Sinopec Maoming Petrochemical brought forward turnaround at its No. 2 cracker

China’s Maoming Petrochemical, part of Sinopec, has decided to bring forward the maintenance shutdown schedule at its plant in Guangdong after a fire broke out at the complex, forcing the producer to shut the No. 2 cracker, according to CommoPlast.

It is reported that the fire started at one of the furnaces at the No. 2 cracker at noon on 30 March 2022. It took the response team about half an hour to distinguish the blaze.

Maoming Petrochemical initially planned an overhaul at several units at the beginning of May 2022 for 48 days, however, the maintenance has now been brought forward. The turnaround at its No.2 cracker started on 30 March, 2022.

As MRC informed before, Sinopec Maoming Petrochemical Company delayed the turnaround at its No. 2 low density polyethylene (LDPE) unit in Guangdong, China until 24 March, 2021. Initially the company intended to take off-stream its 250,000 tons/year No. 2 LDPE unit on 15 March, 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 2,487,450 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.

Sinopec corp. is one of the world's largest integrated energy and chemical companies. Business Sinopec Corp. includes oil and gas exploration, production and transportation of oil and gas, oil refining, petrochemical production, production of mineral fertilizers and other chemical products. In terms of refining capacity, Sinopec Corp. ranks second in the world, in terms of ethylene capacity - fourth.
MRC

Compact Membrane Systems (CMS) and Braskem announced that the pilot demonstration of CMS's Optiperm technology for light olefin paraffin separation has started up at Braskem's Marcus Hook facility, according to Hydrocarbonprocessing.

Optiperm is designed to increase olefin production efficiency while decreasing waste streams, lowering carbon emissions and reducing total energy usage. The modular nature of membranes allows olefin recovery from small and large process streams alike, debottlenecking processes and leveraging existing infrastructure in a more energy-efficient manner. CMS and Braskem recognize that capturing olefins from unused hydrocarbon process streams is essential to decreasing environmental impact while continuing to create the chemical building blocks for plastic resins and chemical products for diverse customer segments, such as healthcare and hygiene, food packaging, construction, manufacturing, automotive and agribusiness.

This project will address the critical milestones of simultaneously producing high purity (>90%) paraffin and olefin rich streams with a multistage membrane design. The design is a replica of the design with membrane areas balanced between two stages and a full control system to meet stream purity specs. The rig itself was built by Zeton. The pilot has been deployed at Braskem's Marcus Hook facility and will be operated for a period of 500 days.

"Braskem believes that investing in the advancement of technology is a leading factor in the search for a more sustainable future" said Kevin Soucy, Technology Improvements Manager, Braskem. "The successful startup of this pilot supports our commitments to the circular economy. Special thanks to both CMS and Braskem team members for completing the first step of such a complex project despite the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic. We are very excited to continue to work with CMS through optimization and commercialization of their Optiperm technology."

This is the largest demonstration of the Optiperm platform to date and includes commercial sized modules. Previously, CMS has demonstrated the stability of small-scale membranes. This will be the first demonstration that includes CMS's proprietary humidification design and a full-scale commercial membrane module produced at an industrial scale manufacturing facility. Commercial membrane products will be available from CMS as early as 2023.

As MRC wrote earlier, in late 2020, Braskem announced its latest sustainability ambitions to significantly expand its efforts to eliminate plastic waste in the environment by 2030 and to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050.

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.

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

ExxonMobil, the world's petrochemical major, is planning to shut part of its Singapore Chemical Plant in April due to unforeseen external market factors that significantly impact the company’s businesses, according to CommoPlast with reference to ExxonMobil's official statement to its customers.

The company did not specify which units are affected by the shutdown, however, reassured buyers of a stable supply of performance polyethylene (metallocene grade). As such, it is assumed that the 650,000 tons/year metallocene PE (mPE) plant would continue to operate throughout April.

Meanwhile, the old plant including the 480,000 tons/year PP line and the 600,000 tons/year LLDPE unit would likely be affected, and so the 650,000 tons/year new LLDPE line.

