Toray offers innovative recycling process for glass-fiber-reinforced PPS resin waste

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Toray Industries has recently announced that its marketing & sales subsidiary, Toray Resins Europe (called TREU) has established a recycling process for glass-fiber-reinforced polyphenylene sulfide (PPS) resin waste from injection molding processes, said Process-worldwide.

TREU created its process by leveraging proprietary compounding technology in collaboration with tolling partner MKV Kunststoffgranulate, a compounding company based in Beselich, Germany, that specializes in recycling engineering & high-performance plastics. Such resin has 50 % recycled content and retains at least 90 % of the mechanical strength that injection grades from original materials deliver.

SKZ – Das Kunststoff-Zentrum, has calculated and verified that PPS made with this recycling process can deliver a carbon footprint that is around 45 % lower than that of original PPS. The calculation was conducted based on the international LCA standards ISO 14040, ISO 14044 and the standard ISO 14067 ‘Carbon footprint of products’. SKZ, also known as the German Plastics Center, is a leading plastics testing and research institution based in Wurzburg.

We remind, Toray Industries, Inc., announced that it has developed a polyethylene terephthalate (PET) film that combines excellent applicability and adhesion for water-based and solvent-free coatings and can eliminate solvent-derived carbon-dioxide emissions. The company looks to produce the film at a domestic plant by end-March 2024 to help popularize eco-friendly film products for which decarbonization during manufacturing is desirable. These items include release, adhesive, printing, packaging, and automotive films.

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MOSCOW (MRC) -- Austrian energy and chemicals company OMV is not planning to offload its stake in the petrochemicals subsidiary Borealis, reported Reuters, citing OMV CEO Alfred Stern.

Currently, OMV owns a 75% stake in Borealis while state-run Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (Adnoc) holds the remaining 25% stake. Adnoc also owns a 25% stake in OMV.

In 2022, Adnoc unveiled a growth strategy involving a substantial investment of USD150bn (Dh550.88bn) between 2023 and 2027. The plan encompassed the establishment of a new division with a focus on the energy sector, including chemicals.

The announcement triggered speculation regarding Adnoc’s potential acquisition of OMV’s stake in Borealis, which has operations in Belgium, Germany and France, among others.

Stern was quoted by Reuters on the sidelines of an energy conference in New York as saying: “We are not going to sell the Borealis stake.”

OMV is expected to fulfil its gas supply contracts in Austria despite a halt in supplies from Russia’s Gazprom, Stern said.

“There has been a massive rearrangement of supply chains,” he added.

OMV anticipates refining margins to average between USD10 and USD15 per barrel. The margins could reduce below that level, Stern noted.

“For the year [it] will be more toward the lower end, but we are looking if we are going to fall out the bottom end of this potentially,” Stern said.

Adnoc acquired a 24.9% stake in OMV from Mubadala Investment Company to raise its holding in European petrochemicals maker Borealis and petrochemicals company Borouge.

We remind, Borealis announces that it is using the occasion of the Plastics Recycling Show Europe (PRSE) in May to highlight a new monomaterial pouch containing over 95% PP and designed for recycling.

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MOSCOW (MRC) -- The long-term agreement will form a part of Orsted’s Mockingbird Solar Center project in Lamar County, Texas, USA which is expected to produce clean energy to power roughly 80,000 homes, said Process-worldwide.

Covestro has signed a 90 megawatt (MW) virtual power purchase agreement (Vppa) with Orsted. This new 15-year agreement secures a portion of power from the Mockingbird Solar Center in Lamar County, Texas, marking Covestro’s first renewable energy agreement in the U.S. The Vppa is estimated to offset 70,000 tons of CO2 emissions annually and will reduce the scope 2 emissions from Covestro’s third largest production site, located in Baytown, Texas.

“This important new announcement builds upon Covestro’s existing agreement with Orsted and clearly signals our commitment to the use of renewable energy,” said Markus Steilemann, CEO of Covestro. “The inclusion of renewable energy to help power our facilities is a critical component to reducing our scope 2 emissions and becoming operationally climate neutral by 2035.”

We remind, Covestro, a leading manufacturer of high-quality polymer materials and their components, has signed a 90 megawatt (MW) virtual power purchase agreement (vPPA) with Orsted, a clean energy leader in the U.S. market, headquartered in Denmark.

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MOSCOW (MRC) -- Chevron Phillips Chemical, Technip Energies and LyondellBasell are collaborating on the design, construction and operation of a demonstration unit for Technip Energies’ electric steam cracking furnace technology, designed to reduce the greenhouse gas emissions associated with the olefins production process, said the company.

The demonstration unit, which will be constructed at LyondellBasell’s site in Channelview, Texas, is expected to advance the global energy transition by taking steps toward decarbonizing the olefins production process, said Arnaud Pieton, CEO of Technip Energies.

Electric cracking furnace can reduce furnace GHG emissions by up to 90% compared to a conventional furnace. Steam cracking furnaces play a significant role in the production of basic chemicals by breaking down hydrocarbons into olefins and aromatics. This cracking process requires a temperature of more than 1,500°F.

Technip Energies developed the concept and design for the e.Furnace by T.EN™ technology, which could achieve this temperature using electricity as the heat source. The use of renewable electricity in this process would contribute to significantly reducing the greenhouse gas emissions associated with olefins production.

“Climate change is a global issue that will take action from all segments of society, and we want to be part of the solution by reducing the intensity of our carbon footprint,” said Bruce Chinn, President and CEO of Chevron Phillips Chemical. “This project supports our efforts toward lowering the carbon intensity of our operations and demonstrates our continued focus on accelerating change for a sustainable future.”

We remind, Technip Energies is pleased to announce that a joint venture, led by Technip Energies in partnership with Consolidated Contractors Company, has won a major Engineering, Procurement, Construction and Commissioning contract by QatarEnergy for the onshore facilities of the North Field South Project.

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MOSCOW (MRC) -- Fujian Zhongjing Petrochemical Group has selected Johnson Matthey’s latest butanediol technology to produce 600,000 metric tonnes of bio-degradable plastics annually, said Process-worldwide.

This plastic can be used in compostable packaging and decomposes. As China accelerates its efforts to phase out single-use plastics in a bid to tackle pollution, Johnson Matthey will provide Fujian Zhongjing Petrochemical Group, with the latest butanediol (BDO) technology – a crucial component to produce bio-degradable plastics (PBAT). Three separate BDO plants will be built in phases. Using Johnson Matthey’s BDO technology, Fujian Zhongjing is expected to produce 600,000 metric tonnes of PBAT, per year – making this the largest contract in the world for this technology.

This bio-degradable plastic is used in compostable packaging and decomposes due to naturally occurring microorganisms such as fungi and bacteria.

Dr. Mark Su, President, Greater China at Johnson Matthey, says: “As plastic waste is such an issue, a plastic alternative, such as PBAT, could be one of the best solutions available to tackle plastic pollution. With decades of experience in this technology, it’s encouraging to see the positive impact it can have in creating a cleaner world.”

We remind, Johnson Matthey (JM) and bp announced that their co-developed, award-winning Fischer Tropsch (FT) CANS technology has been selected by Strategic Biofuels for their project which aims to produce the world’s lowest carbon footprint liquid fuel.

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