Evonik launches new TEGO Flow 380 leveling agent for high-quality automotive clear coatings

Evonik's Coating Additives business line is expanding its TEGO® Flow series with an efficient polyacrylate-based leveling agent. TEGO® Flow 380 is suitable for solventborne coatings, especially clear coats, said the company.

It is characterized by excellent anti-popping properties and good compatibility. The main applications are automotive and general industrial coatings.

TEGO Flow 380 consists of 100 percent active matter content and is based on a unique polymer technology. “The key here is controlled incompatibility,” explained Maximilian Morin, head of the Industrial & Transportation Coatings market segment.

Some degree of incompatibility with the paint is important for leveling performance, but too much can cause surface defects such as decrease in gloss or haze. “With TEGO Flow 380, we have balanced the incompatibility well, resulting in an excellent performance,” said Morin. In addition, the new leveling agent supports recoatability, which is especially important for automotive refinish applications.

Because of its low viscosity, TEGO® Flow 380 is particularly easy to incorporate into the formulation. “It can be used directly; dilution is not necessary,” said Michael Wang, Applied Research & Technology - Industrial & Transportation Coatings.

In addition, the new product is particularly sustainable: for one thing, it shows excellent performance even at low dosages. For another, the leveling agent emits little VOC (Volatile Organic Compounds), which makes it attractive for high-solids formulations due to its very low viscosity impact.

We remind, Evonik is expanding its capacity to produce MetAMINO (DL-methionine) on Jurong Island, Singapore, by 40,000 metric tons to around 340,000 metric tons per year. The high double-digit million euro investment in this further technological development is to reach target capacity by the third quarter of 2024. The planned process optimization measures will improve the carbon footprint of MetAMINO® produced in Singapore by six percent.

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Thailand's cabinet on Tuesday agreed to extend an excise tax cut on diesel for another two months to July 20 to help reduce the costs of living, a government official said on Tuesday, said Reuters.

The tax cut of 5 baht (USD0.1451) per liter will lead to a loss in revenue of 20 billion baht (USD580.21 million), government spokesperson Anucha Burapachaisri told a news conference.

We remind, in 2023, PTT Plc's PTT Global Chemical Plc (PTTGC) aims to raise the production of petrochemical products by 15% to serve expanding demand after the pandemic. Demand is predicted to return to levels observed before the pandemic. Additional output comes from the full operation of the oil refinery site of PTTGC, as well as plans to postpone plant closures for major maintenance. The firm also invested Baht 5.1 bn to increase the manufacturing capacity of the second unit of the olefin production site. The capacity growth is aligned line with the business strategic plan of PTTGC.

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Groundbreaking ceremony for the new polycarbonate film plant in Map Ta Phut, Thailand, with Aleta Richards, Global Head of the Specialty Films segment, Timo Slawinski (3rd from left), Head of Covestro's Map Ta Phut site, and Michael Boediger (2nd from right), Head of Operations in the Specialty Films segment, said the company.

Covestro plans to further increase its global production capacity for polycarbonate specialty films to meet the rising demand in the Asia-Pacific region and worldwide. The company has started building new extrusion lines at the Map Ta Phut Industrial Park in Thailand. The films are used primarily in identity documents, automotive displays, and electrical and electronic applications. The investment is in the higher double-digit million euro range, the completion is scheduled for 2025. A total of around 50 new jobs will be created.

"With this investment, we are strengthening our Solutions & Specialties segment and are committed to further expanding our growth businesses," says Sucheta Govil, Chief Commercial Officer of Covestro. "At the same time, we are responding to an increasing demand and supporting the expansion of future technologies and industries."

"We want to drive growth in the polycarbonate films business with innovation and a strong customer focus," says Aleta Richards, Global Head of the Specialty Films segment. “In doing so, we aim to intensify our collaboration with customers in the Asia-Pacific region and expand our product portfolio for the circular economy."

