MOSCOW (MRC) -- In response to urgent needs by medical professionals for protective equipment to combat COVID-19, Solvay is supplying high-performance, medical-grade transparent film to Boeing for its production of face shields, said the company.
Boeing approached Solvay due to its experience in the use of advanced composite and adhesive materials on multiple commercial and defense programs.
Manufactured by Solvay's Ajedium™ Films business, the thermoplastic film will be used by Boeing in the production of thousands of face shields critically needed by hospitals and medical workers in the U.S. to protect them from the COVID-19 virus. The film will be manufactured using Solvay’s medical-grade Radel® PPSU or Udel® PSU, two transparent specialty polymers widely used for medical devices because of their ability to be sterilized and withstand aggressive disinfectants.
"We are honored to bring our product expertise to our customers in this time of crisis," explains Jeff Hrivnak, healthcare global business development manager for Solvay Specialty Polymers. "Boeing is rising to the occasion by providing more durable, face shields now in critical demand for our heroic healthcare workers, and we are proud to help make that possible."
As MRC informed earlier, DOMO Chemicals has completed its acquisition of Solvay’s Performance Polyamides Business in Europe. This Business includes Engineering Plastics operations in France and Poland; High Performance Fibers in France; Polymer and Intermediates operations in France, Spain and Poland. The Business comprises Production, Sales, Technical Support, R&D and Innovation services in France, Spain, Poland, Germany and Italy that currently have a combined headcount of approximately 1,100 employees. The agreement also involves a joint venture between BASF and DOMO in France for the production of Adipic Acid.
We remind that, as MRC wrote earlier, BASF 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 2,093,260 tonnes шт 2019, up by 6% year on year. Shipments of all PE grades increased. PE shipments rose from both domestic producers and foreign suppliers. The estimated PP consumption in the Russian market was 1,260,400 tonnes in January-December 2019, up by 4% year on year. Supply of almost all grades of propylene polymers increased, except for statistical copolymers of propylene (PP random copolymers).
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