Sabic launches new compounds for automotive structures

Sabic, a global leader in the chemical industry, has introduced new short-glass fiber-filled pp compounds with enhanced performance for automotive structural applications, said the company.

Sabic PP compound G3430X and Sabic PP compound G3440X grades, the two new short-glass fiber-reinforced polypropylene (PP) compounds offer enhanced performance and processing for demanding automotive under-hood, exterior and interior applications.

The two advanced grades surpass high-performing standard short-glass fiber materials in melt flow, tensile and flexural strength, and flexural modulus. Sabic PP compound G3430X and G3440X grades give customers new opportunities to raise the performance bar for automotive structural components such as brackets, seat structures and centre consoles. Furthermore, thanks to their thin-wall capability, both materials can be used to design parts with lower mass and weight.

"Sabic’s world-class development capabilities and dedication to continuous portfolio improvement have yielded these two exceptional materials, which can empower automotive customers to significantly increase the performance of end applications,” said Abdullah Al-Otaibi, general manager, ETP & Market Solutions, Sabic.

"The launch of these new Sabic PP compounds is an excellent example of our proactive response to customers’ emerging needs. We have set new industry benchmarks for robust performance and thin-wall capabilities in short glass fiber polypropylene, providing critical advantages in the face of escalating automotive requirements."

Sabic PP compound G3430X grade, with 30 percent short glass fiber, and Sabic PP compound G3440X grade, with 40 percent, deliver superior physical properties vs. conventional short glass fiber PP materials and high melt flow for easy processing. Both grades deliver an excellent balance of stiffness and impact for optimal performance in structural parts, with Sabic PP compound G3440X providing a higher degree of stiffness and greater density than the Sabic PP compound G3430X grade.

In addition to offering superior performance compared to other short glass fiber PP compounds, these materials may be candidates for the cost-effective replacement of long glass fiber PP in certain low-temperature applications.

Combined with exceptional stiffness and very good impact properties, the high melt flow of these materials offers opportunities to design thin-wall components to reduce weight without compromising overall part performance. Besides helping to improve overall performance of the vehicle, reducing weight may also contribute to cost savings through the use of less material. Furthermore, cost benefits can accrue from higher productivity associated with faster cycle times, which can be enabled by higher flow. Both Sabic PP compounds are available in standard black and natural and can be custom coloured.

We remind, BASF, Sabic and Linde have started construction of the world’s first demonstration plant for large-scale electrically heated steam cracker furnaces. By using electricity from renewable sources instead of natural gas, the new technology has the potential to reduce CO2 emissions of one of the most energy-intensive production processes in the chemical industry by at least 90% compared to technologies commonly used today.
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TotalEnergies ENEOS Renewables announced the appointment of Gavin Adda as chairman of the new joint venture, as per Fuelsandlubes.

Based out of Singapore, Gavin Adda is also the CEO of TotalEnergies Renewables Distributed Generation (DG) Asia Pacific, a Board of Director at Maxeon Solar Technologies (NASDAQ:MAXN) and co-chairman of the Sustainability Committee at the European Chamber of Commerce, Singapore.

As the Joint Venture Chairman, Adda will be promoting the business to develop 2 gigawatts (GW) of onsite B2B solar projects across Asia over the next five years. Target markets include Japan, India, Thailand, Vietnam, Indonesia, Philippines, Cambodia, Singapore and Malaysia.

Prior to TotalEnergies, Adda founded several start-ups in the renewable sector. This includes one of the largest developers in India, now partly owned by Shell. More recently, he sold his start-up to create TotalEnergies Renewables DG for Asia. This appointment took effect on June 24, 2022.

In April 2022, French energy major TotalEnergies and Japan’s leading energy company ENEOS Corporation, announced a 50-50 joint venture to develop onsite business-to-business (B2B) solar distributed generation across Asia.

The partnership capitalizes on the strengths of both companies. TotalEnergies will leverage its expertise on this market segment and its global footprint and ENEOS will use its expertise in renewables and its strong brand mainly in Japan to lower the costs of decentralized solutions offered to industrial and commercial customers, making this joint venture one of the most competitive service providers in the region.

The partners are also conducting a feasibility study to assess the production of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) at the ENEOS Negishi Refinery in Yokohama City, Japan.

We remind, TotalEnergies publicly shared its principles of conduct for its Russian related business. TotalEnergies reiterated its firmest condemnation of Russia's military aggression against Ukraine and stated that it would ensure strict compliance with current and future European sanctions, no matter what the consequences on the management of its assets in Russia.
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BASF SE has concluded a framework agreement for the purchase of pyrolysis oil from mixed plastic waste with ARCUS Greencycling Technologies GmbH, a technology company based in Ludwigsburg, Germany, said the company.

The two companies want to contribute their respective know-how to the value chain in order to return plastic waste that is not recycled mechanically in the sense of a circular economy and reduce CO2 emissions. ARCUS will supply BASF with pyrolysis oil and expand its capacities in the coming years. BASF will use the oil in its production plants as a raw material for the production of Ccycled™ products.

