Lotte Chemical to conduct maintenance at naphtha cracker in Yeosu in Q2 2022

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Lotte Chemical, South Korean petrochemical major, plans to take off-stream its naphtha cracker in Yeosu for a scheduled maintenance this year, reported Reuters with reference to industry sources.

The company is expected to put its Yeosu naphtha cracker under scheduled maintenance around May or June, 2022.

Lotte's Yeosu naphtha cracker can produce 1.2 million tonnes per year (tpy) of ethylene.

The sources said the timings have not been finalised as yet.

As MRC informed before, Lotte Chemical shut its naphtha-fed steam cracker in Daesan for an annual maintenance on 15 May, 2021. This cracker with the capacity of 1.1 million mt/year of ethylene and 550,000 mt/year of propylene resumed production on 23 June, 2021.

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 2,265,290 tonnes in the first eleven months of 2021, up by 14% year on year. Shipments of all grades of ethylene polymers increased. At the same time, PP shipments to the Russian market were 1,363,850 tonnes in January-November, 2021, up by 25% year on year. Supply of homopolymer PP and block-copolymers of propylene (PP block copolymers) increased, whereas supply of injection moulding PP random copolymers decreased significantly.

Lotte Chemical runs two naphtha crackers in South Korea. One cracker is located in Daesan county in Seosan which can produce 1.1 million tonnes per year of ethylene with the other 1.2 million tonnes per year cracker in the southwestern city of Yeosu.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Brazil-based petrochemical company Braskem and the Repauno Port and Rail Terminal in Greenwich Township, New Jersey, have announced the import of propylene to the US East Coast, said Packaging-gateway.

A vessel arrived at Repauno’s new multi-use port terminal facility in Gibbstown, New Jersey, in what is said to be the first import of its kind in more than a decade in the region.

The import is part of Braskem’s initiative to increase the availability of feedstock to provide propylene for its polypropylene (PP) manufacturing facility in Marcus Hook, Pennsylvania.

The Marcus Hook facility has an annual production capacity of 415,000t of PP, which is used in the food packaging and medical sectors among others.

Braskem America Polypropylene vice-president Alexandre Elias said: “Our new partnership with Repauno provides Braskem with increased flexibility and optionality to import propylene particularly when international prices are competitive. "Additionally, it provides the flexibility to import in the event of supply disruptions to the asset.

We remind that Brazilian petrochemical producer Braskem's 450,000 mt/year PP plant in LaPorte, Texas, along the Houston Ship Channel completed its initial commercial production, as per the company's statement as of Sept. 10. "The launch of commercial production at our new world-class PP production line in La Porte clearly affirms Braskem's position as the North American polypropylene market leader," Braskem America CEO Mark Nikolich said in a statement. With a USD750 million investment, the new PP plant's construction started in October 2017 and was completed in June, 2020.

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 PP shipments to the Russian market were 1,363,850 tonnes in January-November, 2021, up by 25% year on year. Supply of homopolymer PP and block-copolymers of propylene (PP block copolymers) increased, whereas supply of injection moulding PP random copolymers decreased significantly.

Braskem S.A. produces petrochemicals and generates electricity. The Company produces ethylene, propylene, benzene, toluene, xylenes, butadiene, butene, isoprene, dicyclopentediene, MTBE, caprolactam, ammonium sulfate, cyclohexene, polyethylene theraphtalat, polyethylene, and polyvinyl chloride (PVC).
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- PepsiCo Beverages North America announced that it is investing USD35m in the creation of the "Closed Loop Local Recycling Fund", managed by Closed Loop Partners, said Packaging-gateway.

The fund aims to strengthen recycling infrastructure, specifically targeting the collection of polyethylene terephthalate (PET), among other materials. Closed Loop Partners is a New York-based investment firm focused on building the circular economy. They will use this fund to launch small-scale modular materials recovery facilities (MRFs) in communities lacking access to existing recycling facilties. Each MRF will have the capacity to recycle 8,000 tonnes/year of material.

PepsiCo has collaborated with Closed Loop Partners for several years, beginning in 2014 as a founding member of the original Closed Loop Infrastructure Fund, and more recently investing USD15m in the Closed Loop Partners' Leadership Fund. Additionally, they are an investor in the Closed Loop Partners Beverage Fund, sponsored by the American Beverage Every Bottle Back Initiative.

Through investments in recycling infrastructure, PepsiCo hopes to achieve several sustainable packaging targets. By 2030, all Pepsi-branded products will be offered in 100% recycled PET (R-PET) bottles, with Pepsi Zero Sugar beginning to be sold in 100% R-PET bottles by 2022. Demand for post-consumer recycled (PCR) content has significantly increased in recent years, as fast moving consumer goods (FMCG) companies have pledged to use PCR content in their packaging over the next 5-10 years.

