Eni and Atlantia unit to jointly develop aviation biofuel

Eni and Atlantia unit to jointly develop aviation biofuel

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Italian energy group Eni and Atlantia's airport unit Aeroporti di Roma (ADR) have signed an agreement to develop biofuel for aviation to fight climate change, according to Hydrocarbonprocessing with reference to the two Italian groups' statements.

Airports operators and airlines are under pressure to contribute to the EU's goal to cut economy-wide net carbon emissions by 55% by 2030 from 1990 levels.

In July, the European Commission proposed to force suppliers to blend a minimum of 2% of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) into their kerosene from 2025, rising to 5% in 2030 and 63% in 2050. read more

Eni and ADR said they would work together on decarbonisation and digitalisation projects for the airports managed by ADR, including Rome's Fiumicino and Ciampino.

Under the agreement, ADR plans to introduce sustainable fuels for aviation and ground handling at Rome airports in the coming months.

Eni has been converting its refineries in Italy to produce biofuels as part of its drive to become net carbon neutral by 2050.

It produces Hydrotreated Vegetable Oil biofuel in its Venice and Gela bio-refineries using its own in-house technology and can also produce sustainable aviation fuel with the same technology from waste and plant-based raw materials.

As MRC reported earlier, Eni is evaluating conversion of its Livorno refinery in northwest Italy into a biorefinery, as part of the Italian company's wider strategy to make its activities more environmentally sustainable. Eni has already converted two of its Italian refineries and is looking to almost double its biorefining capacity to around 2 million mt/year by 2024, and expand this to at least five times by 2050, as part of its pledge to achieve complete carbon neutrality by 2050.

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 1,176,860 tonnes in the first half of 2021, up by 5% year on year. Shipments of exclusively low density polyethylene (LDPE) decreased. At the same time, PP shipments to the Russian market were 727,160 tonnes in the first six months of 2021, up by 31% year on year. Supply of homopolymer PP and block-copolymers of propylene (PP block copolymers) increased. Supply of statistical copolymers of propylene (PP random copolymers) subsided.

Eni, abbreviation of Ente Nazionale Idrocarburi, in full Eni SpA, Italian energy company operating primarily in petroleum, natural gas, and petrochemicals. Established in 1953, it is one of Europe's largest oil companies in terms of sales.
MRC

ALPLA takes over Spanish Plastisax

ALPLA takes over Spanish Plastisax

MOSCOW (MRC) -- The ALPLA Group, the global packaging solutions and recycling specialist, is taking over Plastisax S.L, said the company on its site.

The Spanish company produces plastic bottles for the cosmetics, home and personal care segments. The takeover will enable an increased use of recycled material in production operations and a strengthening of the circular economy in the region.

With the purchase of the Spanish bottle manufacturer, ALPLA is consolidating its market position in eastern Spain and expanding its production capacities mainly for packaging solutions made from the plastic high density polyethylene (HDPE). A smaller product area also includes bottles made of polyethylene terephthalate (PET). Extrusion blow moulding (EBM) and stretch blow moulding (SBM) are used as production technologies. The company has 58 employees who will be taken over by ALPLA.

Said Marc de Voogd, General Manager France & Iberia at ALPLA: ‘With the integration of Plastisax into our group, we are expanding our customer base and improving our geographical footprint to serve our regionally based customers even better. With the new location near Alicante, we are now very well positioned along the Mediterranean coast in addition to the existing plants near Barcelona and Valencia.’

As MRC reported earlier, in August 2021, packaging supplier ALPLA Group announced a purchase of the Wolf Plastics Group for an undisclosed amount in a move to expand the company's product portfolio in Central and Southeastern Europe. Headquartered in Kammern, Austria, Wolf also has production facilities in Hungary and Romania.

We remind that the ALPLA Group is also investing more than EUR5m in an extrusion system for food-grade recycled polyethylene terephthalate (PET) made of used PET bottles at its site in Anagni, Italy.

According to MRC's ScanPlast report, Russia's estimated PET consumption totalled 411,200 tonnes in the first six month of 2021, up by 12% year on year. Russian companies processed 62,910 tonnes in June, compared to 85,890 tonnes a month earlier.

