BASF finishes expansion project at Ludwigshafen polyacrylate plant

MOSCOW (MRC) -- BASF SE has invested to enhance the flexibility of its water-soluble polyacrylate production plant at the company’s Ludwigshafen site, Germany, and also has slightly expanded capacity, according to Chemical Engineering.

The upgraded plant is now operational, enabling customers in the household and commercial cleaning products, as well as for chemical and formulator industries to benefit from the expanded capacity in specialty chemicals.

"High-performance water-soluble polyacrylates and copolymers are an indispensable component of our customers’ formulations. With this investment and our applications expertise, we are supporting our European customers in their efforts to boost their market growth with differentiated products," said Soeren Hildebrandt, Senior Vice President, Home Care, I&I and Industrial Formulators Europe at BASF.

Water-soluble polyacrylates and copolymers are marketed by the Care Chemicals operating division under the Sokalan brand and have numerous applications. Sokalan PA and Sokalan CP grades are used in the household and commercial cleaning products industry for water softening and in various technical processes, for example to prevent fouling. As dye transfer inhibitors, Sokalan HP grades protect fabrics from discoloration during washing. Sokalan NR grades are polyacrylates whose narrow molecular-weight distribution makes them highly effective mineral dispersing agents.

As MRC wrote earlier, BASF, the world's petrochemical major, has restarted its No. 1 steam cracker following a maintenance turnaorund. Thus, the company resumed operations at the plant on September 30, 2019. The plant was shut for maintenance in mid-August, 2019. Located at Ludwigshafen in Germany, the No. 1 cracker has an ethylene production capacity of 235,000 mt/year and a propylene production capacity of 125,000 mt/year.

Ethylene and propylene are feedstocks for producing PE and polypropylene (PP).

According to MRC's ScanPlast report, Russia's estimated PE consumption totalled 1,904,410 tonnes in the first eleven months of 2019, up by 6% year on year. Shipments of all PE grades increased. PE shipments increased from both domestic producers and foreign suppliers. The PP consumption in the Russian market was 1,161,830 tonnes in January-November 2019, up by 7% year on year. Deliveries of all grades of propylene polymers increased, with the homopolymer PP segment accounting for the largest increase.

BASF is the leading chemical company. It produces a wide range of chemicals, for example solvents, amines, resins, glues, electronic-grade chemicals, industrial gases, basic petrochemicals and inorganic chemicals. The most important customers for this segment are the pharmaceutical, construction, textile and automotive industries. BASF generated sales of around EUR63 billion in 2018.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Imports of high density polyethylene (HDPE) into Russia grew in January-December 2019 by 44% year on year and reached 363,100 tonnes. Pipe grade and film grade polyethylene (PE) accounted for the greatest increase in imports, according to MRC's DataScope report.

December HDPE imports grew to the last year's maximum for the entire last year - about 37,900 tonnes against 30,200 tonnes a month earlier. Overall HDPE imports reached 363,100 tonnes in 2019 versus 251,500 tonnes a year earlier. Thus, the indicators of external deliveries of HDPE have reached a record level since 2013, a higher import volumes were only in 2012 - 410,200 tonnes. Pipe and film HDPE accounted for the greatest increase in shipments.

The structure of PE production by grades looked the following way over the stated period.

December HDPE imports exceeded 14,000 tonnes from 12,700 tonnes a month earlier, shipments from Uzbekistan and Ukraine increased.
Overall HDPE imports in the country grew to 131,900 tonnes in 2019, up by 65% year on year. Last month's imports of HDPE for extrusion blow moulding (EBM) decreased to 6,600 tonnes, compared to 7,300 tonnes in November; supplies of Uzbek polyethylene decreased. Total imports of blow moulding HDPE in the country exceeded 68,100 tonnes in Jan-December 2019, up 20% year on year.

December injection moulding HDPE imports increased to 4,600 tonnes from 2,700 tonnes a month earlier. Overall output of these products exceeded 60,300 tonnes in 2019, up by 4% year on year.

December imports of pipe HDPE into the country increased to 8,000 tonnes, compared with 4,800 tonnes in November. on a stronger purchases of natural HDPE from Turkmenistan. The overall imports of other ethylene polymers exceeded 58,700 tonnes over the stated period versus 27,500 tonnes a year earlier.

Overall imports of other grades of HDPE to Russia were 44,100 tonnes in 2019 compared to 29,300 tonnes year earlier.

MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Imports of expandable polystyrene (EPS) into Kazakhstan grew in the first eleven months of 2019 by 9% year on year, totalling 6,800 tonnes, according to MRC's DataScope report.

EPS imports into the country slumped by 33% in November 2019 from October 2019 to 537 tonnes. Imports of material to Kazakhstan were 564 tonnes in October 2018.

Russia and China were the main importing countries of EPS to Kazakhstan.

Thus, imports of Russian material to the Kazakh market fell in the first eleven months of 2019 by 18% year on year: from 5,700 tonnes in January-November 2018 to 4,700 tonnes. The share of EPS imports from Russia in the total shipments to the country slumped over the stated period to 69% from 91% a year earlier.

November 2019 shipments of Russian EPS into the country were 467 tonnes versus 609 tonnes in October 2019, whereas imports of material were 442 tonnes in November 2018.

At the same time, imports of Chinese material to Kazakhstan increased in January-November 2019 to 2,100 tonnes from 500 tonnes a year earlier. The share of Chinese companies in the overall EPS imports to the country grew sharply in the first eleven months of 2019 to 30% from 9% a year earlier.

November EPS shipments from China to Kazakhstan fell to 69 tonnes from 190 tonnes a month earlier, whereas imports of Chinese material were 103 tonnes in November 2018.

MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Overall imports of general purpose polystyrene (GPPS) and high impact polystyrene (HIPS) to Kazakhstan decreased in the first eleven months of 2019 by 5% year on year to 8,700 tonnes, according to MRC's DataScope report.

This figure was at 9,200 tonnes in January-November 2018.

Imports of material to the country remained in November 2019 at the level of October, whereas November imports of this polystyrene (PS) grade almost doubled year on year: from 700 tonnes to 1,200 tonnes.

HIPS and GPPS are mainly shipped to Kazakhstan from Russia.

The share of the Russian Federation dropped by 13% year on year in the total imports in January-November 2019 to 74% (6,500 tonnes a year earlier).

November import of Russian material into the country decreased by 3% from October 2019 to 1,000 tonnes. In November 2018, HIPS and GPPS imports from Russia to Kazakhstan were 600 tonnes.

MRC