Nouryon to increase organic peroxides capacity in China

Nouryon has plans to invest in its facility in Ningbo, China, to significantly increase the capacity of organic peroxide products Perkadox 14 and Trigonox 101, said Process-worldwide.

With this investment, Nouryon will double the annual production capacity to 6000 tons each for Perkadox 14 and Trigonox 101 organic peroxides by mid-2024. These essential products will support growing regional and global demand for a variety of applications including hygiene products and non-woven textiles used in health care, including face masks. Additional applications include plastics recycling, and a wide range of rubber goods, including rubber hoses, seals, cable insulation, athletic shoe soles, and yoga mats.

“Asia Pacific is a key region for Nouryon, and China plays an important role in our growth journey towards increased customer satisfaction and volumes. Our customers rely on our existing network of manufacturing facilities and innovative technologies, and we are pleased to build more capacity to meet growing customer demand,” said Johan Landfors, Executive Vice President Strategy and Technology Solutions at Nouryon.

We remind, Nouryon announced that it has commissioned a chlorine dioxide plant to modernize and expand the Arauco pulp mill in Chile. The project, called the MAPA project, is a USD2.35 billion pulp mill and is the largest industrial project in the Biobio region. The new plant adds 1.56 million tons per year of eucalyptus pulp capacity to Arauco’s footprint that will be supplied to its customers.

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Sasol Chemicals has opened a new research, development, and analytics laboratory at its production site in Brunsbuttel near Hamburg, Germany, it said.

The EUR35m facility focuses on advanced and sustainable solutions for Sasol’s key markets, including personal care, paper industry, metalworking and lubrication as well as catalysts and catalyst supports, high-performance abrasives and coatings.

It will play a key role in a Sasol consortium to develop new catalysts for the commercialisation of sustainable aviation fuels (SAF), the company said.

“The lab greatly enhances our ability to partner with our customers to address their challenges as they transform their portfolios towards more sustainable solutions,” said Silke Hoppe, vice president of Essential Care Chemicals for Sasol Chemicals.

Planning and construction of the 7000-square-metre facility began in 2019.

The facility has capacity for 140 employees, with 33 offices and 82 evaluation stations. Using advanced equipment, the employees will be able to analyse up to 200,0000 samples a year, the company said.
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Ineos Olefins & Polymer Europe has signed a renewable power agreement with Skagerak Energitjenester to provide 100 % green energy to its Rafnes and Bamble plants in Norway, said the company.

Combined with the recently announced Ineos Inovyn deal in Norway, all of Ineos’ assets in the region are now supplied with 100 % green power generated from hydroelectric production.

The Rafnes cracker produces ethylene for a wide variety of applications, including the production of low-density polyethylene (LDPE) at the adjacent Bamble site.

These LDPE grades are used to produce essential products such as beverage cartons, medical bottles and food packaging seals. By using renewable power, Ineos can reduce the product carbon footprint of a typical LDPE grade by up to 30 %.

In March, Ineos completed its previously announced acquisition of Mitsui’s phenol business in Singapore for approximately USD330 mln.

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The re-tendering process of the construction works that was started after Borealis terminated all contracts with the IREM group of companies, Borealis’ main contractor for the construction of its new PDH plant in Kallo, has now been completed, said the company.

With this, the construction of this mega project is now back on track. Works will again fully ramp up during the summer of 2023.

The re-tendering, re-mobilisation, poor handover and inefficiencies caused by the termination of the IREM contracts results in significant delays. Borealis’ new PDH plant in Kallo is now estimated to start up in the first half of 2025.

The updated project plan provides for a substantial increase in costs.

As a consequence of the increased cost and longer lead-time, Borealis is claiming compensation from the IREM companies.

We remind, Borealis will implement Honeywell’s UniSim Live software as early adopters to build process models for optimizing operations through virtual process simulation. UniSim Live will allow Borealis to extend the utility of process models to near real-time process monitoring and focus on early event detection by using digital twins to improve plant reliability.

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Air Liquide and Holcim have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to pursue a project to decarbonize Holcim’s new cement production plant under development in Belgium, using Air Liquide proprietary CryocapTM carbon capture innovative technology, said the company.

In that regard, Air Liquide and Holcim have co-applied for the European Innovation Fund supporting framework. This partnership is an important step to accelerate the decarbonization of the industry in Belgium.

The new cement production plant announced will be replacing an existing asset. Thanks to Air Liquide’s unique carbon capture innovative technology, Holcim will be able to reduce emissions by up to 1.1 million tons per year of CO2. This partnership is part of GO4Zero, Holcim's investment program that will enable the company to achieve carbon neutrality in Belgium by the end of the decade.

Air Liquide will support this initiative by leveraging its know-how and unique expertise in CO2 capture technologies. Air Liquide intends to build and operate a unit of its innovative and proprietary CryocapTM Oxy technology to capture and purify up to 95% of the CO2 generated from Holcim’s production unit in Obourg. The captured CO2 will then be handled through Antwerp CO2 Export Hub where it will be transported, liquefied and loaded onto CO2 ships for onward permanent and safe offshore storage.

The implementation of the project will be possible as public funding from European schemes supporting decarbonization becomes available. In this perspective, Air Liquide and Holcim have jointly applied for the European Innovation Fund, one of the world’s largest programs for promoting innovative low-carbon technologies.

We remind, Air Products, a world leading industrial gases company serving Malaysia for nearly 50 years, today announced it will build, own, and operate two nitrogen plants in Penang’s Bayan Lepas Free Industrial Zone and Batu Kawan Industrial Park.

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