D-Rex Polymer starts making green adhesive

South Korean petrochemical company DL Chemical on Thursday said its subsidiary D-Rex Polymer on April 1 began production of an eco-friendly adhesive at its plant in Yeosu, South Jeolla Province, under a plan to develop DL Chemical into a specialty company of high added value, said Kedglobal.

As a joint venture between DL Chemical and the American petrochemical company Rextack, D-Rex Polymer late last year completed the factory with annual capacity of 40,000 tons. After a trial operation of about three months, the facility since April 1 has produced the adhesive amorphous poly alpha olefin (APAO).

The completion ceremony held that day was attended by DL Chemical Vice Chairman and CEO Kim Jong-hyun, D-Rex Polymer CEO Kim Man-jung and Yeosu Deputy Mayor Kim Jong-shi. APAO is applied to bond types of plastics.

"D-Rex's APAO is non-volatile and has almost no odor," a DL Chemical source said. "We expect its use as a raw material for products coming in contact with skin like diapers and sanitary napkins."

We remind, a South Korean consortium led by Doosan Enerbility Co. and DL E&C Co. is investing $130 million in X-Energy LLC, a US nuclear reactor and fuel design engineering company, to expand Korean firms' presence in the fast-growing small reactor business.

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Kolon Industries Inc.'s Future Technology Institute announced on Wednesday that it has partnered with Stora Enso Oyj, a global biomaterials leader from Finland, to develop eco-friendly plastics, said Kedglobal.

Stora Enso is a renowned manufacturer of biocomposite products and packaging with the technology to convert plant-based raw materials into chemical raw materials for plastics.

The two companies will focus on creating polyethylene furanoate (PEF) products, which are next-generation bioplastics. Leveraging Kolon Industries' polymer plastics manufacturing and processing technology and Stora Enso's raw material development capabilities, they aim to produce 100% natural and environmentally friendly plastic.

PEF is made from plant-based raw materials and boasts superior hardness, heat resistance and gas barrier properties compared to polyethylene terephthalate (PET), a common petrochemical plastic. It has the potential to replace existing beverage bottles and food packaging.

Kolon plans to streamline the commercialization of PEF by optimizing the raw material supply chain. Upon mass production, it is expected to reduce carbon emissions by over 50% in comparison to existing PET.

"Through this agreement, we are building a stronger foundation for the bioplastic ecosystem. We will continue to expand the development of technologies for resource recycling," said Han Sung-soo, head of the Future Technology Institute at Kolon Industries.

We remind, Kolon Industries Inc. has expanded the capacity of its polyester tire cord fabric plant in Vietnam. The facility expansion boosted its production capacity in Vietnam by 14% to 19,200 tons of tire cord fabrics compared with 2018, when it built a 16,800-ton factory in the Southeast Asian country. Its Vietnam-based facilities are now in full operation.

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Hainan Baling Chemical New Material Co., Ltd., a subsidiary of China Petroleum & Chemical Corporation, has launched production of its styrene-butadiene copolymer (SBC) project in Hainan, China, which will reach an annual production capacity of 170,000 tons, said Hydrocarbonprocessing.

Sinopec now has the largest world's largest production capacity of SBC plants. Baling New Material and Sinopec Hainan Refining & Chemical Co., Ltd. invested USD279.74 MM in the Hainan Baling project. The project's SBC plant produces 170,000 tons of SBS and SEBS products annually, including 120,000 tons of SBS products and 50,000 SEBS products. The plant has 13 units including refining, polymerization, coalescence, recycling, auxiliaries preparation, and post-treatment, as well as supporting production and public facilities.

TPE (thermoplastic elastomer) is a class of copolymers that can be plasticized at high temperatures and has rubber elasticity at room temperature, and SBC is a type of TPE, the products of which include SBS, SEBS, SIS, and SEPS, which are widely used in shoes, asphalt modification, resin modification, adhesives, food packaging, medical equipment, sports equipment, automotives, and consumer electronics.

The Project uses Sinopec's self-developed SBS and SEBS full solution sets, including a clean manufacturing method that can create SBCs of varying grades and performances to fulfill customers' product customization needs. In the meanwhile, it's using Hainan Refining & Chemical's styrene and butadiene, Baling New Material's new technologies, and the Hainan Free Trade Port to minimize raw material and transportation costs and expand the industrial chain to optimize revenue. The Initiative will export SBC goods to developing European, Southeast Asian, and South Asian markets.

