INEOS to invest in acetonitrile plant in Germany

INEOS is to develop a dedicated acetonitrile unit at its Cologne, Germany site to capitalise on anticipated pharmaceuticals sector demand for the material, said the company.

The company is to develop a 15,000 tonne/year production facility at the site to enhance supplies for its European customer base, on the back of anticipated demand from the pharmaceutical, agrochemical and bioscience sectors.

Acetonitrile is usually produced as a co-product of acrylonitrile (ACN) rather than as a standalone product, and is a key component in many drug and nutrition manufacturing processes.

The investment “demonstrates our commitment to underpin and reinforce our Nitriles production platform on the Cologne site”, said INEOS Nitriles CEO Hans Casier.

INEOS is a global manufacturing company making the raw materials and energy used for everyday life. Its products make an indispensable contribution to society by providing the most sustainable options for a wide range of societal needs.

As per MRC, INEOS Aromatics has completed a USD70 million modernisation of its purified terephthalic acid (PTA) plant in Merak, Indonesia, that significantly reduces emissions and increases capacity, supporting the competitiveness and growth of the Indonesian polyester industry. The installation of a larger oxidation reactor, reconfiguration of the reactor’s heat recovery system and revamp of the process air compressor train will both reduce CO2 emissions per ton by 15% and increase the site capacity by 15%, from 500,000 tonnes to 575,000 tonnes per annum.

As MRC reported earlier, in August 2021, INEOS Styrolution joined the US Plastics Pact in their support for collaborative, solution-driven initiatives intended to drive significant system change in the design, use, and reuse of plastics. The US Plastic Pact unites cross-sector approaches, setting a national strategy, and creating scalable solutions to create a path forward toward a circular economy for plastics in the United States by 2025.

We remind that in April 2021, INEOS Styrolution, Recycling Technologies and Trinseo announced that they had reached a significant milestone in their plans to build commercial polystyrene (PS) recycling plants in Europe. Recycling Technologies has been selected as the technology partner.

INEOS Styrolution is the leading global styrenics supplier, with a focus on styrene monomer, polystyrene, ABS Standard and styrenic specialties. With world-class production facilities and more than 90 years of experience, INEOS Styrolution helps its customers succeed by offering solutions, designed to give them a competitive edge in their markets. At the same time, these innovative and sustainable best-in-class solutions help make the circular economy for styrenics a reality. The company provides styrenic applications for many everyday products across a broad range of industries, including automotive, electronics, household, construction, healthcare, packaging and toys/sports/leisure. In 2020, sales were at 4 billion euros. INEOS Styrolution employs approximately 3,600 people and operates 20 production sites in ten countries.

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Indian packaging major Cosmo Films will invest around rupee (Rs) 1.4bn (USD18.44m) to build a 25,000 tonnes/year cast polypropylene (CPP) line in western Maharashtra state, said Indiatimes.

The plant will be located at Aurangabad and is expected to commence commercial production in two years, the source said. The required investment will be funded through internal accruals and debts.

The expanded capacity will help Cosmo meet the growing demand for CPP films, the source said, adding that the company’s current CPP capacity is being fully utilized.

Cosmo Films also expects to bring on line its 30,000 tonnes/year specialty biaxially oriented polyethylene terephthalate (BOPET) line by July-September 2023, the source said. The new BOPET line is being set up at the company’s Waluj site at Aurangabad.

The company’s new biaxially oriented polypropylene (BOPP) line is on schedule to commence operations in financial year 2025, he added. Cosmo Films is India’s largest exporter of biaxially-oriented polypropylene (BOPP) films and has a BOPP production capacity of 196,000 tonnes/year, and CPP capacity of 10,000 tonnes/year at its sites in Gujarat and Maharashtra.

As per MRC, Cosmo Films Ltd., a global leader in specialty films for flexible packaging, labeling and lamination applications as well as synthetic paper, has launched Enhanced Barrier Metalized BOPP Film specially designed for packaging applications with very high moisture and good oxygen barrier properties and high metal bond.

As MRC informed earlier, Cosmo Films introduced BOPP based heat resistant (HR) films. The films have been engineered to work as printing layer replacing BOPET film in multi-layer laminates for various packaging applications in both food and non-food segments. The company has also launched a barrier version of the film.

Established in 1981 and founded by Mr. Ashok Jaipuria, Cosmo Films today is a global leader in specialty films for packaging, lamination, labeling and synthetic paper. With engineering of innovative products and sustainability solutions, Cosmo Films over the years has been partnering with worlds’ leading F&B and personal care brands and packaging & printing converters to enhance the end consumer experience. Its customer base is spread in more than 100 countries with sales & manufacturing units in India and Korea and additionally sales & distribution base in Japan, USA, Canada and Europe.

