FRX Polymers phosphorous-based flame retardants get GreenScreen Accreditation

FRX Polymers announces that the company’s polymeric phosphorus-based flame retardants Nofia CO3000, Nofia CO4000 and Nofia CO6000 have been granted a GreenScreen Benchmark 3 score, according to SpecialChem.

Nofia polymeric flame retardants uniquely offer the assurance of the coveted GreenScreen 3 Benchmark score, without compromising fire safety while simultaneously achieving exceptional and often superior physical properties.

This is one of the industry’s highest green non-toxic indicators of ESG compliance. GreenScreen is one of the most broadly recognized methods of comparative benchmarking chemical toxicity in the chemical industry.

This certification comes at an opportune time as it complements a series of recent actions taken by the European Union, as part of its Eco-design regulation, and by the State of New York, which bans the use of all brominated flame retardants in consumer electronic displays such as TVs and monitors.

Marc Lebel, chief executive officer of FRX, commented, “The new EU and US legislation will cause an industry-wide transformation to green flame retardant formulations in consumer products and will quickly materialize into significant demand for non-brominated fire retardants, especially polymeric solutions like Nofia.”

“We are already seeing compliance with this initiative being both pushed by national consumer electronics retailers in the US and responded to by leading OEM manufacturers throughout the world. This is just the start of an important shift away from hazardous flame retardants into solutions that offer the same flame retardant efficacy, without the health and environmental liabilities,” added Lebel.

GreenScreen is well recognized across the global electronics supply chain, being referenced and relied upon by many green NGOs and major OEMs, with Hewlett Packard being one of the earliest adopters.

FRX management believes that this GreenScreen accreditation is further validation of the human health and environmental credentials of the Nofia range of halogen-free, polymeric flame retardants.

These copolymer grades of Nofia® join the other homopolymer grades of Nofia flame retardants previously granted a GreenScreen Benchmark 3, suitable for the most demanding high flow, molding and/or sheet extrusion applications. FRX’s current commercial production of Nofia® flame retardants is already serving major OEMs around the world and the Company plans to further expand capacity to meet growing demand.

As MRC reported earlier, FRX Polymers, Inc., a producer of polymeric halogen-free flame retardants, has earned ISO 9001:2015 certification from the International Organization for Standardization (ISO), effective from 6 February 2017. ISO 9001:2015 is the international standard that specifies requirements for a company-wide quality management system (QMS).

FRX Polymers, Inc. was founded in 2007 following over five years of intensive research and development in the field of inherently flame retardant plastics. The company operates two pilot plants in Chelmsford MA, a polymer pilot plant in Switzerland and a full scale plant in Antwerp Belgium.
MRC

TotalEnergies, the world's petrochemical major, has started up the "3D" carbon capture pilot in Dunkirk, according to Hydrocarbonprocessing.

The "3D" industrial pilot to demonstrate an innovative process for capturing CO2 from industrial activities is now running at ArcelorMittal’s Dunkirk site. With support from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 Research and Innovation program, the project aims to validate replicable technical solutions for carbon capture. The "3D" project, driven by a consortium including TotalEnergies, ArcelorMittal, Axens and IFP Energies Nouvelles (IFPEN), is a major step towards decarbonizing industries that are highly emissive of CO2, such as steelmaking.

The challenge for carbon capture researchers is making the processes more competitive and less energy intensive. This industrial pilot should allow the performance of the DMX carbon capture process developed in IFPEN’s labs over the last ten years to be verified.

The project was launched in May 2019, and the building of the demonstrator began in 2020 under Axens’ supervision. Last December, the pilot’s main modules, including a 22 meter tower, were delivered and assembled at ArcelorMittal’s site in Dunkirk. The phases of building the pilot and connecting it to the plant have now been completed, and the unit is ready for start-up.

This demonstration, which is scheduled to last for 12-18 months, is the final stage before the technology’s full-scale deployment.

The carbon capture facility will process steelmaking gases: it will demonstrate the effectiveness of the carbon capture process by separating the CO2 from other gases. During the demonstration stage, it will capture 0.5 tons of CO2 an hour, i.e. more than 4,000 tpy.

