Trinseo offers to the market recycled PS for food contact applications

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Trinseo, a global materials company and manufacturer of plastics, latex binders, and synthetic rubber, has announced that it can now supply recycled polystyrene (rPS) for food contact applications with the launch of the first yogurt pot integrating rPS, now on shelves in France, as per the company's press release.

The material -Trinseo’s STYRON CO2RE CR55 Polystyrene Resin - contains 55 percent recycled content resulting from depolymerization, and is part of the company’s STYRON CO2RE portfolio of recycled PS grades.

PS is a unique plastic in that it can be depolymerized to its monomer level and can be reused along with virgin content with no distinction between the two. Consequently, polystyrene recycled via this method can be used widely in high quality, demanding applications including consumer electronics, packaging, household durables and even food contact applications.

According to Trinseo’s Plastics Circularity Manager, Julien Renvoise, STYRON CO2RE CR55 Polystyrene supports a circular economy.

This innovation is the result of a collaboration between Trinseo and Intraplas, an expert in extrusion of plastic sheets for the food industry. Together the companies supply and transform the certified recycled polystyrene raw material used by Yoplait in France to launch the first pot made with 50% of rPS in the French market.

As MRC wrote before, recycled PS is just one of Trinseo’s sustainable materials aimed at circularity. The company also is involved with depolymerization with technology provided by partner, Recycling Technologies, and plans to build a dedicated plant at its Tessenderlo, Belgium location. This will be one of two PS recycling plants in Europe estimated to add a total of 30,000 tons of PS feedstock into the European marketplace. The plant is expected to start operating in 2023.

According to ICIS-MRC Price report, in Russia, Nizhnekamskneftekhim's PS prices remained unchanged in May. Prices of Nizhnekamskneftekhim's GPPS were in the range of Rb192,000-203,000/tonne, CPT Moscow, including VAT, whereas high impact polystyrene (HIPS) prices were at Rb196,000-207,000/tonne CPT Moscow, including VAT. At the same time, May prices of Penoplex's material fell by Rb15,000/tonne to Rb204,000-206,000/tonne CPT Moscow, including VAT.

Trinseo is a global materials company and manufacturer of plastics, latex and rubber. Trinseo's technology is used by customers in industries such as home appliances, automotive, building & construction, carpet, consumer electronics, consumer goods, electrical & lighting, medical, packaging, paper & paperboard, rubber goods and tires. Formerly known as Styron, Trinseo completed its renaming process in 1Q 2015. Trinseo had approximately USD3.0 billion in net sales in 2020, with 17 manufacturing sites around the world, and approximately 2,600 employees.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- American Clean Energy Refining LLC (ACER) is bidding to buy an idled refinery of Royal Dutch Shell Plc RDSa.L in Convent, Louisiana, the chief executive of the Baton Rouge-based company said, said Hydrocarbonprocessing.

ACER has offered USD1.25 billion for the idled 211,146 barrel-per-day (bpd) Convent refinery, which was shut in December 2020, Chief Executive Officer George Dabbs said. A Shell spokesman was not immediately available for comment.

Last year, Shell decided to shut the Convent refinery because it was unable to sell it after it became unprofitable amid the loss of demand spurred by the COVID-19 pandemic. The company announced the closure on Nov. 5, while the refinery shutdown was complete on Dec. 14.

Dabbs said the Baton Rouge, Louisiana-based company had offered USD1.75 billion to Shell even before the refinery was shut. "It's a crying shame what they are doing," Dabbs said regarding Shell's decision to idle the Convent refinery.

If Shell won't sell the refinery to ACER, the company plans to build a 300,000-bpd refinery along the Mississippi River near the Convent refinery, Dabbs said. The new refinery would cost $2 billion, he said, adding that ACER got sufficient funds for an acquisition or construction.

As MRC informed before, in January, 2021, Shell Plc's Singapore bunkering unit, Shell Eastern Trading Pte Ltd, moved up a notch to be the top marine fuel supplier in the world's biggest ship refueling hub in 2020, official data showed, while the overall number of suppliers steadied after years of declines.

Ethylene and propylene are the main feedstocks for the production of polyethylene (PE) and polypropylene (PP), respectively.

