Clariant launches 100% biobased surfactants, polyethylene glycols

Clariant launches 100% biobased surfactants, polyethylene glycols

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Clariant unveils its new Vita 100% bio-based surfactants and polyethylene glycols (PEGs) to help directly address climate change by helping remove fossil carbon from the value chain, as per the company's press release.

Industries are looking for ways to reduce their environmental footprints, and the demand for bio-based chemicals is set to grow strongly in the coming years. Clariant is assisting in the transition to a more sustainable bioeconomy and has a growing share of bio-based products and processing aids in its portfolio.

The introduction of 100% bio-based surfactants and PEGs significantly expands Clariant’s Vita designated ingredients. Vita products are based on renewable feedstocks and have at least 98% renewable carbon index (RCI).

“From the packaging to the many ingredients, a typical consumer product in coatings, personal care, home care, industrial, and agricultural applications still uses petrochemicals and therefore fossil carbon,” said Christian Vang, Global Head of Business Unit Industrial & Consumer Specialties, Clariant. “Switching to bio-based carbon chemistry remains a big challenge for manufacturers and by launching the Vita surfactant and PEG range we are offering them an important new solution to achieve this.”

Designed for natural formulations targeting a high RCI, the new Vita products support manufacturers in maximizing the bio-based carbon content of consumer goods such as detergents, hair and body shampoo, paint, industrial lubricants, and crop formulations.

Clariant uses 100% bio-ethanol derived from sugar cane or corn to create the ethylene oxide for its new surfactants and PEGs. The bio-based material is fully segregated along the value chain from the field to the final consumer product.

Because only bio-based feedstocks are used, the ingredients have significantly lower carbon footprints than their fossil-based counterparts. The Vita surfactants are CO? emissions savers: they can help save up to 85% of CO? emissions compared to their fossil analogues.

Importantly, in addition to setting the standard in a greener production, these new solutions are chemically equivalent to Clariant’s fossil versions, offering the same performance and efficiency to formulators and brand owners. Customers can currently benefit from more than 70 bio-based products, and the range will continue to be expanded to meet evolving market needs. In Q1 2022, double-digit kilotons of the bio-based surfactants and PEGs will be available for the worldwide business segments from Clariant IGL Specialty Chemicals.

As MRC reported earlier, in October 2020, Clariant announced the construction of a new state-of-the-art catalyst production site in China. This project represents a significant investment which further strengthens Clariant’s position in China and enhances its ability to support its customers in the country’s thriving petrochemicals industry.

The new facility will be primarily responsible for producing the Catofin catalyst for propane dehydrogenation, which is used in the production of olefins such as propylene. Thanks to its excellent reliability and productivity, Catofin delivers superior annual production output compared to alternative technologies, resulting in increased overall profitability for propylene producers, says the company. Construction at the Dushan Port Economic Development Zone in Jiaxing, Zhejiang Province was scheduled to commence in Q3 2020, and Clariant expects to be at full production capacity by 2022.

Propylene is the main feedstock for the production of polypropylene (PP).

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. 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.

Clariant AG is a Swiss chemical company and a world leader in the production of specialty chemicals for the textile, printing, mining and metallurgical industries. It is engaged in processing crude oil products in pigments, plastics and paints.
MRC

Petronas to collaborate with JAPEX on CCS solutions

Petronas to collaborate with JAPEX on CCS solutions

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Malaysian state-owned energy giant Petroliam Nasional Berhad, or Petronas, has signed a MoU with Japan Petroleum Exploration Co., Limited (JAPEX) to collaborate on CCS opportunities, including suitable CO2 storage solutions in Malaysia, according to Hydrocarbonprocessing.

Under the MoU, Petronas and JAPEX will perform technical maturation activities to unlock potential CCS solutions, which includes evaluating optimal capture, storage and transportation methods, as well as estimation of emissions, capture volumes and monitoring methods of CO2 stored underground.

This joint study will cover consideration of methods to capture and transport CO2 from the Petronas LNG complex in Bintulu and from outside Malaysia as a future possibility.

As MRC reported earlier, in January 2021, Petronas said it aims to become a net zero emitter of greenhouse gases by 2050 and also plans to increase its investments in renewable energy.

