Perstorp to replace fossil versions of base polyols with renewable, recyclable sources

Sustainable solutions provider and global leader within polyols Perstorp is taking a stand by converting a large majority of the polyols produced at their largest production plant in Perstorp, Sweden, to Pro-Environment products, said Indianchemicalnews.

By doing this, Perstorp will enable reduced greenhouse gas emissions for its polyol customers and downstream value chains.

The company is continuing its sustainability journey towards becoming finite material neutral and aligning with the Paris Agreement, by converting all base polyols produced at their Perstorp plant – Pentaerythritol (Penta), Neopentyl glycol (Neo) and Trimethylolpropane (TMP) – to Pro-Environment. From 2023, all fossil versions of the base polyols produced at the Perstorp plant will be replaced by Pro-Environment grades (Voxtar, Evyrone & Neeture) with partly renewable or recycled origin, based on a traceable mass-balance concept.

The Pro-Environment products are certified with ISCC PLUS, and are identical to the fossil-based versions, meaning that they are drop-in replacements. The products benefit customers and the value chain by reducing greenhouse gas emissions and by supporting the transition to renewable or recycled materials, in other words supporting the challenge of reaching climate neutrality.

"Phasing out the fossil base polyols produced at the site in Perstorp is a bold move, but we are convinced that this is the only way forward for us, as an industry, to align with the Paris Agreement and significantly reduce greenhouse gas emissions.” says Jan Secher, CEO of Perstorp Group. “As an upstream company in the chemical industry we can, and should, make a positive impact across multiple value-chains by offering products with a reduced carbon footprint."

Perstorp introduced the first Pro-Environment polyol already 2010, and in 2017, Perstorp announced the long-term ambition to become Finite Material Neutral. Since late 2021, the company has set Science-based emission reduction targets aligned with the Paris agreement. The transition to Pro-Environment polyols will significantly reduce Perstorp’s usage of finite materials, and will also provide the market with products with a lower carbon footprint, hence contributing towards Perstorp, and its customers, reaching their Scope 3 reduction targets.

As per MRC, Petronas and key energy players at the ASEAN Energy Sector Methane Roundtable 2022 are intensifying collaboration on methane emissions management in the region by leveraging collective capabilities, global best practices and actionable insights to progress the shared ambition towards a lower-carbon future. The virtual Roundtable, the second in the series held on 19 May 2022, was hosted by PETRONAS and supported by Thailand’s PTT Public Company Limited (PTT) and Indonesia’s PERTAMINA. The initiative is part of the collaborative effort between energy companies to raise awareness, elevate conversation and champion the climate change agenda in the region, particularly on effective methane emissions management.
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Shareholders of Saudi Arabia’s Rabigh Refining and Petrochemical Company, known as Petro Rabigh, have approved a proposal to increase the company's share capital by 90.75 per cent to 16.71 billion Saudi riyals (USD4.45bn) through a rights issue, said Thenationalnews.

The plan was approved during the company’s extraordinary general meeting on June 8, Petro Rabigh said in a statement on Thursday to the Tadawul stock exchange, where its shares are traded. The rights issue will be offered to existing shareholders through the issuance of more than 795 million new shares at an offer price of 10 riyals per share.

"The proceeds of the rights issue will be deployed to manage down our existing long-term liabilities while creating a more favourable equity position from which we will advance at pace,” Othman Al-Ghamdi, president and chief executive of Petro Rabigh, said.

Petro Rabigh was originally established as a basic topping refinery with crude oil processing facilities. However, in 2005, Saudi Aramco and Japan’s Sumitomo Chemical formed an equal joint venture to transform the business into an integrated refinery and petrochemicals complex.

The company refines more than 400,000 barrels of crude oil daily and processes 1.2 million tonnes of ethane feedstock annually to produce a wide range of refined and petrochemical products. As part of the rights issue, Petro Rabigh shareholders will be granted subscription rights in line with their holding in the company as of June 8, it said.

Shareholders will have the opportunity to purchase shares at the offer price of 10 riyals each throughout the June 14 to June 26 subscription period. Petro Rabigh shareholders who decide not to participate will be able to sell their rights during the June 14 to June 21 trading period, the statement said.

As per MRC, Rabigh Refining and Petrochemical Company (Petro Rabigh) has announced that it has submitted a capital reduction application file and a capital increase application file to the Saudi Capital Market Authority. The company said in a statement on “Tadawul Saudi Arabia”, Monday, that it obtained the approval of the lenders regarding the capital reduction and capital increase in accordance with the requirements of the relevant financing agreements.
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Nano One Materials Corp., a clean technology innovator in battery materials, and Rio Tinto, a leading global mining and metals group, have agreed to enter into a strategic partnership providing iron and lithium products, collaboration and a USD10M investment into Nano One, said the company.

This partnership and funding will accelerate Nano One’s multi-cathode (multi-CAM) commercialization strategy and support cathode active materials (CAM) manufacturing in Canada for a cleaner and more efficient battery supply chain for North American and overseas markets.

Dan Blondal, CEO of Nano One, said: "The global transition to a low-carbon electrified economy will require millions of tonnes of battery materials, so it is critically important to produce these materials efficiently and with the lowest environmental footprint. Rio Tinto’s partnership and support complement our recent announcement to acquire Johnson Matthey’s LFP business in the nearby community of Candiac, Quebec and amplifies the Government of Canada’s Mines-to-Mobility initiative, which aims to encourage a localized battery ecosystem to serve the broader North American market. Rio Tinto brings deep experience in high volume production and technology commercialization, as well as a growing battery metals business. We are excited to be partnering with Rio Tinto, our shared vision will see many opportunities for collaboration as we drive for change."