As per MRC, PepsiCo wants to cut the use of virgin plastic by 50% serving and use 50% recycled content in plastic packaging by 2030. Beverage and food supplier PepsiCo has announced a new goal to cut virgin plastic per serving by 50 per cent across its global food and beverage portfolio by 2030 as part of its new “pep+,” or PepsiCo Positive, company initiative. In a Sept. 15 news release, the company also said it plans to use 50 per cent recycled content in its plastic packaging by 2030.

In the U.S., all Pepsi-branded products will be converted to 100 per cent rPET bottles by 2030, with Pepsi Zero Sugar beginning to be sold in 100 per cent rPET bottles by 2022.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- LG Chem Ltd, South Korean petrochemical major, plans to shut down its naphtha cracker in the Korean city of Yeosu for a scheduled turnaround this year, reported Reuters with reference to industry sources.

LG Chem is expected to put its Yeosu naphtha cracker under scheduled maintenance sometime in the second half of 2022.

LG Chem's Yeosu naphtha cracker can produce 1.16 MMtpy of ethylene.

The sources said the timings have not been finalized as yet.

As MRC informed earlier, LG Chema reduced run rates at all of its three naphtha crackers in Deasan and Yeosu, South Korea to approximately 80% on 5 January, 2022, on the back of weak demand and highly volatile upstream naphtha costs.

All three crackers with a combined capacity of 3.25 million tons of ethylene and 1.48 million tons of propylene would operate at reduced rates throughout the month of January. It is reported that the producer would ramp up the production in February, however, it is unclear on the exact schedule.

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 2,265,290 tonnes in the first eleven months of 2021, up by 14% year on year. Shipments of all grades of ethylene polymers increased. At the same time, PP shipments to the Russian market were 1,363,850 tonnes in January-November, 2021, up by 25% year on year. Supply of homopolymer PP and block-copolymers of propylene (PP block copolymers) increased, whereas supply of injection moulding PP random copolymers decreased significantly.

LG Chem Ltd., often referred to as LG Chemical, is the largest Korean chemical company and is headquartered in Seoul, South Korea. It has eight domestic factories and global network of 29 business locations in 15 countries. LG Chem is a manufacturer, supplier, and exporter of petrochemical goods, IT&E Materials and Energy Solutions.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Portuguese packaging production company Logoplaste has acquired Ecoiberia and WorldPET, two Portugal-based polyethylene terephthalate (PET) recyclers, said Packagingconnections.

Ecoiberia manages 47,500 tons of plastic a year, producing recycled PET (R-PET) flake, while WorldPET has the capacity to produce up to 12,000 tonnes/year of food-grade R-PET.

The acquisition, Logoplaste hopes, will help the company and its partners reach 30% recycled content for its beverage packaging by 2030.

This acquisition is a strategic step for Logoplaste towards a circular economy for plastic packaging. The combination of Logoplaste with the extensive recycling knowledge of EcoIberia and WorldPET, will allow the Group to provide its customers with truly circular packaging solutions that drastically reduce carbon footprint and the impact on the environment. Logoplaste and its partners are committed to reach 100% of recyclable packaging and a target of 30% recycled content for beverage packaging by 2025.

As it was written earlier, Borealis, one of the world’s leading providers of advanced and circular polyolefin solutions and a European market leader in base chemicals and fertilizers, and the Reclay Group, international experts in environmental and material recovery management, announce that they have joined forces to satisfy increasing market demand for the supply of recyclate material for use in high-end plastic applications.

We remind, the Dutch recycler Morssinkhof-Rymoplast and the Danish deposit system Dansk Retursystem have taken their long-lasting collaboration to a new level by extending the existing bottle-to-bottle loop for clear and light blue bottles to include green PET beverage bottles in line with the principle of circular economy.

Logoplaste is a global value-added service provider and producer of rigid plastic packaging for wellknown fast moving consumer goods companies in the food and beverage, cosmetics, personal care and household industries. Founded in 1976, the company is the pioneer in the wall to wall, embedded manufacturing model, significantly reducing CO2 emissions by eliminating transportation of empty bottles and secondary packaging, improving the overall environmental impact across the entire supply chain. Logoplaste currently manages 63 plants in 16 countries: Brazil, Belgium, Canada, Czech Republic, France, Italy, Poland, Mexico, Netherlands, Portugal, Russia, Spain, Ukraine, United Kingdom, USA and Vietnam.
MRC