Domo Chemicals begins construction on new Chinese Technyl PA facility

Domo Chemicals has broken ground for a new plant to produce Technyl polyamide (PA)-based grades in Haiyan, Jiaxing, Zhejiang, China, said the company.

The EUR 14 M PA facility, which will be based on the latest technology and equipment, will gradually be expanded to reach a total capacity of 50,000 tonnes/y. Full operation is expected by the end of 1Q 2024. The project is strategically located and will play a key role in the company's strategy to expand its presence in the Asian market.

Domo said it plans to eventually expand the plant’s initial capacity of 35,000 t/y to 50,000 t/y, with a company spokesperson telling Plasteurope.com in 2022 that the increase is expected in five to eight years.

Beyond adding to the German firm’s competitiveness in the growing Asian polyamide market, the plant is expected to create job opportunities and contribute to the development of the local economy, said Fabrizio Cochi, Domo’s general manager for Asia.

As the development zone is to host manufacturers of electronics, new energy products, new materials, and high-end equipment, Domo said it expects the investment to place it close to customers while playing a key role in expanding its Asian presence. Among other things, the sub-district also aims to become a “hydrogen valley."

Active in PA resin manufacturing as well as compounding, Domo is also expanding a nearby plant. An initial stage of the company’s plans to raise Chinese output was completed in March 2022 when capacity was pushed to 14,000 t/y from 6,000 t/y.

We remind, Domo Caproleuna GmbH, an offshoot of Domo Chemicals, has produced 5 M tonnes of caprolactam at its 176,000 tonnes/y caprolactam and polyamide (PA) facility in Leuna, Germany. This volume is equal to around 225,000 truckloads. Domo Caproleuna intends to neutral CO2 emissions growth by 2030 by decreasing the carbon content of its energy mix by 15% and lessening industrial waste by 7%. Caprolactam is mainly used to manufacture PA 6 such as Domamid and Technyl.

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ExxonMobil will demonstrate its industry leadership by presenting its broad portfolio of products that enable innovative solutions with sustainability benefits for hygiene and personal care applications at INDEX™23, said the company.

This extensive portfolio includes ExxonMobil™ PP, Achieve™ Advanced PP (polypropylene) and Vistamaxx™ performance polymers that can be used to create differentiated hygiene and personal care products.

“INDEX™23 is the perfect platform to demonstrate that not all hygiene solutions are created equal,” said market development manager, Gertrud Masure. “Our broad product portfolio and a collaborative approach is creating differentiated solutions that help unlock business opportunities across the value chain. This is an ideal opportunity for customers to discuss their challenges and new product ideas with our polymer and application experts."

A major innovation being presented will be the model baby diaper of which the chassis is made exclusively with ExxonMobil’s extensive portfolio of products. “This innovation allows us to demonstrate the broad capability of our portfolio, combined with our hygiene application expertise, as we look to unlock business opportunities with interested parties committed to collaborative new developments,” said Masure.

We remind, ExxonMobil Corp has started up its long-planned project to expand light crude oil processing capacity by 250,000 b/d at ExxonMobil Product Solutions Co's integrated refining and petrochemicals complex along the US Gulf Coast in Beaumont, TX, US.

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MOL Group is transporting crude oil produced at its co-owned oilfield, the Azeri–Chirag–Gunashli in Azerbaijan, to Slovnaft Refinery in Bratislava, said Hydrocarbonprocessing.

This is a major step for the company’s efforts to increase its crude sourcing flexibility. In addition, the arrival of the Seavelvet tanker from the Port of Ceyhan in Turkey to Omisalj in Croatia, and then transporting the 90,000 tons of crude oil to Bratislava through the Adria pipeline is a success story for MOL Group: it constitutes well-to-wheel integration of its value chain as it will process and sell petroleum products refined at one of its own refineries using crude oil produced at a field it co-owns. The shipment is transported from the Sangachal oil terminal near Baku to Ceyhan via the BTC pipeline, also co-owned by MOL Group.

