Covestro offers climate neutral MDI for automotive sectors in a pursuit of circular economy

Covestro is consistently pursuing its path to a circular economy and is now offering customers a climate neutral MDI (methylene diphenyl diisocyanate). It is climate neutral from the cradle to the factory gate of Covestro, according to SpecialChem.

The alternative raw materials are used based on plant waste that are allocated to the products with the help of certified mass balancing according to ISCC PLUS. The new MDI grades can be used in numerous applications in the automotive sectors, cold chain, and construction.

According to a common calculation model, on balance no CO2 emissions are generated in the aforementioned part of the value-added cycle. The climate neutral MDI and its precursors are manufactured at the ISCC PLUS-certified Covestro sites in Krefeld-Uerdingen, Antwerp and Shanghai.

"With the launch of our climate neutral MDI, we are now further expanding our portfolio of climate neutral products," says Sucheta Govil, chief commercial officer of Covestro. "I am pleased that this will enable us to even better support our customers in large parts of the world in meeting their own sustainability goals and transitioning to a circular economy."

Hermann-Josef Dorholt, head of the performance materials segment, adds, "Climate neutral products are an important factor in achieving our sustainability goals. Our climate neutral MDI has another major advantage: it is a drop-in solution – so our customers can use it immediately in their production without any changeover and without compromising on quality."

This is the case, for example, in building insulation. MDI is an indispensable raw material for the production of polyurethane (PU) insulation boards and sandwich panels, among other products.

As MRC informed before, in April 2021, DSM completed the sale of the resins & functional materials businesses to Covestro for EUR1.6 billion (USD1.9 billion), including EUR1.4 billion in cash.

We remind that Covestro closed the sale of its European polycarbonates (PC) sheets business to the Munich-based Serafin Group effective January 2, 2020. This includes key management and sales functions throughout Europe as well as production sites in Belgium and Italy.

According to MRC's ScanPlast report, Russia's estimated consumption of PC granules (excluding imports and exports to/from Belarus) totalled about 82,300 tonnes in 2021, down by 8% year on year (89,200 tonnes a year earlier).

Covestro (formerly Bayer MaterialScience) is an independent subgroup within Bayer. It was created as part of the restructuring of Bayer AG from the former business group Bayer Polymers, with certain of its activities being spun off to Lanxess AG. Covestro manufactures and develops materials such as coatings, adhesives and sealants, polycarbonates (CDs, DVDs), polyurethanes (automotive seating, insulation for refrigerating appliances) etc. With 2020 sales of EUR 10.7 billion, Covestro has 33 production sites worldwide and employs approximately 16,500 people (calculated as full-time equivalents).
MRC

It is high time that the U.S. forges a new energy policy based on facts and common sense, said Hydrocarbonprocessing.

Before Tuesday’s decision to halt the import of Russian oil and gas, the Biden Administration has put more sanctions on U.S. oil and gas than on Russian oil and gas. Public lands have been made off-limits for drilling.

The cancellation of the Keystone XL pipeline, and restrictions on other pipelines, have blocked the efficient U.S. distribution and export of energy. FERC approvals and EPA requirements have hampered the development of several gas export projects. Only the Russian assault on Ukraine has stopped Nord Stream 2, and that from Germany—not the U.S.

The U.S. has a significant amount of both crude oil and natural gas reserves in the form of unconventionals and conventionals. As of 2020, estimated, proven natural gas reserves in the U.S. are approximately 473.4 Tcf. Through the policies of the current administration, U.S. oil production has remained at levels roughly 2 MMbpd below pre-pandemic levels. Natural gas production has slipped, as well, due largely to a decrease in associated gas production and the restriction of new pipeline builds from the Marcellus shale basin.

Before the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Russia exported 7 MMbpd of oil and oil products, and accounted for 25% of Europe’s oil supply and 40% of its natural gas supply. The U.S. can take the place of much of the Russian supply to Europe, but the industry is being purposefully restricted for a policy based largely on energy poverty, that is, restricting the primary source of energy, oil and natural gas.

President Biden has made the claim repeatedly that his administration has not stood in the way of U.S. oil and gas production, distribution and refining. However, the actions of the Biden Administration drown out the words. It is time for the U.S. to change its energy policy not only for the sake of Americans, but for Europe as well.

As per MRC, U.S. President Joe Biden was expected to announce a ban on Russian oil and other energy imports on Tuesday in retaliation for the invasion of Ukraine. The White House said Biden was scheduled to announce actions at 10:45 a.m. (1545 GMT) on Tuesday against Russia over Ukraine, but did not specifically mention oil imports. Oil prices jumped on the news, with Benchmark Brent crude LCOc1 for May climbing by 5.4% to USD129.91 a bbl by 1345 GMT.