We remind that in June 2019, Petronas and Saudi Aramco started operations at their new 1.2-million-tonnes-per-year naphtha cracker. The cracker is part of the USD2.7 billion joint-venture oil refinery and petrochemical project known as RAPID - or Refinery and Petrochemical Integrated Development - located in Pengerang in the state of Johor, at the southern tip of peninsular Malaysia.

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.

Petronas, short for Petroliam Nasional Berhad, is a Malaysian oil and gas company wholly owned by the Government of Malaysia. The Group is engaged in a wide spectrum of petroleum activities, including upstream exploration and production of oil and gas to downstream oil refining; marketing and distribution of petroleum products; trading; gas processing and liquefaction; gas transmission pipeline network operations; marketing of liquefied natural gas; petrochemical manufacturing and marketing; shipping; automotive engineering; and property investment.
MRC

Solvay to increase PVDF capacity in France

Solvay to increase PVDF capacity in France

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Solvay is expanding its polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) capacity in Tavaux, France, to make it the largest PVDF production site in Europe, said the company.

Solvay S.A. (Brussels, Belgium) announced that it is expanding its production capacity of high-performance polymer Solef polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) at its site in Tavaux, France. Building on its previously announced PVDF capacity increase at its site in Changshu, China, this new project will expand its capacity in Europe to 35,000 metric tons per year (m.t./yr), creating the largest PVDF production site in the region. This investment will be completed by December 2023 and reinforces Solvay’s global leadership in this field, positioning it to capitalize on the growing demand for electric and hybrid vehicles.

The rapid growth of electric and hybrid vehicles is driving unprecedented demand for PVDF, a thermoplastic fluoropolymer used both as a binder and a separator coating in lithium-ion batteries which is essential for the creation of safer and longer-range performance.

The EUR300m investment will bring capacity to 35 tonnes/year to cater to the growing demand in the lithium-ion battery market, scheduled to come online by December 2023. Solvay expects its sales to the automotive market from its materials business segment to rise from around EUR800m in 2021 to more than EUR2.5bn by 2030.

As MRC informed earlier, in August, 2020, through the acquisition of the Solvay polyamide (PA) business, BASF enhanced its R&D capabilities in Asia Pacific with new technologies, technical expertise, and upgraded material and part testing services. BASF is planning to integrate the R&D centers from Solvay into its R&D existing facilities in Shanghai, China, and Seoul, Korea. The enhanced capabilities will boost BASF’s position as a solution provider to develop advanced material solutions for key industries.

We remind that BASF-YPC, a 50-50 joint venture of BASF and Sinopec, undertook a planned shutdown at its naphtha cracker on 30 April 2020. The company initially planned to start turnaround at the cracker on April 5, 2020. The plant remained under maintenance unitl 18 June, 2020. Located in Jiangsu, China, the cracker has an ethylene capacity of 750,000 mt/year and propylene capacity of 400,000 mt/year.

Solvay is a science company whose technologies bring benefits to many aspects of daily life. With more than 24,100 employees in 64 countries, Solvay bonds people, ideas and elements to reinvent progress. The Group seeks to create sustainable shared value for all, notably through its Solvay One Planet plan crafted around three pillars: protecting the climate, preserving resources and fostering better life. The Group’s innovative solutions contribute to safer, cleaner, and more sustainable products found in homes, food and consumer goods, planes, cars, batteries, smart devices, health care applications, water and air purification systems. Founded in 1863, Solvay today ranks among the world’s top three companies for the vast majority of its activities and delivered net sales of EUR10.2 billion in 2019. Solvay is listed on Euronext Brussels (SOLB) and Paris and in the United States, where its shares (SOLVY) are traded through a Level I ADR program.
MRC

LyondellBasell named to FORTUNE Magazine "World Most Admired Companies" List

LyondellBasell named to FORTUNE Magazine

MOSCOW (MRC) -- LyondellBasell has announced it has been named to FORTUNE Magazine's 2022 list of the "World's Most Admired Companies." LyondellBasell has received this distinction for five consecutive years, as per the company's press release.

"This recognition is a reflection of our team's relentless commitment to excellence," said Ken Lane, LyondellBasell's Interim CEO. "Every day, employees at LyondellBasell demonstrate integrity, innovation and focus and I'm both proud and humbled by their endless accomplishments."

