Shanghai Golden Phillips to restart HDPE plant

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Shanghai Golden Phillips Petrochemical Co, a subsidiary of Sinopec Shangai Petrochemical Co, is in plans to brought on-stream a high density polyethylene (HDPE) plant following a maintenance turnaround, as per Apic-online.

A Polymerupdate source in China informed that the company is likely to resume operations at the plant in mid-November 2018. The plant was taken off-stream on October 21, 2018.

Located in Shanghai, China, the HDPE plant has a production capacity of 135,000 mt/year.

As MRC reported earlier, the company shut down its HDPE plant in Shanghai from end-May to 13 June, 2017, owing to a lack of feedstock availability.

China Petrochemical Corporation (Sinopec Group) is a super-large petroleum and petrochemical enterprise group established in July 1998 on the basis of the former China Petrochemical Corporation. Sinopec Group's key business activities include the exploration and production of oil and natural gas, petrochemicals and other chemical products, oil refining.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Air Products and Sonatrach, the largest state-owned oil and gas company in Africa, have signed two gas production and delivery agreements, said producer.

Conducted through both companies' joint venture (JV), HELIOS, the deals have a combined value of USD100 million. Through the deal, Sonatrach will recover helium from two existing liquefied natural gas (LNG) facilities (GL1Z and GL3Z), and that helium will be delivered to HELIOS' existing liquid helium plant in Arzew. The HELIOS plant is an important part of Air Products' total global helium source portfolio, and the new feedstock will increase the amount of liquid helium produced by the JV plant.

"The potential for helium production in Algeria is significant thanks to its large, established natural gas industry and LNG operations," said Walter Nelson, vice president and general manager–Global Helium at Air Products. "Connecting the HELIOS plant to Sonatrach's other LNG facilities in Arzew is a further illustration of how unlocking Algeria's helium potential can further diversify the helium supply chain and improve the reliability of supply for customers in Africa and Europe."

Another important component of Air Products' and Sonatrach's agreement is that Air Products will design and build, and HELIOS will own and operate, two new air separation plants in Algeria. One will be located in the Hassi Messaoud District, with the second in Arzew. Once in operation, these plants will produce nitrogen, oxygen and argon, which will be supplied to the Algerian and Maghreb markets through Sonatrach's subsidiary, COGIZ.

These latest agreements are part of Sonatrach's 2030 Vision for growth, which includes a multi-billion dollar investment program to expand Algeria's energy sector and infrastructure.

Mr. Abdelmoumen Ould KADDOUR, President and CEO of Sonatrach, said, "Delivering these industrial gas production projects with our renowned international partner, Air Products, is a key part of Sonatrach's diversification strategy. It will allow us to better value our resources and provide us with secure and reliable industrial gases to meet our needs and those of our customers."

Air Products has built a solid foundation in Algeria since entering the market over 40 years ago. The company's proprietary process technology and main cryogenic heat exchangers are in operation at Sonatrach's LNG facilities in Skikda and Arzew, with both facilities making up a significant portion of Algeria's LNG exports. Additionally, both Air Products' and Sonatrach's successful HELIOS joint venture has produced helium for the European market for more than 25 years.

Air Products is a world-leading industrial gases company in operation for over 75 years. The company provides industrial gases and related equipment to dozens of industries, including refining, chemical, metals, electronics, manufacturing, and food and beverage. Air Products is also the world's leading supplier of liquefied natural gas process technology and equipment.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Idemitsu Kosan is installing a new high-efficiency naphtha cracking furnace at its Tokuyama complex in Japan to replace two existing naphtha cracking furnaces at the site, as per Apic-online.

The project is part of the company's Fifth Consolidated Medium-Term Management Plan, which calls for improvements to cost competitiveness through adoption of high-efficiency equipment.

Construction began this past September and completion is scheduled for December 2020.

"By taking a shorter residence time to pyrolyze raw materials, the high-efficiency naphtha cracking furnace will increase both the ethylene yield ratio and thermal efficiency," the company noted.

"This will result in energy-efficient improvements of approximately 30% compared to ethylene production using conventional cracking furnaces."

As MRC informed before, the company conducted maintenance at its cracker in Chiba from 22 September to early November 2017.

Idemitsu Kosan is a Japanese petroleum company. It owns and operates oil platforms, refineries and produces and sells petroleum, oils and petrochemical products. The company runs two petrochemical plants in Chiba and Tokuyama. The two naphtha crackers can produce up to 997,000 tonnes of ethylene per year.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Clariant, a world leader in specialty chemicals, has signed an agreement for a new partnership with Neste, the world’s leading provider of sustainable renewable diesel and an expert in delivering drop-in renewable chemical solutions, as per Hydrocarbonprocessing.

