Brightmark, Georgia county cancel plastic-to-fuel project

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Brightmark Energy and a county in the U.S. state of Georgia scrapped plans to build "the world's largest" facility to turn plastic waste into fuel, according to a termination agreement published on Monday, a blow to a technology the petrochemical industry has promoted heavily, said Hydrocarbonprocessing.

Brightmark missed a deadline to deliver "end product" to customers from a similar facility in Indiana, a condition of its contract with the Macon-Bibb County Industrial Authority, which had planned to build a USD680 MM chemical recycling facility.

The project Brightmark described as the world's largest advanced recycling project was no longer "in the interest of either Company or Authority," according to the termination agreement signed by both parties this month and posted online by the Macon Newsroom newspaper.

Brightmark had said the Renewal Georgia project would use its pyrolisis technology to convert hard-to-recycle plastics, like films and styrofoam, into 64 MMg of low sulfur diesel fuel and naphtha blend stocks, and 20 MMg of wax. It aimed to divert 400,000 tpy of plastic waste from landfills and incinerators. Neither Brightmark nor the Macon Bibb County Industrial Authority were available for comment.

Months earlier, the mayor of Macon-Bibb county withdrew his support of the proposal, citing worries about safety of an "unproven process." Many advanced recycling projects have emerged in recent years in response to a global explosion of plastic waste. More than 90% gets dumped or incinerated because there is no cheap way to repurpose it, according to a landmark 2017 study in the journal Science Advances.

The project is the latest in a series of failed efforts to deploy chemical or advanced recycling technology at commercial scale to solve the world's burgeoning plastic waste problem. The petrochemical industry has touted this technology as a way to process all types of plastic, eliminating the expensive sorting and cleaning needed for traditional recycling. More than a dozen states have passed laws aiming to spur its development.

We remind, scientists from Nanyang Technological University have found a way to convert plastic waste into low-carbon hydrogen, which is considered a cleaner fuel than natural gas. The discovery, which could power vehicles and contribute to the power grid in as soon as three years, comes as the Republic looks to adopt hydrogen as an alternative fuel, as it does not produce carbon dioxide (CO2) when burned.

Plastic consumption is anticipated to double in the next two decades, after doubling in the prior five decades. To reduce environmental difficulties, the polymer industry must focus on recovering value-added goods rather than single-purpose plastics.
mrchub.com

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Perstorp plans to have extra capacity of around 70,000 tonnes/year for production of carboxylic acids onstream during 2024. The investment will enable Perstorp to increase output significantly and strengthen its position as the sustainable solutions provider, according to SpecialChem.

Increased capacity will meet growing demand in various high-value applications, including non-phthalate plasticizers for PVC, engineered fluids for applications such as refrigeration lubricants, and various propionates used in food preservation and carboxylic acids for use in animal feed gut health and preservation products.

Most of the output will be used in downstream production operated by Perstorp itself. Perstorp will build a new plant on the site of its existing carboxylic acid production operation in Stenungsund, Sweden.

Like the original unit, it will be capable of producing acids from C3 to C9 chemistry, significantly strengthening the company’s portfolio. Both plants will be fully integrated into Perstorp’s Oxo production platform. The decision to go ahead with the capacity expansion comes during a period of high growth for Perstorp, which has maintained a strong position in its key markets despite disruption caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Perstorp has a unique position among plasticizer producers in offering Pevalen™, a high-performance polyolester plasticizer, ideal for sensitive close-to-consumer applications such as coated fabric and films and sheets. Pevalen™ meets growing calls for new-generation plasticizers and has performance advantages over some of the most commonly used plasticizer solutions in terms of efficiency and UV stability.

Perstorp also uses carboxylic acids for its in-house production of various grades of food preservative (Profina CP) and animal feed preservative (ProSid MI 208). It is the only company in the world making these products with upstream integration. Valmira Ozten, vice president business manager for formates & propionates at Perstorp, says “the company is witnessing strong growth in demand for both Profina and ProSid.”

As a result, the company is planning to significantly increase production capacity for calcium propionate, which is currently located in Castellanza, near Milan, Italy. New capacity could be onstream in early 2024. Various sites are under consideration. Perstorp markets its calcium propionates in numerous countries around the world.

As MRC reported previously, in December 2021, Perstorp, the world leader in the production of Trimethylolpropane (TMP), ramped up the capacity to meet growing demand from the European market. TMP is used to enhance the properties of numerous materials. Common applications include the use in saturated polyesters for coil coatings, polyurethanes for coatings and elastomers, acrylic acid esters for radiation curing, esters for synthetic lubricants, and for the surface treatment of pigments.

Perstorp Specialty Chemicals AB is a subsidiary of Perstorp Holding AB. The company was founded in 1881 and is based in Perstop, Sweden. Perstorp Specialty Chemicals AB manufactures chemical products. The company offers base and specialty polyols, formates, organic acids and formaldehyde products.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Phillips 66 has named its current President and Chief Operating Officer, Mark Lashier, as President and Chief Executive Officer effective July 1, said Hydrocarbonprocessing.

