Mitsui Chemicals and Teijin to produce biomass-derived BPA and polycarbonate

Mitsui Chemicals and Teijin to produce biomass-derived BPA and polycarbonate

Mitsui Chemicals, Inc. (Tokyo) and Teijin Ltd. (Toyko) jointly announced that they will become Japan’s first companies to develop and market biomass-derived bisphenol A (BPA) and polycarbonate (PC) resins, that will support efforts to achieve carbon neutrality by reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions throughout product lifecycles, said Chemengonline.

The joint initiative follows Mitsui Chemicals’ receipt of ISCC PLUS certification from the International Sustainability and Carbon Certification (ISCC), based on which Mitsui Chemicals will begin supplying biomass BPA produced with the mass-balance approach. In the ISCC PLUS-certified mass-balance approach, materials are verifiably tracked through complex value chains, as in the case of biomass-derived raw materials being mixed with petroleum-derived raw materials to create products.

Teijin also will begin developing and producing biomass PC resin using the same BPA. In May 2022, Mitsui Chemicals acquired ISCC PLUS certification for BPA raw material used in PC resins. Mitsui Chemicals will now become the first Japanese company to produce commercial biomass-derived BPA offering the same physical characteristics as those of conventional petroleum-derived BPA.

Teijin will procure biomass-derived BPA from Mitsui Chemicals to produce biomass- derived PC resins possessing the same physical characteristics as the company’s existing petroleum-derived PC resins, which will allow these new biomass-derived versions to be used in commercial applications such as automotive headlamps and electronic components.

As per MRC, Mitsui Chemicals, Inc. announced that it has formed an agreement to acquire the pellicle business of Asahi Kasei Corporation. According to Mitsui Chemical’s Long-Term Business plan VISION 2030, it is aiming with creating and growing a "unique" ICT Solutions business to grow products that will let it create and grow operations here into our third pillar of earnings under the business portfolio transformation. This will see the pellicle business in particular positioned as a key product lineup on the ICT materials front, as well as a business to focus on further going forward. Hopes then are to offer highly competitive new products and solutions that contribute to innovation in the semiconductor production process, allowing Mitsui Chemicals to serve as the number one manufacturer of cutting-edge pellicles.

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Sasol Chemicals plans to double its use of green steam

Sasol Chemicals plans to double its use of green steam

Sasol Chemicals, a business unit of Sasol Ltd. (Johannesburg, South Africa),plans to double its use of green steam from a first of its kind biomass cogeneration facility adjacent to its Brunsbuttel, Germany facility, said the company.

Sasol Chemicals will lease land adjacent to its plant to Hamburger Energiewerke, Hamburg’s municipal utility, which plans to build the facility by the end of 2024. When fully operational in 2025, the plant will supply at least 70,000 megawatt hours of steam to Sasol each year, enabling the company to reduce its CO2 emissions from the plant by approximately 13,000 metric tons annually. In addition to green steam, the plant will produce more than 90,000 megawatt hours of sustainable electricity annually.

"This is another important step towards meeting our ambitious long-term sustainability objectives,” said Jens Straatmann, Senior Vice President, Eurasia Chemicals. “Increasing the use of green steam is a key enabler of further reducing our greenhouse gas emissions and will get us closer to our goal of reducing our scope 1 and scope 2 emissions by 30 percent by 2030."

The facility will be the first large–scale power generation plant to operate almost exclusively with well-pressed or dried fermentation residues. That feedstock will be sourced from plants that are certified under Germany’s Renewable Energy Sources Act. The plant will benefit local agriculture because much of this material is surplus that is currently going to waste; now, it will become the heat source for the chemical building blocks of products used in personal care, cleaning and industrial applications.

Since 2014 the Brunsbuttel facility has used green steam from another nearby biomass facility. The two facilities combined will be able to supply half of the plant’s steam consumption.

Sasol’s Brunsbuttel facility, its largest in Germany, is located 80 kilometres (50 miles) northwest of Hamburg near the Kiel Canal and produces a broad range of organic and inorganic products. The site’s organic products are used in a range of daily applications including detergents and cleaning agents, cosmetics, and pharmaceuticals, as well as in various technical applications. The site’s inorganic products are key components in catalysts, high-performance abrasives, and polymer additives.

