Shintech announces new integrated PVC plant

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Shintech Inc. (Chairman and Founder: Chihiro Kanagawa), a subsidiary of Shin-Etsu Chemical Co., Ltd. in the U.S., has begun to construct a new integrated plant to produce polyvinyl chloride (PVC) from salt, as per the company press release.

The new plant will be on industrial site developed by Shintech, located next to Shintech's existing plant in Plaquemine, Louisiana.

Shintech obtained permits to build a plant capable of producing 1.9 billion pounds (860 thousand tons) per year of vinyl chloride monomer (VCM), the raw material of PVC, and 660 thousand tons per year of caustic soda, and has commenced construction of the first phase of the plan. The first phase will increase production capacity by 640 million pounds (290 thousand tons) of PVC per year and 270 thousand tons of caustic soda per year. The amount of this investment is expected to be $1.49 billion, which Shintech will fund by itself. Completion of the construction is targeted for the end of 2020. Annual production capacity after the completion of the first phase will be 7.14 billion pounds (3,240 thousand tons per year) of PVC and 1,570 thousand tons of caustic soda per year.

Shintech, which commenced PVC production in the state of Texas in 1974, established its business foundation in the country where country risk appeared to be relatively low. The company owns a vast amount of property in Plaquemine, Louisiana. Shintech has received strong support and understanding from both state and local governments in Louisiana while establishing favorable relationships with local communities.

When Shintech decided to construct an integrated production facility for PVC in Louisiana in 2004, very few expected that shale gas and shale oil would turn around the energy and feedstock situation in the U.S the way it turns out today. The advancement of shale gas and shale oil thereafter in the U.S. has been astonishing. At present, ethylene using local natural gas as a raw material has established its competitive advantage in comparison with ethylene using highly priced crude oil as a raw material, and this has boosted Shintech's competitiveness in terms of procurement costs.

Since the completion of the integrated PVC production plant in Plaquemine, Louisiana in 2008, Shintech has expanded and raised production capacity three times and is now building an ethylene plant. Meanwhile, world demand for PVC has increased almost in line with global GDP growth. According to industry data, world demand for PVC reached 43 million tons per year in 2017. In the meantime, lagging PVC supply capacity compared to growth in demand increases the operation rate of PVC producing facilities. It is expected that this trend will continue in the future. Similarly, global demand of 77 million tons of caustic soda per year in 2017 has recently been outpacing supply, and this trend is expected to continue.

Shintech will leverage the advantage of favorable raw material economics in the U.S. to steadily meet increasing demand in the U.S. and the rest of the world, with plans to further increase its capacity in a timely manner.

MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Royal DSM, a global science-based company active in health, nutrition and sustainable living, together with APK, are leading the way in taking the next step to increase the sustainable benefits of multilayer food packaging films, as per the company's press release.

Beyond the primary function of reducing food waste, the products are now also recyclable via APK’s new recycling route.

Many multilayer barrier films for food packaging consist of a combination of PE and PA6, where PE acts as a barrier for moisture and PA6 as a barrier for oxygen thus significantly extending the shelf life of the packaged food. Such packaging cannot be produced with a mono-material PE film, since the layer thicknesses to achieve sufficient barrier properties would become too high. The addition of PA6 in the multi-material solution reduces the total layer thickness significantly and improves the mechanical integrity of the film resulting in less rupture of the films during transportation and logistics. This leads to a lower food waste percentage and thus to a significantly better carbon footprint in a Life Cycle Analysis.

Today APK and DSM are also able to address the "End-of-Life" stage of the Life Cycle of a multilayer PE/PA6 packaging film using APK’s Newcycling process, a technique that makes it possible to recover high-quality re-granulates with properties close to virgin plastics, from complex mixtures and multi-layer composites (so-called multilayer barrier packaging). With conventional recycling systems that is not possible. "Moreover the Newcycling process works highly cost-efficient and offers a competitive, sustainable material source. The re-granulates, generated from multilayer PE/PA6 packaging waste, can be used again in demanding flexible packaging which contributes to the target of a circular economy," explained Florian Riedl, Head of Business Development at APK AG.

APK is building a plant for recycling multilayer PE/PA6 packaging, using Newcycling process, which will start up in Q4 of this year.

As MRC wrote before, in May 2018, Royal DSM announced that it had entered a preferred partnership with Chromatic 3D Materials to introduce thermoset materials for 3D-printing of finished manufactured goods. With the collaboration, DSM further expands its portfolio, now offering the broadest selection of 3D printing materials for the broadest range of printing technologies.