As per MRC, ExxonMobil said it will exit a major oil and gas project and cease investing in Russia, making it the latest western oil company to cut ties with the country following its invasion of Ukraine. The Texas-based energy supermajor said it was “discontinuing operations” at the Sakhalin-1 project in Russia’s far east, one of the largest foreign-operated oil and gasfields in the country. Exxon follows BP, Shell and Norway’s Equinor, which have said they will dump stakes in projects and sell out of Russian state-backed energy groups after Moscow was hit with a barrage of western sanctions.
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Oil refiners will have to develop ways to mitigate carbon emissions in the future, reported Reuters with reference to the chief operating officer of US refiner Phillips 66's statement at CERAWeek on Tuesday.

In remarks at the CERAWeek energy conference, Mark Lashier said renewable fuels will not replace diesel and jet fuels in the transportation fuel mix, requiring the industry to come up with a means of cutting carbon dioxide emissions.

"You're not going to able replace all the diesel and all the jet fuel the world uses with renewables," Lashier said.

Total renewable feedstocks are between 2.5 MM and 3 MMbpd available to refiners with plants to process them, he said.

Phillips 66 is converting a crude oil refinery in Rodeo, California into a renewable fuels refinery that will produce about 50,000 bpd of fuels from sources like animal fats and used cooking oils. The conversion will cost USD850 MM.

As MRC informed earlier, US Refiner Phillips 66 said on 30 September, 2021, it would cut greenhouse gas emissions by 30% from its operations by 2030, amid mounting pressure on the industry to join the fight against climate change and cut carbon emissions by mid-century.

We remind that US-based Phillips 66 remains open to developing another ethane cracker for its Chevron Phillips Chemical (CP Chem) joint venture, the refiner's CEO said in March 2018.

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 2,487,450 tonnes in 2021, up by 13% year on year. Shipments of all grades of ethylene polymers increased. At the same time, PP shipments to the Russian market totalled 1,494.280 tonnes, up by 21% year on year. Deliveries of homopolymer PP and PP block copolymers increased, whreas.shipments of PP random copolymers decreased significantly.

Phillips 66 is a diversified energy manufacturing and logistics company. With a portfolio of Midstream, Chemicals, Refining, and Marketing and Specialties businesses, the company processes, transports, stores and markets fuels and products globally. Headquartered in Houston, the company has 14,100 employees committed to safety and operating excellence. Phillips 66 had USD56 billion of assets as of Sept. 30, 2021.
MRC

BASF India Limited will expand the production capacity of its Ultramid polyamide grades to meet increasing market demand. The increased capacity at BASF’s production site in Panoli, Gujarat, will be available in Q4 2022, said the company.

"The additional capacity reaffirms our dedication to being our customers’ supplier of choice for polyamidesand will help us meet the rapidly growing demand for our Ultramid polyamide grades in India. It will accordingly shorten local delivery times and help us to better meet the just-in-time needs of original equipment manufacturers (OEMs)," said Andy Postlethwaite, Senior Vice President, Performance Materials Asia Pacific, BASF.

Ultramid is used in automotive applications, electrical & electronics sector, industrial products and consumer goods.

In January, 2019, BASF and B2B Cosmetics announced an exclusive, long-term strategic partnership in the field of personalized personal care products, including a strategic investment into B2B Cosmetics by BASF. The French company B2B Cosmetics will contribute a unique personalization system, marketed under the name Emuage technology. BASF will bring in expertise in personal care solutions.

As MRC wrote before, BASF will build a battery recycling prototype plant in Schwarzheide, Germany, at the site of its cathode active materials (CAM) plant.

BASF is the leading chemical company. It produces a wide range of chemicals, for example solvents, amines, resins, glues, electronic-grade chemicals, industrial gases, basic petrochemicals and inorganic chemicals. The most important customers for this segment are the pharmaceutical, construction, textile and automotive industries.

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Solvay is to suspend dividend payments from its Russian joint venture with SIBUR for the production of chlorvinyls, said the company.

Solvay owns a 50% stake in the Rusvinyl joint venture located in Kstovo, in the Nizhny Novgorod region, around 450km west of Moscow. Solvay did not clarify, however, whether it plans to exit the joint venture entirely, and in doing so follow other western companies who announced such a measure last week, like the UK’s energy major BP or its Dutch peer Shell.

The company also said it is to suspend new investments in Russia.

Rusvinyl has the capacity to produce nearly 1.7m tonnes/year of chlorvinyls like chlorine, ethylene dichloride (EDC), polyvinyl chloride (PVC), and vinyl chloride monomer (VCM).

As it was written earlier, Solvay is suspending operations and new investments in Russia after the invasion of Ukraine.

As MRC reported 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.

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.
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