We remind, Sasol Ltd will restart its refinery by the end of July, it said on Sunday, after the company declared force majeure at its second biggest refinery. The shutdown of the Natref refinery located around 100 kilometres from Johannesburg has sparked concerns of petrol and diesel shortages in the country where 60% of fuel products are imported. Sasol, however, said it did not expect any shortages.
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Showa Denko swings to profit

Showa Denko swings to profit

On 4 Aug 2022, Showa Denko Group reported financial results for 1H 2022. In the Mobility segment, sales decreased by 3.2% from the year-before period to Yen 86,689 M, said the company.

Sales in the Automotive Products subsegment increased due mainly to an increase in demand from some customers, despite a decline in production of cars caused by short supply of semiconductors.

However, sales in the Lithium-ion Battery Materials subsegment decreased. The Mobility segment recorded operating loss of Yen 1187 M, a decrease of Yen 2195 M from the year-before period due partly to a substantial rise in prices of raw materials.

As MRC reported earlier, in March 2018, Showa Denko shut its cracker in Oita (Japan) for a scheduled maintenance. The turnaround at this cracker with the capacity of 691,000 mt/year of ethylene lasted until April 19, 2018.

Showa Denko K.K. is a major manufacturer of chemical products serving from heavy industry to computers and electronics. The Petrochemicals Sector provides cracker products such as ethylene and propylene, the Chemicals Sector provides industrial, high-performance and high-purity gases and chemicals for semicon and other industries, the Inorganics Sector provides ceramic products, such as alumina, abrasives, refractory/graphite electrodes and fine carbon products.
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Baker Hughes opens new chemicals facility in Singapore

Baker Hughes opens new chemicals facility in Singapore

Baker Hughes is expanding its presence in Asia by opening a new oilfield services chemicals manufacturing facility in Singapore, enabling manufacturing optimization and faster delivery of fit-for-purpose chemical solutions, said Hydrocarbonprocessing.

The facility, which spans approximately 40,000 square meters, will manufacture, store and distribute chemical solutions for upstream, midstream, downstream and adjacent industries to support regional customers and boost Baker Hughes localization efforts. The new facility builds on Baker Hughes’s recent strategy to source and produce chemicals in proximity to key demand hubs, including the announced chemicals joint venture company with Dussur in Saudi Arabia. As a technology-driven, automated facility, the Singapore facility is aligned with Baker Hughes’ goals for carbon reduction and in support of Singapore’s “Green Plan 2030” – a national sustainability movement to tackle climate change for building a sustainable future with net zero emissions. The facility’s overall process design, in addition to the facility’s ethylene oxide pipeline, also reduces the need for road transport and handling of chemicals.

“The opening of the Singapore chemicals manufacturing facility significantly expands our ability to serve the Asia-Pacific region’s oilfield services industry,” said Maria Claudia Borras, executive vice president for oilfield services at Baker Hughes. “The opening of this facility is aligned to our vision of supporting customers’ needs and investing for growth in the increasingly important chemicals sector. We are proud to make this investment, and I am excited for the opportunities that lie ahead."

“Baker Hughes has a longstanding commitment to localization in the region. By investing in this facility, we are enabling job creation, enhancing supply chain practices, and streamlining our operations,” said Lorenzo Simonelli, chairman and CEO of Baker Hughes. “It was an honor to celebrate this milestone with many esteemed guests today, notably Mr. Gan Kim Yong, Minister of Trade and Industry, Dr. Beh Swan Gin, Chairman of the Singapore Economic Development Board, Mr. Alvin Tan, Assistant CEO, of Industry Cluster Group, JTC Corporation, our customers, and our Baker Hughes team."

This is the first chemicals facility for Baker Hughes in the region. Outside of chemicals, Baker Hughes has a strong history of localization in Singapore with more than 800 employees throughout the country. The company’s Singapore footprint includes an oilfield services and equipment manufacturing site, a joint turbomachinery and process solutions and digital solutions site, and a completions and well intervention (CWI) manufacturing site.

