Suntory PepsiCo starts use of R-PET for beverage bottles

Thailand’s Suntory PepsiCo Beverage Co commenced the use of locally produced recycled polyethylene terephthalate (R-PET) for its beverage bottle packaging, said Suntorypepsico.

The company announced in end-March that it will produce 100% R-PET bottles soon in line with its sustainability targets. Previously, the use of R-PET for food or bottle applications was banned in Thailand due to safety concerns.

However, the country allowed the use of R-PET for food applications since June 2022 which prompted local recyclers to apply for supply permits. Only the joint venture between PTT and Alpla under the entity Envicco was able to secure the permit in March.

Other major recyclers in Thailand which include EcoBlue and Indorama continue to wait for the approval of supply permits. Approvals of the local supply permits are issued by the Thai FDA (Food and Drug Administration).

Thailand’s move to allow the use of R-PET for food packaging was welcomed by recyclers as it would help bolster the trade of recycled polymers in general.

Although the regulation is solely applicable to R-PET, with no plans announced on recycled polyethylene (R-PE) and recycled polypropylene (R-PP) yet, overall market sentiment is bullish on the steady uptake of recyclates in the coming years.

Thailand remains as one of the top producers and consumers of virgin plastics in Asia and its shift towards sustainable materials is expected to significantly impact both virgin and recycled polymers demand outlook. In May 2022, Taiwan passed a similar legislation to allow the use of R-PET for food application and most major recyclers in the market have clinched supply licenses.

With the opening of domestic market for food-grade R-PET in both Thailand and Taiwan, export volumes are not seen to dwindle due to separate allocations between domestic and overseas buyers.

We remind, Taiwanese regulators have recently granted supply licences to major producers of recycled polyethylene terephthalate (R-PET) for food-grade applications in the domestic market. Far Eastern New Century, the biggest R-PET exporter in Asia, received its local supply license from Taiwan’s Ministry of Health and Welfare in December 2022.

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OMV’s Sustainability Report 2022 details the progress made as a Company in the past year to deliver on our strategy, said the company.

OMV is committed to becoming a net-zero company (across all GHG Scopes 1, 2 and 3) by 2050 at the latest, becoming a European leader in sustainable polyolefins and establishing a top global position in circular economy solutions.

The Sustainability Report 2022 gives a status update on OMV’s targets, which are tied to contributing to the UN Sustainable Development Goals, as well as its plans for the coming years.

Margins in Q1 for the bulk of OMV’s chemical portfolio are expected to be lower year on year, although refining profitability is expected to be substantially stronger in the same period.

The company, which holds a 75% stake in petrochemicals producer Borealis, expects to report lower indicative margins for most of its petrochemicals portfolio in Q1 2023, with the exception of ethylene. The most pronounced decline will come from its polyolefin segment.

Polyethylene (PE) sales, as well as general polyolefins volumes from joint venture companies, are expected down for the year aside from in-house polypropylene (PP) production, which is expected to be stable during the quarter at 440,000 tonnes.

We rmind, OMV has decided to explore the possibilities of selling its upstream exploration and production (E&P) assets in the Asia-Pacific region. Executive Board of OMV has decided to explore the possibilities of selling the E&P assets in the Asia-Pacific region and to initiate the related sales process for the potential divestment of its 50% stake in the issued share capital of SapuraOMV Upstream Sdn. Bhd. in Malaysia and 100% of the shares in OMV New Zealand Limited. A potential divestment aims at optimizing the E&P portfolio in line with the OMV Strategy 2030.

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TotalEnergies will divest three product lines developed by its resin production affiliate, Cray Valley, said the company.

The lines - Wingtack, PolyBD and Dymalink - will be acquired by US private equity firm Pacific Avenue Capital Partners.

The transaction includes four production sites in the US, Cray Valley’s Italian affiliate, and a portfolio of customers.

The divestment will allow Cray Valley to focus on its global specialty C4 and pure-monomer resin businesses, TotalEnergies said. The deal’s financial terms or its expected completion timeline were not disclosed.

Cray Valley is a global supplier of specialty chemical additives, hydrocarbon specialty chemicals, and liquid and powder tackifying resins used as ingredients in adhesives, rubbers, polymers, coatings and other materials.

We remind, TotalEnergies and Paprec, leader in plastic recycling in France, have signed a long-term commercial agreement to develop a French value chain for advanced recycling of plastic film wastes. The agreement will secure the supply of TotalEnergies' future advanced plastic recycling plant in Grandpuits. Following the terms of this agreement, Citeo, the main organization in charge of end-of-life household packaging in France, will provide a stream of flexible plastic waste sorted from post-consumer packaging.

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Specialty additives firm Patcham USA has appointed Univar as exclusive distribution partner for its catalysts in the US, said the company.

The catalysts, both tin and tin-free, are used to improve the properties of polyurethane (PU) systems.

Univar announced the appointment on Tuesday. Financial terms were not disclosed.

Patcham USA is part of Patcham FZC, a United Arab Emirates-based global supplier of metal carboxylates, specialty additives and tin and tin-free catalysts.

We remind, Univar Solutions Brasil Ltda., a subsidiary of Univar Solutions Inc., a leading global solutions provider to users of specialty ingredients and chemicals, announced a distribution agreement with SI Group for Ibuprofen, an active pharmaceutical ingredient (API) used to produce ibuprofen drugs for the pharmaceutical market.

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North American chemical railcar traffic fell for a sixth straight week, with loadings for the week ended 8 April down 9.3% year on year to 44,298, driven by a 10.3% decline in the US, according to the latest freight rail data from Association of American Railroads.

For the first 14 weeks of 2023 ended 8 April, North American chemical rail traffic was down 3.9% year on year to 634,833 railcar loadings, with US traffic down 7.0%, to 450,701 loadings.

In the US, chemical railcar loadings represent about 20% of chemical transportation by tonnage, with trucks, barges and pipelines carrying the rest. In Canada, chemical producers rely on rail to ship more than 70% of their products, with some exclusively using rail.

We remind, North American chemical railcar traffic fell for a fifth straight week, with loadings for the week ended 1 April down 5.1% year on year to 47,024, led by a decline of also 5.1% in the US.

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