Royal DSM is a global science-based company active in health, nutrition and materials. DSM delivers innovative solutions that nourish, protect and improve performance in global markets such as food and dietary supplements, personal care, feed, pharmaceuticals, medical devices, automotive, paints, electrical and electronics, life protection, alternative energy and bio-based materials.
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MOSCOW (MRC) -- Italian speciality polymer company Radici Group Performance Plastics has selected Swiss distributor Hromatka Group as the new distributor for its engineering plastics in Eastern Europe, the companies announced 20 July, as per Plasticsnewseurope.

As part of the agreement, Hromatka and its subsidiaries, including Aectra Plastics and Plastoplan Polska, will distribute Radici’s portfolio of polyamide and polybutyleneterephtalate (PBT) materials, which are marketed under the trade names of Radilon, Heramid, Radiflam, Radistrong and Raditer.

The Italian polymer group said the move was part of a strategy to strengthen its position in the East European market and increase its market share and products accessibility in the region, particularly in Poland, Romania and Bulgaria.

Based in Aesch, Switzerland, the Hromatka Group is a leading plastics compounding and distribution group with operations in 10 European countries.

The company also has two manufacturing plants and produces its own compounds under the brand name SAX Polymers.

Hromatka acquired Bucharest, Romania-based Aectra Plastics SRL in 2016 to extend its corporate footprint, particularly in the Bulgarian and Romanian markets.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- LyondellBasell, one of the largest plastics, chemicals and refining companies in the world, has announced that Robert G. Gwin, chairman of its board of directors, will resign from the board on November 30, 2018, as per the company's press release.

Jacques Aigrain, currently vice chairman, will succeed Gwin as chairman, effective September 24, 2018.

Aigrain, a director since 2011, is a senior advisor at Warburg Pincus and a director of the London Stock Exchange and WPP plc. He has extensive executive and board experience, including as chief executive officer of Swiss Re Ltd, and holds a Ph.D. in economics from the University of Paris. During his tenure as a LyondellBasell director, Aigrain served on multiple committees and is the current chairman of the compensation committee.

"It has been a privilege to lead the LyondellBasell board and, after five years as chairman, I believe it's the right time to transition to new leadership," Gwin said. "I'm very pleased with the company's direction and outlook, and I look forward to working with Jacques over the next few months to ensure a smooth and successful transition."

Gwin has served on LyondellBasell's board of directors since 2011 and has been chairman since August 2013.

"Since joining the board in 2011, Bob has served as a leader, partner and ambassador for LyondellBasell. We have greatly benefited from his leadership, as well as his industry and financial insight," said LyondellBasell chief executive officer Bob Patel. "I have worked closely with Jacques for several years, and I look forward to partnering with him to build upon the growth and success we have made during Bob's tenure as chair."

As MRC informed before, in September 2017, LyondellBasell announced the successful startup of a new 20 ktpy polypropylene (PP) compounding plant in Dalian, China. This was the company's third facility in China, strategically located to serve the region's growing automotive market.

LyondellBasell is one of the world's largest plastics, chemical and refining companies. The company manufactures products at 57 sites in 18 countries. LyondellBasell products and technologies are used to make items that improve the quality of life for people around the world including packaging, electronics, automotive parts, home furnishings, construction materials and biofuels.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) – Praxair, Inc. announced it has started up two new air separation plants to supply China National Offshore Oil Corporation (CNOOC), a Fortune Global 100 company and one of the largest in China, as per Hydrocarbonprocessing.

The two plants, each with 2,400-tons-per-day of oxygen capacity, are supplying on-site oxygen and nitrogen to CNOOC to support the company’s refinery expansion and related downstream chemical production.

With the start-up of the two new plants, Praxair is now operating a 5,600-ton-per-day production complex, made up of four air separation units. These units are serving a total of nine customers in the Huizhou Daya Bay Chemical Industrial Park, located in Huizhou, Guangdong, China, including the CNOOC and Shell petrochemical complex.

"This project not only expands our relationship with CNOOC, but also enables us to build density and increase supply reliability to all of our valued customers in the park and throughout southern China,” said Will Li, president of Praxair China. “Praxair is driving further profitable growth through disciplined investment in select projects such as this one, and we look forward to building on our momentum in the region."
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