NCC part of biomaterials project

NCC part of biomaterials project

The National Composites Centre (NCC) in the UK has announced its participation in the Green-Loop project, which focuses on developing new bio-based materials using sustainable manufacturing methods, said Reinforcedplastics.

The project is funded by the EU as part of its Horizon Europe program, which supports research initiatives.

Plans are to implement three new materials based around multifunctional rubber panels with fire resistance and vibrational applications, bioplastic bottle closures for oil and fruit juice and wood composites bearings for plastic injection machines.

The NCC is reportedly leading the development of the multifunctional rubber panels for construction and infrastructure.

We remind, LG Chem will team up with the eco-friendly energy company GS EPS to convert heat sources into biomass fuel. The company announced on Dec. 20 that the two companies signed the main contract for establishing a biomass power plant that will produce industry-use steam and electricity using waste wood at the Yeouido LG Twin Tower with the attendance of executives from both companies. This agreement follows up the conclusion of the heads of agreement (HOA) signed by the two companies in June of last year.

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TCL Specialties to build two manufacturing facilities in West Virginia

TCL Specialties to build two manufacturing facilities in West Virginia

TCL Specialties LLC, a subsidiary of Thirumalai Chemicals Ltd (TCL; Mumbai, India), will invest USD150 million for two manufacturing facilities in Marshall County, West Virginia, one to make malic and fumaric acids for food ingredients and the other to produce maleic anhydride, said the company.

These facilities, to be housed within the Covestro New Martinsville Industrial Park, will respectively produce and market 30,000 tons/year of food ingredients and 25,000 tons/year of maleic anhydride from butane.

Site construction will begin this month, and production is expected to be online by mid-2024. Technology, design, and engineering are provided by TCL, with more than 90% of the facilities’ energy coming from surplus process heat, enabling a low carbon footprint, the company says. TCL says the facilities will help satisfy the growing demand for these products in the US and reduce import dependence, while also exporting significant volumes to Latin America and Western Europe.

We remind, TCL Specialties LLC, a subsidiary of Thirumalai Chemicals Ltd. (Mumbai, India), has started implementation of its project to build a chemical facility in the northeastern United States. In Phase 1 of the project, TCL will manufacture Maleic Anhydride, Malic Acid and Fumaric acid with an annual capacity of about 40,000 metric tons and cater to customers in North America, Europe and Latin America.

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Venezuela earmarks a third oil cargo to Chevron under U.S. license

Venezuela earmarks a third oil cargo to Chevron under U.S. license

Venezuelan state oil company PDVSA has assigned a third crude cargo to Chevron Corp under a U.S. authorization that restarted exports to the United States after a nearly four-year pause, said Reuters.

Chevron received a U.S. license in November allowing it to revive its oil output and expand operations in Venezuela, part of Washington's effort to encourage talks towards elections in the OPEC country, which has been under U.S. oil sanctions since 2019.

The third cargo represents a solid start to an agreement expected to last at least six months. U.S. Gulf Coast refiners prize Venezuela's heavy crude but have been barred from purchasing it under U.S. sanctions in recent years.

The first Chevron-chartered tanker carrying Venezuelan oil departed on Tuesday and is set to deliver the crude next week to its Pascagoula, Mississippi, refinery. The second and third tankers also are expected to deliver their cargoes this month.

Chevron separately made its first delivery of imported heavy naphtha to its Petropiar joint venture this week at PDVSA's Jose terminal. A second cargo of about 450,000 barrels of the fuel is expected to depart from a U.S. port in the coming days, the people added.

Chevron so far has taken 500,000 barrels of Hamaca heavy crude from its Petropiar oil project. That cargo is sailing to the United States on tanker Sealeo after a ship-to-ship transfer off Aruba. Another cargo of some 240,000 barrels of Boscan heavy crude is onboard the tanker Kerala after loading at Venezuela's Bajo Grande terminal and passing Maracaibo Lake's channel.

The third cargo will be carried by Chevron-operated vessel Carina Voyager, one of the people said. The ship arrived in the Caribbean Sea last week and has been awaiting a loading window at the Jose port, Refinitiv Eikon data showed.

Chevron this week confirmed shipping activities under the U.S. license began this month. The company said is focused on "operating safely and reliably" at its affiliated joint ventures. PDVSA did not reply to requests for comment.

Chevron is relying on to ship-to-ship (STS) transfers to consolidate cargoes from its joint ventures in Venezuela before they sail to the United States amid infrastructure limitations that hit the South American country's exports last year.

