Azelis acquires Netherlands-based distributor of specialties

Azelis, a leading innovation service provider in the specialty chemicals and food ingredients industry, announces that it has signed an agreement to acquire 100% of the shares of Sirius International (“Sirius”), a well-established distributor of specialty chemicals in the Benelux market, said the company.

This acquisition complements Azelis’ lateral value chain in home care and industrial cleaning with an attractive portfolio and aligns perfectly with Azelis' ambition to become a world-leading innovation service provider. Pioneering in the formulation of sustainable cleaning products from biodegradable and/or recyclable chemical raw materials and with expertise in green chemicals, Sirius will reinforce Azelis' best-in-class sustainability program and enable it to offer innovative environmental solutions to its customers in the EMEA region and beyond.

Founded in 2004 by current CEO Leo Verboeket, Sirius is a distributor of environmentally friendly chemicals for the detergent, personal care and water treatment markets in Europe. Based in Baarn, the Netherlands, this team of experienced professionals has an established market position and longstanding relationships with its principals, providing innovative products to European customers.

We remind, Azelis, a leading global innovation service provider in the specialty chemicals and food ingredients industry, announces that it has signed an agreement to acquire 100% of the shares of Gillco Ingredients (“Gillco”), a leading specialty ingredient provider in the food & nutrition market in the USA.

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Global software and technology leader Emerson is helping the Swedish cleantech company HaloSep to optimize their unique process that turns hazardous incinerator flue gas residue from waste-to-energy plants into usable materials, said Hydrocarbonprocessing.

Emerson’s control technology and software is being deployed at HaloSep’s plant for optimization, research and technology (PORT) in Gothenburg, Sweden, to manage an innovative chemical separation process that recovers valuable salt, metals and minerals from fly ash. By providing an alternative to landfill disposal, the HaloSep process increases the sustainability of the waste-to-energy industry.

Recovering materials from difficult waste streams is an important contribution to greater circularity. There are over 2,600 waste-to-energy plants worldwide, with a disposal capacity of approximately 460 million tons of municipal waste annually. About 2-5% of the incinerated waste becomes flue gas residue known as fly ash, which is a hazardous material containing contaminants such as heavy metals, chlorides and sulfates. Millions of tons of fly ash are currently transported to landfills by truck, rail or sea, which is both costly and unsustainable.

"Due to the irregular nature of household waste, fly ash produced from incineration has varying properties requiring different separation processes. Our PORT plant will analyze fly ash samples from around the world, test specific separation processes and demonstrate circular economy benefits to potential customers,” said HaloSep president Staffan Svensson. “Emerson’s technology and expert advice on implementing automation throughout the plant has played a vital role in optimizing these processes, which when deployed, will help increase the sustainability of the waste-to-energy industry.”

Emerson designed and implemented a scalable control system architecture at the PORT facility and worked closely with HaloSep to develop unique separation sequences to efficiently recycle fly ash with variable compositions. Emerson’s DeltaV distributed control system is ensuring the safe and efficient operation of the separation processes. In addition, DeltaV Live software is providing high-performance human machine interfaces for operators, with key performance indicator-led dashboards providing intuitive reporting and management and supporting optimized decision-making and operational performance.

“Emerson is committed to helping our customers in industries such as plastics, lithium-ion battery manufacturing and waste-to-energy generation, to meet today’s growing industrial, processing and energy demands through sustainable innovations that minimize environmental impact,” said Nathan Pettus, president of Emerson’s process systems and solutions business. “Emerson’s technologies and expertise are designed to handle the complexity of HaloSep’s recycling process.”

HaloSep, a subsidiary of the Stena Metall Group, provides an on-plant solution that can be built locally at a waste-to-energy plant or placed at sites where fly ash from smaller plants is consolidated, eliminating long-range transportation costs and emissions.

We remind, LANXESS has selected Emerson, a global software and technology leader, as a Global Alliance Partner for automation technology, enhancing its existing long-standing relationship. By upgrading its control and safety systems, and digitally transforming its production facilities, LANXESS aims to optimize operational performance and support sustainability targets. The companies have signed an initial five-year global agreement. Emerson will help drive the adoption of advanced automation technologies and enable more efficient project implementation that will allow LANXESS to achieve shorter time-to-market for new products.