As MRC informed before, in late February, 2022, TotalEnergies condemned what it called Moscow's military aggression in Ukraine but stopped short of joining rivals Shell and BP in planning to exit positions in resource-rich Russia. The French oil major, which holds a 19.4% stake in Novatek, Russia's largest producer of liquefied natural gas, said it "will no longer provide capital for new projects in Russia".

We remind that Total Petrochemicals and Refining USA, the US petrochemical major and part of TotalEnergies, restarted all of its three polypropylene (PP) units in La Porte as of 17 June 2021. At the same time, the force majeure (FM) at this plant with an annual capacity of 1.15 million tons/year remains in place as the company attempts to stabilize operating rates and build inventories ahead of the hurricane season. Previously, Total Petrochemical declared FM on its PP output after an abrupt loss of electricity supply during a severe weather condition on 18 May, 2021.

According to MRC's ScanPlast report, PP shipments to the Russian market totalled 1,494.280 tonnes in 2021, up by 21% year on year. Deliveries of homopolymer PP and PP block copolymers increased, whreas.shipments of PP random copolymers decreased significantly.

Total is a major energy player, which produces and markets fuels, natural gas and low-carbon electricity. Our 100,000 employees are committed to better energy that is safer, more affordable, cleaner and accessible to as many people as possible. Active in more than 130 countries, our ambition is to become the responsible energy major.
MRC

Honeywell announced a strategic collaboration with OTTO Motors, a division of Clearpath Robotics, giving warehouses and distribution centers throughout North America an automated option to handle some of the most labor-intensive roles in an increasingly scarce job market, said the company.

The collaboration enables Honeywell customers to increase efficiency, reduce errors and improve safety by deploying OTTO’s autonomous mobile robots (AMRs) in their facilities. These AMRs provide significant productivity benefits by automating the movement of carts used to transport picked orders or returns and can travel over any floor surface smooth enough to handle a traditional cart pushed by a worker. Instead of spending more than half the day walking, workers can simply park carts in designated pickup locations throughout the facility and call robots to retrieve them.

These AMRs also offer a flexible and powerful way to transport pallets typically accomplished primarily with forklifts and conveyor systems.

OTTO’s easy-to-install AMRs are smart enough to interact safely with human co-workers and other vehicles, find a different route if their original path is blocked, and respond to rapid changes in orders or logistics needs — all without human intervention. OTTO AMRs can work in conjunction with Honeywell automated solutions including its Smart Flexible Depalletizer and next-gen AS/RS system, further increasing efficiency and automation within the warehouse.

The pandemic and its lasting effects on labor shortages is causing companies to reconsider the way they operate. A Honeywell study revealed more than half of companies are more willing to invest in automation because of the pandemic and its lasting effects. The same study showed companies see increased speed of tasks, greater productivity and increased employee utilization and productivity as the top three potential benefits from automation.

As per MRC, Honeywell announced an integrated olefin suite (IOS) of technologies that can increase ethylene production and improve profitability when added to a naphtha steam cracker. IOS provides customers the ability to improve return on investment, increase operating profits, opportunity to reduce CO2 footprint and increase the level of control over by-products.

We remind that in January 2022, Honeywell announced that Lukoil -Permnefteorgsintez, a subsidiary of Lukoil, will use a range of Honeywell UOP process technologies at its refinery to convert low value vacuum gasoil into high value products such as gasoline and propylene.

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.

mrchub.com

Lummus Technology announced that Ujjal Mukherjee will become the company’s Chief Technology Officer (CTO) as of April 1, said the company.

He succeeds Jo Portela, who upon retirement will transition to an advisory role to Lummus’ board of directors and executive team. As CTO, Mr. Mukherjee will be responsible for driving cross-company initiatives to enhance and grow Lummus’ broad portfolio and champion the company’s technology solutions to strategic customers. He will also lead the development of advanced technology solutions that place Lummus at the forefront of our industry, the energy transition and digitalization.

“I am very proud to announce Ujjal as Lummus’ next CTO. Ujjal has an outstanding track record of innovation, performance and execution, which I had the pleasure of witnessing first hand for many years,” said Leon de Bruyn, President and Chief Executive Officer of Lummus Technology. “The direction and strategic goals of our company are inextricably tied to the CTO role, and I am confident in Ujjal to take Lummus’ technology leadership to a new level.