According to MRC's ScanPlast report, Russia's estimated PE consumption totalled 576,270 tonnes in the first three month of 2021, up by 4% year on year. Low density polyethylene (LDPE) and high density polyethylene (HDPE) shipments increased. At the same time, PP shipments to the Russian market totalled 410,890 tonnes in January-March 2021, up by 56% year on year. Supply of homopolymer PP and PP block copolymers increased.
MRC

1. Henkel hikes outlook as demand for adhesives rebounds

MOSCOW (MRC) -- German consumer goods group Henkel raised its full-year outlook after its adhesives business reported a strong first-quarter amid a faster-than-expected rebound in the automotive and electronics industries, said Reuters. Henkel said it now expects 2021 sales to rise an organic 4-6%, up from a previous 2-5% forecast, while earnings per preferred share should rise in the high single-digit to mid-teens percentage range, from a previous 5-15% range. The upper end of the earnings guidance is not limited to 15%, finance chief Marco Swoboda told analysts, adding that Henkel was seeing continued strong progress in adhesives. Henkel, which makes Schwarzkopf hair care products, said it expects the hair salon business will recover significantly as coronavirus lockdowns ease, while demand for cleaning products, which was boosted by the pandemic, should return to normal.


MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Russia's overall production of high density polyethylene (HDPE) totalled 653,500 tonnes in the first four months of 2021, up by 9% year on year. At the same time, only one Russian producer increased its HDPE output, according to MRC's ScanPlast report.

April total HDPE production in Russia fell to 147,700 tonnes, whereas this figure was 175,900 tonnes a month earlier, three out of four producers reduced their capacity utilisation. Thus, overall HDPE output in the country reached 653,500 tonnes in January-April 2021, compared to 602,000 tonnes a year earlier. Only ZapSibNeftekhim's production increased, whereas Kazanorgsintez and Gazprom neftekhim Salavat reduced their output.

The structure of polyethylene (PE) production by plants looked the following way over the stated period.

ZapSibNeftekhim's April total HDPE production reached 81,600 tonnes versus 97,200 tonnes a month earlier. The Tobolsk plant's overall HDPE production reached 371,700 tonnes in the first four month of 2021, up by 35% year on year.

Last month's HDPE production at Kazanorgsintez decreased to 29,000 tonnes from 41,000 tonnes in March, the reduction in the output was done in favour of linear low density polyethylene (LLDPE), as well as because of a shortage of ethylene. Thus, the plant's overall production of this PE grade totalled 136,300 tonnes over the stated period, down by 23% year on year.

Stavrolen produced 26,900 tonnes of HDPE in April versus 27,600 tonnes 27,600 tonnes a month earlier. The plant's overall output of material exceeded 108,000 tonnes over the stated period, which virtually corresponded to the last year's figure.

Gazprom neftekhim Salavat's total HDPE production exceeded 10,200 tonnes last month, which corresponded to the March level. Thus, overall production of this PE grade totalled 37,500 tonnes at the Salavat plant in January-April 2021, down by 9% year on year.

MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Henkel plans to invest more than €60m to build a new adhesive technologies centre in Shanghai, said the company.

Henkel today announced the construction of a new Adhesive Technologies Innovation Center in Shanghai. With an investment of more than EUR60 mln (RMB 500 million), the state-of-the-art facility will transform Henkel’s current Zhangjiang site into an Innovation Center for China and Asia-Pacific. The new site will also strengthen the position of Henkel Adhesive Technologies to serve a variety of industries and develop leading adhesives, sealants and functional coatings solutions for customers in the region.

"Our investment aligns with the direction of the Chinese government’s 14th Five-Year plan,” said Rajat Agarwal, president of Henkel Greater China. "In particular, it will further strengthen our innovative capabilities in China to support the country’s economic upgrading,” Agarwal said.

Targeted for completion in 2023, the state-of-the-art Innovation Center has a gross space of 32,000 square meters, including approximately 9,000 square meters of laboratories and 4,000 square meters of office space. Once operational, it will allow more than 400 Henkel experts and scientists to develop new technologies that support all Henkel Adhesive Technologies business and service areas.

As MRC informed earlier, Henkel has provided a business update for the third quarter and says that, based on preliminary figures, its adhesive technologies business unit achieved positive organic sales growth of 1.3% in the quarter. All business areas in adhesive technologies showed a recovery in demand compared with the second quarter, the company says. Henkel notes that in the first nine months of 2020, adhesive technologies recorded a 6.8% decline in organic sales.

Ethylene and propylene are the main feedstocks for the production of polyethylene (PE) and polypropylene (PP), respectively.

According to MRC's ScanPlast report, Russia's estimated PE consumption totalled 576,270 tonnes in the first three month of 2021, up by 4% year on year. Low density polyethylene (LDPE) and high density polyethylene (HDPE) shipments increased. At the same time, PP shipments to the Russian market totalled 410,890 tonnes in January-March 2021, up by 56% year on year. Supply of homopolymer PP and PP block copolymers increased.
MRC