Lashier will succeed Greg Garland, who will remain as Executive Chairman of the Board of Directors until he retires in 2024. Garland has led Phillips 66, which is headquartered in Houston, for the past 10 years.

“Greg’s leadership and commitment to Phillips 66, our employees and our investors have been invaluable,” said Glenn Tilton, lead Independent Director on the Phillips 66 Board of Directors and chair of the Board’s Nominating and Governance Committee. “He embodies our values of safety, honor and commitment and our vision to provide energy and improve lives."

Since Garland assumed the Chairman and CEO role in May 2012, Phillips 66 has recorded many notable achievements. Lashier joined Phillips 66 in April 2021 as President and Chief Operating Officer.

“Greg’s leadership in fostering a culture of operating excellence and financial strength will benefit us for decades,” Lashier said. “That foundation is critical as we face the opportunities and challenges of the next 10 years. I am excited to embark on this new role and leverage the talent of our team and the strength of our assets as we continue to deliver shareholder value."

We remind, Phillips 66 announced the completion of the previously announced merger between Phillips 66 Partners (PSXP) and Phillips 66. The merger resulted in Phillips 66 acquiring all limited partnership interests in PSXP not already owned by Phillips 66 and its affiliates. Partnership unitholders received 0.50 shares of PSX common stock for each outstanding PSXP common unit, including preferred units that were converted into common units at a premium prior to closing.

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 14,000 employees committed to safety and operating excellence.
mrchub.com

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Maire Tecnimont S.p.A. announces that its main subsidiaries Tecnimont S.p.A. and Tecnimont USA has been awarded a new urea diesel exhaust fluid (DEF) project in the US, by the same leading global chemicals producer that recently awarded to Tecnimont a blue ammonia project, according to Hydrocarbonprocessing.

The contract value is approximately $185 MM. The urea DEF plant, which will be based on Stamicarbon’s proprietary technology (part of Maire Tecnimont Group), entails a 1,500 tpd urea production unit plus the necessary utilities and facilities, including a CO2 purification plant. Project completion is expected as early as 2025. Once completed, the plant will receive the ammonia from the above-mentioned blue ammonia plant.

The plant will produce diesel exhaust fluid (a high-purity urea aqueous solution, known as AdBlue in Europe) which is added to diesel engines to limit the emission of nitrogen oxides during the combustion process, thus significantly reducing the environmental impact of such emissions.

The contract's scope of work includes supply of technology, full engineering activities and supply of all materials and equipment as well as construction supervision services. Construction activities will be the responsibility of an external party not belonging to Maire Tecnimont Group under a different contract, directly awarded by the client. Such contractual strategy is typically implemented in the U.S. to better optimize the construction activities and mitigate Maire Tecnimont Group’s risks. It also leverages Tecnimont USA’s expertise in managing complex projects, while valorizing local content in the Country.

As MRC wrote before, in May 2021, Maire Tecnimont S.p.A. announced that its subsidiaries Tecnimont S.p.A. and Mumbai-based Tecnimont Private Limited have been awarded an EPCC (Engineering, Procurement, Construction and Commissioning) Lump Sum contract by Indian Oil Corporation Limited (IOCL), for the implementation of a new paraxylene (PX) plant and the relevant offsites facilities. The plant will be located in Paradip, in the State of Odisha, in Eastern India. The overall value of the contract is about USD450 million.

PX is a feedstock for the production of purified terephthalic acid (PTA). PTA is used to produce polyethylene terephthalate (PET), which, in its turn, is used in the manufacturing of plastic bottles, films, packaging containers, in the textile and food industries.

According to MRC's ScanPlast report, Russia's calculated consumption of polyethylene terephthalate (PET) in January 2022 increased by 4% compared to the same time a year before. In total, according to the results of the first month of the year, 59,660 tonnes of PET chips were processed in the country (these data do not take into account the shipment of Russian material to the countries of the Customs Union).
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Global packaging supplier TricorBraun is acquiring California-based PBFY, said to be one of the largest flexible packaging distributors in North America, from Pacific Western Sales Inc., said Canplastics.

The financial terms of the deal have not been disclosed. The acquisition expands TricorBraun’s flexible packaging division, TricorBraun Flex, and PBFY will now operate as PBFY, a TricorBraun company. After a transition period, PBFY will integrate with TricorBraun Flex.

In an April 6 news release, TricorBraun officials said that PBFY has provided flexible packaging services – including stand-up pouches and side-gusseted bags – for a variety of brands in the food, coffee, tea, and health and beauty markets for nearly 15 years. All PBFY team members will remain with TricorBraun, the release added.

“PBFY is an important addition to our industry-leading flexible packaging offerings, enabling us to provide customers with expanded services and supply chain options,” said TricorBraun president and CEO Court Carruthers. “We have great admiration for the successful business the PBFY team has built, and we look forward to investing in its continued growth.”"

The transaction is expected to close later this month.

We remind, TricorBraun has acquired Pacific Bag LLC, said to be one of the largest independent U.S. distributors of flexible packaging, for an undisclosed amount. The company will combine Pacific Bag with its existing flexibles business, Taipak, to create TricorBraun Flex, a new business unit focused on flexible packaging.


mrchub.com