Johnson Matthey technology qualified to support Shell green hydrogen production

Johnson Matthey technology qualified to support Shell green hydrogen production

Shell has qualified Johnson Matthey’s (JM) PURAVOC GREENTM purification catalysts for use in its global hydrogen production projects, said the company.

JM’s catalysts will be used to remove trace oxygen to meet oxygen specifications in the production of high purity, zero carbon hydrogen. Removal of oxygen is critical to make the process safer and more efficient. Deoxygenation is an essential step in the production of green hydrogen and requires a flexible and robust catalyst that can operate under a variety of pressures, relatively low temperatures, and intermittent feed flows.

Green hydrogen has a low carbon footprint compared to alternative fuels and can be used as clean energy and in the production of chemical building blocks such as ammonia and methanol. These building blocks are used to make many of our everyday products, from fuels to clothing, food packaging, fertilizers, building materials, pharmaceuticals and more.

PURAVOC GREEN catalysts have been carefully designed to be highly efficient within a broad operation envelope and maintain performance over many operation cycles making this a reliable, easy to operate and economic solution.

Jane Toogood, Catalyst Technologies Chief Executive at JM, said: “We are committed to catalysing the net zero transition for our customers and addressing the biggest environmental challenges that exist. Finding ways to decarbonise and move towards more sustainable processes is of utmost importance and we are pleased to support Shell’s decarbonisation ambition."

We remind, Mitsui Chemicals has asked Shell Catalysts & Technologies for its Shell S-896 catalyst, which is expected to provide important economic benefits from raw material (ethylene) savings and also help the organization meet the decarbonization goals for their ethylene oxide (EO) refinery in Osaka, Japan.
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OMV to produce biofuels at Schwechat Refinery to reduce CO2 footprint

OMV to produce biofuels at Schwechat Refinery to reduce CO2 footprint

OMV, the integrated, international oil, gas and petrochemicals company headquartered in Vienna, Austria, will invest around EUR200 million (USD244 million) in biofuel production at the Schwechat Refinery in Austria, said the company.

OMV is currently investing in the Schwechat Refinery so it will be able to substitute large quantities of fossil diesel with biodiesel in an innovative co-processing approach.

The Schwechat Refinery is one of the largest and most modern inland refineries in Europe and is where OMV distills and refines crude oil and semi-finished products, converting them into high-quality mineral oil products and petrochemical raw materials. 9.6 million tons of crude oil can be processed annually in the high-tech plants in Schwechat. The Schwechat Refinery is supplied by the Adria-Wien-Pipeline (AWP), a branch connection of the Transalpine Oil Pipeline (TAL), and one of the most important pipelines transporting crude oil from the Mediterranean to Northern Europe.

OMV is committed to the Paris Agreement and EU climate targets and has set itself ambitious climate goals. OMV has pledged to reach net-zero emissions in operations (Scope 1 and 2) by 2050 or sooner. On its long-term path to net zero, OMV has set concrete interim targets: By 2025, at least 60% of the product portfolio should consist of natural gas and low/zero-carbon products. The investment in the Schwechat site for processing biofuels contributes to the goal of reducing the carbon intensity of the OMV product portfolio (Scope 3) by at least 6% versus 2010.

Using an innovative co-processing approach, the hydrogenated vegetable oil should lead to an annual reduction in OMV’s carbon footprint of up to 360,000 metric tons of fossil CO2. This is equivalent to the annual emissions of around 200,000 cars driving an average of 12,000 km per year. The product meets the highest quality standards and can be freely used in any type of vehicle. The technology applied is not limited to vegetable oil – waste products (such as used cooking oil) and advanced feedstocks are also possible and will be used based on availability.

“The conversion in the OMV Schwechat Refinery makes a key contribution to more sustainable mobility and is another step in achieving our climate targets. At the same time, we are providing economic stimulus in Austria with this investment of almost EUR200 million,” said Thomas Gangl, OMV chief downstream operations officer.

OMV expects demand for its hydrogenated biofuels to increase ten-fold by 2030. OMV’s decision to invest in its own production lines is part of the transformation process. With this, OMV is one of the first companies in Europe to engage in co-processing on an industrial scale.

OMV operates a total of three refineries: one in Schwechat, Austria, and one in Burghausen, South Germany, with both refineries also producing basic petrochemicals, along with the Refinery Petrobrazi in Romania. OMV has a total annual refinery capacity of 17.8 million tons.

As per MRC, OMV informs that a mechanical incident occurred today at the Schwechat refinery which has been undergoing its maintenance turnaround since 19 April 2022. Two persons were slightly injured. The incident has damaged the main distillation unit for crude oil. For this reason, the start-up of the refinery will be partially delayed. A review of the extent of the damage and the duration of the shutdown is still underway. We will work closely with our customers and suppliers to mitigate any impact on product availability.
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Advent and LANXESS designate leadership team

Advent and LANXESS designate leadership team

Advent International (Advent) and LANXESS AG (LANXESS) announce the envisaged global business structure and designated extended management team of the envisaged High Performance Engineering Materials joint venture, said the company.

Upon closing of the transaction, the JV will be organized into three global business divisions: Performance Materials (comprising DEM Performance Polymers and HPM Engineering Plastics), Specialty Materials (comprising DEM Specialties and HPM Tepex), and Intermediates (comprising HPM Intermediates and DEM Polymer & Films). This structure will take into consideration the specific market characteristics and management requirements of each of the previous HPM and DEM businesses. These three divisions will be supported by a number of central functions, the exact structure of which will be communicated at a later stage. The JV expects to establish a small head office around Dusseldorf (Germany), and will be supported by the existing Geleen (DEM, The Netherlands) and Dormagen (HPM, Germany) locations.

