Evonik bundles its expertise in crosslinking technology

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Evonik Industries AG combined its isophorone chemistry and epoxy curing agents business in the new Crosslinkers Business Line effective July 1, 2017. The newly formed Business Line, headed by Min Chong, will be part of the Resource Efficiency Segment, as per the company's press release.

With the acquisition of the Air Product's epoxy curing agents business and Evonik's long-time experience in isophorone chemistry, Evonik has a very broad technology platform and expertise in crosslinker technology.

The new Crosslinkers Business Line offers a broad range of products and competences for coatings and adhesives, civil engineering as well as for high-performance elastomers and composites.

Evonik is the pioneer in isophorone chemistry and covers the entire value chain: isophorone, diamine, as well as di-isocyanate and polyisocyanate.

Additionally the product portfolio contains a full tool box of amine curing agents for ambient and heat cure applications. The products are mainly used in industrial applications due to the mechanical strength, durability, chemical resistance and excellent adhesion properties.

"Combining both businesses to one new unit gives Evonik the chance to offer a variety of products for epoxy and polyurethane applications under one roof now - be it basic amines, isocyanate monomers, polyisocyanates or formulated epoxy hardeners", Dr. Claus Rettig, Chairman of the Board of Management, Evonik Resource Efficiency GmbH.

"Apart from the organizational change, safety and meeting the needs of our customers continues to remain our first priority", Min Chong, head of the new Business Line Crosslinkers. "We see ourselves as a partner; interested in developing next-generation product solutions together with our customers. A broad technology platform serves as the basis for further growth and successful collaboration."

The Business Line has a total of about 1.000 employees worldwide. Production facilities in Europe, North America, and Asia ensure optimal proximity to markets and customers and open up attractive growth opportunities.

As MRC informed previously, Evonik Resource Efficiency will invest in a capacity expansion of its performance foams business at its production site in Darmstadt, Germany. The investment will increase the output of the facility by about 20% as a first step. The Group will be adding production equipment to its operations complex that manufactures products marketed under the Rohacell brand. The expanded production capacity is expected to be operational by the second half of 2017.

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 benefits specifically from its innovative prowess and integrated technology platforms. Evonik is active in over 100 countries around the world.
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Gazprom neftekhim Salavat shut PE production

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Gazprom neftekhim Salavat, one of the largest Russian petrochemical producers, began a scheduled turnaround at its polyethylene (PE) production, said the plant's representative to MRC.

Gazprom neftekhim Salavat started the scheduled maintenance works at its low density polyethylene (LDPE) and high density polyethylene (HDPE) production on 1 July, 2017. The plant's source said the outage would be quite long and would last for about 30 days. The plant's LDPE and HDPE production capacities are 45,000 and 120,000 tonnes per year, respectively.

As reported earlier, this is the second shutdown at Russian PE plants this summer. Angarsk Polymers Plant shut down its production for maintenance in mid-June, and Tomskneftekhim will take off-stream its production capacities for a turnaround in the second half of July.

JSC "Gazprom neftekhim Salavat" (formerly JSC "Salavatnefteorgsintez") is one of Russia"s major petrochemical complexes. Gazprom neftekhim Salavat"s main products are ethylene, propylene, styrene, polystyrene (general purpose polystyrene and high impact polystyrene), low density polyethylene and high density polyethylene.
MRC

Petrobras to review diesel, gasoline prices more frequently

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Brazilian state-controlled oil company Petroleo Brasileiro SA announced it will review diesel and gasoline prices more frequently, potentially even on a daily basis, said Reuters.

In a securities filing, Petrobras, as the company is known, said diesel and gasoline price changes at refineries must not exceed 7%, unless a bigger adjustment is authorized by a group of senior executives.

"The pricing policy review will allow domestic prices to stick closer to international markets in the short-term and will allow the company to compete in a faster, more efficient manner," the filing said.

After years of subsidizing local consumption by keeping fuel prices low despite high international fuel costs, Petrobras kept prices fairly steady to make a profit after oil prices plunged in 2014. But that led the company to lose market share, so last October it introduced a policy of following international markets more closely.

Petrobras continues to dominate fuel production and retail sales in Brazil, but its higher wholesale prices have led to a sharp rise in imports of gasoline and diesel as competitors seek to undercut Petrobras at the pump. Petrobras supplied 92.2 percent of the gasoline consumed in Brazil in 2016, down from 93.3 percent in 2015.

