Sulzer acquires stake in Fuenix Ecogy and completes portfolio for plastic waste reduction

Sulzer has signed an agreement with circular technology company Fuenix Ecogy to acquire a strategic stake in its plastic upcycling business, said the company.

The partnership will drive the development, commercialization and adoption of advanced, fully integrated solutions for plastic waste processing. The move will allow Sulzer to offer complete recycling lines based on Fuenix’s Ecogy technology and Sulzer’s own proven separation and purification solutions. Sulzer Chemtech is an established licensor of reaction and separation technologies aimed at driving the chemical recycling of materials.

Fuenix Ecogy technology converts sorted end-of-life mixed plastic waste into high-value hydrocarbons with virgin-like properties. The solution offers high recovery and conversion rates, enabling a high degree of circularity in the plastic value chain.

With this strategic investment, Sulzer is sharing its leading technical expertise to support the scale up and commercialization of a cutting-edge pyrolysis technology. The agreement also expands Sulzer Chemtech’s technology licensing portfolio for polymer processing, in line with its overarching mission to help industry adopt more sustainable practices.

As the exclusive licensor of the technology, Sulzer Chemtech will be able to offer complete as well as partial recycling lines based on Fuenix’s Ecogy pyrolysis technology and its own proven separation and purification solutions. At the same time, Sulzer Chemtech will continue to offer its separation and purification know-how and solutions to other plastic recycling technologies.

We remind, Sulzer Chemtech is providing process engineering and key equipment for the expansion of Dongsuh Indonesia (DSI) naphthalene downstream sector. The delivery of an advanced separation unit to DSI’s plant in Serang, Indonesia, will enable the production of high purity naphthalene that can be used for applications with stringent quality requirements.

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MOL Group announced its financial results for Q4 and full year 2022, said the company.

The company generated USD 1,074mn in Q4 2022, bringing full-year EBITDA to USD 4,702mn. Upstream and Downstream together provided 95% of this result in half-half proportion, supported by the overall positive oil macro environment.

Chairman-CEO Zsolt Hernadi commented the results: “Last year was a real test from every possible aspect in our industry, I am proud to say that MOL managed to navigate successfully through the countless challenges and delivered both operationally and financially. The war in Ukraine and its consequences on supply security, the unpredictable macro conditions and regulatory measures have brought unprecedented challenges to MOL’s skilled employees who did great during the constant crisis situation.

The robust EBITDA in 2022 – even with the extreme high taxes, price caps and regulatory measures in place – gives the possibility to continue our transformational and development journey laid down in the Shape Tomorrow 2030+ strategy. Accordingly we made inaugural investments in green hydrogen production, and set foot in waste management that is a big step towards our circular economy-related strategic goals.

It is clear to us that 2023 will be no easier, but I believe that MOL’s proven resilience will help us navigate through these uncertain times with confidence.”

We remind, MOL Petrochemicals, a subsidiary of the Hungarian oil and gas giant MOL Group, recently laid the groundwork for a new propylene facility in Tiszajvaros, Hungary. The factory is constructed as a greenfield investment for roughly USD191 M and will generate 100,000 tonnes/y of propylene, meeting a quarter of MOL's chemical material demands and enhancing the company's self-sufficiency. The factory will supply propylene for the polyol site that is already under development. The new factory fits perfectly with MOL Group's aim of increasing the proportion of non-fuel goods in its range. MOL Group has contributed around USD4.5 bn to initiatives that will transform Tiszajvaros into the region's main chemical capital. The new facility will play an important part in the development process since it will offer a consistent supply of materials for MOL Petrochemicals' three product lines.

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PetroChina Guangdong Petrochemical has achieved on-spec benzene at its 3 million mt/year reformer and cracker (1.2 million mt/year ethylene) of its refining & chemical project in Zhanjiang, Guangdong province over the weekend, according to the company sources, said Ccfgroup.

On-spec ethylene has been also achieved. The company is expected to get paraxylene (PX) on February 14, and to start its styrene unit as well on Feb 14.

PetroChina Guangdong Petrochemical has the total designed capacity to produce 810kt/year of benzene, 2.6 million mt/year of PX and 800kt/year of styrene.

We remind, PetroChina completed trial runs at a 1.2 million tonne-per-year ethylene facility in its newly launched refinery complex in south China on Sunday. PetroChina Guangdong PC announced that the ethylene plant, a 10-million-ton refining and chemical integration project, produced on-spec products and entered the stage of comprehensive trial production on Feb 12. PetroChina Guangdong Petrochemical Refining and Chemical Integration Project, located in Jieyang, Guangdong Province, covers an area of 920 hectares, with crude oil refining production capacity of 20 million mt/year aromatics capacity 2.6 million tons/year and ethylene capacity 1.2 million tons/year.

