Arkema to Expand Capacity for Organic Peroxides in China

Arkema plans a two-and-a-half-fold increase of its organic peroxide production capacities at the Changshu site in China, said Chemanager-online.

This investment of around €50 million, the company said, will enable it to support its Asian customers in fast-growing markets, particularly in renewable energies.

According to Arkema, its Luperox brand of organic peroxides are used as niche additives fulfilling a critical mission as reaction initiators for a wide range of polymers and in particular play an important role in the energy transition as vital components in the manufacture of photovoltaic panels. With this significant investment in Changshu (China), Arkema will support the strong expansion of Asian producers serving a fast-growing global market.

This expansion of the group's organic peroxide activities in China complements the 70% increase in its organic peroxide capacity in India announced in 2022, as well as the doubling of capacity at the Luperox 101 plant in Gunzburg, Germany, which started up this summer. These projects, said Arkema, had notably enabled the industrial validation of several new and more efficient technologies, significantly reducing the environmental footprint of the organic peroxides business.

Commissioning of the new plant expansion in Changshu, for which the groundbreaking ceremony took place in September, is expected in early 2025.

Laurent Tellier, senior vice-president of Arkema’s Performance Additives business, commented: “With this investment in China, we are strengthening our position as a major producer of niche additives for sustainable development, with an industrial expansion that will incorporate our most efficient technologies in terms of environmental footprint.”

We remind, Arkema has doubled capacity for its Reafree-branded powder polyester resins at its Navi Mumbai facility in India. The French chemical producer said the upgrade reinforces its leadership position in the global powder coatings market and its commitment to developing very low-VOC technologies.

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Middle distillates inventories at key storage hub Singapore hit a more than six-month high as the city-state turned net importer of jet fuel/kerosene despite an increase in gasoil outflows to the West, official data showed, said Hydrocarbonprocessing.

Stock levels of gasoil and jet fuel/kerosene rose 4.1% to 9.374 million barrels for the week to Sept. 27, compared with 9.001 million barrels a week ago, the data from Enterprise Singapore showed on Thursday.

China jet fuel barrels resurfaced for the first time in almost two months, in line with earlier market expectations, as state-owned oil majors cash in on profits for exports. The trend is expected to continue into October, with at least 84,000 metric tons of the aviation fuel already expected to load from China to Singapore, shiptracking data Kpler showed.

Shipping enquiries are present for at least 35,000 tons of jet fuel loading from north China to Singapore in the market as well, one shipbroking source said. Total jet fuel exports however paled in comparison, with around 28,000 tons heading to Australia for the week.

Gasoil wise, net exports were three fold from last week, as total exports surged by more than 70% week on week, data showed. Major outflows were to Austalia and New Zealand, likewise the past few months, but some exports to the West and Africa emerged as well supporting total exports.

The emergence of exports to the West was attributed to a slightly wider east-west arbitrage in first-half September of up to a discount of $86 a ton, which could have encouraged some sellers to pull their cargoes there, one Singapore-based trade source said.

Exports to South Africa could continue into October, following some slight changes in tradeflow should the Russian ban on low-sulfur diesel continue, a second source said. Total imports however climbed as well, with imports from China being the key contributor.

Likewise jet fuel/kerosene, more gasoil cargoes from China are likely to start landing in Singapore the next few weeks given the availability of export quotas. At least three more 60,000 ton of gasoil cargoes will arrive in Singapore the next two weeks from China, LSEG shiptracking data showed.

Thailand exports to Singapore also emerged for the first time in a month, the data showed.

We remind, INEOS has announced it has reached an agreement with Eastman Chemical Company to purchase the Eastman Texas City site, including the 600kt Acetic Acid plant and all associated third party activities on the site, for circa USD500 mln. Eastman and INEOS have also entered into a Memorandum of Understanding to explore options for a long-term supply agreement for vinyl acetate monomer.

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DuPont officially opened its new adhesives production facility in Zhangjiagang (ZJG), eastern China, on Wednesday, said Chemanager-online.

