Worley transitioning to construction phase of ExxonMobil petrochemical project in Baytown

MOSCOW (MRC) -- ExxonMobil's Baytown chemical expansion project will include a linear alpha olefins (LAO) unit and a solution polymer unit (SPU). Worley has completed the engineering and procurement phases of the offsite expansion project and will now deliver construction outside the battery limits for the new units, according to Hydrocarbonprocessing.

The LAO unit will have an estimated production capacity of around 350,000 tpy. The SPU will produce around 400,000 metric t of polymers per year, including Vistamaxx performance polymers.

This construction comprises all the interconnecting process and utility streams piping, tie-ins, equipment, and the electrical and instrumentation connections required to integrate the new units into the existing complex.

The LAO and SPU units are expected to start up in 2023.

“We look forward to constructing this specialty chemicals project on the US Gulf Coast for ExxonMobil,” said Brad Van de Veen, President Americas Field Services at Worley. “Having executed the engineering and procurement for the project, it means a lot to us to carry that through to the construction phase - a full EPC execution.”

As MRC reported earlier, ExxonMobil plans to build its first, large-scale plastic waste advanced recycling facility in Baytown, Texas, and is expected to start operations by year-end 2022. By recycling plastic waste back into raw materials that can be used to make plastic and other valuable products, the technology could help address the challenge of plastic waste in the environment. A smaller, temporary facility, is already operational and producing commercial volumes of certified circular polymers that will be marketed by the end of this year to meet growing demand.

According to MRC's ScanPlast report, Russia's estimated PE consumption totalled 1,868,160 tonnes in the first nine months of 2021, up by 18% year on year. Shipments of all grades of ethylene polymers increased. At the same time, PP shipments to the Russian market were 1,138,510 tonnes in January-September 2021, up by 30% year on year. Supply of propylene homopolymer (homopolymer PP) and block-copolymers of propylene (PP block copolymers) increased, whereas supply of injection moulding statistical copolymers of propylene (PP random copolymers) decreased significantly.

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

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Specialty chemicals company LANXESS is now operating another Coperion line to produce Polyamide 6, Polyamide 66 and Polybutylenterephthalate (PBT) at its Krefeld-Uerdingen, Germany, location, making significant steps toward a new throughput range, said the company.

With this technology, constructed around the high-performance ZSK 92 Mc18 twin screw extruder, LANXESS is producing demanding compounds at throughputs never achieved before. To reach such high output and maintain very good product quality, Coperion equipped the entire system with special features that ensure a high degree of automation, a crucial requirement for this developer and provider of high-performance compounds. Among these features is the ASC strand conveying system from Coperion Pelletizing Technology which automatically conveys polymer strands from the twin screw extruder discharge to the pelletizer. The entire system, built around the ZSK 92 Mc18, is one of several Coperion lines that LANXESS operates in Krefeld-Uerdingen.

Coperion has designed this compounding line as a complete turnkey solution for LANXESS — from engineering to commissioning. From state-of-the-art raw material feeding, to conveying, compounding, pelletizing and classifying technology, Coperion seamlessly synchronized every one of the system’s process steps with each other and logistically integrated them into one steel construction, forming the basis for the compounding system's fully automated operation. Following a short startup process, its high performance capacity can be fully exploited. Moreover, Coperion designed this compounding line for LANXESS to make optimal use of available space and to assure good accessibility to individual components, as well as short walking distances for operating personnel.

Frank Lechner, General Manager Process Technology and Research & Development of the Polymer Division at Coperion, speaks of his complete satisfaction with the system: “We were able to pour all of our expertise in complete systems into this solution for LANXESS. A lot of our spirit of development has gone into every single process step. We are very proud to see how all these technologies intermesh successfully, and that LANXESS can fully exploit the performance potential of our system to manufacture their polyamide compounds."

As per MRC, LANXESS is continuing the systematic expansion of its production for synthetic iron oxide pigments. The company is the only supplier worldwide to produce these pigments using the Laux process. Specialty chemicals company LANXESS has expanded its capacity for black synthetic iron oxide pigments at its Krefeld-Uerdingen site by more than 5,000 metric tons per year.

Earlier it was reported that in March 2018 LANXESS put into operation a new compounding line at the plant in Krefeld-Uerdingen (Krefeld-Uerdingen, Germany). The company notes that it has invested EUR7 million in a new production line that will produce technical plastics such as polyamide 6 (PA6), polyamide 66 (PA66) and polybutylene terephthalate (PBT). The capacity of the new line is 10 thousand tons per year.