“I want to thank Jo for his many accomplishments to Lummus for over three decades, leaving an incredible legacy across the company. I am also grateful for his continuing role to advise the Lummus leadership team as we face many strategic issues and opportunities,” added de Bruyn.

Beginning his career with Lummus in 1990, Mr. Mukherjee has developed expertise in clean fuels, petrochemicals and emerging technologies. He has 38 issued U.S. patents and many of the processes he invented have been successfully commercialized, including LC-MAX technology and integrated hydrocracking.

Most recently, he served as Vice President and Managing Director of Chevron Lummus Global, a joint venture between Chevron and Lummus, while also overseeing Thermal Crude to Chemicals (TC2CTM) for Lummus. TC2C is an innovative technology pioneered by Saudi Aramco, Lummus Technology and Chevron Lummus Global that enables higher chemicals yield than previously achievable by bypassing conventional refining steps and employing a proprietary direct conversion process. Mr. Mukherjee is also a Lummus Fellow, a distinguished role in which he helps Lummus lead in knowledge transfer and development initiatives in key technology areas.

Mr. Mukherjee holds a bachelor’s degree in Chemical Engineering from the National Institute of Technology in India; a master’s degree in Chemical and Petroleum Engineering from ENSPM in France; and a master’s degree in Business Administration from Rutgers University in the U.S.

As per MRC, Lummus Technology announced that Shandong Yulong Petrochemical Co., Ltd., a subsidiary of China's Nanshan Group, has selected its CDAlky technology for use in a new 400 KTA alkylation unit. The unit will be part of Shandong Yulong's 20,000 KTA refining and petrochemical integrated project, a mega complex in Shandong Province, China.

As MRC informed earlier, in January, 2022, Lummus Technology announced it had been awarded a contract from Lukoil Permnefteorgsintez for a new integrated methyl tertiary butyl ether (MTBE) and alkylation plant at Lukoil"s refinery in Perm, Russia. The MTBE unit will use Lummus" CDEtherol technology and the alkylation unit will use Lummus" CDAlky technology.

Lummus Technology is the global leader in developing process technologies that make modern life possible and focus on a more sustainable, low carbon future. Lummus is a master licensor of clean energy, petrochemical, refining, gas processing and renewable technologies, and a supplier of catalysts, proprietary equipment, digitalization and related lifecycle services to customers worldwide.
mrchub.com

MOSCOW (MRC) -- National oil company Petronas has denied holding any discussions with the government on a proposal to take over Sapura Energy Bhd, said Freemalaysiatoday.

Petronas acknowledged that there had been speculation on “purported talks” with Putrajaya on a proposal for it to acquire a significant stake in Sapura. “Petronas wishes to categorically deny these reports and speculation,” it said in a brief statement.

“The group has always been and will continue to be strictly guided by an established framework for any investment or divestment consideration. “Petronas wishes to emphasise it remains committed to working closely with the oil and gas services and equipment (OGSE) industry players, leveraging on their expertise and capability as activities increase with the industry recovering from the impact of Covid-19."

Sapura, a government-linked company (GLC), had announced a loss of RM8.9 billion last year, which former prime minister Najib Razak said was the largest for any Malaysian GLC in history. The Pekan MP had proposed that the government intervene by providing easy interest loans or loan guarantees to Sapura to solve its cash flow problems.

Alternatively, Najib said, Putrajaya could direct Petronas or Khazanah Nasional Bhd to take over ownership of Sapura, citing how Petronas still required Sapura’s services for its projects and had a better understanding of the sector.

As per MRC, Petronas has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with leading global shipping company Mitsui O.S.K. Lines, Ltd. (MOL) to jointly explore opportunities in liquefied carbon dioxide (CO2) transportation for the carbon capture.

As per MRC, Petronas Chemicals Aromatics shut down its paraxylene production facility at Kerteh, Malaysia next week for scheduled maintenance. This production facility with a capacity of 550,000 tonnes of paraxylene per year will be under repair for about 50 days.

Petronas is a Malaysian government-owned oil and gas and petrochemicals company and a Global Fortune 500 company. It currently operates and operates in markets in more than 60 countries.

mrchub.com