Arkema finalizes the acquisition of Permoseal in South Africa

Arkema finalizes the acquisition of Permoseal in South Africa

Arkema has completed the previously announced acquisition of South Africa-based adhesive solutions company Permoseal, said the company.

Permoseal is focused on adhesive solutions for the DIY, packaging and construction sectors. The company, with sales of €43m in 2021, has two plants in South Africa. Arkema said the acquisition would complement its Bostik adhesives business in South Africa’s and Sub-Saharan Africa’s industrial, construction and DIY markets. The acquisition price was not disclosed.

We remind, Arkema announces the launch of TIPPOX 2028 stabilizer, the optimized stabilizer solution for the growing base of customers in PMMA production around the globe. TIPPOX 2028 stabilizer offers a new approach to traditionally utilized methods of handling thermal degradation. TIPPOX 2028 stabilizer saves customers on operational costs by enabling higher processing temperature and higher throughput, while reducing defects and VOCs.

Arkema is one of the world's leading chemical manufacturers headquartered in Colombes (near Paris, France). Founded in 2004 as a result of the restructuring of the French oil company Total, Arkema, with a turnover of EUR6.5 billion, has operations in 40 countries, 10 research centers around the world, and 85 plants in Europe, North America and Asia.
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Indorama Ventures acquires assets in Italy and Poland

Indorama Ventures acquires assets in Italy and Poland

Indorama Ventures Public Company Limited (IVL), a global sustainable chemical company, today completed the acquisition of the wool spinning businesses in Italy and Poland of Tollegno 1900 S.p.A. (Tollegno 1900), a leading Italian manufacturer of fabrics and yarns, said the company.

Tollegno 1900 has a rich family-based heritage with more than 120 years of experience and is now one of the leading European textile groups with a total spinning capacity of around 3,500 tons of yarn per year with a specific focus on flat knitting and hand knitting yarns. With this acquisition, IVL secured two assets, including a spinning and top-dyeing operation in Poland and a yarn dyeing operation in Italy.

The acquisition is a strategic fit for IVL’s unique integrated business platform and will make a significant contribution to the sustainable growth of its Wool business, which is part of the company’s Fibers segment. It will also strengthen IVL’s footprint for worsted yarns in Europe and help extend IVL’s wool products globally with trading subsidiaries in America and Asia.

The operations, which will be renamed Filatura Tollegno 1900, will add more sustainable products to IVL’s portfolio, including a full traceability project of the fibers used for yarns and fabrics, as well as provide synergies with existing assets.

Mr. Giovanni Germanetti, the CEO of Tollegno, will continue in the same role with Filatura Tollegno 1900, facilitating continuity and exploring new growth as part of IVL. Mr. Lincoln Germanetti, the President and co-CEO of Tollegno, will remain with Filatura Tollegno 1900 as COO.

As per MRC, 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.
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Borealis declares Stenungsund cracker products force majeure

Borealis declares Stenungsund cracker products force majeure

Borealis (Vienna, Austria) has declared force majeure on all cracker products from its ethane-fed steam cracker at Stenungsund, Sweden, after encountering technical difficulties during a restart of the facility following a maintenance turnaround, as per S&P.

Borealis had lifted a previous force majeure on the cracker on 17 June, declared earlier in the month after struggles restarting from major maintenance work that began in April. The new force majeure was declared on 23 June, Borealis confirmed to S&P Global on 1 July. The company had previously said it expected on-spec production to be achieved by 26 June.

As per MRC, Borealis is investing around EUR200 mln to upgrade and expand its XLPE and semicon assets at existing production locations in Europe. This ambitious initiative will serve the W&C market by safeguarding the reliable supply of high-quality insulation and semiconductive materials in the long term, and particularly those required to support global offshore wind and interconnector projects.

As per MRC, Borealis (Vienna, Austria) has announced several deals for its certified renewable feedstock range for use in polypropylene (PP) and polyethene (PE) packaging and pipeline products. Borealis, one of the world’s leading providers of advanced and circular polyolefin solutions and a European market leader in base chemicals and fertilizers, has announced that Nupi Industrie Italiane (NUPI) has selected the ™ polypropylene (PP) for the next generation of their PP-RCT (Polypropylene Random Crystalline Structure Temperature) piping solutions for domestic plumbing, heating as well as heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) systems designed to perform under higher stress conditions and temperatures.