As MRC informed earlier, Alpek, S.A.B. de C.V. has announced that it obtained all necessary corporate approvals to acquire 100% of PetroquimicaSuape and Citepe from Petrobras for USD385 MM.

Headquartered in Rio de Janeiro, Petrobras is an integrated energy firm. Petrobras' activities include exploration, exploitation and production of oil from reservoir wells, shale and other rocks as well as refining, processing, trade and transport of oil and oil products, natural gas and other fluid hydrocarbons, in addition to other energy-related activities.
MRC

Covestro receives DNV GL certification for new PU resin in China

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Covestro, formerly Bayer MaterialScience, has received DNV GL certification for new PU resin in China, according to GV.

As part of its sustainability approach, Covestro actively pursues the development of materials and technologies for renewable energy generation with a focus on wind power. In particular, the company developed an innovative technology for manufacturing wind turbine rotor blades. The rotor blades are fabricated in a special process from a polyurethane resin and a glass fibre fabric. The company has now received the important DNV GL certification for its newly developed resin system in China.

DNV GL is a leading international industry standard for the safety, reliability and performance of wind turbines, and is also the market entry permit to the wind energy industry in China. Covestro is the world’s first company that received the polyurethane DNV GL certification in 2016. "Now we obtained the second certification for serving Chinese wind blade manufacturers," said Kim Klausen, global head of Covestro's wind energy programme. "This brings us a big step closer to our goal of increasing the efficiency of wind power generation."

According to Covestro, taking advantage of the good mechanical properties of the polyurethane resin system, wind blades may become lighter and longer through optimised blade design. With faster curing processes and improved processing properties compared to epoxy resins, productivity can be significantly increased. All these benefits will provide a cost competitive solution for the wind industry. The application of PU resin in the wind energy industry opens up a new realm of possibilities for this high performance resin, says the company.

As the Chinese government’s Strategic Energy Action Plan (2014-2020) and the national Energy 13th Five Year Plan indicated, the cumulative integrated capacity of wind energy will achieve 210 Gigawatts by 2020. With the highest total capacity installed worldwide, China represents around 43 % of new installations in the global wind energy industry in 2016.

The limitation of current materials and technologies makes it very challenging for the industry to improve production efficiency and to produce lighter and longer wind blades. With its polyurethane solutions, Covestro says it continuously pushes boundaries of what is possible. The company collaborates with partners along the value chain to offer a high performance resin which gives wind blade and wind turbine manufacturers the competitive edge. With strong R&D investments, a global production network and this newly acquired DNV GL certification, Covestro is the frontrunner in addressing the wind energy industry with PU solutions, says the company.

As MRC wrote previously, in March 2017, Covestro announced that it would continue manufacturing MDI in Tarragona, Spain. The plant closure that had originally been planned for the end of 2017 was suspended for the time being. The main reason for this decision was the significant increase in demand for MDI, said Covestro. Furthermore, the company managed to get access to important raw materials - in particular chlorine - for the Tarragona site for the next years beyond the end of 2017.

Covestro (formerly Bayer MaterialScience) is an independent subgroup within Bayer. It was created as part of the restructuring of Bayer AG from the former business group Bayer Polymers, with certain of its activities being spun off to Lanxess AG. Covestro manufactures and develops materials such as coatings, adhesives and sealants, polycarbonates (CDs, DVDs), polyurethanes (automotive seating, insulation for refrigerating appliances) etc.
MRC

JG Summit Holdings to invest additional USD700 mln for petrochemical expansion

MOSCOW (MRC) -- JG Summit Holdings, Inc., the flagship of the Gokongwei family, is investing an additional USD700 mln for the expansion of its petrochemicals business through subsidiary JG Petrochemical Corporation, as per Plastemart.

In an interview after the firm’s annual stockholders’ meeting, JG Summit President Lance Gokongwei said this will boost their total investment in the petrochemicals business to USD2.2 bln.

Gokongwei said the expansion consists of five projects - expansion of the naphtha cracker by 50%, expansion of polypropylene plant by 50%, a new polyethylene plant, an aromatics plant and the fifth is a butadiene plant.

The company plans to award all the major packages (engineering, procurement, and construction contracts) by the end of the year, and plans to be operational by 2021. The funding for the expansion will be from the free cash flow of the existing petrochemicals business plus some borrowings.

As MRC informed before, in mid-June 2016, JG Summit Holdings Inc. unveiled plans to invest USD500-600 mln to expand its petrochemical business in the next three years, aiming to serve domestic as well as overseas markets.
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