Sinopec has advanced synthetic rubber R&D in China for more than five decades. In the 1970s, Yanshan Petrochemical Research Institute developed butyllithium preparation and SBS polymerization technologies. Sinopec is one of only three firms in the world—and the only one in China—capable of industrial production of novel SEPS products using environmentally friendly technology. Baling New Material's SEPS facility, with a 20,000-ton annual production capacity, began production in August 2017.

With exclusive SBC technologies and proprietary intellectual property rights, Sinopec is now taking a technologically leading position in the world for the development of SBC technologies and products.

We remind, Sinopec Corp announced that it has completed trial runs at a 1-MMtpy ethylene plant in the southern Chinese province of Hainan that will boost exports. The facility is part of a 28.6 B-yuan (USD4.15 B) complex built at the site and is the second major petrochemical plant starting this year after a similar-sized facility was announced last week by PetroChina in Guangdong province.

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Hyosung TNC Corp., a South Korean textile and yarn manufacturer, is teaming up with Samsung Electronics Co. to produce eco-friendly protective clothing made from recycled PET bottles, said Kedglobal.

The bottles, collected from nearby cities like Hwaseong and Suwon, including Samsung Electronics semiconductor plants, will be transformed into Regen, a recycled fiber developed by Hyosung TNC. About 10 million bottles will be recycled for the production of eco-friendly protective clothing.

Hyosung TNC has earned the Global Recycle Standard (GRS), the world's first global recycle certification, from Control Union, a global eco-friendly certification agency.

Since January this year, the company has been supplying Regen protective clothing to some parts of Samsung Electronics' Pyeongtaek plant, with plans to expand the supply to the company's Giheung and Hwaseong plants.

Regen has already garnered interest from companies in various fields, including Hyundai Heavy Industries, POSCO Gwangyang Steel Mill, CGV and Lotteria, as eco-friendliness has become increasingly important in environmental, social and governance (ESG) management.

"We are committed to expanding the application of eco-friendly technology to further support ESG management for global companies," said Hyosung Chairman Jo Hyun-joon.

As per MRC, Hyosung Vina Chemicals, a subsidiary of a large petrochemical manufacturer in South Korea - Hyosung Corporation, on February 4 stopped production at a propane dehydrogenation plant in Cai Mep (Vietnam) in order to carry out planned preventive measures to repair equipment. Maintenance at this unit with a capacity of 600 thousand tons of propylene per year continued until the beginning of March this year.

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South Korea's SK Chemicals has launched recycled fiber fabrics developed jointly with Art Impact and Project 1907, eco-friendly social enterprises, through its plastic circulation ecosystem platform "Ieum.", said Kedglobal.

The fabrics are made of recycled materials such as chemically recycled polyethylene terephthalate (CR-PET) supplied by SK Chemicals as raw materials and are commercialized by Art Impact and Project 1907. The fabrics are made of 100% polyester and spandex blend.

Chemical recycling is a process of breaking down waste plastics into molecular units to make them into raw materials again, which can reduce the use of new plastics made from petroleum. SK Chemicals led this collaboration through Ieum and plans to build a business-to-business-to-consumer (B2B2C) sales network that connects the chemical recycling fiber supply chain with consumers.

The company is also expanding its cooperation structure with various textile fashion companies that handle clothing, daily necessities, camping goods, packaging materials, etc.

According to a strategy for nurturing the eco-friendly and recycled textile fashion industry published by the Korea Institute for Industrial Economics & Trade (KIET), the global recycled polyester fiber market is expected to grow at an average annual rate of 4.9% and reach about USD3.7 billion in 2026.

On March 6, SK Chemicals decided to purchase the CR-PET unit of Shuye, a Chinese green materials specialist that had supplied raw materials to SK Chemicals, for about 130 billion won (USD100.1 million).

"Through the acquisition of Shuye's factory, we have secured a stable supply of chemically recycled PET with an annual capacity of 50,000 tons," said Kim Hyun-seok, head of business development at SK Chemicals. "We will strive to gain a foothold in the global recycled textile market, which is expanding not only in sustainable fashion-centered textile markets but also for industrial purposes."

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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