Rohm and OQ Chemicals break ground on new world-scale US MMA plant

Rohm and OQ Chemicals officially broke ground on their new world-scale methyl methacrylate (MMA) plant in Bay City, Texas, the chemical producers announced.

The plant will be the first to employ Rohm's LiMA ("Leading in Methacrylates") technology on a large industrial scale, which is its latest proprietary production technology.

It will have a capacity of 250,000 tonnes/year once completed in early 2024, which will enable Rohm to serve increasing demand for MMA and support the reliability of its supply chain towards its customers globally.

OQ Chemicals has invested significantly in additional propionic aldehyde capacity and local infrastructure in order to supply the plant with key raw materials and provide site services and utilities to Rohm.

Propionic aldehyde is an intermediate material used in applications in pharmaceuticals, plastics, insecticides and fragrances production.

Nearly all MMA is polymerised to make homopolymers and copolymers, the largest application being the casting, moulding or extrusion of polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA) or modified polymers.

In February 2021, Rohm and OQ signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to evaluate the construction of a new production plant for methyl methacrylate (MMA) on the U.S. Gulf Coast. The proposed facility has a design capacity of 250,000 tons of MMA annually. It will utilize Rohm’s proprietary ethylene-based LiMA technology. Under the MoU terms, OQ Chemicals will integrate the plant into its existing site and provide raw materials, utilities, and site services to Rohm.
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Neste and Rolls-Royce have agreed to build a strategic partnership on accelerating the use of renewable diesel as a lower-emission solution for diesel engines, said Hydrocarbonprocessing.

Both parties share a common vision of renewable fuels playing a key role in reducing greenhouse gas emissions in off-highway applications, such as construction and power generation.

The key focus in the collaboration will be on promoting the use of more sustainable fuels in applications based on the existing internal combustion engine technology, accelerating the transition from fossil fuels to renewable fuels, and increasing knowledge sharing on renewable diesel and the benefits it provides to its users.

Under the mtu brand, Rolls-Royce sells high-speed engines and propulsion systems for ships, power generation, heavy land and rail vehicles, military vehicles, and the oil and gas industry, as well as diesel and gas systems and battery containers for safety-critical applications, continuous power generation, combined heat and power, and microgrids.

“Through our 'Net Zero at Power Systems' sustainability program, we have committed to realigning our mtu product portfolio so that by 2030, sustainable fuels and new mtu technologies will reduce our greenhouse gas emissions by 35 percent compared to 2019. This near-term target plays an important role in the Rolls-Royce Group’s Net Zero ambition by 2050 at the latest. Our collaboration with Neste, the world's leading producer of renewable diesel, will help us achieve our goals and those of our customers”, says Tobias Ostermaier, President Stationary Power Solutions from the Rolls-Royce business unit Power Systems.

“With Neste MY Renewable Diesel the GHG emissions can be reduced by as much as 75-95%* when emissions over the fuel's life cycle are compared with fossil diesel. Companies can reduce their climate emissions significantly in an instant by just changing the fuel,'' says Lars Peter Lindfors, Senior Vice President Innovations at Neste.

Neste MY Renewable Diesel is produced from 100% renewable raw materials. It is a drop-in fuel, not requiring any modifications to the existing vehicles, energy systems or fuel distribution infrastructures.

We remind, Bugaboo, DSM Engineering Materials, Fibrant and Neste announce that their cross-value chain partnership has successfully enabled the launch of an entire Bugaboo stroller portfolio made with bio-based materials. Specifically, the majority of the strollers’ plastic parts are made using DSM Engineering Materials’ Akulon® 100% bio-based B-MB polyamide 6 (PA6), which in turn is made using bio-based feedstock from both Fibrant and Neste. DSM Engineering Materials uses a mass-balancing approach with renewable waste and residue raw material to enable a ~75% PA6 carbon footprint reduction compared to conventional PA6 and up to 24% of the entire stroller.
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TotalEnergies (TTE) and Casa dos Ventos (CDV), Brazil's leading renewable energy developer, announced today the creation of a 34%(TTE)/66%(CDV) joint venture to jointly develop, build and operate the renewable portfolio of Casa Dos Ventos, said Polymerupdate.

This portfolio includes 700 MW of onshore wind capacity in operation, 1 GW of onshore wind under construction, 2.8 GW of onshore wind and 1.6 GW of solar projects under well advanced development (COD within 5 years).