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Vagit Alekperov, President of PJSC Lukoil, and Valery Radaev, Governor of the Saratov region, visited the Saratovorgsintez LLC petrochemical plant, said the company.

This facility is the only Russian manufacturer of acetonitrile and acrylonitrile, as well as a major manufacturer of sodium cyanide.

In 2021, the plant completed a large-scale environmental project of an in-depth overhaul of a waste incinerator. This allows for complete smokeless combustion of organic matter. The implementation of the project will be instrumental in reducing CO2 emissions by over 20,000 tonnes per year.

The plant is developing projects for construction of new units to increase production volume and improve efficiency. Consistent work on imports phase-out is underway with respect to catalysts, chemicals, spare parts, and equipment.

Following their visit to the petrochemical plant, Vagit Alekperov and Valery Radaev held a working meeting with the leaders of Lukoil Group organizations in the Saratov region.

As per MRC, the board of Russia’s second-largest oil company, Lukoil, has called for an end to conflict in Ukraine as its shares collapse amid ongoing divestments from the Russian energy sector. Lukoil produces around 2% of the world’s crude supplies and employs around 100,000 people, making it Russia’s second-largest oil company behind state-owned giant Rosneft.

As per MRC, Lukoil entered into an agreement to acquire a 50% operator interest in the Area 4 offshore project in Mexico through the acquisition of the operator's holding company.

It was also reported that Lukoil plans to invest about USD3 billion in petrochemical projects in the next 6 years, V. Alekperova also told reporters in June. At the same time, the company does not plan to adopt a separate petrochemical strategy, he said then.

Lukoil is one of the leading vertically integrated oil companies in Russia. The main activities of the company include operations for the exploration and production of oil and gas, production and sale of petroleum products. Lukoil is the second largest privately-owned oil company in the world in terms of proven hydrocarbon reserves. The structure of Lukoil includes one of the largest petrochemical enterprises in Russia - Stavrolen.

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Avient, formerly PolyOne, announces that it will launch new biocompatible colorants at the upcoming Medical Device & Manufacturing West exhibition in Anaheim, California, according to SpecialChem.

Colorant Chromatics Transcend Premier Healthcare Colorants are formulated to offer ultra-high heat resistance and performance specifically for medical applications and are available in a range of vivid colors.

Clean, vibrant colors in both transparent and opaque options help set this line of high-temperature and high-performance colorants apart from other options. Additional iterations are in development for other high-performance resins, including polyethersulfone (PES) and polysulfone (PSU).

Transcend Premier Healthcare Colorants are being launched in polyphenylsulfone (PPSU) resin, which can withstand up to 1,000 autoclave cycles and high heat sterilization to 150C.

These resins also maintain dimensional stability while providing chemical resistance against the effects of harsh cleaning agents.

“This range of biocompatble and regulatory-compliant formulations answers a demand for cleaner, brighter colors in the healthcare space,” said Michael Garratt, president, color, additives & inks, EMEA.

Transcend Premier Healthcare Colorants are available globally. They are tested to ISO 10993 standards and can be customized with the addition of functional additives to enhance product performance. Low minimum order quantities offer specialty healthcare customers greater processing flexibility and inventory efficiencies.

As MRC informed before, last summer, Avient expanded its sustainable solutions portfolio with the acquisition of Magna Colours. Founded in 1978 and based in Barnsley, U.K., Magna is a developer of next-gen water-based ink technology that provides innovative and high-performance solutions.

We remind that in January 2021, Avient Corporation announced the official opening of its new CycleWorks facility in Pogliano, Italy. The new lab and plant will conduct chemistry testing and evaluations to help customers meet the challenge of plastics recycling and advance the goal of a circular economy. The demonstration plant mimics real-world recycling conditions in a research environment, said Avient.

On 1 July 2020, PolyOne and Clariant Masterbatches joined together as Avient, a company focused on specialised and sustainable material solutions with projected 2020 pro forma revenues of approximately USD 3.7 billion. Avient has approximately 9,100 employees and is certified ACC Responsible Care and a founding member of the AEPW.
MRC

The CEO of the Leverkusen-based plastics group Covestro, Markus Steilemann, is to head the German Chemical Industry Association (VCI) in the future, according to Eu Editorial.

The VCI announced on Thursday in Frankfurt that the executive committee had proposed the manager for the election on September 29 in Berlin. Steilemann is to succeed the acting association president Christian Kullmann, who is also head of the specialty chemicals group Evonik based in Essen. According to the statutes, the VCI presidency lasts two years.

Steilemann has been vice president of the VCI board for a good two years and has been head of Covestro since the summer of 2018. The manager, born in 1970, studied chemistry and business administration at the RWTH Aachen and also did his doctorate there.

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 overall consumption of PC granules (excluding exports from Belarus) totalled 7,800 tonnes in January 2022, down by 4% year on year (8,100 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