Univar to distribute Patcham catalysts in US

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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Chemical technologies licensor Lummus and biotech firm RWDC Industries have signed a memorandum of understanding to cooperate on “global polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHA) deployment initiatives”, said the company.

PHA is a biopolymer that microorganisms produce directly. RWDC uses plant-based oils, including post-consumer or waste cooking oils, to produce a proprietary PHA, named Solon. Solon PHA can be organically recycled or composted, and products or packaging made with it that find their way into the environment are biodegradable, the companies said.

With the cooperation the companies aim to accelerate availability and mass adoption of PHA as a "natural alternative” to synthetically produced petroleum-based plastics, they said. Financial terms were not disclosed.

US firm Danimer Scientific is also working on PHA, as does South Korea's CJ CheilJedang which in 2016 acquired the PHA assets of US-based Metabolix. Interest in PHA has revived because of the surge in demand for environmentally sustainable chemicals and plastics.

We remind, Lummus Technology, a global provider of process technologies and value-driven energy solutions, announced an integrated technology award from SP Chemicals and its subsidiary SP Olefins. SP Chemicals will license Lummus' CATOFIN technology for a new 800 KTA propane dehydrogenation (PDH) unit, and SP Olefins will license Lummus' Novolen technology for a new 400 KTA polypropylene (PP) unit. Both units will be located at SP Chemicals' complex in Jiangsu Province, China.

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BASF’s Q1 2023 earnings are expected to fall by almost 32% year on year, beating analysts’ consensus forecasts, while net income for the period is expected to be firmer as a result of impairments on oil and gas joint venture Wintershall Dea in early 2022, said the company.

Q1 sales are expected to have dropped substantially below analysts’ forecasts as a result of “considerably” lower volumes, the Germany-headquartered chemicals major said in a preliminary results statement.

Q1 earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT) and special items is also expected to surpass analysts’ projections despite the year-on-year fall, with the company’s agricultural solutions and chemicals, materials and surface technologies divisions both performing more strongly than expected.

BASF’s industrial solutions and nutrition and care segments are both expected to undershoot market expectations, the company added.

The company booked a EUR1.1bn charge on its majority stake in Wintershall during the first three months of 2022 in the wake of the onset of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the German government’s move to freeze approvals for the Nord Stream 2 pipeline.

BASF will release its finalised Q1 results on 27 April.

We remind, BASF announced that it has received the International Sustainability and Carbon Certification (ISCC) PLUS for certain grades of plastic additives produced at its manufacturing sites in Kaisten, Switzerland and McIntosh, Alabama, United States.

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BASF announced that it has received the International Sustainability and Carbon Certification (ISCC) PLUS for certain grades of plastic additives produced at its manufacturing sites in Kaisten, Switzerland and McIntosh, Alabama, United States, said the company.

This certification will enable BASF to offer more sustainable grades of its core plastic additives with a reduced Product Carbon Footprint (PCF) through the use of renewable raw materials in a mass balance approach. An ISCC PLUS certification covers the entire value chain and ensures the use of renewable materials. It is an internationally recognized certification process for the mass balance methodology.

This certification paves the way for BASF to offer mass balance certificates for certain products to its plastic additives customers. As part of the mass balance certification, a chain of custody must be demonstrated from the input of renewable raw materials to the final sale product with sustainability claims. The company’s manufacturing sites in Switzerland and the United States are the two pilot sites for this certification as part of a global implementation.

“We are the first plastic additives supplier to offer a selected range of biomass balance certified antioxidants as an extension of our VALERAS portfolio. Our customers now have a choice of more sustainable antioxidants that are produced using responsibly sourced and renewable materials instead of fossil resources without compromising their high functional performance,” said Dr. Achim Sties, Senior Vice President, Plastic Additives, BASF. “As we continue the journey with our customers and partners to create new value for plastics, we focus on driving innovations that make a significant contribution to sustainability."

We remind, BASF will establish compounding capacities for its certified compostable biopolymer ecovio in Shanghai, China, said the company. Upon the successful completion of qualification trials, commercial material quantities will be available for customers throughout the region Asia-Pacific from mid-2023.

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