As MRC reported earlier, last month, ExxonMobil announced that construction of the new linear alpha olefins (LAO) manufacturing unit at its Baytown, Texas, integrated petrochemical complex is progressing and targeting commercial start up in mid-2023. When fully operational, the new facility will have the capacity to produce approximately 350,000 metric tons of LAO annually.

We remind that in February, 2022, ExxonMobil and SABIC successful started up Gulf Coast Growth Ventures world-scale manufacturing facility in San Patricio County, Texas. The new facility will produce materials used in packaging, agricultural film, construction materials, clothing, and automotive coolants. The operation includes a 1.8 MM metric tpy ethane steam cracker, two polyethylene (PE) units capable of producing up to 1.3 MM metric tpy, and a monoethylene glycol (MEG) unit with a capacity of 1.1 MM metric tpy.

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.

ExxonMobil is the largest non-government owned company in the energy industry and produces about 3% of the world's oil and about 2% of the world's energy.
MRC

Consumption of ethane has grown every year since 2010 in the US, and more ethane is now consumed in the country than either jet fuel or propane, said EIA on its site.

Consumption of ethane, which the EIA estimates using product supplied, grew by 50,000 bpd in 2021, according to data from its March 2022 Petroleum Supply Monthly. The EIA forecasts that by 2023, US consumption of ethane will grow by another 340,000 bpd.

Annual US ethane consumption has increased in every year since 2010 because demand for ethane as a petrochemical feedstock has grown. Ethane mainly serves as a petrochemical feedstock to produce ethylene, which is used to make plastics and resins.

Domestic ethane consumption over the past two years has increased due to increased ethylene cracking capacity. In contrast, consumption of most other petroleum products has decreased these past two years as a result of less travel during the COVID-19 pandemic.

US ethane consumption grew in 2021 despite the mid-February winter storm on the US Gulf Coast, which took more than one-third of US ethylene cracking capacity offline. Because about 90% of US ethane consumption is concentrated along the Gulf Coast, storm disruptions reduced ethane consumption by 655,000 bpd in February 2021. Despite this drop, the additional capacity from two new ethylene crackers during the second half of 2021 contributed to an overall increase in ethane consumption in 2021.

The EIA expects U.S. ethane consumption to average 2.1 MMbpd in both 2022 and 2023 because another ethylene cracker was recently completed in Monaca, Pennsylvania, which will add an estimated 96,000 bpd of ethane feedstock capacity, and existing ethylene crackers should operate at higher utilization rates.

As MRC informed before, in March 2022, the EIA projected that US energy consumption will grow through 2050, primarily driven by population and economic growth. In this case, which reflects only current laws and regulations, renewable energy is the fastest-growing energy source through 2050, and petroleum remains the largest share of energy consumption throughout that period, followed by natural gas.

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.
MRC

Canada will offer a substantial incentive to companies that invest in carbon capture technologies (CCT) and will set aside as much as USD3 B over eight years to accelerate critical mineral exploration, extraction and processing as it seeks to cut carbon emissions, according to Hydrocarbonprocessing.

In this year's budget, Canada is introducing a 60% tax credit for equipment used to capture carbon from the air, and 50% for all other capture equipment, plus a 37.5% credit for transportation and storage equipment.

CSS facilities are expected to be a key part of global efforts to contain emissions from fossil fuels. Canada is the world's fourth-largest oil producer and has a set a goal of generating net-zero emissions by 2050.

"For the oil and gas sector this tax credit, combined with the fact they are generating massive revenues right now, is more than enough to reduce the risk associated with going ahead with CCS projects," said Chris Severson-Baker, Alberta regional director at the Pembina Institute, a clean energy think-tank.

The tax credit is projected to cost the government USD2.1 B over five years. The incentive is below the 75% level the Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers requested last year, and one industry group said it would look for additional funding from programs like the Canada Infrastructure Bank and Emissions Reduction Alberta.

As MRC reported earlier, Canadian researchers have developed an inexpensive, non-toxic coating for almost any fabric that decreases the infectivity of the virus that causes Covid-19 by up to 90%.

According to MRC's ScanPlast report, 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.
MRC