New equipment to be supplied for construction of new large refinery in Mexico

MOSCOW (MRC) -- GE Power Conversion will supply 19 electrical motors to power water-cooling tower pumps manufactured by Ruhrpumpen. The motors will support the build of a large refinery located in Dos Bocas, Mexico, according to Hydrocarbonprocessing.

The refinery is slated to become the biggest refinery in Mexico, anticipated to produce approximately 340,000 bpd. Construction of the refinery started in June 2019, and the facility is set to commence commercial operation in late 2022. It will play a key role in Mexico’s National Refining Plan in efforts to become more energy self-sufficient.

The innovative electro-mechanical design of GE’s C7 Series Induction Motors promotes high efficiency to support energy savings and low noise levels to help reduce environmental impact. With increased power density and state of the art manufacturing, the C7 Motors are optimized to support a refinery of such a large caliber.

“We’re excited to be a part of this momentous initiative and see our equipment play a role in supporting an entire country as it works towards achieving energy self-sufficiency. It’s been a pleasure to partner with Ruhrpumpen on this project and to continue delivering high-quality technology and more reliable and sustainable electrical solutions for industrial applications,” said Gagan Sood, GE Power Conversion Americas CEO.

As MRC informed earlier, Mexico's state-run Petroleos Mexicanos would likely reduce oil sales to Europe and Asia before the United States, its main market for oil exports, after its Dos Bocas refinery begins operations, a Valero Energy Corp VLO.N executive said in late January, 2022.

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

MOSCOW (MRC) -- HPCL-Mittal Energy Limited's (HMEL) polypropylene (PP) plant in Bathinda, Punjab, India has been operating at reduced rates throughout March and is scheduled to go offline in May, 2022, according to CommoPlast.

At the time of the report, the producer is running at 40% rates.

Meanwhile, the duration of the upcoming turnaround could not be ascertained.

The maintenance shutdown at the plant with the capacity of 400,000 mt/year of PP is expected to curtail local and export supply substantially.

As MRC reported earlier, HMEL took off-stream its PP plant in Bathinda for an unscheduled 10-12 turnaround on 11 February, 2022.

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.

HPCL-Mittal Energy Limited (HMEL) is a joint venture between India's Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Limited (HPCL) and Singapore's Mittal Energy Investment Pte Ltd. Both partners each own 49% of the shares in the joint venture, the remaining 2% is held by financial institutions. HMEL operates a 9 mln tpa refinery at Guru Gobind Singh.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Teijin Frontier Co., Ltd., the Teijin Group's fibers and products converting company, announced that it has developed an eco-friendly staple polyester nanofiber that offers excellent performance to reinforce rubber uses in products including automotive tires, hoses and belts, said the company.

Teijin Frontier will start production in 2023 and expects sales to reach JPY one billion (nearly USD 8.2 million) by the fiscal year ending in March 2028. Teijin Frontier, guided by its THINK ECO environmental initiative, is striving to improve its environmental value, including by developing greener materials and products for applications ranging from clothing to industrial materials. The new staple nanofiber matches the company’s increasing emphasis on solutions that help to ease environmental burdens.

Teijin Frontier will continue to expand the types of polymers that can be used for the new staple nanofibers and continue to develop them for a wide range of rubber and resin products such as tires, hoses and belts. The company will also promote the development of products that utilize recycled raw materials with the aim of reducing the environmental burden.

The new staple nanofiber incorporates both polyester nanofiber and polyethylene polymers, which are combined in Teijin Frontier’s proprietary sea-island composite cross section. Different polymers are used for the "sea" and "island" parts to improve rubber reinforcement. A polyester nanofiber with a diameter of either 400nm or 700nm is used as the island as reinforcing material and the surrounding sea part is made with polyethylene, which mixes easily with rubber. Compared to conventional products, mixing takes place at the molecular level, which enables thousands of times more nanofibers to be evenly dispersed in the rubber for equal or better reinforcing but requiring a relatively small amount.

