Braskem recognized as one the most innovative companies in Brazil

Braskem is among the 20 most innovative companies in Brazil, according to Innovative Workplaces, a study performed for the first time in Brazil by the magazine MIT Technology Review, said the company.

The publication, affiliated with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, evaluated the innovation capacity of over 1,000 companies.

The initiative aims to further develop the culture of innovation within Brazilian companies. The organizations were divided into groups, according to type and industry, and were evaluated from four different perspectives: management, marketing, processes, and products. Braskem was recognized in the "Industry" category.

"It's monumental for Braskem to be recognized as an innovative company by an institution as credible and renowned as MIT. This is yet another crowning achievement obtained through the daily hard work of our employees, who are committed to innovation, in order to optimize internal processes, generate value for our clients and, primarily, to create solutions that contribute to sustainable development," states Antonio Queiroz, Vice President of Innovation & Technology at Braskem.

Companies from various industries stand alongside Braskem on the Innovative Workplaces list, which is not intended to be a ranking. These include Ambev, C&A, iFood and the Hospital Israelita Albert Einstein, among others.

As per MRC, Braskem Idesa's new partner in a USD400 MM investment in an ethane import terminal in Mexico will be Advario, part of the storage and logistic infrastructure company Oiltanking, Braskem said on June 14. Construction is scheduled to begin in July and end in 2024. The venture is majority owned by Sao Paulo-based Braskem with Mexico?s Idesa group as minority partner. Braskem and Idesa have been partners since winning in a consortium a tender for a long-term contract to buy ethane from Mexico?s Pemex about 12 years ago. The Puerto Mexico Chemical Terminal, as the ethane import terminal project will be called, will create 2,000 jobs during construction, the company has said.
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CHIMEI completed the world's first carbon neutral transportation of butadiene in August 2021, and joined Singapore's global carbon exchange Climate Impact X (CIX) in April this year, in order to fulfill the commitment "Clean & Green" and respond to the international trend of carbon neutrality, said Polymerupdate.

It is one of the few Taiwanese companies that first joined the international carbon trading market. CHIMEI became the first Taiwanese enterprise to complete carbon credits transaction and offsetting on the CIX in June this year.

CHIMEI purchased 10,000 tons in carbon credits from the CIX’s Project Marketplace. The source of the carbon credits is forest and nature conservation projects in Cambodia and Peru. The carbon credits were certified according to VCS (Verified Carbon Standard), and achieve numerous SDGs of the United Nations, including increasing the employment of local women, clean water, and supporting biodiversity. The carbon credits purchased by CHIMEI will be used to offset carbon emissions from commute and business trips of internal employees in 2021-2025, and a total of 1,416 metric tons of carbon emissions in 2021 was already offset on June 27.

CHIMEI has closely followed low carbon and sustainability issues for a long period of time, and is willing to search for any solution that will reduce GHG emissions from a global perspective. Despite there still being debates in international society over whether or not companies should be allowed to purchase carbon credits to offset their carbon emissions, CHIMEI still hopes to begin taking responsibility for its carbon emissions by voluntarily participating in the carbon credits market. In the future, CHIMEI will more actively cooperate with suppliers, customers, and financial institutions in environmental issues, in order to achieve the sustainability goal of "Clean & Green" and work together with the world towards net zero emissions.

As per MRC, CHIMEI Corporation announced that it is launching a Carbon Capture and Utilization (CCU) project as part of its ongoing development of sustainable materials. The CCU project will capture and convert CO2 from production processes into the main raw material in polycarbonate (PC) products. The new generation of fixed carbon PC products produced in this manner will help bring about circular sustainability. Phase 1 of the project commenced in May this year when CHIMEI partnered with the Industrial Technology Research Institute (ITRI) to leverage its portfolio of sustainable innovative technologies to develop a technology to covert CO2 recovered from CHIMEI’s flue gas into dialkyl carbonate (DRC), the main in-process material used in PC products. The technology is currently expected to be validated by the end of 2023. In the future, CHIMEI will use this precursor technology as the basis for developing the next-generation of fixed carbon PC products.
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MRC) -- The Michigan Economic Development Corporation will grant USD150,000 to Island Plastics, a subsidiary of ACI Plastics, through the Michigan Strategic Fund, as per its press-release.

ACI, a post-industrial plastics recycler, will utilize the funding to install post-consumer LDPE recycling equipment at their Flint, Michigan facility, bringing their total processing capacity to over 11,000 tonnes/year.

“We are excited that ACI Plastics, Inc. has chosen to expand operations in Flint as they continue to grow in the post-consumer plastics recycling industry,” said Tyler Rossmaessler, executive director of Flint & Genesee Economic Alliance.

In total, the capital investment for the expansion is estimated at USD8m.

This follows ACI's announcement earlier this year invest $4m in a new South Carolina facility. The 138,000 square foot facility will process post-industrial plastic into flake and the company hopes to expand with pelletizing operations in the future.

