Neste acquires European rights to Alterra Energy thermochemical liquefaction technology

Neste has purchased the European rights to Alterra Energy’s liquefaction technology, further solidifying the company’s efforts to advance chemical recycling, said Hydrocarbonprocessing.

Alterra Energy is a US-based company that has developed a proprietary thermochemical solution for liquefaction of hard-to-recycle plastic. In Akron, Ohio, the company is already running an industrial-scale facility that transforms end-of-life plastics into an intermediate product, which can be further refined into raw material for new plastics and other petrochemical products.

In 2020, Neste acquired a minority stake in Alterra Energy. Neste has further processed liquefied waste plastic sourced from, among others, Alterra Energy in a series of trial runs at its refinery in Finland. Together with Ravago, Neste also plans to set up a joint venture to deploy the Alterra Energy technology in Vlissingen, the Netherlands. Furthermore, to scale up processing capacities for liquefied waste plastic at its Porvoo refinery in Finland, Neste is currently conducting a feasibility study to examine investing in proprietary pretreatment and upgrading capabilities. Through chemical recycling, the company aims to reduce dependence on virgin fossil resources and accelerate circularity in the production of polymers and chemicals.

"Acquiring the rights to Alterra Energy’s technology in Europe enables us to offer a holistic solution to our partners,” says Heikki Farkkila, Vice President Chemical Recycling at Neste Renewable Polymers and Chemicals. “Neste will be able to provide the full chemical recycling package: from waste plastic to product, offering high-quality drop-in feeds for the production of new polymers and chemicals."

As per MRC, Neste and United Airlines announced that they have signed a new purchase agreement that provides United the right to buy up to 160,000 mtons (52.5 MM gallons) of Neste MY SAF over the next three years to fuel United flights at Amsterdam Airport Schiphol, and potentially other airports, as well. With this agreement, United became the first U.S. airline to make an international purchase agreement for SAF.

As MRC reported earlier, Neste has a target to process annually over 1 MM tons of waste plastic from 2030 onwards. The company plans to use liquefied plastic waste as a raw material at its fossil oil refinery to upgrade it into high-quality drop-in feedstock for the production of new plastics.
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Indorama Ventures Public Company Limited, a global sustainable chemical company, has signed a license agreement with Shandong Binhua New Material Co., Ltd., a subsidiary of Befar Group, a leading petroleum and chemical enterprise in China, to build, own and operate a propylene oxide (PO), t-Butanol (TBA) and t-Butyl methyl ether (MTBE) co-production unit, said Hydrocarbonprocessing.

Featuring the world’s only MTBE ‘single-step’ reaction technology, IVL’s proprietary innovation, the project is part of the ‘C3 and C4’ comprehensive utilization project in Shandong, China. It is one of the largest in the province, covering an area of over one million square meters.

"On completion, this project will be able to produce 600,000 tons of propylene, 800,000 tons of butane isomerization, 150,000 tons of synthetic ammonia, 240,000 tons of propylene oxide and 742,000 tons of MTBE per year. With the lowest operational cost of all other propylene oxide technologies and close to 50 consecutive years of successful and safe operation, the license with IVL was selected because of its superiority, unique features, and competitiveness,” said Mr. Liu Hongan, Vice President of Befar Group and General Manager of Shandong Binhua New Material Co. Ltd.

Under the contract, IVL will provide a design package, technology, operational know-how and training to enable the construction and operation of a PO co-production with MTBE and TBA units for Binhua. The plant is part of a larger complex comprising propane dehydrogenation to propylene, butane isomerization, synthetic ammonia, and other installations.

Alastair Port, Executive President, Integrated Oxides and Derivatives (IOD), IVL, said, “IVL is honored to be providing this important technology license, enabling the monetization of Binhua’s raw materials in Shandong Province with a world-class and cost-effective plant. Our technology uses 130 U.S. patents and more than four decades of continuous development. This allows IVL to provide both the license, and owner/operator knowledge to deliver the quality and effective solutions a project of this scale requires."

