Ineos Styrolution partners with EGN and Tomra to recycle post-consumer polystyrene waste into food contact polystyrene

Tomra, the world leader in waste transformation; Ineos Styrolution, the global leader in styrenics; and Egn Entsorgungsgesellschaft Niederrhein, a leading recycling company, have announced a ground-breaking project to convert post-consumer polystyrene (PS) waste into recycled polystyrene for food packaging applications, said the company.

Egn, a subsidiary of the Swk AG, will build a green field state-of-the-art advanced mechanical recycling facility processing with a capacity to process 40kt of post-consumer polystyrene (PS) waste per year. It is expected to be the first large-scale facility of its kind. Egn will manage sorting and washing, while Ineos Styrolution will be responsible for the “super-cleaning” purification process to comply with the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) requirements for food contact applications.

The new facility will be located in Krefeld, Germany. It is expected to start up in mid-2025, allowing Ineos Styrolution to start serving customers at commercial scale.

An agreement with Tomra to provide sorting technology and feedstock complete the project. Tomra Feedstock will collect post-consumer polystyrene waste from disposed food packaging and deliver it to the new site in Krefeld, Germany.

We remind, 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. 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.

mrchub.com

French energy and chemicals engineer Technip Energies has acquired process development company Processium, said the company.

Processium, which has a laboratory and piloting facilities in Lyon, France, is an industrial development partner designing and developing next-generation processes to support the energy transition and improve manufacturing competitiveness in sustainable chemicals.

“With this acquisition, Technip Energies will pursue its strategic objective of accelerating the development of new processes and technologies to meet the pressing needs of a fast-growing market, driven by sustainability goals,” it said in a statement on Monday. The acquisition price was not disclosed.

We remind, Technip Energies announces the acquisition of Processium, an expert company in process development, equipped with laboratory and piloting facilities located in Lyon, France.

mrchub.com

Cepsa strengthens its chemical business with the construction in Huelva of the first production plant of isopropyl alcohol, or isopropanol, from renewable or circular materials, which will make it the most competitive, innovative, and environmentally friendly facility of its kind in the world, said the company.

Isopropanol is a product with disinfectant properties and with significant added value that is in high international demand and which, among many other uses, is the basis for hydroalcoholic gels. It is also used in the medical-pharmaceutical sector, and in cleaning products, electronics, cosmetics, paints or as a solvent.

The project, to be developed by Cepsa Quimica, will be the first facility of its kind to replace the fossil-based raw materials currently used in the production of isopropanol with sustainable materials. Cepsa Quimica thus expands its platform of Next products from renewable raw materials and green energies, such as NextLab and NextPhenol.

The new plant, which will require an investment of 75 million euros, will be operational in 2025 and will be located at Cepsa's chemical plant in Huelva. The new facility reinforces Cepsa's commitment to innovation, strengthens its leadership position in the chemical sector and consolidates its commitment to the development of more sustainable and environmentally friendly solutions.

Jose Maria Solana, EVP of Chemicals at Cepsa said that, "with this project, our Company’s position as leader in the chemical sector is further strengthened, enhancing our portfolio with the addition of a new product of great value to the society and our strategy. This product can be offered to our customers made with sustainable raw materials and opens us doors to new applications”.

We remind, Cepsa plans to nearly double its investments over the next three years to a total of 3.6 B euros (USD3.82 B), with more than half of that amount going to sustainable energy and mobility. It also posted a full-year net profit at current cost of supplies (CCS) of 790 MM euros for 2022, up sharply from the 310 MM euros reported in 2021. The planned investment increase of 93% for 2023-25 is from the previous three years, Cepsa said.

mrchub.com

Braskem’s stock was up nearly 5% in Sao Paulo afternoon trading after Unipar was invited to start the due diligence process for a potential acquisition, the company said.

In a relevant fact filed to Brazil’s Securities and Exchange Commission (CVM in its Portuguese acronym), Unipar said the acquisition offer “complies” with the interest of Novonor, Braskem’s largest shareholder. Novonor holds a 38.8% stake in Braskem, but its voting capital stands at a controlling 50.1%. Braskem’s second largest shareholder is Brazil’s energy major Petrobras with a 36.1% stake, and 47.0% of the voting capital.

Unipar disclosed in June it was seeking to acquire Braskem, Brazil and Latin America’s largest petrochemicals producer, a much larger entity than Unipar itself. The offer came after Abu Dhabi’s energy major ADNOC and US investment fund Apollo had also presented an acquisition offer earlier this year.

“Said response [from Novonor, stating Unipar can start due diligence] is subject to certain conditions, including the agreement of the creditor banks holding fiduciary assignments on Braskem’s shares with the terms of the transaction,” said Unipar. “[It] currently does not include granting Unipar the exclusivity in the process of disposal of Braskem’s control, formalising the invitation to Unipar to start an audit process at Braskem, aiming at the possibility of making a binding proposal and/or negotiating definitive documents of the transaction.”

Following Novonor’s positive response to Unipar’s approach, the latter went on to say that it will now “analyse” whether it signs an exclusivity agreement to potentially start the audit process at Braskem, as customary in “transactions of this magnitude”. Following the news, Braskem’s shares were up by 4.70% to Brazilian reais (R) 28.76 ($5.97) by 13:15 Sao Paulo time. Unipar’s stock was up by 3.7% to R82.08.

We remind, Braskem's Q1 main chemicals sales in Brazil fell 15%, year on year, while resin sales were stable, the Brazilian petrochemicals major said. Braskem puts under the main chemicals umbrella the following: ethylene, propylene, butadiene, cumene, gasoline, benzene, toluene and paraxylene. Main chemicals sales volume compared with 1Q 2022 decreased 15% due to lower demand in the period, which reflected in the utilisation rate of petrochemical crackers, the company said.

mrchub.com

Topsoe, a global leader in carbon emission reduction technologies, was selected by HF Sinclair as a technology provider for their production of renewable fuels at three facilities: Sinclair, Cheyenne and Artesia, said Hydrocarbonprocessing.

All three facilities have now successfully been put into operation and deliver renewable diesel into the United States transportation market. These facilities utilize Topsoe’s HydroFlex technology for the conversion of waste and bio-feedstock into renewable diesel.

Henrik Rasmussen, Managing Director, The Americas, Topsoe, says: “We are excited to deliver technology for the production of highly sought-after low-carbon fuels to the US transportation markets. It’s a pleasure collaborating with HF Sinclair on these very successful projects.”

Valerie Pompa, Executive Vice President, Operations, HF Sinclair, said: “HF Sinclair is now one the largest producers of renewable fuels in the United States. By implementing Topsoe’s carbon emission reduction technology, HydroFlex, at three of our facilities, we are able to further advance our sustainability efforts.”

Renewable fuels are low-carbon fuels made from renewable sources that are chemically identical to regular petroleum diesel or jet fuel. These renewable fuels produce less greenhouse gas emissions while performing the same as regular petroleum diesel or jet fuel. They can be used as a drop-in fuel without modification to engines or infrastructure. Renewable fuels are made from waste, animal fats, and used cooking oils, as well as organic materials such as soybean oils.

We remind, Sasol, the global chemicals and energy company, and Topsoe, a global leader in carbon emission reduction technologies, have signed a landmark agreement to establish a 50/50 joint venture (subject to approval by relevant authorities), solidifying their commitment to produce sustainable aviation fuels (SAF) and contribute to global efforts in combating climate change.

mrchub.com