MOSCOW (MRC) -- Braskem, the largest thermoplastics resins producer in the Americas, has announced the startup of its new UTEC Ultra High Molecular Weight Polyethylene (UHMWPE) production plant at its La Porte, Texas site, reported Hydrocarbonprocessing.
Braskem sells high-performance UHMWPE under the trade name UTEC, developed and produced through Braskem's proprietary technologies.
"This is an exciting day for Braskem America and our colleagues worldwide," said Christopher Gee, Braskem Global Business Director for UTEC. "Our team has worked diligently over the last two years on the construction, commissioning and startup of this state-of-the-art US based UHMWPE UTEC production plant. Braskem has now significantly strengthened its global position as one of the largest producers of UHMWPE, developing and producing advanced UTEC engineered polymer applications that meet the needs of our clients and their end -market customers. We are looking forward to continuing to grow and advance Braskem's UHMWPE business worldwide."
UTEC is an engineered polymer with mechanical properties, such as high abrasion resistance, impact strength and low coefficient of friction. It is a self-lubricating, high-strength, lightweight machinable product used for semi-finished goods. UTEC is eight times lighter than steel and lasts ten times longer than High-Density Polyethylene (HDPE). The product is utilized in an array of applications in the following industries: automotive and transportation, electronics, fibers and textiles, industrial and heavy equipment, material handling, oil and gas, pipe and mining, porous plastics, and recreation and consumer.
As MRC wrote before, Braskem SA will soon decide whether to build a plant in Texas or Pennsylvania to convert low-cost natural gas into polypropylene. The factory would produce at least 1 billion pounds (450,000 metric tons) of resin a year and would be the U.S. polypropylene industry’s first world-scale project in about 12 years, said Mark Nikolich, a vice president at Braskem in 2015. Preliminary engineering is under way for construction at existing Braskem sites in either La Porte, Texas, or Marcus Hook, Pennsylvania.
Braskem S.A. produces petrochemicals and generates electricity. The Company produces ethylene, propylene, benzene, toluene, xylenes, butadiene, butene, isoprene, dicyclopentediene, MTBE, caprolactam, ammonium sulfate, cyclohexene, polyethylene theraphtalat, polyethylene, and polyvinyl chloride (PVC).
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