PKN Orlen licenses Honeywell Technology for new phenol complex

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Honeywell has recently announced that PKN Orlen plans to use the UOP Q-Max and Phenol 3G technologies to produce 200,000 metric tons per year of phenol at its facility in Plock, Poland, reported Hydrocarbonprocessing.

UOP is providing a license for the technology, in addition to basic engineering design services, plus key equipment, catalysts and adsorbents and technical services.

As part of the project, UOP will provide a cumene unit and a phenol unit with alpha methyl styrene hydrogenation. When completed, the new complex would increase PKN’s market position in high-margin petrochemicals including phenol and acetone.

"These technologies make it possible for PKN Orlen to extend its benzene production into phenol and acetone derivatives," said Bryan Glover, vice president and general manager of Honeywell UOP’s Petrochemicals & Refining Technologies business. "By doing so, PKN Orlen would be in a position to meet the growing demand for phenol and other petrochemicals in Poland and even become a net exporter of those products."

Cumene is the primary building block for making phenol and its derivatives. UOP’s Q-Max process converts benzene and propylene into high-quality cumene at low benzene-to-propylene ratios using regenerable catalysts that reduce byproduct transalkylation catalyst requirements, and lower utility consumption and capital requirements for downstream fractionation equipment.

The UOP 3G Phenol unit converts cumene into phenol with high yields and product quality, and low utility consumption. The phenol product is converted into plastics and other related materials, including bisphenol-A, a building block for polycarbonate plastics, and phenolic resins used to make durable laminated boards and industrial adhesives.

When integrated, the two technologies offer even lower utility consumption and a high yield of phenol, with outstanding operating flexibility, on-stream time, reliability and safety. UOP Q-Max technology is currently licensed in 26 units worldwide, with a total capacity of more than 9 million tons per year. The UOP phenol technology also is licensed in 22 units worldwide, with a total phenol capacity of more than 5 million tons per year.

As MRC informed before, in September 2019, Honeywell announced that PKN orlen had licensed the UOP MaxEne process, which can increase production of ethylene and aromatics and improve the flexibility of gasoline production. The project, for the PKN Orlen facility in Plock, Poland, was in the basic engineering stage then.

Phenol is one of the main feedstocks for the production of bisphenol A (BPA), which, in its turn, is used for the production of polycarbonate (PC).

According to MRC's ScanPlast report, Russia's estimated consumption of polycarbonate (PC) granules (excluding imports and exports to/from Belarus) rose in January-May 2020 by 19% year on year to 38,900 tonnes (32,700 tonnes a year earlier).
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- JXTG Holdings Inc, Japan’s biggest oil refiner, said it will spend 1.5 trillion yen (USD14 billion) for the next three years to drive its transformation into a supplier of low-carbon energy and materials, said Hydrocarbonprocessing.

The planned spending, mapped out under a new medium-term business plan through end-March 2023, is a 44% jump from the 1.04 trillion yen spent in the past 3 years. The fund will be used to strengthen its business in renewable energy, electronic materials and petrochemicals, JXTG Holdings President Tsutomu Sugimori said.

The new plan is based on an assumption that a decline in demand for petroleum products and others due to the pandemic will continue in the April-September half of the current financial year, he said. “We don’t know how long an impact from the pandemic will continue, but we don’t think the current trend toward a low-carbon society will change,” Sugimori told a news conference.

“We will stick to our long-term vision,” he said. Last year, the oil and metals group unveiled a long-term vision through 2040, reinforcing growth areas such as renewable energy, chemical products, power generation and electronic materials, based on an estimate that domestic oil demand will halve by 2040.

On Wednesday, the company added a new goal to become “carbon neutral” in 2040, by reducing emissions from refineries and boosting carbon-free assets such as renewable energy, hydrogen generation, and carbon capture and storage (CCS).

"The growing trend of boosting renewable energy won’t change despite a slump in oil prices," Sugimori said. The company also announced that Katsuyuki Ota, president of JXTG Nippon Oil & Energy, an energy unit of the group, will become JXTG Holdings’ president in June. Sugimori will become chairman.

As MRC informed earlier, JXTG Nippon Oil and Energy brought on-stream its cracker following a turnaround. The company resumed operations at the cracker on April 28, 2020. The cracker was shut for maintenance on February 27, 2020.

Ethylene and propylene are feedstocks for producing PE and PP.

According to MRC's ScanPlast report, Russia's estimated PE consumption totalled 383,760 tonnes in the first two month of 2020, up by 14% year on year. High density polyethylene (HDPE) and linear low density polyethylene (LLDPE) shipments increased due to the increased capacity utilisation at ZapSibNeftekhim. At the same time, PP shipments to the Russian market were 192,760 tonnes in January-February 2020, down by 6% year on year. Homopolymer PP accounted for the main decrease in imports.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- The European Chemicals Agency (ECHA; Helsinki, Finland) says that 20 EU member states have reported an increase in non-compliant hand disinfectants on their markets since March, triggered by high demand for these products to fight COVID-19, reported Chemweek.

The authorities in EU countries are performing inspections and taking measures that include fines and the withdrawal of the products from the market, and communicating them in Rapid Alert System for Non-Food Products (RAPEX) to raise public awareness about the ineffective products marketed to consumers as disinfectants, ECHA says.

The COVID-19 pandemic has led many member states to grant health emergency permits, to increase and speed up the production of disinfectants. This was encouraged by the EU to ensure that healthcare professionals and citizens have access to these products. However, this has attracted new producers and suppliers to the market, some of which appear to be taking advantage of the situation, although most may simply not have prior knowledge of the legal framework, ECHA says.

