Molder, leading Japanese restaurant chain team up to recycle tableware

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Plastics molder Ishikawajyushi has established a take-back program with Saizeriya, one of Japan's leading Italian restaurant chains, so its wine glasses, tumblers, beer cups, and decanters made with Eastman Tritan copolyester can be mechanically recycled and repurposed, said the company.

Saizeriya, which sells affordable Italian food, has more than 1,000 restaurants and uses Tritan as a lightweight, shatter-resistant, and dishwasher-durable alternative to glass. Saizeriya returns its tableware to Ishikawa after two or three years, depending on its condition. The Tritan is recovered and turned back into pellets to make check holders for the restaurants.

"The durability of Tritan makes it the perfect material for repeat use," said Tsutomu Ishikawa, COO of Ishikawa. "Using recovered Tritan further reduces the use of resources and plastic waste. Saizeriya is a leader in the Japanese restaurant industry and is certainly leading on sustainability."

Tritan is durable, lightweight, BPA free, and can withstand industrial dishwashers. "This is a unique program in the Asia Pacific region, and we're proud to be working with Ishikawa, a family-owned company that places a high value on quality," said Courtland Jenkins, commercial director of Specialty Plastics for Eastman. "They have a lot of faith in Tritan and currently use it in ARAS, their own brand of premium tableware."

Ishikawa is working on plans to recover Tritan plates and other products it makes for Saizeriya.

As per MRC, Amazon has eliminated all single-use plastic in its packaging across its fulfillment centers in India, delivering on a pledge it made last year to achieve this goal by June. The American e-commerce group said it had replaced packaging materials such as bubble wrap with paper cushions and was also using “100% plastic-free biodegradable” paper tapes.

According to MRC's ScanPlast report, Russia's estimated PE consumption totalled 1,638,370 tonnes in the first eight months of 2021, up by 10% year on year. Shipments of all grades of ethylene polymers increased. At the same time, PP shipments to the Russian market were 989,570 tonnes in the first eight months of 2021, up by 30% year on year. Deliveries of homopolymer PP and block-copolymers of propylene (PP block copolymers) increased, whereas shipments of injection moulding PP random copolymers decreased significantly.

Founded in 1920, Eastman is a global specialty materials company that produces a broad range of products found in items people use every day. With the purpose of enhancing the quality of life in a material way, Eastman works with customers to deliver innovative products and solutions while maintaining a commitment to safety and sustainability.

Ishikawajyushi is a manufacturer and brand owner of quality and innovative plastic housewares. Located in Ishikawa, Japan, the company began selling high-quality lacquerware in 1947 and has always strived to capture changing consumer trends and needs. In addition to its innovative plastic lacquerware, non-shattering chopsticks and flat trays, the company has successfully introduced first-of-its-kind commercial tableware made with Tritan from Eastman. Together with its value chain partners, Ishikawajyushi is helping to create a more sustainable society by recycling the plastic waste to make quality durable products.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Huntsman announced that it has launched a new range of low-emission MDI-based foam systems for automotive interiors, said the company.

The ACOUSTIFLEX LE and RUBIFLEX® LE polyurethane product lines. These innovative technologies allow global automotive formulators and foam manufacturers to produce high-performance polyurethane foams, while significantly reducing interior emissions levels to meet OEMs’ requirements.

The automotive industry is continually progressing toward its sustainability targets, as it addresses consumer preferences and emerging regulations governing Vehicle Interior Air Quality emissions from interior components – including national laws in many countries, new international ISO standards or policies such as the Circular Cars Initiative EU policy action roadmap.

With low emission (LE) forward-looking technologies, Huntsman has responded to the industry’s challenge to lower emissions of interior components by building sustainability into its product lines. This brings manufacturers and drivers cleaner, lighter, more circular PU technologies that offer advanced comfort.

The portfolio of ACOUSTIFLEX LE and RUBIFLEX LE low-emission polyurethanes are the first fully commercialized technologies in the market. These products have been developed for automotive seating parts and sound insulation components. They are commonly used for making a wide range of standard automotive components, simplifying procurement and value chains for producers, who can reduce the different types of PU products they need to procure.

As per MRC, Huntsman is expanding its performance products facility in Petfurdo, Hungary, said the company.
The multimillion-dollar investment project will expand capacity for polyurethane (PU) catalysts and specialty amines, scheduled for completion in mid-2023.

According to MRC's ScanPlast report, Russia's estimated PE consumption totalled 1,638,370 tonnes in the first eight months of 2021, up by 10% year on year. Shipments of all grades of ethylene polymers increased. At the same time, PP shipments to the Russian market were 989,570 tonnes in the first eight months of 2021, up by 30% year on year. Deliveries of homopolymer PP and block-copolymers of propylene (PP block copolymers) increased, whereas shipments of injection moulding PP random copolymers decreased significantly.