Borealis is one of the world’s leading providers of advanced and sustainable polyolefin solutions and a European front-runner in polyolefins recycling. In Europe, we are a market leader in base chemicals and fertilizers. We leverage our polymer expertise and decades of experience to offer value adding, innovative and circular material solutions for key industries such as consumer products, energy, healthcare, infrastructure and mobility.
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Lummus Technology to supply its Catofin process technology to the project in China

Lummus Technology to supply its Catofin process technology to the project in China

Lummus Technology, a global provider of process technologies and value-driven energy solutions, announced the commissioning and startup of a propane dehydrogenation (PDH) unit at Shandong Ruize Chemical Technology Co., Ltd.'s complex in Zibo City, Shandong Province, China, said the company.

With a capacity of 300 KTA, the unit uses Lummus' world-class CATOFIN® PDH technology to produce propylene. The unit is part of Shandong Ruize's plan to transition its complex from refining to petrochemicals.

"This successful startup demonstrates the cost-effective flexibility of Lummus' CATOFIN technology, from Shandong Ruize's smaller-scale 300 KTA unit to some of the world's largest PDH units that we've licensed recently," said Leon de Bruyn, President and Chief Executive Officer of Lummus Technology. "CATOFIN has been selected for a majority of new PDH awards recently because of its high reliability and performance, which also lead to lower operating expenses and higher profitability for Lummus' customers."

In 2018, Lummus received the award for the CATOFIN technology license, basic engineering design, and training and startup services. While the official startup and commissioning occurred in May of this year, the pandemic necessitated the Lummus team to adapt and customize their launch and support plans, both virtually and onsite, to successfully meet Shandong Ruize's startup and operational needs.

CATOFIN technology is an industry-leading method for light paraffin dehydrogenation that delivers excellent annual production output compared to alternative technologies. The process operates at thermodynamically advantaged reactor pressure and temperature to maximize conversion of propane to propylene, while reducing investment and operating costs.

As per MRC, Lummus Technology, a global provider of process technologies and value-driven solutions, announced the launch of its Polaris breech-lock closure, a new technological upgrade applicable to its high-pressure heat exchanger equipment. This advanced design of breech-lock closure provides a host of operational benefits including safe, reliable and secure sealing under all conditions, a simplified assembly and easier maintenance.
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ECI Group signs two new license and engineering agreements

ECI Group signs two new license and engineering agreements

ECI Group has signed two license agreements for Process Technology and Engineering Design with a confidential client in China, said Hydrocarbonprocesing.

The two lines will be capable of producing 50,000 tons per year of Ethylene Butyl Acrylate (EBA) and 100,000 tons per year of Ethylene Vinyl Acetate (EVA) respectively, with the ability to produce other associated high-pressure copolymers in the future.

The plants will be part of the client’s refining and petrochemical integrated project, a mega complex to be located in the Province of Jiangsu. ECI Group will provide the technology, design, and training for the two lines, as well as support through commissioning, start-up, and production.

Repsol, the multi-energy company, is the technology partner of ECI Group and will provide its extensive technical expertise on these kinds of plants and products. Repsol has several LDPE, EVA, and EBA plants in its industrial complexes in Spain and Portugal and has over 40 years of experience producing polymers in high-pressure facilities.

The plants will use high-pressure autoclave technology that has its roots in the heritage ICI process to manufacture of Polyethylene. ICI first created LDPE in the 1930s, and ICI partnered with ECI Group’s subsidiary company Simon Carves over five decades to deliver over 67 operating reactor lines around the world. The ECI Group design offers significant improvements in the product range, reliability, and expandability to the original ICI technology, and is optimized to make use of modern materials, design techniques, standards, and industry best practices for construction, operation, and maintenance.

While the client declined to provide a comment citing project confidentiality, they noted that they had reviewed a number of technology options and made the decision to select ECI Group’s autoclave technology for a number of important reasons including the unmatched product range, lower operating costs and the design built for future expansion of capacity and product development capabilities. They also recognized Repsol’s reputation as a long-standing producer of high-quality products, and expressed their desire to work with both partners for a fruitful long-term cooperation.

As per MRC, Repsol's Board of Directors today approved the sale of a 25% stake in Repsol Renewables to the consortium formed by the French insurance company Credit Agricole Assurances and Switzerland-based Energy Infrastructure Partner (EIP) for EUR905 mln.

As per MRC, Repsol will invest EUR105 mln in the Puertollano Industrial Complex to build the first plant in the Iberian Peninsula capable of manufacturing ultra high molecular weight polyethylene (UHMWPE), a material considered a 'super polymer' due to its exceptional properties. This new plant will be operational by the end of 2024 and will have an annual capacity of 15,000 tons. For the construction of the plant, Repsol has selected the technology of DSM, a renowned UHMWPE producer based in the Netherlands. This involves the use of cutting-edge, proven technology that adapts to the needs of customers.
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