Ascend introduces new high performance PA66 for electrical components in unattended appliances

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Ascend Performance Materials, the world’s largest fully integrated producer of polyamide 66 resin, has launched Vydyne FR350J, a new high performance compound based on polyamide 66 (PA66) that will bring extra safety to electrical connectors used in unattended home appliances, as per the company's press release.

In addition to excellent electrical and flammability properties, Vydyne FR350J also exhibits high ductility and elongation at break (15 percent), providing engineers with greater freedom when designing parts such as living hinges and snap fits.

The new unreinforced, flame-retardant compound also has superior melt flow and requires lower pressure to fill molds; reducing cycle times and production costs. Vydyne FR350J has a wide processing window and is color stable for natural and colorable applications.

"Home appliances are getting smarter and demand for these so-called 'smart' products continues to grow. That means they will incorporate more electronics and more connectors," said Vikram Gopal, Ascend’s vice president of technology. "Vydyne FR350J will make sure that appliances are safe as well as smart."

Additional features of Vydyne FR350J include an RTI electrical rating of 130°C (RTI is the relative temperature index; RTI electrical is an indication of how critical electrical insulating properties vary with temperature) and a UL94 V-0 flammability rating at thicknesses down to 0.4 mm. The flame retardant additive package is REACH and RoHS compliant and exhibits low corrosion for improved electrical contact performance.

Vydyne FR350J exhibits a best-in-class glow wire ignition temperature (GWIT) of 960 C at all thicknesses (up to 3.0 mm) according to the test method IEC 60695-1-13. Finished molded parts tested according to IEC 60335-1 achieved glow-wire end product test values of 750°C at all thicknesses. Vydyne FR350J also achieves PLC 0 ratings in hot wire ignition (HWI) and high amp arc ignition (HAI) tests carried out according to UL 746A.

As MRC wrote previously, in May 2016, Ascend Performance Materials said it had put plans to build a propane dehydrogenation (PDH) plant on hold because of market conditions. The two-train project at Chocolate Bayou, TX, with a combined capacity of more than 1 million m.t./year of propylene, was expected to become the largest such facility in the United States and cost an estimated USD1.2 billion. It has already been delayed once from the original onstream date of 2016 to mid-2019. Ascend is expected to use the UOP Oleflex PDH technology.

Ascend Performance Materials is a global leader in the production of Nylon 6,6.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- LyondellBasell, one of the world's largest plastics, chemicals and refining companies, has announced it has been named to Fortune Magazine's 2018 list of the "World's Most Admired Companies" for 2018, as per the company's press release.

This is a first-time achievement for the company.

"This is a tremendous and well-deserved honor for our 13,000 employees around the world who continue to deliver on the promise of making LyondellBasell the best operated, most valued company in our industry," said Bob Patel, CEO of LyondellBasell. "While we are certainly proud of all that has been accomplished, our focus remains on executing the strategy that will make us even more competitive in the future."

According to Korn Ferry, who administers the survey for Fortune Magazine, the "World's Most Admired Companies" study surveys top executives and directors from eligible companies, along with financial analysts, to identify the organizations that enjoy the strongest reputations within their own industries and across industries. Survey respondents are asked to evaluate companies in the categories of:

- Ability to attract and retain talented people
- Quality of management
- Social responsibility to the community and the environment
- Innovativeness
- Quality of products or services
- Wise use of corporate assets
- Financial soundness
- Long-term investment value
- Effectiveness in doing business globally

In December, LyondellBasell commemorated the 10-year anniversary of the merger between Basell AF and Lyondell Chemical Company. Since the merger, LyondellBasell has:

- established a reputation as one of the safest, most reliable operators in the industry;
- more than doubled in enterprise value;
- increased its dividend nine times since 2011 and returned nearly $28 billion to shareholders in dividends and share buybacks;
- been granted more than 5,000 patents worldwide;
- invested billions to expand the capacity of plants across the globe, including a 20 percent increase in U.S. ethylene capacity since 2012;
- announced new innovations and growth projects, including the construction of the new Hyperzone Polyethylene (PE) plant and the world's largest Propylene Oxide/Tertiary Butyl Alcohol plant in Texas; and,
= expanded into new markets, including India and China; and, new product lines, including recycled plastics.

As MRC informed before, in August 2016, LyondellBasell made the final investment decision to build a high density polyethylene (HDPE) plant on the US Gulf Coast. The plant will have an annual capacity of 1.1 billion pounds (500,000 metric tons) and will be the first commercial plant to employ LyondellBasell's new proprietary Hyperzone PE technology. The start-up of the new plant is scheduled for 2019.