Huntsman Corporation is a publicly traded global manufacturer and marketer of differentiated and specialty chemicals with 2020 revenues of approximately USD6 billion. Our chemical products number in the thousands and are sold worldwide to manufacturers serving a broad and diverse range of consumer and industrial end markets.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Saudi Basic Industries (SABIC), the world's fourth-biggest petrochemicals firm, announced plans on Saturday to meet carbon neutrality by 2050, reported Reuters with reference with the company's statement on the sidelines of the Saudi Green Initiative summit.

"SABIC is committed to the Paris Agreement goals and will continually pursue efforts and explore solutions to meet carbon neutrality from operations under our control by 2050, taking into account the different regional and national ambitions, commitments and initiatives", the world's fourth biggest petrochemical company by sales said.

"Focusing on our direct and indirect emissions generated by our own production, we aim to reduce our greenhouse gas emissions by 2030 worldwide by 20% compared to 2018", it added.

Speaking at the Saudi Green Initiative (SGI) in Riyadh on Saturday, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman said the world's top oil exporter aimed to reach 'net zero' emissions of greenhouse gases - mostly produced by burning fossil fuels - by 2060 - 10 years later than the United States. He also said it would double the emissions cuts it plans to achieve by 2030.

In May, the International Energy Agency (IEA), the world's top energy body, said in its "Net Zero by 2050" report that investors should not fund new oil, gas and coal supply projects beyond this year. And ahead of a U.N. climate summit that starts at the end of October, the IEA said investment in renewable energy needs to triple by the end of the decade if the world hopes to effectively fight climate change and keep volatile energy markets under control.

As MRC informed earlier, in late September 2021, SABIC said its joint venture project with ExxonMobil in the US Gulf Coast had started commissioning activities and preparing for an initial startup. The project includes the establishment of an ethylene production unit with annual capacity of about 1.8 MMtpy, which will feed two polyethylene (PE) units and a monoethylene glycol (MEG) unit, it said in a statement.

Saudi Basic Industries Corporation (SABIC) ranks among the world's top petrochemical companies. The company is among the world's market leaders in the production of polyethylene, polypropylene and other advanced thermoplastics, glycols, methanol and fertilizers.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Linde has announced that it has started up a new RM 40 MM air separation plant at the Sama Jaya High Tech Park in Kuching, Sarawak, according to Hydrocarbonprocessing.

The plant will supply high purity gaseous nitrogen through an extensive pipeline network to multiple customers including Taiyo Yuden and LONGi. Ultra-high purity liquid oxygen will also be produced for customers in Kuching and throughout the ASEAN region.

“The increasing pace of digitalization and adoption of renewable energy has led to industry leaders in the electronics and solar technology markets expanding rapidly in the Sama Jaya High Tech Park. Linde has made multiple investments in recent years to support this growth, the latest project increasing Linde’s nitrogen capacity in the Sama Jaya High Tech Park to more than 18,000 Nm3/h,” said Linde Malaysia Managing Director, Anuj Sharma.

The new plant will feature Linde’s latest state-of-art technology with 30% better power efficiency, which is expected to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by more than 6,000 tons per year. This is in line with Linde’s target of reducing its GHG emissions intensity by 35%, by 2028.

The new plant will be connected to Linde’s Remote Operating Centre (ROC) located in Hicom Shah Alam, Selangor and can be monitored, controlled, and operated remotely. Remote operations capabilities helped Linde to ensure a continuous and reliable supply of industrial and medical gases to customers throughout the pandemic.

Anuj said that Linde had made multiple investments in the Sama Jaya High Tech Park since 1995. Since 1960, Linde has invested in building numerous world-class facilities in Malaysia, including Air Separation Units in Pengerang, Shah Alam, Sama Jaya, Bintulu and Pasir Gudang, steam methane reformers (hydrogen plants) and nitrogen plants at strategic locations across Malaysia, pipeline networks for oxygen and nitrogen in various industry clusters in key industrial areas, and a state-of-art cylinder filling facility in Banting.

Linde also established its Remote Operating Centre (ROC) in Hicom, which allows for the remote monitoring, operation and control of more than 100 Linde plants across the ASEAN and South Pacific regions. Linde also manufactures medical oxygen and other medicinal gases at various locations spread across West and East Malaysia.