As per MRC, Indorama Ventures completed the acquisition of Ngoc Nghia Industry, one of Vietnam’s leading PET packaging companies. The acquisition will boost IVL's market position as it continues to expand its integrated offering of PET products to major multinational customers throughout the region.
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Leading global provider of mission critical air and gas handling products, technologies and services, Howden, has signed a contract to supply hydrogen reciprocating compressors for MSB Unit for the Numaligarh Refinery Expansion Project (NREP) in India, said Hydrpcarbonprocessing.

Numaligarh Refinery Limited is expanding its refining capacity from its current three million to 9 MMtpy by installing a new six MMTPA capacity Crude Oil Distillation Unit / Vacuum Distillation Unit and associated downstream process units as part of the NREP.

The hydrogen rich gas compressor supplied by Howden will be used in a Continuous Catalytic Reforming (CCR) process, which is part of Motor Spirits Block Unit for compressing the hydrogen rich gas. This is a unique compressor with six large cylinders to handle the high volume of hydrogen. In this process application, reciprocating piston type compressors are used for low pressure and high capacity hydrogen application. This results in large cylinders of approximately one meter in diameter, for which Howden is known to be the most experienced manufacturer.

Melle Kruisdijk, Managing Director of Howden’s Thomassen Reciprocating Compressors range, commented: "One of the major factors for awarding this contract to Howden was our proven equipment reliability at competitive pricing, whilst meeting all the contractual requirements. With this contract we have demonstrated that we can be competitive in the local market by considering the right approach to address individual requirements."

Parvesh Mittal, Managing Director - India business – Howden, said: “Howden has proudly supported our customers in this region for over five decades. As a leading global provider of mission critical air and gas handling products, we work in partnership with our customers to deliver sustainable and customised solutions for their needs. With four sites in India - Chennai, Delhi, Hosur and Pune - we have responsive local service and delivery teams ready to support our customers."

Howden focuses on helping customers increase the efficiency and effectiveness of their air and gas handling processes, enabling them to make sustainable improvements in their environmental impact. Howden designs, manufactures and supplies products, solutions and services to customers around the world across highly diversified end-markets and geographies.

The business recently announced its target to be carbon Net Zero by 2035 through the purchase of renewable energy and carbon free energy; efficiency gains from energy conservation measures; and by renewable energy projects at its manufacturing facilities. The largest impact the business will have on global sustainability will be through its partnership with customers to supply equipment that will make a major impact on their carbon emissions and sustainability.

As per MRC, TotalEnergies has entered into an agreement with Adani Enterprises Limited (AEL) to acquire a 25% interest in Adani New Industries Ltd. (ANIL). ANIL will be the exclusive platform of AEL and TotalEnergies for the production and commercialisation of green hydrogen in India. ANIL will target a production of 1 million t of green hydrogen per year (Mtpa) by 2030, underpinned by around 30 GW of new renewable power generation capacity, as its first milestone.
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Saudi petrochemicals maker Sipchem has signed an agreement with shipping giant Maersk that will enable the two parties to collaborate on ocean transportation and storage at the King Abdullah Port, said Arabnews.

Through this agreement, Sipchem is aiming to expand its export base, the company said in a press release. The deal will enable Sipchem to gain a stronger position among regional and international petrochemical producers, it said.

The company said it will play a leading role in contributing to the growth of Saudi Arabia’s export market.

"This new business direction will see us take full advantage of the Kingdom’s unique geographical position, which has helped make it a major global trade hub. Capitalizing on the port’s capabilities also reflects our commitment to furthering the Kingdom’s broader Vision 2030 ambitions for global trade and commerce,” Sipchem’s Vice President Mater Aldhafeeri said.

As per MRC, Sahara International Petrochemical Co. (Sipchem) is planning to mothball the Polybutylene Terephthalate (PBT) plant, owned by its affiliate, Sipchem Chemical Co., and Ethylene Vinyl Acetate (EVA) Film plant that is owned by affiliate firm, Saudi Specialized Products Co. Steps to implement the decision are underway, Sipchem said in a statement to Tadawul, adding that the suspension of both plants will start on Jan. 1, 2021, until further notice. The company expects a positive financial impact starting from Q1 2021 results.