Test production of petroleum products using the Azeri Light produced at the Azeri–Chirag–Gunashli oil field – of which MOL Group owns 9.57% - will begin in April. This comes after successful testing at Slovnaft Refinery of several types of oils from Middle East and Caspian region. This is another important milestone in MOL Group’s journey toward greater crude sourcing flexibility amid European sanctions prohibiting the export of petroleum products from EU member states.

"The arrival of this shipment of Azeri Light crude oil is an extraordinary event for us, as it further demonstrates our flexibility in crude oil sourcing. It also marks a new opportunity for us to cover the entirety of the value chain in our production, from well to wheel, which is always a major accomplishment. MOL Group has a regional security supply mindset, therefore we are especially delighted to contribute to supplying the CEE region with our own crude", pointed out Gabriel SZABO, Executive Vice President of Downstream at MOL Group.

MOL Group is keen to become an increasingly important economic link between Azerbaijan and Central and Eastern Europe. In 2020, the company acquired 9.57% stake in the ACG oilfield, one of the flagship fields of the Azerbaijani economy, and 8.9 % in the BTC (Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan) pipeline.

We remind, MOL Group announced its financial results for 4Q 2022 and full year 2022. Despite the unprecedentedly turbulent external environment, MOL Group generated $1074 M in 4Q 2022, bringing full-year EBITDA to $4702 M. Upstream and Downstream together provided 95% of this result in half-half proportion, supported by the overall positive oil macro environment.

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In March, CHIMEI Corporation introduced its sustainable material solution, Ecologue™ Bio ABS, said the company.

This Bio ABS is made by replacing petrochemical feedstock with bio-circular feedstock derived from non-food-related sources. It not only has the same performance as traditional ABS but can also reduce its carbon footprint to carbon neutrality or even negative emissions according to various content of bio feedstock, providing a forward-looking choice for high-performance materials to meet the sustainability needs of various industries.

The Bio ABS produced in this launch uses the International Sustainability and Carbon Certification (ISCC) PLUS certification, which CHIMEI Corporation obtained in October 2022. This certification employs the mass balance accounting principle, ensuring that renewable feedstock is correctly calculated and used in the production process. It provides global traceability from raw materials to the final product, establishing a standard for product sustainability. Under this certification, CHIMEI Corporation can also ensure that its bio-based materials do not come from food sources.

In addition to the Bio ABS product, CHIMEI Corporation actively collaborates with supply chain partners to practice circularity and expand the benefits of waste reduction and carbon reduction. CHIMEI Corporation works to recycle used single-material polypropylene (PP) bags into post-consumer recycled (PCR) PP bags, with a carbon reduction benefit of up to 24% per bag. This demonstrates CHIMEI Corporation's commitment to reducing the carbon footprint of every stage of a product's lifecycle and achieving net-zero carbon emissions in collaboration with supply chain partners, contributing to reducing greenhouse gas emissions and moving toward a low-carbon society.

We remind, Zhangzhou CHIMEI Chemical Co., Ltd. announced the official start of mass production at its newly-built PS production lines on March 10. These production lines, with an annual capacity of 350,000 tons, are expected to be fully operational in the second half of this year. Combined with the PS production capacity of Zhenjiang CHIMEI, they will strengthen the CHIMEI Group's presence and customer service in the mainland market. The addition of the new production capacity will bring CHIMEI's total annual PS production capacity to 920,000 tons.

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Aramco has signed a non-binding Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd., which sets forth preliminary plans for a strategic collaboration that would localize an industrial 5G technology ecosystem, starting with private networks, in Saudi Arabia, said the company.

The proposed collaboration aims to contribute to the digital transformation of various industrial sectors in Saudi Arabia, such as energy, petrochemical, and manufacturing, by leveraging advanced 4G and 5G technologies capable of providing secure, fast and reliable communications to satisfy business critical requirements of industries.

The companies intend to help realize advanced industrial 5G use cases with mission critical communications. It follows the recent launch of Aramco Digital Company, which aims to accelerate digital transformation within the Kingdom, and the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region.

We remind, Aramco, one of the world’s leading integrated energy and chemicals companies, and Linde Engineering, a global leader in the production and processing of gases, announced that they have signed an agreement to jointly develop a new ammonia cracking technology.

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