Headquartered in Hard, Austria, Alpla specializes in blow molded bottles and caps, injection molded parts, and preforms and tubes.
MRC

TechnoNIKOL will build a second thermal insulation plant in the Ulyanovsk region

TechnoNIKOL will build a second thermal insulation plant in the Ulyanovsk region

MOSCOW (MRC) - TechnoNIKOL, Europe's largest manufacturer and supplier of roofing, waterproofing and heat-insulating materials, has modernized the TechnoNIKOL-Ulyanovsk Plant as part of a large-scale investment program in 2021, the company said.

The set of measures taken made it possible to increase labor productivity by 20%, to increase the volume of products by 25%, as well as to master the production of heat-insulating materials from extruded polystyrene foam with a thickness of up to 500 mm. The volume of investments amounted to Rb262 mln.

Renovation of two production lines of the TECHNOPLEX plant made it possible to increase the processing speed of thermal insulation boards and, as a result, to increase the volume of products by 25%. Also, a planer-grower was introduced to the second technological unit for the production of milled facade slabs.

In addition, the company introduced the technology of thermal bonding, which, due to the layer-by-layer connection of standard plates, makes it possible to obtain materials up to 500 mm thick with high thermal insulation characteristics and low rates of water absorption.

"Now the demand in the thermal insulation segment exceeds supply, and the existing capacity is not enough to meet the growing market needs. The shortage of building materials, which appeared in 2020, continues to grow. Therefore, we plan to increase capacity: we will open new enterprises in Russia and abroad and modernize existing ones. In the next 5 years, we will allocate up to 60 billion rubles for these purposes. In the region, in addition to the planned modernization at the extruded polystyrene foam plant, we are working with the local government to build another plant, "commented Sergey Kolesnikov, co-owner and managing partner of TechnoNIKOL.

"The demand for insulation based on extruded polystyrene foam is constantly increasing. The main points of growth are the increase in energy efficiency standards and the active development of light embankments in road construction, where XPS boards with a thickness of up to 500 mm are used as a thermal insulation layer, which, due to their thermal performance, as well as their ability to withstand long-term loads and resistance to aggressive media can be used in all climatic zones of the Russian Federation, - said Alexey Kasimov, Operations Director of the Polymer Insulation Division of TechnoNICOL Corporation.

Earlier it was reported that TechnoNICOL plans to install two new extrusion lines in Poland and Russia. The Italian company BG Plast (Italy) signed a contract with TechnoNICOL for the supply of two extrusion lines for the production of dimpled sheet membranes with and without a geotextile joint, 2000 mm and 4000 mm wide.

According to MRC's ScanPlast, July total estimated consumption of PS and styrene plastics in Russia increased by 4% compared to the same month last year and amounted to 46,540 tonnes. The total consumption of PS in the country amounted to 328,980 tonnes, up 23% year on year in January - July 2021.

The TechnoNICOL production company operates 56 production sites in 7 countries of the world (Russia, Belarus, Lithuania, Italy, Great Britain, Germany, Poland). The company also has 22 representative offices in 18 countries of the world, 20 Training Centers, 6 Research Centers, equipped with high-tech equipment and qualified personnel. The centers regularly develop and implement new products and solutions for the construction industry. The company's products are supplied to 117 countries. TechnoNICOL headquarters are located in Russia, Poland, Italy, China and India.
MRC

Versalis acquires full ownership of Finproject

Versalis acquires full ownership of Finproject

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Eni SPA’s E chemical company, Versalis, recently inked a deal to acquire the remaining 60% of the Marche, Italy, based industrial group Finproject, as per the company's press release.

In July, 2020, Versalis had bought 40% of Finproject, which operates in the compounding sector and produces ultralight products.

The subsidiary of Eni exercised the purchase option, the transaction of which is likely to close in the fourth quarter of this year. The move is anticipated to make Versalis a major player in the high-performance formulated polymers spectrum. Products from Finproject are used for making consumer goods. It markets the ultralight expanded materials under the XL EXTRALIGHT brand.

