Clariant increases capacity of compound high-temp medical fluoropolymers

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Clariant, a world leader in specialty chemicals, has recently completed a significant expansion at its plant in Lewiston, ME, adding equipment that increases its capacity to compound high-temperature fluoropolymers, which include FEP, ETFE, and PVDF, as per the company's press release.

These materials are important for the production of medical catheters because of their flexibility, lubricity and chemical resistance. Demand for these polymers and for specialized masterbatches, which Clariant markets for medical applications under its MEVOPUR brand, continue to grow worldwide.

Another expansion at the Lewiston plant, planned for completion in 4Q 2017, will add another compounding line featuring a 70-mm extruder. This line will enable the plant to more rapidly produce larger batch sizes of MEVOPUR pre-colored medical plastic compounds.

Clariant already operates several smaller lines - in Lewiston and Clariant’s other MEVOPUR facilities - which produce masterbatches and pre-colored compounds in lot sizes ranging from 25 to 2500kg/50 to 5000 lbs. In addition, production capacity for compounds is also being added during the first half of 2017 in Singapore, to handle increasing demand of color compounds for local and international customers. These small- and medium-sized lots are in high demand, especially in the medical market, since many resin producers have discontinued or severely curtailed their custom-color offerings in anything smaller than full-truck or railcar quantities.

Clariant’s MEVOPUR materials are offered for applications in medical devices and pharmaceutical packaging, where strict regulations on materials and change control apply. The Lewiston plant is one of three global sites designed and operated to produce materials used in medical devices and pharmaceutical packaging. The other two facilities are located in Malmo, Sweden, and Singapore. All are certified to EN:ISO13485 (2012) and can use the same validated raw-material ingredients and processes so that the same products can be produced at any of the sites.

As MRC informed before, in March 2017, Clariant announced that it had been awarded a contract by Dongguan Grand Resource Science & Technology Co. Ltd. to develop a new propane dehydrogenation unit in cooperation with CB&I. The project includes the license and engineering design of the unit, which is to be built in Dongguan City, Guangdong Province, China. The Dongguan plant will be one of the largest single-train dehydrogenation units in the world. Clariant's technology partner CB&I will base the plant's design on its Catofin® catalytic dehydrogenation technology, which uses Clariant's tailor-made Catofin catalyst and Heat Generating Material (HGM).

Clariant AG is a Swiss chemical company and a world leader in the production of specialty chemicals for the textile, printing, mining and metallurgical industries. It is engaged in processing crude oil products in pigments, plastics and paints. Clariant India has local masterbatch production activities at Rania, Kalol and Nandesari (Gujarat) and Vashere (Maharashtra) sites in India.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Shin-Etsu has declared a force majeure (FM) on supplies of polyvinyl chloride (PVC) from its plant in Pernis, the Netherlands, as per Apic-online.

A Polymerupdate source in Europe informed that the FM was recently declared on account of an unplanned outage owing to a fire reported at the upstream plant on July 29, 2017. Further details on duration of FM and shutdown could not be ascertained.

Located in Pernis, the Netherlands the plant has a production capacity of 450,000 mt/year.

We remind that, as MRC informed before, in 2015, Shintech Inc. added almost 700 million pounds of PVC capacity as part of a USD500 million expansion of its plants in Louisiana. Shintech's parent firm - Shin-Etsu Chemical Co. Ltd. of Tokyo - said in a June 19 news release that the firm will addd 660 million pounds of PVC capacity in Louisiana by 2015. Houston-based Shintech makes PVC in Plaquemine and Addis, La. The project also includes 660 million pounds of new capacity for PVC feedstock vinyl chloride monomer (VCM) and 440 million pounds of new capacity for caustic soda.

Shin-Etsu is the world and US' largest PVC producer.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- The construction of a new cumene plant will support customer demand improve the security of raw material supply to INEOS phenol and acetone plants located in Gladbeck and Antwerp, as per Hydrocarboprocessing.

INEOS Phenol is a producer of phenol and acetone and the largest consumer of cumene, which is an essential raw material. This investment reinforces its commitment to its customers across its world markets.

The company has confirmed that the unit will use Badger cumene technology and a full study of investment options is to be completed by the end of 2017.

As MRC informed before, in September 2016, INEOS Enterprises has completed the sale of INEOS Styrenics, its Expandable Polystyrene Business (EPS), to Synthos S.A. for EUR80m.

INEOS Group Limited is a privately owned multinational chemicals company consisting of 15 standalone business units, headquartered in Rolle, Switzerland and with its registered office in Lyndhurst, United Kingdom. It is the fourth largest chemicals company in the world measured by revenues (after BASF, Dow Chemical and LyondellBasell) and the largest privately owned company in the United Kingdom.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Genesis Energy LP said it will buy Tronox Ltd's alkali business, the world's largest producer of natural soda ash, for about USD1.33 billion in cash to expand into the chemicals sector, reported Reuters.

