LG Chem started to export bio-balanced phenol and acetone

LG Chem Ltd. (Seoul, South Korea) has started to export its first bio-balanced phenol and acetone, said Chemengonline.

It is a product that has acquired the International Sustainability & Carbon Certification PLUS (ISCC PLUS), a global sustainable eco-friendly material certification, using renewable bio-feedstock such as biomass or waste cooking oil. LG Chem will export 4,000 tons of phenol and 1,200 tons of acetone, totaling 5,200 tons, and this is the largest volume of ISCC PLUS certified product ever exported from South Korea.

Phenol is the raw material for the initial process of polycarbonate, a highly-functional engineering plastic for making vehicle parts, and resins produced from phenols are also partially used as parts of electrical and electronic products and construction materials such as insulators.

Acetone has excellent solubility and is mainly used for solvent production such as cleaning agents, and paint thinner while being widely used across the industry as a raw material for building materials such as artificial marble(MMA).

Phenol and acetone from LG Chem Daesan plant will be exported to factories in China and Thailand of Germany’s leading producer of renewable polymers for making polycarbonate, a highly-functional plastics, using bio-balanced chemicals.

Since LG Chem first started to export bio-balanced SAP(Super Absorbent Polymer) in August last year, the Company has launched 41 products certified by ISCC PLUS, including PO(Poly Olefin), ABS(Acrylonitrile Butadiene Styrene), PVC(Poly Vinyl Chloride), NPG(Neo Pentyl Glycol), phenol, acetone etc., accelerating the development of new markets and customers.

LG Chem expects that its eco-friendly product business, which has obtained ISCC PLUS certification, will continue to expand in global markets including Europe and the U.S. amid growing needs and demand from customers who want to produce bio-balanced products to lead global ESG trends.

“We will continue to expand our portfolio of bio-balanced products in earnest to meet our customers’ needs, leading eco-friendly market based on sustainable solutions,” said Noh Kug-lae, head of Petrochemical Business at LG Chem.

As per MRC, LG Chem Ltd., South Korean petrochemical major, has reported its 2021 net profit of 3.95 trillion won (USD3.3 billion), up 479.4% from a year earlier. The company said in a regulatory filing that operating income for the year rose 178.4% on-year to 5.02 trillion won. LG Chem's annual revenue increased by 41.9% to 42.65 trillion won.

As MRC reported before, LG Chem plans to shut down its naphtha cracker in the Korean city of Yeosu for a scheduled turnaround this year. Thus, LG Chem is expected to put its Yeosu naphtha cracker under scheduled maintenance sometime in the second half of 2022. LG Chem's Yeosu naphtha cracker can produce 1.16 MMtpy of ethylene.

LG Chem Ltd., often referred to as LG Chemical, is the largest Korean chemical company and is headquartered in Seoul, South Korea. It has eight domestic factories and global network of 29 business locations in 15 countries. LG Chem is a manufacturer, supplier, and exporter of petrochemical goods, IT&E Materials and Energy Solutions.
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India's Reliance Industries Ltd on Friday reported a 46.3% jump in profit for the June-quarter, as cheaper Russian crude and strong demand for fuel boosted refining margin at its dominant oil-to-chemical business, said Timesofindia.

The Mukesh Ambani-led conglomerate said consolidated profit rose to 179.55 billion rupees (USD2.25 billion) in the three months ended June 30 compared with 122.73 billion rupees a year earlier.

The refining-to-retail conglomerate saw a 55% rise in revenue to 2.23 trillion rupees compared to the same period last year. Total costs surged 51% to 1.98 trillion rupees with raw material costs rising 76% during the quarter, the filing said.

In Reliance’s polymers business unit, demand in India improved by 9% YOY during the quarter with increased economic activity, and was 8% above pre-pandemic levels with domestic markets seeing healthy demand from sectors such as agriculture, consumer durables, automotive, e-commerce, food packaging, and infrastructure, says the company.

Reliance’s polyethylene (PE) margin averaged $415/metric ton during the fiscal first quarter against USD508/metric ton in the prior-year quarter. Reliance says that naphtha prices averaged $827/metric ton, up 39% YOY.

The polypropylene (PP) margin averaged USD421/metric ton compared with USD652/metric ton a year earlier. Higher feedstock prices weakened the margin, Reliance says. The polyvinyl chloride (PVC) margin averaged USD576/metric ton in the fiscal first quarter against USD689/metric ton a year earlier. The company says the margin decline was led by a reduction in PVC prices and a sharp increase in naphtha costs. Logistics constraints, higher ocean freight costs, and regional availability constraints continue to support domestic prices, Reliance says.

As MRC informed before, in November 2021, Reliance Industries and Saudi Aramco decided to re-evaluate their agreement for the Middle Eastern producer to buy a stake in the refining and petrochemical business of India's biggest private refiner, and both companies would look at broader areas of cooperation due to the changing energy scenario.

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.

Reliance Industries is one of the world's largest producers of polymers. The company produces polypropylene, polyethylene and polyvinyl chloride and other petrochemical products.
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MRC) -- Refined coal production in the United States dropped to nearly zero during the first quarter of 2022 as refined coal consumers used their remaining small stockpiles, said Hydrocarbonprocessing.

Refined coal is most commonly made by mixing proprietary additives to feedstock coal. At the end of 2021, the refined coal production tax credit (created by the American Jobs Creation Act of 2004) expired, which could be affecting refined coal production and consumption.