LyondellBasell is one of the world's largest plastics, chemical and refining companies and a member of the S&P 500. LyondellBasell manufactures products at 56 sites in 19 countries. LyondellBasell is also a leading licensor of polypropylene and polyethylene technologies. The more than 250 polyolefin process licenses granted by LyondellBasell are twice that of any other polyolefin technology licensor.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) - Imports of unmixed polyvinyl chloride (PVC) into Kazakhstan slightly exceeded 51,000 tonnes in January-December 2017, up 3% compared with the same time a year earlier, according to MRC analysts.

Despite the seasonal factor, there was a slight increase in demand for PVC in December from local companies. December imports of unmixed PVC amounted to 2,900 tonnes against 2,700 tonnes a month earlier.
Overall PVC imports into the country increased to 51,000 tonnes over the stated period versus 52,600 tonnes a year earlier. Due to the geographical position, the main suppliers of PVC to Kazakhstan were Chinese producers, with the share of about 92% of the local market over the stated period.

The second largest PVC supplier was Russia, the total imports of PVC during the period exceeded 4,000 tonnes.

MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Ube Industries, JSR Corp. and Mitsubishi Chemical Corp. (MCC) are scheduled to start up a new company on 1 April 2018, which combines the acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS) businesses of the parties' respective subsidiaries, as per Apic-online.

The combination involves UMG ABS Ltd., a 50-50 joint venture of Ube and MCC, and Techno Polymer Co., a JSR subsidiary. The new company, Techno-UMG Co., will be owned 51% by JSR and 49% by UMG ABS.

The transaction was originally scheduled to take effect on 1 Oct. 2017, but was delayed due to the amount of time needed to complete the procedures stipulated in competition laws.

As MRC informed before, in late 2017, Ube Industries, JSR Corp. and Mitsubishi Chemical Corp. (MCC) received European Commission (EC) approval for the planned integration of their ABS subsidiaries.

Mitsubishi Chemical with headquarters in Tokyo, Japan, is a diversified chemical company involved in petrochemicals, polymers, agrochemicals, speciality chemicals and pharmaceuticals. The company's main focus is on three business pillars: petrochemicals, performance and functional products, and health care.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) - The Diamond Pipeline has scrambled crude oil flows around the U.S. Gulf Coast and Midwest since it opened in December, cutting supply at the Cushing hub and hammering Louisiana oil prices, as per Hydrocarbonprocessing.

The line from Cushing, Oklahoma to Memphis, Tennessee, a joint venture between Plains All American Pipeline LP and Valero Energy Corp , has dented volumes on the Capline system - the nation's largest crude pipeline that runs from the Gulf to key refineries in the Midwest.

Prices for Gulf Coast crude grades traded in the Louisiana region have been hit hard. Light Louisiana Sweet (LLS) and Mars - the two main Gulf grades - crashed to six-month lows versus U.S. crude futures. With lower demand for Louisiana crude supplies, the LLS grade in particular is more sensitive to export arbitrage economics and U.S. crude's discount to Brent narrowed to the tightest in more than five months on Monday.

"Those Capline flows could be backing out LLS barrels into the St. James area, causing more supply and putting pressure on prices," Adam Bedard, CEO of Denver, Colorado-based ARB Midstream said.

The price for Mars, a medium sour grade, traded on Friday at a USD1.10 per barrel discount versus WTI crude futures, the weakest since June. Louisiana Light Sweet slipped to a $2.17 premium on Thursday, also the lowest since June. The LLS grade is delivered into the hub in St. James, Louisiana, and Mars is deliverable at the Louisiana Offshore Oil Port (LOOP) facilities in Clovelly, Louisiana.

Volumes on Capline, once a major artery for imports and Gulf of Mexico crude used by U.S. Midwest refiners, have declined sharply as the U.S. shale boom pushed inland crude to the East Coast and Gulf Coast. The line can carry as much as 1.2 million barrels of oil daily from St. James, Louisiana, to Patoka, Illinois but has seen volumes further eroded by Diamond, which has capacity of up to 200,000 barrels, traders said. Flows on the Capline trunk line have fallen from about 310,000 bpd in July to about 219,000 bpd in the week ended Jan. 19, while Diamond was just above 150,000 bpd in that week, according to data from energy intelligence and monitoring firm Genscape.

The 440-mile long Diamond line feeds Valero's Memphis, Tennessee refinery, which has a capacity of about 190,000 bpd. Valero has historically moved large volumes from North Dakota's Bakken shale region by rail to Louisiana and then shipped it up Capline, a long and expensive route, traders said.
MRC