its interest to further cooperate on the project should it enter an active phase," Total said in a statement, confirming a report in the Russian business daily Vedomosti.

Total has for a number of years worked with Gazprom to find a cost-effective way of exploiting the giant gas field in the Barents Sea.

Gazprom suspended the project in 2013 until new technology made it viable. At 3.8 trillion cubic meters of gas, the Shtokman field is one of the world's largest untouched gas fields.

Bu developing it would require technology breakthroughs and huge investment, since it is buried underneath the Barents Sea above the Arctic Circle.

Vedomosti said the transfer of the stake was agreed at Russia's annual economic forum last week in Saint Petersburg, where Gazprom chief Alexei Miller met with Total's Patrick Pouyanne.

Late in April 2015, after the European Union imposed sanctions on Russia over its alleged interference in Ukraine's internal affairs, Total said it had received permission from the French government to work only on three projects in Russia: Yamal LNG, Kharyaginsky and Thermokarst deposits.

Total S.A. is a French multinational oil and gas company and one of the six "Supermajor" oil companies in the world with business in Europe, the United States, the Middle East and Asia. The company's petrochemical products cover two main groups: base chemicals and the consumer polymers (polyethylene, polypropylene and polystyrene) that are derived from them.

Gazprom is the largest extractor of natural gas and one of the largest companies in the world. In 2011, the company produced 513.2 billion cubic metres (18.12 trillion cubic feet) of natural gas, amounting to 17% of worldwide gas production. In addition, Gazprom produced 32.3 million tons of crude oil and 12.1 million tons of gas condensate. Gazprom's activities accounted for 8% of Russia's gross domestic product in 2011.
The company possesses subsidiaries in many various industry sectors, including finance, media and aviation. In addition, it controls a majority of stakes in various companies.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Japanese Idemitsu Kosan has restarted a crude distillation unit (CDU) at its refinery in Chiba, Japan, according to Apic-online.

A Polymerupdate source in Japan informed that the unit restarted on June 22, 2015. It was shut on account of a fire which started on the midnight of June 17, 2015.

The refinery of Idemitsu Kosan in Chiba has a crude processing capacity of 200,000 bpd.

As MRC reported earlier, Idemitsu Kosan Co delayed the restart of a styrene monomer (SM) plant in Japan until May 14, 2015. It was earlier scheduled for an early-May restart. The plant was taken off-stream on April 6, 2015 for a maintenance turnaround. Located in Chiba, Japan, the plant has a production capacity of 210,000 mt/year.

Idemitsu Kosan is a Japanese petroleum company. It owns and operates oil platforms, refineries and produces and sells petroleum, oils and petrochemical products. The company runs two petrochemical plants in Chiba and Tokuyama. The two naphtha crackers can produce up to 997,000 tonnes of ethylene per year.
MRC