Additives are used in refined coal to help capture emissions when the coal is burned. For example, these additives increase mercury oxides, which technologies—such as flue gas desulfurization scrubbers and particulate matter control systems—can then capture. Without these additives, ash would not capture much of the elemental mercury in coal, which would instead be released into the environment.

The production tax credit helped coal-fired electric power plants reduce these emissions. Refined coal production facilities could claim the tax credit for up to 10 years, but they had to meet certain conditions, including:

The tax credit was designed to increase with inflation. In 2021, the tax credit value was USD7.38 per short ton, an increase from USD4.38 per short ton in 2012. By comparison, the IRS’s reference price of feedstock coal was $45.64 per short ton during 2021, a decrease from $55.80 per short ton during 2012. According to a U.S. Government Accountability Office audit report, refined coal producers claimed approximately $8.9 billion in tax credits between 2010 and 2020.

Annual refined coal consumption in the United States peaked in 2021 at 162 MM short tons. That year, refined coal accounted for 31% of coal-fired electricity generation. During the first quarter of 2022, refined coal held a share of U.S. coal-fired electricity generation below 10%, which we mostly attribute to the expiration of the refined coal production tax credit.

As per MRC, the U.S. Chemical Production Regional Index (U.S. CPRI) eased by 0.1% in June following gains of 0.5% in May and 1.0% in April. Chemical output was mixed across regions. The U.S. CPRI is measured as a three-month moving average (3MMA). On a 3MMA basis, chemical production within segments was mixed in June. There were gains in the production of synthetic rubber, industrial gases, coatings, manufactured fibers, synthetic dyes and pigments, adhesives, other organic chemicals, crop protection chemicals, other specialty chemicals, and fertilizers. These gains were offset by lower production of plastic resins, organic chemicals, and consumer products.
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Oil production at Brazil's Petrobras fell in the second quarter as asset divestments and increased work stoppages took their toll, while the company's refinery utilization rate hit a whopping 97%, said Hydrocarbonprocessing.

In a securities filing, Petroleo Brasileiro SA, as the state-run firm is formally known, said crude production came to 2.114 MMbpd, down 5.2% from the previous quarter and 5% from the same period a year ago. Including natural gas, the company produced 2.653 MM barrels of oil equivalent per day (boepd), down 5.1% in both quarterly and annual terms.

In comments accompanying the results, Petrobras attributed the decline to the sale of 10% of its Sepia and Atapu fields to a pair of Chinese state-run companies, China National Offshore Oil Corp and China National Offshore Development Corp. The company also completed a smaller divestment to Brazilian oil independent 3R Petroleo Oleo e Gas SA.

Second quarter production was also affected by an increase in maintenance stoppages, Petrobras said. The company characterized the production decline as in line with expectations, and said it was not revising its 2022 production guidance of roughly 2.6 MMbpd.

Two major platforms, the P-68 and the Carioca FPSO, continued to ramp up, while the Guanabara FPSO came online. Refinery utilization rates came in at 89%, up 2% in quarterly terms and 14% in annual terms. Its refineries were running nearly full tilt, at 97%, at the end of June.

Petrobras warned there would be a significant number of planned stoppages at its refineries in the second half of the year, particularly during the fourth quarter.

As per MRC, Petrobras’ PBR eligibility committee recently stated that two of the Brazilian government's seven nominees for a refurbished board at the company did not meet the requirements to hold the position. Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro picked the two ineligible nominees – Jonathas Assuncao Salvador Nery de Castro and Ricardo Soriano de Alencar. Both of them, however, are not qualified to become the board members of PBR based on the company’s internal bylaws, the committee established, per the minutes of its last meeting.

As per MRC, Petrobras’ PBR eligibility committee recently stated that two of the Brazilian government's seven nominees for a refurbished board at the company did not meet the requirements to hold the position. Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro picked the two ineligible nominees – Jonathas Assuncao Salvador Nery de Castro and Ricardo Soriano de Alencar. Both of them, however, are not qualified to become the board members of PBR based on the company’s internal bylaws, the committee established, per the minutes of its last meeting.
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Dow and Mura Technology have announced plans to build multiple advanced recycling facilities in the US and Europe, which the companies say could add as much as 600 kilotons (KT) of aggregate advanced recycling capacity by 2030 and will apparently enable the HydroPRS technology to be scaled globally, said Packagingeurope.

In 2021, Dow and Mura initially announced plans to collaborate. The companies say they are now aiming to scale the advanced recycling of plastics with multiple new facilities in both Europe and the US, which could each offer 120 KT in annual advanced recycling capacity. Overall, the project could reportedly offer up to 600 KT in annual advanced recycling capacity by 2030, which the companies claim is the largest commitment of its kind.

As part of the partnership, Dow will become a key off-taker of Mura’s feedstock, which is reportedly derived from plastic waste that would otherwise be sent to landfill or incineration. Dow claims this will allow it to use recycled plastic feedstock for the development of new, virgin-grade plastics and to reduce reliance on fossil-based feedstocks.

Marc van den Biggelaar, Advanced Recycling Director for Dow, explains: “The strengthening of Dow and Mura’s partnership is another example of how Dow is working to build momentum around breakthrough advanced recycling technologies.

As per MRC, Dow has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Chinese food and beverage firm Want-Want for zero-solvent emissions and to develop a circular economy for flexible packaging, said the company.
The agreement intends to strengthen value-chain partner cooperation with customised adhesives solutions to meet the demands of the industry for more eco-friendly packaging options. With Dow’s water-based and solventless adhesives technologies, Want-Want will shift to more sustainable laminating adhesives for all of its flexible packaging.
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