Genesis said it would raise about USD750 million through a convertible preferred units issue to fund the deal. The company received binding commitments from investment vehicles affiliated with KKR Global Infrastructure Investors II LP and GSO Capital Partners LP for the purchase of the 8.75 percent units.

KKR and GSO will buy about 22.2 million units at USD33.71 each, Genesis said.

Tronox's alkali business produces about 28 percent of the world's natural soda ash output. Soda ash or sodium bicarbonate is used in the making of glass, baked goods, detergents and a variety of other industrial chemicals and products.

Houston-based Genesis, a diversified midstream energy master limited partnership, also said its second-quarter net income attributable rose USD10 million to USD33.7 million.

Tronox said it would use the proceeds from the sale to fund most of the cash needed to buy Cristal's titanium dioxide (TiO2) business.

As MRC informed previously, in February 2017, Tronox agreed to buy the TiO2 business, a subsidiary of Saudi Arabia's Tasnee, for USD1.67 billion, making Tronox the world's largest producer of the whitening pigment. Credit Suisse is acting as financial adviser to Tronox on both the deals.

Tronox Limited operates three TiO2 pigment plants in the USA, Netherlands and Australia; it operates mines in South Africa and Australia; it has a research and development center in the USA; and it has an electrolyte and specialty chemicals division in the USA. Tronox has approximately 3,400 employees worldwide.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- The global biodegradable polymer market was valued at around USD1.68 bln in 2014 and is expected to reach approximately USD5.18 bln in 2020, growing at a CAGR of slightly above 21% between 2015 and 2020, as per Plastemart with reference to Zion Market Research.

Polymers are compounds with a long chain of monomers formed by chemical reactions. Polymers are composed of a large number of repeating units and high molar mass. Biodegradable polymers are the polymers which can be broken down into simple, reusable, natural products after their intended purpose. Biodegradable polymers are non-toxic, environment-friendly, capable of maintaining integrity until degraded and their degradation rate can be controlled. Degradation of biodegradable polymers is mainly done with the help of micro organism. Biodegradable polymers after breakdown give the natural byproduct such as carbon dioxide, biomass, and water.

Rising demand for biodegradable and bio based products due to sustainable development policies and growing concern for use of environmentally friendly product is the main driver for the biodegradable polymer market. Government support to produce eco-friendly biodegradable polymer is also the key factor for the growth of the market. Escalating price of crude oil which is raw material for the production of the petroleum based polymer also helps in driving the demand of biodegradable polymers. However biodegradable polymers have few applications to replace synthetic petroleum based plastic materials and high manufacturing cost and failure in production of accurate biodegradable polymers may influence the market growth. Rising end-user applications and economical raw material price for biodegradable polymers are offering potential market opportunity in the years to come.

The biodegradable polymer market is segmented on the basis of type, application, and region. Polymers with hydrolyzable backbone, polymers with a carbon backbone and natural polymers are the types of biodegradable polymers. Polymers with a hydrolyzable backbone are classified as polyglycolic acid (PGA), polycaprolactone (PCL), polyamides, polyurethanes, others in which polyglycolic acid (PGA) is the widely used followed by polyamides and polyurethane. Polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) is one kind of polymers with a carbon backbone, whereas amylopectin, starch, amylose, chitin and chitosan and others are types of natural polymers. Starch based polymers are one of the leading segment due to easy availability, and extensive application in food packaging.

The biodegradable polymer has a broad range of applications in packaging, agriculture, and medicine. In a medical application, biodegradable polymers are used in the adhesive prevention, drugs delivery system, and surgical sutures. Further, biodegradable polymers are utilized in agriculture mulches, and starch based packaging, cellulose based packaging and PLA based packaging among others.

Geographically, Europe accounted for the majority of the market share for biodegradable polymers market in 2014. This was mainly due to a strong focus on green technology and manufacturing advancements in Germany and Netherlands. North America is anticipated to grow significantly during the estimated period, because of the awareness and increasing crude oil prices in this region. Further Asia Pacific is likely to accelerate the growth of the market due to growing industrialization in emerging economies like India and China.

Some top profiles in biodegradable polymer markets are Cortec group, Mitsui Chemicals, BASF, BIOTEC GmbH& Co, Cereplast, Metabolix Inc. and FP International among others. These market players are focusing on improved production techniques of biodegradable polymers through R&D to expand their applications.

As MRC wrote previously, the global bio-based polyethylene terephthalate (PET) market is expected to grow at 68.25% CAGR by 2019 as per a report by ReportsnReports. Bio-based PET is a biodegradable product made from materials such as monoethylene glycol (MEG) and terephthalic acid (PTA). About 30% of bio-based PETs are composed of monoethylene glycol (MEG), a product of sugarcane ethanol, and the rest is composed of purified terephthalic acid (PTA), a chemical-based product of crude oil.
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