As a result, many member states have identified “disinfectants that do not have the required authorization or permit, or lack hazard labeling,” ECHA says. Moreover, there were cases reported of products that “claimed to be disinfectants but which had a formulation that cannot be sufficiently effective against viruses,” the agency adds.

“When disinfectants are manufactured or used inappropriately, they can be a health risk rather than keep us safe. It is important for national authorities to check and enforce the legal provisions, also in times where we face exceptional circumstances. ECHA is collecting the national authorities’ feedback on specific difficulties and urgent questions that need to be clarified to support enforcement at a national level,” says Erwin Annys, head/support and enforcement at ECHA.

ECHA and the European Anti-Fraud Office (OLAF) have agreed to share information of mutual interest collected in the context of inquiries related to the COVID-19 crisis, the agency says. The OLAF unit in charge of fighting against counterfeit goods and illicit trade launched in March an inquiry into illicit trafficking of COVID-19 related products, including disinfectants, ECHA says.

As MRC wrote previously, in early April 2020, Clariant announced it had started monthly production of 2 million liters of disinfectant at its facilities in Gendorf, Germany.

We remind that in early March 2020, SABIC purchased additional shares in Clariant, increasing its holding in the company from 24.99% to 31.5%. The move is part of Sabic’s growth strategy to achieve a leadership position among global peers in specialties and increase this segment’s contribution to Sabic. Completion of the transaction is subject to regulatory approvals.

Earlier last year, SABIC took off-stream its SABIC Olefins 4 cracker owing to technical issues on May 10, 2019. Further details on duration of the shutdown could not be ascertained. Located in beek, the Netherlands, the cracker has an ethylene production capacity of 690,000 mt/year and a propylene production capacity of 360,000 mt/year.

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

According to MRC's ScanPlast report, Russia's estimated PE consumption totalled 721,290 tonnes in the first four month of 2020, up by 4% year on year. Low density polyethylene (LDPE) and linear low density polyethylene (LLDPE) shipments grew partially because of the increased capacity utilisation at ZapSibNeftekhim. At the same time, PP shipments to the Russian market totalled 347,440 tonnes in January-April 2020 (calculated by the formula production minus export plus import). Supply exclusively of PP random copolymer increased.
mrcpast.com

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Russian offline primary oil refining capacity is seen declining in June to 1.583 million tons from an upwardly revised plan of 4.168 million tons expected in May, reported Reuters with reference to energy ministry data, as seasonal maintenance comes off its peak.

The data for May was revised up from the previous plan of 3.5 million tonnes.

The data also showed idle capacity reached 3.551 million tonnes in April.

As MRC informed earlier, the rapidly rising price of Russia’s flagship Urals blend oil has forced European refineries to cut purchases from Moscow and look for crude supplies elsewhere.

We remind that Russia may further cut overseas supplies of its Urals oil next month due to rising demand from domestic refineries as coronavirus-related restrictions ease.

We also remind that global oil consumption cut by up to a third in Q1 2020. What happens next in the oil market depends on how quickly and completely the global economy emerges from lockdown, and whether the recessionary hit lingers through the rest of this year and into 2021.

Earlier this year, BP said the deadly coronavirus outbreak could cut global oil demand growth by 40 per cent in 2020, putting pressure on Opec producers and Russia to curb supplies to keep prices in check.

As MRC reported before, in September 2019, six world's major petrochemical companies in Flanders, Belgium, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, and the Netherlands (Trilateral Region) announced the creation of a consortium to jointly investigate how naphtha or gas steam crackers could be operated using renewable electricity instead of fossil fuels. The Cracker of the Future consortium, which includes BASF, Borealis, BP, LyondellBasell, SABIC and Total, aims to produce base chemicals while also significantly reducing carbon emissions. The companies agreed to invest in R&D and knowledge sharing as they assess the possibility of transitioning their base chemical production to renewable electricity.

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

According to MRC's ScanPlast report, Russia's estimated PE consumption totalled 721,290 tonnes in the first four month of 2020, up by 4% year on year. Low density polyethylene (LDPE) and linear low density polyethylene (LLDPE) shipments grew partially because of the increased capacity utilisation at ZapSibNeftekhim. At the same time, PP shipments to the Russian market totalled 347,440 tonnes in January-April 2020 (calculated by the formula production minus export plus import). Supply exclusively of PP random copolymer increased.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) – According to the American Chemistry Council (ACC), the U.S. Chemical Production Regional Index (U.S. CPRI) tumbled 3.1% in April following a 1.0% decline in March and a 0.4 percent decline in February, said Chemweek.

During April, chemical output fell across all regions, with the steepest decline in the Gulf Coast region. The lower level of chemical activity is directly related to supply chain disruptions and the lockdown of much of the U.S. economy during April.

Production fell across all chemical segments. Within several major segments, however, production of some chemical materials increased, including supply chains tied to personal protective equipment (PPE) and disinfection products.

As nearly all manufactured goods are produced using chemistry in some form, manufacturing activity is an important indicator for chemical demand. With many factories shut down during the month, overall manufacturing activity fell by 6.3 percent on a three-month moving average (3MMA) basis, with declines across all industry sectors – in some cases quite steep.

Compared with April 2019, U.S. chemical production was 5.3 percent lower, the eleventh and highest consecutive month of year-over-year declines. Chemical production was lower than a year ago in all regions, with the largest declines in the Northeast, Mid-Atlantic, and West Coast regions.

We remind that Russia's output of chemical products rose in May 2020 by 4.4% year on year. Thus, production of basic chemicals increased year on year by 5.4% in the first five months of 2020, according to Rosstat's data. According to the Federal State Statistics Service of the Russian Federation, polymers in primary form accounted for the greatest increase in the output in January-May.
MRC