LANXESS is a leading specialty chemicals concern with a turnover of EUR7.2 billion in 2018. The group employs approximately 15,400 people in 33 countries. Currently, the concern includes 60 manufacturing enterprises. LANXESS's core business is the development, production and marketing of chemical intermediates, additives, specialty chemicals and plastics. The concern is included in the lists of the world's leading sustainability indices: the Dow Jones Sustainability Index (DJSI World and Europe) and FTSE4Good.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Versalis, Eni’s chemical company, has agreed to license the continuous mass technology for a 70 KTY ABS unit to Supreme Petrochem Ltd. a leading Indian polystyrene (PS) and expandable polystyrene (EPS) producer, according to Hydrocarbonprocessing.

The unit will be built in the Amdoshi - Wangani, District Raigad, in Maharashtra state, India.

This state-of-the-art technology will produce styrenic polymers with a low carbon footprint owing to reduced emissions and energy consumption. Market applications of the technology include the automotive industry, household appliances, the electronics sector, medical appliances and furniture.

The license agreement confirms the primary role of Versalis in styrenics and strengthens its position in the Asian market, an area which is undergoing a strong expansion in the petrochemical field and is increasingly focused on selecting more sustainable technologies with a low environmental impact.

Versalis will be supported by Eurotecnica Contractors and Engineers SpA, with which the company has recently signed a cooperation agreement within the styrenics business. Eurotecnica, which will support Versalis in supplying the basic engineering design package, is an Italian company founded in 1962 and part of the Proman Group. The company specializes in providing engineering services relevant to proprietary technologies with established leadership in the Asian market, in melamine technology.

As MRC informed earlier, in September 2021, the “Cracker of the Future” consortium announced two new members and accelerating the development of a game-changing technology for the electrification of the steam cracking process. This enables a revolutionary decrease in greenhouse gas emissions. The consortium announced two new member companies: Repsol and Versalis (Eni) have recently joined the consortium. Together with founding members Borealis (member of the OMV Group), BP, and TotalEnergies SE, the consortium covers ~1/3 of the European Union’s steam cracking capacity with units in Austria, Belgium, Finland, France, Germany, Italy, Portugal, Spain, and Sweden.

According to MRC's ScanPlast report, ABS imports into Russia rose in the first ten months of 2021 by 15% year on year to 33,500 tonnes from 29,100 tonnes a year earlier.

Versalis is a technology leader in the chemical industry and one of the largest producers of polymers in Europe. It has a wide portfolio of proprietary technologies and consolidated experience as a licensor leveraging its extensive R&D, lab & pilot plant testing capabilities and full-scale plant operations experience.

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

1. U.S. administration plans to propose in days the amount of biofuels oil refiners must blend into their fuel mix

MOSCOW (MRC) -- The U.S. administration plans to propose in days the amount of biofuels oil refiners must blend into their fuel mix this year and next year, as it reaches out to lawmakers to discuss the move, said Hydrocarbonprocessing. President Joe Biden's administration has delayed decisions on 2021 blending obligations by more than a year, and it missed a deadline to finalize 2022 obligations this week. The delays came as the COVID-19 pandemic hammered fuel demand and Democratic lawmakers focused on other legislation. Officials for the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), which administers the mandates, declined to comment on the timing. The oil and biofuel industries have called for the EPA to announce the proposals, saying delays have created uncertainty for the market.


MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Long Duration Energy Storage (LDES) Council releases a major report on how energy storage technologies can enable net-zero power grids by 2040, said the company.
The report, produced in collaboration with McKinsey & Company, details the application of LDES technologies, the flexibility requirements needed in future high-renewables power grids, and an analysis of the investment actions required.

To achieve decarbonization, significant effort must be made to reduce emissions across all sectors. The power sector, which accounts for roughly one-third of global carbon emissions, is central to global decarbonization. Long duration energy storage can cost-effectively store electricity from wind, solar and other renewable sources and then make it available when needed.

The report concludes that 85-140 TWh of long duration energy storage (>8 hours) can be deployed globally to enable power grids to become carbon net-zero. This will eliminate between 1.5 to 2.3 Gt of CO2 currently produced annually through allowing grid energy imbalances to be met by renewable sources opposed to fossil fuels, equivalent to 10-15 percent of total emissions in today’s power sector.

As per MRC, Alfa Laval, a leading global provider of specialized products and engineering solutions based on its key technologies of heat transfer, separation and fluid handling, has strengthened its operations in the United States with three new facilities, expanding its commitment to serving its customers in the United States.

As MRC reported earlier, Alfa Laval has recently won an order to supply compact heat exchangers to a refinery and petrochemical plant in China. The order has a value of approximately SEK 100 million and is booked in the Welded Heat Exchangers unit of the Energy Division. Deliveries are scheduled for 2020.

The LDES Council is a global, CEO-led body comprising technology providers, equipment providers, renewable energy companies, utilities, grid operators, investors, and end-consumers. It strives to accelerate decarbonization of the energy system at lowest cost to society by driving innovation, commercialization and deployment of long duration energy storage. The LDES Council provides fact-based guidance and information to governments, industry and broader society, drawing from the experience of its members which include leading energy companies, technology providers, investors and end-users.
MRC