Upon closing of the transaction, the JV Shareholders’ Committee composition will include Ronald Ayles (Managing Partner, Advent), Matthias Zachert (CEO, LANXESS), and Roeland Polet (currently President, DEM), representing all parties to the transaction. Further members of the Shareholders’ Committee will be nominated at a later stage.

Calum MacLean, the CEO-designate of the JV, said, “Preparation for ‘day one’ of this exciting High Performance Engineering Materials joint venture is taking shape. The preparation of an integrated face to the market of the combined businesses and the appointment of the first designated senior executives is a major step to hitting the ground running on completion. Likewise, the envisaged Shareholders’ Committee brings a wealth of experience from Advent and the heritage DSM and LANXESS organizations."

We remind, on 31st May 2022, Advent and LANXESS announced the joint, Advent controlled, acquisition of DSM Engineering Materials, alongside its combination with LANXESS High-Performance Materials (subject to competition clearance), to establish a leading global engineering materials company with sales of around EUR 3 bn.

LANXESS is a leading specialty chemicals company with sales of EUR 6.1 billion in 2021. The company currently has about 13,200 employees in 33 countries. The core business of LANXESS is the development, manufacturing and marketing of chemical intermediates, additives and consumer protection products.
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PPG Q3 earnings will be up to 7% lower than previously expected

PPG Q3 earnings will be up to 7% lower than previously expected

PPG’s Q3 earnings will be up to 7% lower than previously expected due to the economic slowdown in Europe and pandemic-related lockdowns in China, said the company.

The producer said “soft demand conditions” in the third quarter were expected to continue into Q4.

PPG had expected adjusted earnings per share in Q3 to stand at $1.75-2.00, but it now expects that to be between 5% and 7% lower.

“In comparison to its forecast at the beginning of the third quarter, company sales were impacted by further softening demand in Europe. In addition, sequential quarterly demand recovery was lower than expected in China due to a resumption of certain pandemic-related restrictions,” said PPG.

“The sales volume declines were most pronounced in September and resulted in a reduction in the earnings benefit from higher selling prices and reduced manufacturing efficiencies versus the prior forecast.”

PPG had issued an upbeat Q3 outlook in July; at the time, the company said it expected a "choppy" recovery in Europe.

We remind, PPG will invest USD11 million to double the production capacity of its powder coatings plant in San Juan del Rio, Mexico. The expansion project is expected to be completed by mid-2023 and will allow the plant to meet the expected future demand for powder coatings in Mexico.

PPG is a leading supplier of powder coatings to the automotive, transportation, appliance, furniture and other markets. The company expanded the business with its 2020 acquisition of Alpha Coating Technologies, which manufactures powder coatings for light industrial applications and heat-sensitive substrates, and its 2021 acquisition of Worwag, which makes liquid, powder and film coatings for industrial and automotive applications. PPG recently agreed to acquire the powder coatings business of Arsonsisi, including a manufacturing plant in Verbania, Italy.
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LyondellBasell and Genox Recycling to establish plastics recycling JV

LyondellBasell and Genox Recycling to establish plastics recycling JV

LyondellBasell and Genox Recycling have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to establish a joint venture (JV) to build a plastics recycling plant in Zhaoqing, Guangdong Province with a planned start up in 2023, said the company.

The plastic recycling plant will use mechanical recycling technology to recycle post-consumer plastic waste and produce new polymers sold under the LyondellBasell CirculenRecover product portfolio. This JV aims to reduce the amount of plastic waste sent to landfills, incinerators or the environment, support the growing demand for circular and sustainable solutions and promote high-quality development of local recycling.

"Advancing a circular economy that enables plastic waste to be transformed into more sustainable solutions for our customers is important to us, and we are pleased to collaborate with Genox Recycling to make this happen," said Limin Fu, vice president of LyondellBasell China Polyolefins. "This new joint venture will help develop the local plastics recycling infrastructure in China and is an important milestone for LyondellBasell to contribute to its goal to produce and market two million metric tons of recycled and renewable-based polymers annually by 2030."

"Genox Recycling believes that innovation and collaboration are necessary ways to achieve carbon neutrality,” said Jingfa Jiang, chairman of Genox Recycling. “We are delighted to join hands with LyondellBasell to lead the development of plastics recycling with a complementary mix of strengths from both parties and accelerate a circular and low-carbon future together."

This partnership is one of the recent initiatives LyondellBasell is taking to expand its recycling capacity globally. LyondellBasell will continue to work with partners along the value chain to enhance its local capabilities to supply circular solutions in China and contribute to the development of local circular economies.

We remind, LyondellBasell has launched a new polymer catalyst manufacturing plant at its Frankfurt, Germany facility. The expansion is in line with the company's plans to invest in infrastructure projects, especially in developing countries.

LyondellBasell is one of the world's largest producers of polypropylene, a leading supplier
polyethylene and catalysts, as well as a developer of technologies for the production of polyethylene and polypropylene. The company manufactures products at 58 production sites in 18 countries. In addition, LyondellBasell is the developer of the Spheripol process, which underlies the production of polypropylene at Omsk Poliom and Nizhnekamskneftekhim.
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