According to ICIS-MRC Price report, on Wednesday, 10 March, 1,500 tonnes of Turkmenbashi refinery's PP raffia grade were put up for export sale at the State Commodity and Raw Materials Exchange of Turkmenistan. The starting price was set at USD1,515/tonne FOB/FCA. PP prices were growing dynamically during the trades and finally reached another record - USD1,775/tonne FOB/FCA, the total volume of PP was sold in one day.
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Sipchem has signed an agreement with A.P. Moller – Maersk (Maersk) in Saudi Arabia that will see the two parties collaborate on ocean transportation and storage through the King Abdullah Port integrated logistics park, said the company.

Through this agreement, Sipchem will export its products to wider international markets. Commenting on the agreement, Sipchem’s Vice President – Commercial, Eng. Mater Aldhafeeri, said: "This new collaboration with Maersk, a leading integrated logistics company, reflects Sipchem's great interest in bringing its diverse range of products to a wider global market through ports, logistic hubs, and new shipping lines and sea lanes. This new business direction will see us take full advantage of the Kingdom’s unique geographical position, which has helped make it a major global trade hub.

Capitalizing on the port’s capabilities also reflects our commitment to furthering the Kingdom’s broader Vision 2030 ambitions for global trade and commerce.” The agreement to him is “a prime example of Sipchem's long-term growth strategy in action, which aims to develop and upgrade commercial performance and open new avenues for global market growth and neighboring African markets in particular at this stage."

Mohammad Shihab, Managing Director of Maersk Saudi Arabia, commented: “We are committed to delivering end-to-end solutions for our customers that reduce the complexity of their supply chains.” He added: “Through this partnership, Sipchem will be provided with cargo storage options at our integrated logistics park and gain access to King Abdullah Port’s ocean network. We will help Sipchem improve their speed-to-market rates through reduced cargo handovers and single-window access to multiple logistic solutions."

Jay New, CEO of King Abdullah Port, said: “In keeping with our commitment to contributing to the maritime shipping-focused objectives of Vision 2030 and the National Transport and Logistics Strategy, we have a strong emphasis on further strengthening King Abdullah Port’s advanced capabilities and enhancing its world-class offerings leveraging the unique strengths of our strategic partners. Our collaboration with Maersk to establish the Kingdom’s first petrochemical hub at the port was an extension of this strategy and we are proud that our collective effort has been paying off with local petrochemical companies increasingly choosing to use the facility to export their products. We are confident that Sipchem will tremendously benefit from the market-leading services King Abdullah Port and the Maersk Integrated Logistics Center provide, while this agreement translates to further growth in our business and an increase in Saudi Arabia’s exports."

This agreement aims to strengthen Sipchem’s strategic position amongst regional and international petrochemical producers, enabling it to market its products worldwide in a timelier and cost-effective manner. The signing of this agreement reflects the company's role as a leading contributor to the growth of the Saudi export market and the national economy.

Further consolidating its leadership in the ports sector on the global level, King Abdullah Port was in May 2022 ranked first among the most efficient container ports in the world on the 2021 Container Port Performance Index report published by The World Bank and S&P Global Market Intelligence. The port improved its ranking from second place last year as a result of its efforts to achieve increased operational efficiency, quality controls and infrastructure development and management. Recently, the port reached 15 million TEU in container throughput, a stellar achievement in under 9 years since the launch of its container terminal.

Sahara International Petrochemical Co (Sipchem) and industrial gas firm Linde signed an exclusive agreement to set up a joint venture for developing industrial gas projects and networks in Saudi Arabia. Under a 50/50 joint venture, Linde and Sipchem said they intend to connect existing hydrogen and syngas plants owned and operated by the two parties in Jubail Industrial City.

As MRC informed earlier, Sipchem is planning to mothball the Polybutylene Terephthalate (PBT) plant, owned by its affiliate, Sipchem Chemical Co., and Ethylene Vinyl Acetate (EVA) Film plant that is owned by affiliate firm, Saudi Specialized Products Co. Steps to implement the decision are underway, Sipchem said in a statement to Tadawul, adding that the suspension of both plants will start on Jan. 1, 2021, until further notice. The company expects a positive financial impact starting from Q1 2021 results.
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