Solvay to present comprehensive portfolio of advanced material solutions

Solvay, a leading global supplier of specialty materials, has announced that it will attend Semicon China 2023 at Shanghai New International Expo Centre from June 29 to July 1, said the company.

Exhibiting at Booth E7249, the company will present a complete array of advanced polymers and chemicals designed to push the limits of chip performance with outstanding purity, long-lasting chemical stability and optimized resistance to high temperatures and plasma.

With extensive technical industry expertise and a broad product portfolio, Solvay is a leading supplier of specialty polymers and chemicals for the semiconductor industry across all stages of manufacturing from FEOL (front-end-of-line) to BEOL (back-end-of-line), including duct coating, filtration, piping and tubing, wafer handling, lithography, as well as testing and packaging.

Solvay’s specialty polymers and chemicals for the semiconductors industry have proven their superior resistance to the harsh conditions of cutting-edge semiconductor processes needed for innovative semiconductor node designs. These materials can be found in nearly every processing step, including cleaning, chemical vapor deposition (CVD), dry and wet etching and chemical mechanical polishing (CMP). Polymer offerings span from polysulfones and semi-crystalline specialties to fluoroelastomers, all engineered to provide superior cleanliness and purity, excellent chemical stability and high heat tolerance in combination with long-term reliability and efficiency in advanced semiconductor applications. This is complemented by a wide range of high-purity, high-quality and consistent semiconductor process chemicals used primarily in the cleaning and etching stages of semiconductor chip production.

We remind, Solvay Specialty Polymers USA, LLC, a subsidiary of Solvay S.A. (Solvay) and the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP) announced an agreement resolving certain PFAS related claims in New Jersey. Under the terms of the agreement, Solvay will pay USD75 million to NJDEP for Natural Resource Damages (NRDs) and USD100 million to fund NJDEP PFAS remediation projects in areas of New Jersey near the company’s West Deptford site.

mrchub.com

BASF celebrated the opening of Europe’s first co-located center of battery material production and battery recycling in Schwarzheide, Germany, said the company.

The inauguration of a state-of-the-art production facility for high-performance cathode active materials and the unveiling ceremony for a battery recycling plant for the production of black mass represent important steps toward closing the loop for the European battery value chain – from the collection of used batteries and the recovery of mineral raw materials to their use in the production of new battery materials. Major step in Europe to participate in the rapidly growing global battery market.

Battery materials are at the heart of lithium-ion batteries as they significantly determine their performance and therefore play a crucial role in the transformation of mobility.

“Despite all challenges we are currently facing in Europe, is a reason for all of us to be optimistic. The state-of the art cathode active materials plant and the recycling plant for black mass production underline that we at BASF believe in the future of the chemical industry in Europe and in Germany and invest in innovative products and services for our customers in our home market,” said Dr. Martin Brudermuller, Chairman of the Board of Executive Directors of BASF SE. “With our two investments we significantly contribute to the reduction of the CO2 footprint of batteries and close the loop for sustainable mobility."

We remind, BASF and Yara Clean Ammonia are collaborating on a joint study to develop and construct a world-scale low-carbon blue ammonia production facility with carbon capture in the U.S. Gulf Coast region. The companies are looking into the feasibility of a plant with a total capacity of 1.2 to 1.4 million tons p.a. to serve the growing global demand for low-carbon ammonia.

mrchub.com

Solvay has agreed to pay USD393m to the US state of New Jersey to address pollution caused by per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), said the company.

Under the proposed settlement, Solvay does not admit to any liability. Some of the money will clean up the area around Solvay's plant in West Deptford in Gloucester county, New Jersey. It will also pay to update water systems so they can remove PFAS. The money will pay for compensation and for more studies on PFAS contamination.

The next step is for the state to gather comments from the public through 6 October about the settlement. After that, the state will review the comments and respond if necessary. The proposed settlement will then go before the court for approval.

The state alleged that Solvay used Surflon, a process aid that contained perfluorononanoic acid (PFNA) and perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA).

In November 2020, the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP) sued Solvay and the prior owner of the West Deptford plant, accusing the companies of doing too little to clean up the site.

Since the lawsuit, Solvay has stopped using PFAS in its process aids, the state said. The company started taking more steps to treat its wastewater.

We remind, Solvay has opened a new application development lab (ADL) in Shanghai, China, to expand its global footprint of its research and innovation facilities. The new facility will develop solutions for applications industries including automotive, new energy, life solutions and pharmacy, smart devices and semiconductors for Solvay’s customers active in local and global end markets.

mrchub.com

Norway's Yara and chemicals giant BASF are looking into developing and building a low-carbon blue ammonia production facility in the U.S Gulf coast region, as per Reuters.

The companies are planning to complete their feasibility study on the production facility by the end of this year, they said.

They are looking into the feasibility of a plant with a total capacity of 1.2 to 1.4 million tons per year, they added.

Yara, in a strategy update on Monday, said it had postponed a planned initial public offering of its Yara Clean Ammonia (YCA) business by one or two years due to an unsatisfactory market valuation.

So-called blue ammonia is produced from natural gas, with the carbon dioxide (CO2) byproduct captured and stored.

We remind, BASF has broken ground on a polyethylene (PE) plant at its Verbund site in Zhanjiang, China. The new plant with a capacity of 500,000 metric tons of PE annually will serve the fast-growing demand in China, said the company. The plant is scheduled to start up in 2025.

mrchub.com

The production cuts by OPEC+ may aim to keep crude prices high enough to satisfy the exporter group, but they are also starting to drive some unusual dynamics in the broader oil market, said Hydrocarbonprocessing.

An example is the trade in physical cargoes from the Middle East where Unipec, the trading arm of top Chinese refiner Sinopec, has been selling heavily this month. A total of 64 cargoes, the bulk of which are Omani crude, have been traded so far in June, according to data compiled by Refinitiv Oil Research.

This is a large number by historical standards and Unipec has been the seller in about two-thirds of the cargoes traded. It appears that Unipec is trying through its aggressive selling to influence the regional Oman/Dubai regional price benchmark, most likely to keep it anchored around USD75 a barrel.

The Oman/Dubai benchmark is used by Saudi Aramco as a basis for setting its monthly official selling prices (OSPs) for Asian refiners, which buy about two-thirds of the cargoes from the world's largest crude exporter. In effect what Unipec appears to be trying to do is limit the price increase in Middle East crudes, which have become more expensive relative to grades from the Atlantic Basin in the wake of the additional cuts to output announced by OPEC+ in early April.

The Saudi decision to voluntarily cut another 1 million barrels per day (bpd) of production for July also helped drive the price of Middle East grades higher relative to crude from producers in Africa and the Americas. Unipec would no doubt like to see the Saudis lower their OSPs for August-loading cargoes, after the unexpected increase in OSPs for shipments in July.

Aramco raised the OSP for its benchmark Arab Light grade for refiners in Asia by 45 cents a barrel to a premium of USD3.00 over Oman/Dubai quotes, the highest in six months. The hike surprised refiners, who had tipped in a survey ahead of the June 5 announcement that Aramco would cut the OSP for Arab Light by more than USD1 a barrel.

We remind, Russia's energy ministry said it sees no shortage of gasoline in the domestic market, with companies having cut their exports and increased production after gradually completing planned maintenance work. The ministry also said some refineries have not yet completed repairs, and oil companies are following government recommendations to systematically reduce exports. As a result, in June, gasoline exports fell 30% from May. The ministry continues to recommend that companies adhere to the policy to curb exports.

mrchub.com