As per MRC, LyondellBasell has developed polymers based on advanced recycled post-consumer materials. These polymers, branded under the name CirculenRevive, are made using an advanced recycling process to convert plastic waste into feedstock, which is used to produce new polymers, using a mass balance approach. With the support of Greiner Packaging, these polymers will be used to make coffee capsules for Nestle’s Nescafe Dolce Gusto. This collaboration aims to help advance a circular economy for plastic.
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U.S. refiner Citgo Petroleum is willing to resume imports of Venezuelan crude, suspended since 2019 by Washington's sanctions on its parent company PDVSA, if the U.S. government authorizes the flow, said Hydrocarbonprocessing.

Since March, top U.S. and Venezuelan officials have been engaged in political negotiations that could lead to Washington easing oil trading sanctions that have hit the OPEC country's production and exports. OPEC and the French government, representing Europe, have called for Washington to allow Venezuelan and Iranian crude to flow to consuming nations that are struggling to replace Russian energy supplies during the war in Ukraine.

"To be competitive in this market, we have to buy the cheapest and most convenient crude," said Carlos Jorda, Citgo CEO in an online conference on Venezuela's foreign energy assets. "We should not be at a disadvantage" to other refiners. Citgo did not immediately reply to a request for further comment.

President Joe Biden's administration in May authorized European companies Eni and Repsol to resume imports of Venezuelan crude, which last month helped boost the nation's oil exports to over 600,000 barrels per day. Chevron Corp, the last U.S. producer operating in Venezuela, also is requesting an authorization from the U.S. Treasury Department to ship Venezuelan oil to the United States and even getting operating control of its joint ventures.

"If authorized (Venezuelan) crude arrives in the U.S. Gulf Coast without penalties at competitive prices, especially if it is heavy crude, we would certainly have to evaluate it," said Horacio Medina, president of a board overseeing Citgo, in the same conference. "I see no reason to be radically closed to that," he added.

Citgo, whose first-quarter profit soared more than 10 times the year-ago level to USD245 million on higher crude processing volumes and surging fuel prices, expects to report second-quarter results in the coming week, Jorda said.

As MRC wrote before, in September 2020, Citgo Petroleum Corp said it did not plan to idle its 418,000 barrel-per-day (bpd) Lake Charles, Louisiana, refinery damaged by Hurricane Laura. Rumors have circulated since Laura’s passage over the Lake Charles area on Aug. 27 that Citgo was considering shutting the refinery for an indefinite period because of the extent of the damage and continuing low demand for motor fuels in the COVID-19 pandemic.
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UK-based healthy-eating, Asian-inspired quick-service retail & grocery brand Itsu has swapped the packaging for its instant udon noodles to a K3® packaging solution from Greiner Packaging UK and Ireland, said Polymerupdate.

“We introduced our first instant noodles in 2018 and in October 2021, we swapped to the K3® cardboard-plastic packaging solution for our udon noodle range to improve its sustainability,” says Katrina Burrows, Packaging Change Manager at Itsu Grocery. “As a brand, we are always striving to improve product recyclability and sustainability. Our udon noodles were previously packaged in a cardboard pot, which was double-laminated, and therefore non-recyclable. It also had a plastic lid, which was recyclable, but made from virgin plastic. Plastic packaging is negatively perceived by consumers, particularly if it is not made from recycled plastics. By moving to a widely recyclable foil lid, the negative connotations are removed, and it is clear to the consumer that it is easily recyclable.

The K3® packaging solution features a lightweight PP plastic cup wrapped in a removable cardboard sleeve which features a patented tear-tab so that consumers can easily and intuitively separate the materials to enable recycling. “We have used the printable reverse of the wrap to clearly indicate to consumers where to fill the boiling water to (as part of the preparation instructions). Previously, this had to be on the outside of an opaque cup and the fill-level was difficult to judge.

“The account manager at Greiner Packaging was very responsive and helpful in the process between ideation and raising orders,” concludes Katrina Burrows. “There were a few teething issues during production and delivery of the first order into our ambient warehouse, but Greiner Packaging solved all of them in an impressive way.

“Overall the move to using the K3® cup has been a positive move for the business but also for sustainability reasons. We will continue to improve the sustainability of the Itsu product ranges in whatever way possible.” “This was our first project with Itsu and it was clear from the outset that they were on a mission to improve their sustainability story,” says Greiner Packaging Sustainability and Innovation Manager Rachel Sheldon. “The K3® pack therefore represents a perfect solution as it is fully recyclable and uses less plastic."

As per MRC, LyondellBasell has developed polymers based on advanced recycled post-consumer materials. These polymers, branded under the name CirculenRevive, are made using an advanced recycling process to convert plastic waste into feedstock, which is used to produce new polymers, using a mass balance approach. With the support of Greiner Packaging, these polymers will be used to make coffee capsules for Nestle’s Nescafe Dolce Gusto. This collaboration aims to help advance a circular economy for plastic.
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