The transfers near Aruba and at Venezuela's Caquetios area aim to overcome problems from power outages to equipment malfunctioning and a silt-clogged navigation channel, which often delay shipments.

We remind, Chevron Corp plans to export this month its first cargo of Venezuelan crude to its Pascagoula, Mississippi refinery following a U.S. license granted last year. The 500,000-barrel cargo of Hamaca heavy crude, to be loaded at state-run PDVSA's Jose port, comes from the Petropiar oil joint venture operated by both companies.

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Samyang creates eco-friendly polycarbonate with 90% recycled plastic content

Samyang creates eco-friendly polycarbonate with 90% recycled plastic content

Plastic material and resin manufacturing firm Samyang has developed sustainable polycarbonate materials containing more than 90% of post-consumer recycled polycarbonate, said the company.

South Korea-based Samyang, a chemical and food affiliate of the Samyang Group, has designed the PC as an engineered plastic that is transparent, impact- and heat-resistant. The new offering can be used as a material for interior and exterior uses in cars, home appliances, soundproof walls, and medical device parts.

According to the firm, PCR PC is created using a compounding method that calls for advanced technology and knowledge and involves combining new PC raw material with recycled PC in a specific ratio.

Flame retardants, strengthening agents, dyes, and other additives are used to produce the polycarbonate material in order to increase the polymer’s functionality and visual appeal.

Samyang has used its expertise in redesigning and optimising the ratio of recycled material and additives during the compounding process to maintain the inherent physical properties of PC.

The Korean firm was also successful in finding high-quality recycled PC material suppliers who carefully control the level of contamination and foreign elements.

Samyang CEO Hosung Kang said: “There are only a few places in the world that produce PCR PC products that contain more than 90% of recycled plastic materials while retaining the physical properties of conventional PC.

“We will continue to expand our high-quality, eco-friendly product portfolio to meet the global market’s demand and contribute towards the group’s ESG competitiveness.”

The newly developed PCR PC has reduced carbon dioxide emissions by about 6,200 tons based on the production of 1,000 tons compared to general PC, Samyang claimed. The Korean resin manufacturing firm intends to use PCR PC initially in tiny electrical home appliances like laptops before broadening its applicability in the future to a variety of fields, including electronics and decorative gadgets.

We remind, Samyang Corporation AM BU and Axiom, a Canadian global automotive parts maker, held a MOU signing ceremony, at KINTEX on October 5. This business agreement calls for Samyang to supply about $30 million (about 42 billion KRW) of EP materials for electric vehicle parts to Axiom over the next five years. Axiom is an automotive plastic module company founded in 1987 and specializes in manufacturing plastic parts and modules for automotive as well as electric vehicle across North America.

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China demand optimism sets oil on track for strong weekly gain

China demand optimism sets oil on track for strong weekly gain

Oil prices rose on Friday and were on track to gain over 7% on the week due to solid signs of demand growth in top oil importer China and expectations of less aggressive interest rate rises in the United States, said Hydrocarbonprocessing.

Brent crude futures rose by 31 cents, or 0.4%, to $84.34 a barrel by 1420 GMT. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures gained 44 cents, or 0.6%, to USD78.83 a barrel. Brent has jumped 7.3% so far this week and WTI is up 7.1%, recouping most of last week's losses.

Analysts said recent Chinese crude purchases and a pick-up in road traffic fueled confidence in a demand recovery in the world's second-largest economy following the reopening of its borders and easing of COVID-19 curbs after protests last year. In another encouraging sign, ANZ analysts said a congestion index covering the 15 Chinese cities with the largest number of vehicle registrations had risen 31% from a week earlier.

" gains are penciled in as traders look ahead to a further drop in Russian supply and the normalization in China's fuel demand," PVM oil analyst Stephen Brennock said. "Before then, however, renewed bouts of selling cannot be discounted given the current looseness of the oil balance," he added.

Oil prices have also been buoyed by a slide in the dollar to a nearly nine-month low, after data showed U.S. inflation fell for the first time in 2-1/2 years, reinforcing expectations that the Federal Reserve would slow the pace of rate hikes. A weaker greenback tends to boost demand for oil, as it makes the commodity cheaper for buyers holding other currencies.

We remind, China Petroleum & Chemical Corporation officially published the “China Energy Outlook 2060” (the “Outlook”) on December 28 in Beijing. This is Sinopec’s first publicly released research findings of their medium and long-term energy outlook, providing a new perspective for the scientific planning of transformation and development of China’s energy and chemical industries. This in the context of the “Dual-Carbon” goals laid out by the Chinese government, with the core goal of achieving carbon neutrality by 2060.

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