Nano One’s patented One Pot Process and metal to cathode active material (M2CAM) technologies form a unique manufacturing platform that enables nickel-rich (NMC), iron-rich (LFP) and manganese-rich (LNMO) lithium-ion cathode active materials to be made sulfate-free from a range of battery metal sources with fewer steps, lower costs, less complexity and a much smaller environmental footprint. The technology applies to all lithium-ion battery chemistries for applications in electric vehicles, renewable energy storage and portable electronics.

As per MRC, Nano One Materials Corp. (Nano One), a clean technology innovator in battery materials, and BASF SE (BASF), a globally active chemical company with extensive experience in the development and manufacture of battery materials, today announce they have signed a joint development agreement (JDA). Under the JDA, the companies will co-develop a process with reduced by-products for commercial production of next-generation cathode active materials (CAM), based on BASF’s HEDTM-family of advanced CAM and using Nano One’s patented One-Pot process and metal direct to CAM (M2CAM) technologies.
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The Sherwin-Williams Company announced an agreement to acquire Gross & Perthun GmbH, a Mannheim, Germany based developer, manufacturer, and distributor of coatings primarily for the heavy equipment and transportation industries, said the company.

The acquired business has approximately 100 employees and annual sales of approximately USD50 million, and will become part of the Sherwin-Williams Performance Coatings Group reportable segment. The transaction is expected to close by the end of the third quarter of 2022.

"This high-quality business brings us innovative waterborne and solvent liquid coatings technology, leading specification and approval positions, strong relationships with multi-national and local customers, strategically located manufacturing, and an outstanding commercial and technical team focused on delivering innovative and value-added solutions," said Sherwin-Williams Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, John G. Morikis. "The combination of our businesses provides multiple opportunities to accelerate profitable growth throughout Europe and beyond. We look forward to welcoming the talented employees of this excellent business to the Sherwin-Williams family upon the close of the transaction."

As per MRC, Sherwin-Williams Company (SHW) lowered its net sales guidance for the third quarter of 2021, while keeping its full-year net sales and net income per share view unchanged. The company lowered its third-quarter consolidated net sales guidance to be up or down by a low-single digit percentage over third-quarter 2020 from its prior view of up mid-to-high single digit percentage. The full-year 2021 consolidated net sales guidance remains unchanged at up a high-single to low-double digit percentage over 2020 levels.
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Evonik can better serve all global customers and improve its supply position. Increasing the manufacturing capacity for TEGOSOFT MM MB with a second site also enables Evonik to better cater to the increasing market demand for enzymatic-produced emollient esters in the Asia Pacificsaid the company.

This development underlines Evonik’s consistent commitment to enhance the availability of products according to RSPO (Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil) mass balance supply chain, a crucial step to the path of achieving its sustainability vision.

"Asia Pacific is a strong driving force for our personal care business growth. The increased global production network promotes supply chain agility and availability of low-carbon solutions which are of great importance to our customers within the region,” says Madeline Tan, regional business director in Asia North for Evonik’s Care Solutions business line. “We are looking to further support the local personal care industry with many products and technologies to help us reach our sustainability goals."

TEGOSOFT MM MB, produced in Shanghai by enzymatic esterification based on 100% renewable energy, maintains the same strict product quality and properties as that produced in Evonik’s site in Duisburg, Germany, for many years. This approach delivers a significant reduction of carbon footprint in cosmetic formulations, hence its environmental impact converges with the macrotrend in the beauty industry, where many cosmetic producers in Asia Pacific are pursuing a more ethical, environmentally friendly and sustainable portfolio with less CO2 emissions.

Enzymatic esterification is a prime example of green chemistry process to produce emollient esters. This eco-efficient biocatalytic synthesis, which runs on renewable energy, possesses an enormous advancement in waste prevention. Furthermore, it leads to an improved and positive impact on reducing global warming by nearly 100% lower CO2 footprint compared to conventional chemical production procedures, as evaluated by standardized Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) on Myristyl Myristate.

As one of Evonik’s two manufacturing sites worldwide adopting state-of-the-art technologies to manufacture enzymatic esters for cosmetic formulations, the Care Solutions organics plant located in Shanghai Chemical Industry Park (SCIP) has been fully reliant on renewable energy sources to support its operation since 2020.

The use of certified raw materials according to the rules set out by the RSPO Mass Balance Supply Chain Model highlights another sustainable attribute of TEGOSOFT MM MB. Compared to non-RSPO certified feedstock, it has an improved impact on global warming with a 68% lower CO2 footprint, allowing local cosmetic brands to meet their ambition to use certified, sustainable palm oil-based products and reduce carbon in their value chain.

As per MRC, Evonik, one the world's petrochemical majors, is embarking on the next phase of its strategic transformation. Sustainability is being integrated fully and systematically into all elements of the strategy: portfolio management, innovation, corporate culture.

We remind that in February, 2020, Dow and Evonik entered into an exclusive technology partnership. Together, they plan to bring a unique method for directly synthesizing propylene glycol (PG) from propylene and hydrogen peroxide to market maturity.

Evonik is one of the world leaders in specialty chemicals. The company is active in more than 100 countries around the world and generated sales of EUR12.2 billion and an operating profit (adjusted EBITDA) of EUR1.91 billion in 2020. Evonik goes far beyond chemistry to create innovative, profitable and sustainable solutions for customers. About 33,000 employees work together for a common purpose: to improve life today and tomorrow.
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