Clariant launches new additives at K 2022 to support plastics sustainable evolution

Clariant launches new additives at K 2022 to support plastics sustainable evolution, said the company.

K 2022 visitors can look forward to new Clariant additive solutions to progress more sustainable plastics and reduce resource use. New developments give applications greater resilience to support longer use and reuse on the path to circularity. Plus, solve production challenges while achieving better efficiency and lower carbon footprint during compounding and processing (Hall 8a Booth J11).

“By extending a product’s service life and by boosting reuse potential, the plastics industry can contribute positively towards reducing wasteful consumption, and increase circularity in key segments. Adopting ways to reduce material waste and energy use in production brings further sustainability advantages and improves product carbon footprint. With these new additives, including renewable-based solutions, in our portfolios, we’re excited to offer plastic processors and value chains more support to collaborate and further innovate together,” comments Martin John, Head of Advanced Surface Solutions at Clariant.

Surface aesthetics play a crucial role in the perceived quality of consumer goods. Clariant’s new renewable raw material-based anti-scratch additive for polypropylene (PP) and thermoplastic olefins (TPO) formulations – Licowax® AS 100 TP - enables molded plastic goods across a wide range of consumer applications to maintain their original look and feel for longer. This offers significant potential to extend service life and improve properties’ retention and parts’ reuse.

The new additive helps to prevent scratches and mars on the surface of goods during handling, transportation, and end-use. This is particularly beneficial for otherwise scuff-prone applications such as interior automotive parts like dashboards and door panels, household appliance casings, cosmetics packaging, and lightweight luggage.

We remind, Clariant will create a second production line at its new CHF 60 million state of the art facility for Exolit OP halogen-free flame retardants currently under construction in Daya Bay, China. This additional CHF 40 million investment will further expand access to innovative and sustainable fire protection solutions and related technical expertise to support the significant growth of engineering plastics applications in E-mobility and electrical & electronic segments.
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Valero Chief Executive Joe Gorder said this week U.S. Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm was told at a recent White House meeting with energy executives that refineries shuttered in the last few years won't return production, said Rueters.

"The one interesting thing that came out of it, too, was there was consideration for the ability to restart refining capacity that had been shut down," Gorder said. "And I think the general sentiment was that wasn't going to happen."

We remind, Oil refiner Valero Energy said it expects the Biden administration to continue releasing oil from the U.S. emergency reserve through year-end and will continue buying barrels. President Joe Biden last week announced a plan to release 15 million barrels from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) - part of a record 180 million-barrel release that began in May. The United States is ready to tap reserves again next year if needed, he said.

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Malaysian state energy firm Petronas said a fire and explosion occurred on Thursday at the Pengerang refinery-petrochemical complex, a joint venture it operates with Saudi Aramco in the southern Malaysian state of Johor, said Straitstimes.

No casualties were reported and the incident poses no immediate threat to the surrounding communities, Petronas said in a statement.

The fire occurred at one of the interconnecting pipes at the Pengerang Integrated Complex at 1540 local time and was completely extinguished in about an hour, Petronas said.

The 300,000 barrel-per-day complex has seen such accidents before.

In March 2020, five people were killed in a fire at the complex, forcing it to close for more than two years. It restarted in May, MRC reported.

Pengerang in located in south-east Johor, across from Pulau Tekong.
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Linde’s sales and earnings rose year on year in the third quarter on the back of higher selling prices and sales volumes, said the company.

The margin for earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortisation (EBITDA), a key measure of a company’s profitability, fell slightly to 31.1%, down from 33.4% in the third quarter of 2021.

Linde’s sales in the Americas stood at USD3.69bn for the third quarter, up 20% year on year. In Asia Pacific, sales stood at USD1.6bn, up 6% year on year, while in Europe, the Middle East, and Africa (EMEA) sales came in at USD2,13bn, up 11%.

Linde’s CEO, Sanjiv Lamba, said: “Linde employees delivered another strong quarter of financial results with EPS [earnings per share] increasing 14% despite 7% currency headwinds.

“Irrespective of the macro-economic uncertainty, I have confidence in our business model and high-performance culture to continue creating shareholder value for years to come.”

We remind, Linde plc announced its Board of Directors has declared a quarterly dividend of USD1.17/share. The dividend is payable on 16 Dec 2022 to shareholders of record on 2 Dec 2022. Despite the economic slowdown underway, Linde remains optimistic for Q4. The company said it expected net income and EPS to be between 1-5% higher than in the fourth quarter of 2021.

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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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