Covestro already offers a whole range of more sustainable PC films, for example mass-balanced grades certified to the internationally recognized ISCC PLUS standard. Raw materials for these films are produced using biowaste and residual materials, which are taken into account in the value chain and in production and attributed to the products.

Since 2022, the Map Ta Phut site has also been ISCC PLUS certified, enabling it to manufacture and supply mass-balanced products. Customers can use these products in their established processes and apply them to meet their sustainability goals. In addition, Covestro already offers a range of films made partly with plant-based raw materials or recycled plastics.

We remind, Covestro has successfully started up a new world-scale facility for the production of chlorine in Tarragona, Spain. It is the first world-scale production plant for chlorine based upon the highly innovative and energy efficient ODC (oxygen depolarized cathode) technology invented by Covestro and its partners.

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LyondellBasell NV said on Tuesday it was exploring strategic options for its U.S. Gulf Coast-based ethylene oxide & derivatives (EO&D) business, said Hydrocarbonprocessing.

"While the EO&D business provides positive cash generation, it is not a business where the company seeks a leading long-term position," the company said in a statement.

LyondellBasell added that it was also evaluating future investments for its Houston refinery site where it plans to cease refining operations.

The company said it was analyzing the potential to retrofit the Houston refinery to build up its Circular and Low Carbon Solutions (CLCS) business.

It expects CLCS to grow to at least USD1 billion in incremental EBITDA by 2030 by leveraging the company's existing strengths.

We remind, LyondellBasell announced that PetroChina Jilin Petrochemical Company will again license LyondellBasell’s polyethylene technology at their facility located in Jilin City, Jilin Province, P.R. of China. The newly licensed technology will comprise of LyondellBasell’s leading high-pressure Lupotech process technology which will be used for both a 100 kiloton per year (KTA) Autoclave and a 300 KTA Tubular line. Both production trains will produce mainly low-density polyethylene (LDPE) with ethylene vinyl acetate copolymers (EVA). Furthermore, an additional 400 KTA Hostalen “Advanced Cascade Process” (ACP) line for the production of high density polyethylene (HDPE) will be built at the same time.

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On 12 March, workers at INEOS Pigments’ production facility in Ashtabula, Ohio, went on strike over disputes in labour practices, as well as prolonged attempts by unionised employees to negotiate their first contract after forming a union, said Plasticsnews.

INEOS Pigments is a subsidiary of INEOS, British multinational chemical company with its headquarters in London.

In September 2021, INEOS Pigments employees at Plant 2 in Ashtabula voted to form a union. In a news release, Ralph "Sam" Cook, Secretary-Treasurer of the Teamsters Local 377 union, said the company has stalled in negotiating the first contract with employees since the union was formed, and is preventing workers from collective bargaining.

INEOS workers are represented by Teamsters Local 377, as well as Local 1033C of the International Chemical Workers Union Council.

According to the news release, the INEOS facility employs more than 400 workers, although the number of unionised workers is not known.

Neither INEOS nor the Teamsters Local 377 immediately responded to questions about the strike, including how many workers were involved and whether operations at the facility had been impacted by the walkout.

According to media reports, management employees, as well as non-union represented workers, have continued to work at the site.

The Ashtabula facility has two plants that produce titanium dioxide (TiO2). The second plant - where workers went on strike on 12 March - has a nameplate capacity of 120,000 tonnes per year. Chlorine is also produced there, with a nameplate capacity of 60,000 tonnes annually.

We remind, INEOS has secured EUR3.5bn in financing for its Antwerp, Belgium, cracker project, set to have the lowest CO2 output of any unit in the continent. The plant, expected onstream in 2026, has the capacity to operate entirely on low-carbon hydrogen, with scope for the addition of a carbon capture facility and electric furnaces in future, according to INEOS. The estimated budget for the project, which INEOS made a final investment decision (FID) on last year, currently stands at EUR4.0bn.

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