Staple fibers are used to strengthen rubber in products required to withstand repeated deformation and abrasion. Conventionally, this has been achieved by adjusting fiber strength and length, the latter generally to between several millimeters and several tens of millimeters. Increased length, however, leads to entanglement and twisting when the fiber is kneaded into the rubber, which reduces strength due to less efficient fiber dispersal. Meanwhile, growing environmental concerns are raising demands for reduced molecular weights and surface treatments to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

As per MRC, Teijin says that its subsidiary Teijin Carbon Europe (Heinsberg, Germany) has increased the production capacity of chopped carbon fiber by 40%. The company says that it is responding to the growing demand from European electronics manufacturers in recent years, as well as the current increase in demand for compounds for medical devices.

As MRC reported before, Teijin Ltd. is expanding its footprint in Europe with Teijin Automotive Center Europe GmbH, a new base in Wuppertal, Germany, that will house technical functions for the company’s automotive composites business.

Teijin is a technology-driven global group offering advanced solutions in the areas of sustainable transportation, information and electronics, safety and protection, environment and energy, and healthcare. Its main fields of operation are high-performance fibers such as aramid, carbon fibers & composites, healthcare, films, resin & plastic processing, polyester fibers, products converting and IT. The group has some 150 companies and around 17,000 employees spread out over 20 countries worldwide.
mrchub.com

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Nexeo Plastics, a leading global thermoplastics resin distributor, is pleased to announce the establishment of a new distribution facility in Costa Rica to better serve customers in Central America, said the company.

The warehouse and delivery network are located in the Coyol Area near San Jose and are expected to be operational in May 2022. From there, Nexeo Plastics will distribute its extensive range of thermoplastic resins and compounds from world-class suppliers, shortening order to delivery times and helping customers optimize their working capital by potentially reducing their need for large-scale investments in inventory.

"This distribution facility is part of our effort to provide our customers in the region with better service, more products, and innovative solutions,” said Jeff Collier, Chief Commercial Officer, Nexeo Plastics. “It will also contribute to our expansion efforts in the healthcare market."

As a leading global distributor of thermoplastic resins and compounds, Nexeo Plastics offers nearly every grade of thermoplastic resin available for injection molding, blow molding, extrusion molding or rotational molding, including medical grade thermoplastics for the healthcare market.

We remind, Nexeo Plastics, a leading global thermoplastics resin distributor, announces an agreement with AFC ECOPLASTICS to distribute bio-compounds for the blow and film molding market throughout Canada, Mexico and the United States.

Also, Nexeo Plastics, a leading global thermoplastics resin distributor, has announced an agreement with Stora Enso to distribute their renewable Biocomposites by Stora Enso throughout Europe. The agreement also includes specific grades for 3D printing.

Nexeo Plastics is a leading global thermoplastic resins distributor, representing quality products from world-class suppliers, and serving a diverse customer base across North America, Latin America, Europe, Middle East, Africa and Asia. From material selection assistance to identifying supply chain and inventory solutions, we go beyond traditional logistics to provide value-added services across many industries, including automotive, healthcare, packaging, wire and cable, 3D printing and more.
mrchub.com

MOSCOW (MRC) -- ExxonMobil Corp said on Thursday it has begun design studies for its carbon capture storage (CCS) hub in southeast Australia, similar to its project in Houston, Texas, to reduce emissions from industries in the Gippsland Basin, reported Reuters.

The CCS hub would use existing infrastructure to store carbon dioxide in the depleted Bream field off the coast of Gippsland in the state of Victoria, the US energy major said.

CCS traps emissions and buries them underground but is not at the commercialisation stage yet.

Exxon said it is in discussions with local emissions-intensive industries which may be interested in availing the hub to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from their operations.

The largest US oil producer is also planning on a hydrogen production plant and a CCS project at its Baytown refinery near Houston, Texas, in an effort to reduce its carbon footprint while earning a profit.

The carbon capture infrastructure for the Australian project would have the capacity to store up to two million metric tons of carbon dioxide per year and could be operational by 2025 if technical and business feasibility is confirmed, Exxon said.

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