Besides, the newly formed JV will have the right to acquire the current and new projects that are or will be developed by CDV as they reach execution stage. The JV will thus be able to jointly foster its growth by accessing an additional portfolio of at least 6 GW, that CDV will continue to expand.

TotalEnergies will pay a cash consideration of USD550 million (R$ 2,920 million) and up to USD30 million (R$ 159 million) in earn-out to complete the acquisition. In addition, TotalEnergies will have the option to acquire an additional 15% equity share in the JV after 5 years.

TotalEnergies will support the JV accelerating its growth thanks to its global presence in the Corporate PPA market, its purchasing power resulting from its worldwide size, its trading expertise well suited to the Brazilian merchant market and its strong balance sheet allowing the JV to improve its financing cost. CDV, which has developed 25% of the onshore wind assets in operation today in Brazil, will bring to the JV its deep knowledge of the Brazilian market and a very high-quality portfolio while shifting from a developer to a producer business model.

We remind, the Flemish government recently awarded TotalEnergies the contract to install 1,500 electric vehicle charging points in Antwerp. In the heart of Europe and in Belgium's most populous city, the company is reinforcing its commitment to offering and developing sustainable mobility, with the aim of becoming Belgium's leading company in the public charging market by 2024.

TotalEnergies is a global multi-energy company that produces and markets energies: oil and biofuels, natural gas and green gases, renewables and electricity. Our more than 100,000 employees are committed to energy that is ever more affordable, cleaner, more reliable and accessible to as many people as possible.
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Olin reported a decrease in third-quarter net income after costs surged and sales ticked slightly lower, said the company.

The following table shows the company's financial performance. Figures are in millions of dollars. President and CEO Scott Sutton said the company is experiencing “recessionary global economic conditions”.

“While our chemical businesses have been challenged by European and North American epoxy and vinyls intermediate demand shortfalls and increased Asian exports, the core electrochemical unit (ECU) pricing for merchant chlorine and caustic soda continued to move higher,” Sutton said.

Sutton said he anticipates chlor-alkali products and vinyls Q4 segment results will come in slightly lower than Q3 levels on the expectation that chlorine and caustic soda pricing will continue to improve, while vinyls intermediates pricing is likely to remain under pressure.

“Our epoxy segment fourth quarter results are expected to seasonally decline from third quarter 2022 levels, exacerbated by increased Chinese exports precipitated by continuing weak Chinese domestic demand,” Sutton said.

Overall, the company expects Q4 2022 adjusted EBITDA to decline approximately 15% to 20% from Q3 levels.

We remind, Olin Corporation announced that it expects to cease methylene chloride and chloroform production at its Stade, Germany facility by third quarter 2023. Olin will continue to produce both products at its Freeport, Texas facility.

Olin Corporation is a leading vertically-integrated global manufacturer and distributor of chemical products and a leading U.S. manufacturer of ammunition. The chemical products produced include chlorine and caustic soda, vinyls, epoxies, chlorinated organics, bleach, hydrogen, and hydrochloric acid. Winchester's principal manufacturing facilities produce and distribute sporting ammunition, law enforcement ammunition, reloading components, small caliber military ammunition and components, and industrial cartridges.
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Beijing' Lummus Technology's Novolen technology has been selected by Lihuayi Weiyuan for a new polypropylene (PP) plant to be built in Shandong Province, China, said Apic-online.

Lummus' scope includes the technology license for the PP unit, as well as basic engineering, training and services. A schedule for the project was not given.

'We are grateful for Lihuayi Weiyuan's selection of No-volen, and proud to support our customer across the full value stream from propane feedstock to high-value polypropylene product, said Lummus President and Chief Executive Leon de Bruyn.

'Our technology has proven to yield our customers sig-nificant CAPEX and OPEX advantages, coupled with the ability to produce a comprehensive range of high-performance polymers.'

Last year, Lihuayi Weiyuan also chose Lummus' Catofin technology for a new 600,000-t/y propane dehydrogenation unit in China.

We remind, Clariant’s Catalysts business has been awarded three new contracts by China’s Lihuayi Group for its upcoming petrochemicals production units. The agreements include three of Clariant’s high-performance catalysts for the production of ethylene, styrene, and propylene. From Clariant’s ethylene catalyst line, Lihuayi chose the OleMax 101 catalyst for its 1000 KTA olefins plant for high-value olefins recovery from cracked gas and off-gas streams. The OleMax 100 series is used to purify gas streams for acetylene, dienes, oxygen, nitrogen oxides, and heavy metals, in a single reactor, enabling highly cost-efficient olefins production.

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