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Chevron Phillips Chemical (CPChem) and Charter Next Generation (CNG) announced today that overwrap film made with CPChem’s Marlex Anew Circular Polyethylene is bound for store shelves in the U.S. Versatile and efficient, overwrap films help preserve food, keep medical instruments secure and sterile, and provide lightweight and durable product packaging, said Hydrocarbonprocessing.

“Together with CNG, we are transforming waste plastics into useful products and demonstrating real-world, commercial scale applications of circular plastics,” said Jay Bickett, CPChem’s Vice President of Polymers. “This collaboration is a great example of the new possibilities unlocked by advanced recycling."

CPChem leverages its established advanced recycling program to produce Marlex® Anew™ Circular Polyethylene, which is certified through International Sustainability and Carbon Certification (ISCC) PLUS using the free attribution model. This process uses pyrolysis oil, made from difficult-to-recycle waste plastics, as a feedstock to produce a circular polyethylene with characteristics identical to CPChem’s original Marlex polyethylene.

For more than a decade, CNG has used recycled content as a component in a number of its food and consumer packaging films, and recently announced ISCCPLUS certification at its Lexington, Ohio campus. This location is one of the single largest extrusion sites in the world and serves key markets such as towel and tissue overwrap, fresh produce, protein, e-commerce and more.

“CNG is excited to bring films using Marlex Anew Circular Polyethylene to consumers,” said Doug Latreille, Chief Commercial Officer at CNG. “With our Lexington campus now ISCC PLUS certified, CNG is well positioned to offer circular products like these films to customers on a commercial scale."

CPChem continues to explore applications for its circular polyethylene and enhance its advanced recycling program. The company recently worked with Phillips 66 to process pyrolysis oil in a successful commercial scale trial at the Phillips 66 Sweeny Refinery in Old Ocean, Texas. The Phillips 66 site has also received ISCC PLUS certification, verifying the refinery meets the standards to convert pyrolysis oil into circular feedstocks, which can be used to produce CPChem’s Marlex® Anew™ Circular Polyethylene.

We remind, Chevron Corp. posted a record USD36.5 bn profit for 2022 that was more than double year-earlier earnings but fell shy of Wall Street estimates, undercut by an asset writedowns and a retreat in oil and gas prices.
The second largest U.S. oil producer's adjusted net profit for 2022 beat by about USD10 billion its previous record set in 2011. But USD1.1 B in writedowns in its international oil and gas operations in the fourth quarter left earnings short of forecasts for adjusted net profit of USD37.2 B.

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The global chlorinated polyethylene resins and elastomers market stands at USD600 MM as of now and is expected to reach USD1.29 B by the year 2032 at a CAGR of 8% from 2022 to 2032, said Hydrocarbonprocessing.

Chlorinated polyethylene resins and elastomers come across as thermoplastic polymers that exhibit improvised chemical and physical properties. The application areas include thermoplastic elastomer and modifiers for polyethylene, acrylonitrile butadiene styrene and polyvinyl chloride. They are preferred mainly as they offer protection against heat, fire, oil, chemicals, weather, and abrasion.

The other advantages are inclusive of exceptional physical and mechanical properties, tensile strength, higher-filler acceptance, and low-temperature performance. PVC is being increasingly used for PVS siding, doors, pipes, and fences with upgradation in building and construction sector.

Geomembranes are amongst the major applications of chlorinated resins and elastomers. They could be used as impact modifiers as well as flexible sheeting for roofing membranes, automotives, molded shapes, cable jacketing, and extruded profiles, and ultimately as a base polymer. It needs to be noted that impact modification is the biggest application of chlorinated polyethylene resins and elastomers, as far as consumption is concerned. It is used to impact modify PVC for vinyl sliding, pipes, window profiles, deck, and fence.

At the same time, the fact that prices of raw materials are volatile can’t be ignored. Also, prices of crude oil are skyrocketing. Polyethylene is made from the crude oil derivatives. As such, it gets directly affected by the factors mentioned above. Also, various economies are laying down strict regulations regarding the use of polyethylene in the interest of environment. These factors are likely to restrain the chlorinated polyethylene resins and elastomers market in the near future. Future Market Insights has, through its line of expertise in the form of analysts and consultants, highlighted these findings with future perspectives in its latest market study entitled “Chlorinated Polyethylene Resins and Elastomers Market”.

We remind, Solvay in advanced negotiations to divest its stake in Rusvinyl. The company confirms it is in advanced negotiations to divest its stake in Rusvinyl, an independent 50/50 joint venture in Russia, to its joint venture partner, Sibur. In addition to the recently obtained preliminary clearance from Russian governmental authorities, the potential transaction is still subject to several other regulatory approvals. Solvay will keep the market informed if and when appropriate, in accordance with applicable law.

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