“We warmly welcome Baker Hughes’ investment in a new facility to produce oilfield services chemicals from Singapore. It is testament to Singapore’s attractiveness to the high-value downstream specialty chemicals sector and will enable the company to address the growing demand from their customers in Asia Pacific,” said Dr. Beh Swan Gin, Chairman, Singapore Economic Development Board.

In conjunction with the facility opening, the Baker Hughes Foundation also announced it is in discussions to contribute a USD100,000 grant with the Singapore Management University to help drive positive social change in Singapore.

We remind, Baker Hughes, which is one of the world leaders in the field of servicing oil fields, has announced the sale of its business in Russia. The Russian management of the company's local representative office became the buyer of Baker Hughes' business in the Russian Federation. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed. It is noted that the new owner of the business will take over all assets, liabilities and commercial obligations of Baker Hughes in Russia.
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Baker Hughes opens new chemicals facility in Singapore

Baker Hughes opens new chemicals facility in Singapore

Baker Hughes is expanding its presence in Asia by opening a new oilfield services chemicals manufacturing facility in Singapore, enabling manufacturing optimization and faster delivery of fit-for-purpose chemical solutions, said Hydrocarbonprocessing.

The facility, which spans approximately 40,000 square meters, will manufacture, store and distribute chemical solutions for upstream, midstream, downstream and adjacent industries to support regional customers and boost Baker Hughes localization efforts.

The new facility builds on Baker Hughes’s recent strategy to source and produce chemicals in proximity to key demand hubs, including the announced chemicals joint venture company with Dussur in Saudi Arabia. As a technology-driven, automated facility, the Singapore facility is aligned with Baker Hughes’ goals for carbon reduction and in support of Singapore’s “Green Plan 2030” – a national sustainability movement to tackle climate change for building a sustainable future with net zero emissions. The facility’s overall process design, in addition to the facility’s ethylene oxide pipeline, also reduces the need for road transport and handling of chemicals.

“The opening of the Singapore chemicals manufacturing facility significantly expands our ability to serve the Asia-Pacific region’s oilfield services industry,” said Maria Claudia Borras, executive vice president for oilfield services at Baker Hughes. “The opening of this facility is aligned to our vision of supporting customers’ needs and investing for growth in the increasingly important chemicals sector. We are proud to make this investment, and I am excited for the opportunities that lie ahead."

"Baker Hughes has a longstanding commitment to localization in the region. By investing in this facility, we are enabling job creation, enhancing supply chain practices, and streamlining our operations,” said Lorenzo Simonelli, chairman and CEO of Baker Hughes. “It was an honor to celebrate this milestone with many esteemed guests today, notably Mr. Gan Kim Yong, Minister of Trade and Industry, Dr. Beh Swan Gin, Chairman of the Singapore Economic Development Board, Mr. Alvin Tan, Assistant CEO, of Industry Cluster Group, JTC Corporation, our customers, and our Baker Hughes team."

This is the first chemicals facility for Baker Hughes in the region. Outside of chemicals, Baker Hughes has a strong history of localization in Singapore with more than 800 employees throughout the country. The company’s Singapore footprint includes an oilfield services and equipment manufacturing site, a joint turbomachinery and process solutions and digital solutions site, and a completions and well intervention (CWI) manufacturing site.

“We warmly welcome Baker Hughes’ investment in a new facility to produce oilfield services chemicals from Singapore. It is testament to Singapore’s attractiveness to the high-value downstream specialty chemicals sector and will enable the company to address the growing demand from their customers in Asia Pacific,” said Dr. Beh Swan Gin, Chairman, Singapore Economic Development Board.

In conjunction with the facility opening, the Baker Hughes Foundation also announced it is in discussions to contribute a USD100,000 grant with the Singapore Management University to help drive positive social change in Singapore.

As per MRC, Singapore's petrochemical exports fell by 4.2% year on year in July to Singapore dollar (S$) 1.4bn, the first contraction in four months, weighing on overall non-oil domestic exports (NODX). The country's NODX fell to 7.0% year on year to S$17.8bn in July, slowing from the 8.5% expansion in June this year, Enterprise Singapore data showed. Non-electronic NODX, which includes pharmaceuticals and petrochemicals, rose by 6.1% year on year to S$13.7bn in July. Non-electronic NODX to six out of Singapore's top 10 NODX markets rose on a year-on-year basis in July.
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