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A fire that broke out at the 60,000 barrel-per-day Numaligarh Refinery Limited (NRL) in Assam state, India, on Monday has been brought under control, the refinery said, said Reuters.

"Fire in Vessel VV-4 of hydrocracker unit of Numaligarh refinery, which started around 7.20 p.m. this evening is under control. No injuries or casualties reported," the refinery said in a statement. "Preliminary investigation on cause of fire has started."

Numaligarh refinery was shut down for maintenance in the last week of March and has been restarting operations a unit at a time since May 15, an NRL spokesperson said.

The affected hydrocracker was undergoing post-startup stabilization when part of it caught fire, the person added.

Numaligarh refinery is a subsidiary of Oil India Ltd.

We remind, McDermott has been awarded a project management consultancy contract from India Oil Corporation Limited for the Maleic Anhydride (MAH) unit at the Panipat Refinery and Petrochemical Complex, located 62 miles from New Delhi, India.

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India will look at building smaller oil refineries because of problems in acquiring land as it aims to raise its annual refining capacity to 9 million barrels per day (bpd), oil minister Hardeep Singh Puri said on Tuesday, as per Hydrocarbonprocessing.

Oil refining capacity in India, the world's third biggest oil importer and consumer, is at about 5.2 million bpd. Global oil producers see India as a stable outlet for their oil as it is expected to account for a quarter of global oil demand growth by 2040.

"Refineries are high cost. We are looking at a large number of 20 million tons per annum, smaller ones, because if I make it too big than land acquisition and other issues come in the way," Puri told reporters on the sidelines of an industry event.

He said Indian needed to draw a roadmap for expanding its refining capacity to 9 million bpd. Problems with land purchases are one of the key reasons for sluggish infrastructure development in Asia's third-largest economy.

Reuters last year reported that Indian was considering building several refineries instead of a single 1.2 million bpd plant being planned with Saudi Aramco and Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC), due to challenges in acquiring a 15,000-acre parcel of land for it.

Delays in acquiring the land have almost stalled the project, initially planned for 2025, and boosted costs by 36% to $60-B, according to 2019 estimates. The government did not respond to requests for comment last year on the possibility of splitting up the planned giant refinery.

Puri said new refiners would also make petrochemicals and green hydrogen among other products. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has set a 2070 net zero goal and is helping companies to build green projects through various incentives.

India wants to develop a green hydrogen capacity of own 5 million tons a year by 2030, besides expanding its renewable energy capacity. "India will become an energy hub but it is an energy hub that is going in green direction," Puri said.

We remind, McDermott has been awarded a project management consultancy contract from India Oil Corporation Limited for the Maleic Anhydride (MAH) unit at the Panipat Refinery and Petrochemical Complex, located 62 miles from New Delhi, India.

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SABIC marked a series of important strides in its sustainable growth in 2022, underpinned by advancements in feedstock optimization, technology, and new partnerships, said Polymerupdate.

The company debuted a string of sustainable offerings last year, including its BLUEHERO™ initiative, which helps accelerate the world’s energy transition to electric power and address the global challenge of climate change.

In recognition of the breadth of environmental challenges facing the industry and world, SABIC also scaled up its collaborations across the value chain. SABIC kicked off construction of the world’s first demonstration plant for large-scale electrically heated steam cracker furnaces with partners BASF and Linde. It also began innovative pilot projects, including one aimed at evaluating how blockchain technology can enable end-to-end digital traceability of circular feedstock in customer products.

Energy efficiency, renewable energy, initial electrification and carbon capture were confirmed as priority areas for lowering SABIC’s absolute greenhouse gas emissions per its interim 2030 targets. The report also affirms that further scaling electrification and green/blue hydrogen will be key to its long-term Carbon Neutrality Roadmap.

We remind, SABIC participated in a ceremony to announce the first package of Shareek projects involving large companies in Saudi Arabia. The event was held in the presence of several dignitaries, senior businessmen and heads of major companies participating in the program. During the ceremony, SABIC announced a strategic project to manufacture catalysts, aiming to transform Saudi Arabia into a manufacturing hub for specialized materials in line with the national industrial strategy.

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