In 2021, LyondellBasell built on its momentum, delivered strong business results and advanced its sustainability goals.
Highlights from the year include:

- Delivering record-setting financial results. The company's 2021 Earnings Before Interest, Taxes, Depreciation and Amortization (EBITDA) excluding lower of cost or market inventory valuation (LCM) and impairments exceeded prior records by 15%.
- Launching the Circulen portfolio of polymers to advance the circular economy of plastics and support our ambitious goal to produce and market two million metric tons of recycled and renewable-based polymers annually by 2030.
- Increasing our climate ambitions to align with the Paris Agreement. The company announced goals to achieve net zero greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from global operations by 2050 and a 30% reduction in scope 1 and 2 greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from global operations by 2030.

As MRC wrote earlier, in July, 2021, Neste and LyondellBasell announced a long-term commercial agreement under which LyondellBasell will source Neste RE, a feedstock from Neste that has been produced from 100% renewable feedstock from bio-based sources, such as waste and residue oils and fats. This feedstock will be processed through the cracker at LyondellBasell’s Wesseling, Germany, plant into polymers and sold under the CirculenRenew brand name.

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.

Neste (Helsinki) creates solutions for combating climate change and accelerating a shift to a circular economy. The company refines waste, residues and innovative raw materials into renewable fuels and sustainable feedstock for plastics and other materials. The company is the world’s leading producer of renewable diesel and sustainable aviation fuel, developing chemical recycling to combat the plastic waste challenge. In 2020, Neste's revenue stood at EUR11.8 billion, with 94% of the company’s comparable operating profit coming from renewable products.
MRC

Alpla and Coca-Cola plan to build a new PET recycling plant in southeastern Mexico

Alpla and Coca-Cola plan to build a new PET recycling plant in southeastern Mexico

MOSCOW (MRC) -- The USD60-million Planta Nueva Ecologia de Tabasco project will have the capacity to process 50,000 tonnes of post-consumer PET bottles per year, said Canplastics.

Austria-based packaging supplier Alpla and Coca-Cola FEMSA, said to be the largest bottler of Coca-Cola products in the world, are partnering in a joint venture to build a new PET recycling plant in Southeast Mexico. The USD60-million recycling plant Planta Nueva Ecologia de Tabasco – better known as PLANETA – will have the capacity to process 50,000 tonnes of post-consumer PET bottles per year, Alpla officials said in a Jan. 26 news release, which will result in 35,000 tonnes of recycled PET material ready for reuse.

Alpla said the location of the new facility is “in the region with the greatest potential for solid waste recycling…that will integrate 18 collection centres throughout south and Southeast Mexico." "The big challenge today is the handling of the materials after the consumption phase,” Alpla CEO Philipp Lehner said. “We are currently investing worldwide in systems to give plastic packaging a value – because then it is collected and recycled. With strong partners like Coca-Cola FEMSA at our side, we will be able to set up the necessary infrastructure and close the bottle cycle in as many regions as possible."

In collaboration with all of the companies that make up the Coca-Cola Mexican Industry (IMCC), Coca-Cola FEMSA is part of the global World Without Waste initiative launched by the Coca-Cola Co., which aims to make all packaging 100 per cent recyclable by 2025, integrate 50 per cent recycled PET resin into bottles, and collect 100 per cent of the packaging by 2030.

Alpla has had a presence in Mexico since 2005, when Alpla Mexico, Coca-Cola Mexico and Coca-Cola FEMSA opened Industria Mexicana de Reciclaje (IMER), said to be the first food-grade PET recycling plant in Latin America. The IMER facility has a production capacity of 15,000 tonnes of flakes from post-consumer PET per year. “Since its foundation, it has processed more than 140,000 tonnes of this material, which has been returned to the production cycle of new bottles,” Alpla said.

Coca-Cola, Nestle, Unilever and other major international brands have teamed up to fight a global problem. More than 70 companies have called for a reduction in the production of plastic in the world in order to protect the planet from the catastrophic consequences of the climate crisis.

Coca-Cola HBC has again been rated Europe’s most sustainable beverage company, and for the 11th consecutive year has been ranked among the top three beverage industry performers globally. The news was disclosed in S&P Global’s Annual Yearbook, which confirms the 2021 Dow Jones Sustainability Index (DJSI), one of the world’s leading sustainability benchmarks. Coca-Cola HBC was also given a Silver Award by S&P Global.
MRC