The acquisition will strengthen Versalis’ position in the volatile chemical industry. It is likely to boost the company’s global market reach. Integrating Versalis’ innovative technological solutions to Finproject’s prospects will enable the company to serve sectors like renewable energy, construction, automotive, and fashion and designing. Renewable and recycled raw materials are used in Finproject, which is in line with Eni’s drive toward a sustainable and circular economy.

Eni’s petrochemical product sales are improving. In fact, it increased 12% year over year to 1.14 million tons for the second quarter of 2021. As demand for energy products is expected to further rise in the second half of 2021 and beyond, the Finproject buyout is likely to enable Eni to generate higher profits from chemicals.

As MRC reported before, there is more uncertainty over Versalis’ plans for its Porto Marghera, Italy cracker closure following local media reports that the company has taken the earlier declaration for a Spring 2022 stoppage, off the table, said the company in April 2021.

According to MRC's ScanPlast report, Russia's estimated PE consumption totalled 1,396,960 tonnes in January-July 2021, up by 7% year on year. Shipments of all grades of ethylene polymers increased. At the same time, PP shipments to the Russian market were 841,990 tonnes in the first seven months of 2021, up by 29% year on year. Supply of propylene homopolymers (homopolymer PP) and block-copolymers of propylene (PP block copolymers) increased, whereas supply of statistical copolymers of propylene (PP random copolymers) subsided.

Eni is an Italian multinational oil and gas company headquartered in Rome. It has operations in in 79 countries, and is currently Italy's largest industrial company. The Italian government owns a 30.3% golden share in the company, 3.93% held through the state Treasury and 26.37% held through the Cassa depositi e prestiti. Another 39.40% of the shares are held by BNP Paribas.
MRC

NKNK expects an increase in rubber sales and a decrease in plastics sales this year

NKNK expects an increase in rubber sales and a decrease in plastics sales this year

MOSCOW (MRC) - Nizhnekamskneftekhim (NKNKH, part of TAIF Group) expects an increase in rubber sales and a decrease in sales of plasticscompared to last year, Realnoe Vremya said.

NKNKh expects sales of rubbers in the amount of 686,000 tonnes this year, which will exceed the figure for 2020 by 16.7%. Including in 2021 the company expects to sell 258,000 tonnes of synthetic rubbers (an increase of 31.6%), 211,000 tonnes of butadiene rubbers (an increase of 17.9%), 216,000 tonnes of butyl and halobutyl rubbers ( an increase of 1.4%).

Plastics sales are forecast to decline by 3% - to 714,000 tonnes, including due to a decrease in polypropylene sales by 8.7%, to 188,000 tonnes, against the background of a high base last year. The company notes that the growth in the volume of commercial polypropylene in 2020 occurred due to a decrease in its internal consumption by the plant for commercial packaging.

Sales of other plastics, according to the forecast, will decrease slightly in 2021: polyethylene - to 219,000 tonnes (0.9%), polystyrene and ABS plastics - to 308,000 tonnes (0.3%).

The company expects that this year NKNK's revenue will be generated by 37% from the sale of rubbers, 36% from plastics, and 27% from other petrochemicals. According to the company, the share of NKNK in the global synthetic rubbers market is 36.5%, butyl rubbers - 11.2%, butadiene rubbers - 4.4%.

As per ICIS-MRC Price report, Nizhnekamskneftekhim (NKNKh, part of TAIF Group) shut its polyethylene (PE) production capacities for a scheduled turnaround on 17 September. According to the producer"s clients, producer started the scheduled shutdown of linear low density polyethylene (LLDPE) on 17 September. The shutdown will be short and will last for about 10 days. As it was reported earlier, Nizhnekamskneftekhim shut its ethylene production for scheduled turnaround from 14 September to 16 September.

Nizhnekamskneftekhim is one of the largest petrochemical companies in Eastern Europe, occupying a leading position among domestic producers of synthetic rubbers, plastics and ethylene. Part of the TAIF group of companies, Tatarstan. The nomenclature of manufactured products includes more than 120 items. The products of the joint-stock company are exported to 50 countries in Europe, America and Southeast Asia. The share of exports in the total volume of production is about 50%.
MRC