The new facility will produce adhesives to serve customers in the transportation industry, primarily in lightweighting and fast-growing vehicle electrification applications, the company said.

According to DuPont, the facility, with capacity to serve regional needs, offers state-of-the-art process capability and quality, technical support, and excellent access to transportation for shipping and logistics advantages. The site includes a manufacturing execution system (MES), designed to optimize the manufacturing process and connect all aspects of the manufacturing workflow, making the production process visible, trackable, and more reliable.

“We are thrilled to open this new manufacturing site with its state-of-the-art equipment, innovative products and outstanding colleagues,” said Tina Wu, global vice president of DuPont Adhesives & Fluids, Tedlar and Multibase. “The new ZJG facility will further advance our position as a leading provider of auto electrification solutions and enhance our offerings to customers in China and the Asian market.”

“The unique geographic advantages of the Zhangjiagang Free Trade Zone, located in Zhangjiagang City, are key to attracting high-quality investments from many leading global and local companies,” said Cai Jianfeng, Mayor of Zhangjiagang. “The opening of DuPont’s new facility marks a deepening of its collaboration with our city as well as its commitment to operating in China. This advanced manufacturing hub will accelerate growth in the region and reinforce competitiveness.”

We remind, DuPont de Nemours Inc. closed the sale of its USD1.75 billion acquisition of medical device manufacturer Spectrum Plastics Group, the company announced. DuPont bought the manufacturer from private equity firm AEA Investors, which acquired Spectrum in 2018.

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Borealis has appointed two vice presidents within its polyolefins business unit, said the company.

Britta Warnke, who takes on the role of vice president Energy, joined Borealis in 2018. Since August 2022, she was vice president Mobility and Advanced Products. Before that she held international positions at Cabot, Amcor and Lufthansa.

Warnke, a German citizen, holds an MBA from INSEAD, a master’s degree in Environmental Management from Ulster University, Germany, a master’s degree in Space Science and a bachelor’s degree in Natural Sciences from the Open University, UK, a master’s degree in History from the FernUniversitat in Hagen, Germany, and a bachelor’s degree in International Business Administration from VWA in Stuttgart, Germany.

Succeeding Warnke as vice president Mobility and Advanced Products is Shanila Baseley, previously global commercial director Advanced Products.

Baseley, a UK national, joined Borealis in 2022 and looks back at a career at DuPont and Innovia, working in several global positions. She holds a master’s degree in Instrumentation and Analytical Science from UMIST, UK, and a bachelor’s degree in Chemistry from the Glasgow Caledonian University, UK.

We remind, In July 2023, our polyolefin (PO) compounding site in Monza, Italy received International Sustainability and Carbon Certification (ISCC PLUS). With this latest certification, we have achieved the milestone of having all our European PO and PO compounding sites as well as our recycling sites in Oostende, Belgium, and in Austria ISCC PLUS certified.

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BASF has inked an agreement with Qore LLC for long-term access to the latter’s bio-based 1,4-butanediol (BDO), the companies said in a joint statement.

Qore LLC, a joint venture between Cargill and HELM AG, will produce the bio-based QIRA BDO at Cargill’s biotechnology campus and corn refining operation in Eddyville, Iowa.

With QIRA, BASF will expand its existing offer of BDO derivatives with bio-based variants of, for instance, polytetramethylene ether glycol (polytetrahydrofuran, PolyTHF) and tetrahydrofuran (THF).

The first commercial quantities are expected to be available in the first quarter of 2025.

Using QIRA enables BASF to produce BDO derivatives with lower carbon footprint than the corresponding fossil-based chemicals. BDO derivatives based on QIRA have the same physical and technical properties compared to those based on fossil-based BDO, the companies said.

We remind, BASF is to produce cathode active materials (CAM) from recycled metals in Battle Creek, Michigan, for use in lithium-ion batteries produced by Nanotech Energy. The two companies will partner with American Battery Technology Company (ABTC), a lithium-ion battery recycling company, and TODA Advanced Materials, which has experience in producing specialised CAM precursor and metal hydroxide.

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