By using Neste’s renewable hydrocarbons in its product development, Clariant increases the number of products in its portfolio that are derived from renewable raw materials. As a result, sustainable solutions become more accessible to a variety of industries, including adhesives, plastics and coatings.

Christian Kohlpaintner, Member of Clariant’s Executive Committee, comments: "Sustainability is one of Clariant’s five strategic pillars. This new partnership with Neste is a significant milestone in providing a sustainable future for Clariant and its customers. It is an exemplary cooperation because it provides a competitive advantage for our customers while making a sustainable impact across the value chain."

Clariant’s Licocene performance polymers and waxes are already highly-valued by the adhesives, plastics and coatings industry for their ability to offer superior sustainability and performance in use. Through the partnership with Neste, Clariant can offer sustainable polyolefin solutions derived from renewable hydrocarbons.

Peter Vanacker, President & CEO, Neste, comments: "Combining Clariant’s in-depth knowhow in the varying applications of adhesives, plastics and coatings, and Neste’s extensive knowledge and experience in working with bio-based materials to produce a variety of drop-in renewable solutions, enables both companies to develop their sustainable material offering to provide maximum added value not only to sustainable brands in varying industries, but also to their customers."

Gloria Glang, Vice President, Head of Global Advanced Surface Solutions Business, Clariant, continues: "For the society, our environment, and future generations, it is our responsibility to improve sustainability performance and reduce our carbon footprint and dependency on crude oil. As a result of Clariant’s partnership with Neste, we can progress our goal to become a true sustainable solution provider in the additive market, offering our customers products and solutions that can make a positive contribution towards their targets and enhance end applications."

The raw materials, C2/C3 monomers, are derived from Neste’s renewable hydrocarbons produced from 100% renewable feedstock that originates from waste and residue raw materials, such as used cooking oil, and renewable vegetable oils. These C2 and C3 monomers provide drop-in replacements for those currently used by Clariant to create advanced polyolefin solutions for a wide range of applications.

As MRC reported earlier, in March 2017, Clariant was 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) -- SABIC, a global leader in the chemical industry, is reaffirming, through a multi-faceted exhibition here at Formnext 2018, its determination to further the evolution of additive manufacturing technology and promote application innovation, said the producer.

By leveraging its unique, high-performance resin technologies and process capabilities to develop differentiated material solutions for various additive manufacturing processes, SABIC is creating significant value for customers and the industry as a whole.

Among its exhibit highlights, SABIC is featuring its newest filaments for fused deposition modeling, including a tough filament made from its high impact EXL resin. Addressing industry needs for greater choice, SABIC is also demonstrating the use of its filaments in open architecture printers from a range of equipment manufacturers. Another focus area at the show is large format additive manufacturing (LFAM): SABIC is highlighting various tooling applications, as well as parts printed from its LNP™ THERMOCOMP™ AM portfolio of specialty compounds. The company is also highlighting recent breakthroughs in the use of its amorphous resins with standard selective laser sintering (SLS) equipment to provide a range of sinterable materials that extends beyond currently available semi-crystalline powders.

Differentiated resin capabilities, a broad portfolio and deep expertise empower SABIC to offer material solutions such as high heat ULTEM™ resins, specialty copolymers and reinforced compounds to customers throughout the additive manufacturing value chain. Additionally, SABIC is able to provide materials in printable form when this brings value to the industry.

SABIC’s portfolio of THERMOCOMP™ AM reinforced compounds, which includes materials based on ULTEM™ resin, is helping to encourage the use of LFAM for specialized applications, such as high-temperature autoclave tooling for the aerospace industry, reusable tooling for the cast concrete industry and a wide range of lower-temperature large part thermoforming tooling. Printed tools can help to reduce cost, construction time, inventory and weight vs. traditional steel tools. SABIC is featuring a thermoforming tool for an aircraft interior panel printed on a Thermwood LSAM® machine using THERMOCOMP™ AM EC004XXAR1 compound, a SABIC material based on ULTEM™ resin with 20 percent carbon fiber reinforcement.

In addition to its development of tooling applications, SABIC is working closely with LM Industries Group Inc., parent company of Local Motors, to validate various large format materials for printing finished components of its next iteration of Olli, the world’s first co-created, self-driving electric shuttle. On display in the stand is a fender from Olli, printed on a BAAM® machine from Cincinnati Inc. using one of SABIC’s THERMOCOMP™ AM compounds.

To expand the scope of SLS, SABIC is developing innovative technology to help overcome some of the traditional drawbacks of amorphous resins in this process – including incomplete layer consolidation and parts with lower density, dimensional inconsistencies and sub-optimal physical properties. Using SABIC’s proprietary technologies, the company has demonstrated the ability to produce fully amorphous parts with part densities above 96 percent, good dimensional stability and low refresh rates.

SABIC representatives are available at Formnext to elaborate on the technical aspects of the company’s recently announced materials and those still in development.
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