The ARCUS process demonstration unit built in Frankfurt is the first of its kind on a commercial scale in Germany and produces pyrolysis oil from mixed plastic waste that is not recycled mechanically. “With the guaranteed purchase of the oil produced, ARCUS can build further plants with higher capacity and thus make a significant contribution to closing material cycles together with BASF,” said Daniel Odenthal, Chief Operating Officer of ARCUS Greencycling Technologies. The agreement foresees the take-up to be increased to up to 100,000 tons of pyrolysis oil per year.

“The collaboration with ARCUS underscores BASF’s commitment to conserving resources by using recycled raw materials in the chemical industry and to drive the transition to a circular economy,” said Christoph Gahn, Vice President Chemical Recycling Business & Technologies at BASF. “Partnerships with agile, innovative companies are key to achieving these goals. We are pleased to have found such a partner in Germany in ARCUS, who will be able to supply us with commercial quantities of pyrolysis oil for the production of Ccycled™ products in the future. In this way, we support our customers in achieving their sustainability goals."

The agreement is another building block in the expansion of BASF’s ChemCyclingTM business, which focuses on the chemical recycling of non-recycled post-consumer plastic waste on an industrial scale. BASF will feed the pyrolysis oil supplied by ARCUS into its production network in Ludwigshafen, replacing fossil resources. The proportion of recycled raw material is allocated to products manufactured in the Verbund using a mass balance approach. The attribution is checked by an independent auditor. The products that bear the name suffix “Ccycled™” have exactly the same properties as conventionally manufactured products. Customers can therefore process them in the same way and also use them in applications that place high demands on quality and performance, such as automotive parts. Commercial products have been on the market since 2020.

We remind, BASF, SABIC and Linde have started construction of the world’s first demonstration plant for large-scale electrically heated steam cracker furnaces. By using electricity from renewable sources instead of natural gas, the new technology has the potential to reduce CO2 emissions of one of the most energy-intensive production processes in the chemical industry by at least 90% compared to technologies commonly used today.
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Guyana could bank about USD1.25 B this year from the sale of oil as its share of offshore production and royalties, up 30% from a prior estimate, the government’s finance ministry said over the weekend, said Reuters.

Historically one of South America’s poorest nations, Guyana this year expects proceeds from oil discoveries off its coast to jump on a tripling of output. An ExxonMobil-led consortium opened a second production facility this year, and four more are planned through 2027.

Guyana received through mid-year five cargoes of oil worth $307 MM from the two vessels and USD37 MM in royalties, the government said on Saturday. It expects eight more cargoes through year-end for a total of 13. Hess Corp, which holds a 30% share of the consortium, in July forecast it will receive about 26 cargoes of 1 MM barrels this year. The consortium’s total production is 360,000 barrels per day, it said.

Guyana's USD1.25 B revenue projection is up USD290 million from an earlier forecast of USD958 million here from oil production, royalties and interests. The amount could change with oil price fluctuations, it said. Oil is up this year on rising demand and turmoil from Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Brent crude futures on Friday traded at about $93 per barrel, up 19.6% year-to-date. In April, Guyana received USD106 per barrel for one cargo, compared to $76 per barrel from a mid-2021 sale.

The country’s gross domestic product grew 36% in the first six months, led by a 73.5% gain from the petroleum sector. Total oil production reached 34.6 million barrels in the first half of the year, the ministry said. Guyana’s Natural Resource Fund, which collects the county’s oil proceeds, contained USD753.3 MM at mid-year, after withdrawing USD200 MM in May, the ministry reported.

We remind, Brazilian state-controlled oil company Petrobras has bought its first cargo of Guyanese crude for refining domestically, the company told Reuters, as South America's newest producer expands its market reach. With the start of a second floating production facility in February, Guyana now sells two light and sweet oil grades with plans to pump up to 360,000 bpd this year. The sales are helping the tiny nation rapidly boost its revenue.

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A fire and explosion at an idled oil refinery in Canada's Newfoundland and Labrador province injured eight people before the blaze was contained, Canadian police said, as per Reuters.

All eight people went to hospital, some with serious injuries, said Royal Canadian Mounted Police spokesperson Corporal Jolene Garland. All other employees have been accounted for.

The Braya Renewable Fuels refinery, previously known as Come by Chance, has been idled for more than a year. Private equity firm Cresta Fund Management, which owns a controlling stake, is converting the refinery to produce sustainable aviation fuel and renewable diesel, but it was not yet producing fuel at the time of the explosion.

The investigation into the cause of the blast was continuing.

Braya Renewable Fuels said the incident occurred in the afternoon and that emergency personnel were on scene, but did not provide further details.

We remind, an explosion occurred at SK Geocentric in Ulsan on the 31st, resulting in multiple injuries. In April, two workers died on the job site, and they were classified as subject to the Serious Accident Punishment Act and were being investigated.
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