As MRC reported earlier, in JUne 2021, SIBUR -Neftekhim and Linde Gas Rus signed agreements on implementation in 2021-2022. a project for the utilization of carbon dioxide (CO2) generated in the technological process of the SIBUR enterprise in Dzerzhinsk. SIBUR -Neftekhim will build an infrastructure for the transportation to the Linde Gas Rus site of crude CO2 obtained as a by-product in the process of ethylene oxide synthesis. In turn, Linde Gas Rus will build a unit to bring the quality of this gas to the level of a commercial product, applicable, among other things, in the food industry, and will sell it to end consumers.

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 1,638,370 tonnes in the first eight months of 2021, up by 10% year on year. Shipments of all grades of ethylene polymers increased. At the same time, PP shipments to the Russian market were 989,570 tonnes in the first eight months of 2021, up by 30% year on year. Deliveries of homopolymer PP and block-copolymers of propylene (PP block copolymers) increased, whereas shipments of injection moulding PP random copolymers decreased significantly.

Linde is a leading global industrial gases and engineering company with 2020 sales of USD27 billion (EUR24 billion). The company serves a variety of end markets including chemicals & refining, food & beverage, electronics, healthcare, manufacturing and primary metals. Linde's industrial gases are used in countless applications, from life-saving oxygen for hospitals to high-purity & specialty gases for electronics manufacturing, hydrogen for clean fuels and much more. Linde also delivers state-of-the-art gas processing solutions to support customer expansion, efficiency improvements and emissions reductions.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- ExxonMobil Corp, one of the world's petrochemical major, is pursuing carbon capture storage (CCS) hubs across Asia and has started talks with some countries with potential storage options for carbon dioxide, reported Reuters with reference to the company's head of low carbon solutions' statement on Monday.

One of Exxon's key projects is to build CCS hubs in Southeast Asia, similar to one being built in Houston, Texas, ExxonMobil Low Carbon Solutions President Joe Blommaert told Reuters.

CCS traps emissions and buries them underground but is not yet at the commercialization stage.

CCS advocates, including oil majors and the International Energy Agency, see the technology as being essential to help meet net zero emissions and key to unlocking large-scale economic hydrogen production, although critics say CCS will extend the life of dirty fossil fuels. Melbourne-based Global CCS Institute said in October that global plans to build CCS projects surged 50% over the last nine months.

For CCS to take off, a transparent carbon price and cross-border pricing adjustment systems will be necessary to enable CO2 to be captured in one country and stored elsewhere, Blommaert said in an interview ahead of the Singapore International Energy Week.

"That's why a transparent value of carbon is so important, that it is a durable mechanism, that it is agnostic to what kind of technology that goes ... and that it works across borders because emissions do not know any borders," Blommaert said, adding he expects discussions of carbon border tax similar to that in Europe to occur in Southeast Asia.

"Because much of the world doesn't have carbon pricing, there's a risk that some operators will move to countries that don’t yet price emissions," he told the conference.

Last month, the US energy major said 11 companies have agreed to begin discussing plans that could lead to capturing and storing up to 50 MM tons per year (tpy) of CO2 in the Gulf of Mexico by 2030.

"Unlike in Houston, the storage capacity here is not close to the areas with the highest emissions," Blommaert said.

"That's why we've been studying the concept of placing CO2 capture hubs in some of Asia's heavy industrial areas such as here in Singapore and then connecting them to CO2 storage locations elsewhere in the region," he said, adding that CO2 could be transported via pipelines or ships.

Southeast Asia's industrial CO2 emissions exceeded 4 B tpy, Blommaert said, citing 2019 data from the International Energy Agency.

ExxonMobil has listed Singapore, home to the major's largest refining-petrochemical center globally, as one of its CCS projects. However, Singapore does not have suitable CO2 storage sites, a recent CCS study commissioned by Singapore government showed.

Another study by the Singapore Energy Centre, partly founded by ExxonMobil, estimated nearly 300 B tons of CO2 storage capacity in depleted oil and gas fields and saline formations in Southeast Asia, Blommaert said.

Countries in the region with potential storage sites include Indonesia, Malaysia and Australia where ExxonMobil has oil and gas production facilities. The US major also operates a joint refining-petrochemical complex in eastern China Fujian with Sinopec and Saudi Aramco.

Dwi Soetjipto, the head of Indonesia's upstream regulator SKK Migas, told reporters last week that ExxonMobil is planning a CCS project at its mega Cepu block in East Java.

As MRC informed before, ExxonMobil shut down at its cracker in Singapore for maintenance last year. Thus, the company halted operations at the cracker on September 14, 2020. The cracker remained off-line till end-October, 2020. Located at Jurong Island, Singapore, the cracker has an ethylene production capacity of 1 million mt/year and a propylene production capacity of 450,000 mt/year.

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 1,396,960 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.

ExxonMobil is the largest non-government owned company in the energy industry and produces about 3% of the world's oil and about 2% of the world's energy.
MRC