Carbios to break ground on PET recycling plant in France

Carbios announces that it has been granted the building permit and operating authorization for the world’s first polyethylene terephthalate (PET) biorecycling plant, allowing construction to start, said the company.

The facility is set to be constructed in Longlaville, France, adjacent to strategic partner Indorama Ventures' PET production plant. Expected to be operational by 2025, this facility will address plastic pollution by offering industrial-scale enzymatic recycling for PET waste. Carbios' technology supports PET circularity, offering an eco-friendly alternative to virgin fossil-based materials. With a processing capacity of 50,000 tons of post-consumer PET waste per year, it can create 150 jobs and assist various industries in meeting regulatory and sustainability requirements.

Emmanuel Ladent, CEO of Carbios commented “Everything is now in place so that construction of our plant can officially begin! We obtained the permits in line with the announced schedule, and we are eager to deliver a facility of great local and international significance for a circular economy of plastic."

The plant, strategically located near the borders of Belgium, Germany, and Luxembourg, benefits from convenient waste supply. Carbios' biorecycling technology processes complex waste and produces food-grade products, enhancing supply flexibility. Carbios and Indorama Ventures will collaborate to ensure a steady feedstock supply for the Longlaville plant. The supply potential could reach 400,000 tons by 2023 and up to 500,000 tons by 2030 with improved selective collection.

We remind, Carbios and its subsidiary Carbiolice have signed a development agreement with Danish enzymes producer Novozymes. Under the terms of the multi-year deal, Novozymes will upscale and produce Carbios’s proprietary plastic-degrading enzymes and supply them exclusively to Carbiolice, which will commercialize a new generation of products that will enable single-use plastics to be fully biodegradable.

mrchub.com

SK Geo Centric Co., a South Korean petrochemical company, announced on Thursday it has entered into an agreement to supply recycled plastic materials to the US-based packaging company Amcor plc, said Kedglobal.

The South Korean company will provide materials sourced from pyrolysis oil starting in 2025 from the Advanced Recycling Cluster (ARC) in Ulsan. Pyrolysis oil is obtained by liquefying and extracting oil from discarded plastic waste, which would otherwise be either incinerated or deposited in landfills.

SK Geo Centric delivers polyethylene (PE) and polypropylene (PP) produced from recycled plastic. Amcor uses these materials to manufacture packaging for pharmaceuticals, cosmetics, food products and more, selling them to global consumer goods companies. The two companies have also agreed to explore further cooperation in the packaging sector.

Amcor, listed on the New York Stock Exchange, is a supplier of packaging materials for industries including food, pharmaceuticals and beverages. As of last year, it had 41,000 employees working in 218 facilities across 41 countries, with an annual revenue of $14.7 billion.

SK Geo Centric expects a growing demand for recycled plastic materials produced at the Ulsan ARC, which is still under construction. The Ulsan ARC is expected to produce approximately 320,000 tons of recycled plastic materials annually.

We remind, China-Korea Petrochemical, a joint venture (JV) between South Korea’s SK Geo Centric and the Chinese public oil company Sinopec, celebrates its 10th anniversary this year. The two companies on Saturday held a ceremony to mark the milestone at their JV plant in Wuhan, a city in China’s Hubei province.

mrchub.com

Phillips 66’ third-quarter chemicals earnings slumped year on year and quarter on quarter on the back of lower margins, despite capacity utilisation for the division averaging 99% during the period for olefins and polyolefins, the firm said.

Chemicals earnings – derived from the firm’s stake in joint venture company CP Chem -fell on the back of weaker margin during the quarter, partially offset by higher volumes. Second-quarter 2022 division income stood at $192m.

Refining income firmed compared to the second quarter of the year as margins firmed in the wake of stronger commodity pricing, but fell by nearly $1.2bn year on year.

The company still expects a 1bn pound/year (454,000 tonne/year) propylene splitter to come on stream in the fourth quarter, while a project in Ras Laffan, Qatar, secured funding in October.

“CPChem continues to pursue a portfolio of high-return growth projects. CPChem and QatarEnergy are building joint-venture petrochemical facilities on the US Gulf Coast and in Ras Laffan, Qatar,” the company said.

“On the US Gulf Coast, the Golden Triangle Polymers (GTP) facility will include a 4.6 billion pounds per year ethane cracker and two high-density polyethylene units with a combined capacity of 4.4 billion pounds per year.” It added.

We remind, US bioplastics company Danimer Scientific is expanding its collaboration with Chevron Phillips Chemical (CPChem). The collaboration will now include application development for Rinnovo polymers, which is a type of polyhydroxyalkanoate (PHA) synthesised from lactones produced using Danimer’s proprietary catalyst technology.

mrchub.com

Trinseo, a specialty material solutions provider, today announced its decision to discontinue operations at its ethylbenzene styrene monomer (EBSM) manufacturing facility in Terneuzen, the Netherlands, said the company.

This decision was made following the completion of joint negotiations with the Works Council in Terneuzen. The plant is scheduled to officially cease operations in November 2023. With the closure of the EBSM facility, the company will purchase of all of its styrene needs from third party suppliers to support its downstream businesses.

The Company also recently announced the closure of its PMMA sheet operations in Bronderslev, Denmark, Belen, New Mexico, and Rho, Italy, as well as cost saving measures including headcount and other reductions. Materials produced at the closed PMMA sheet plants will now be produced by other facilities within the global network, primarily Saint-Avold, France, and Florence, Kentucky, USA.

In aggregate, these initiatives are expected to result in annual cost savings of approximately $75 million. The anticipated future cash payments associated with these actions are approximately $50 million, with $35 million of this expected to be incurred in 2024.

“Decisions like this that impact the livelihoods of our colleagues are never easy, and this decision in no way reflects on the capabilities of our dedicated teammates in Terneuzen, or at other operations that were part of this optimization effort,” said CEO Frank Bozich. “Given reduced European demand and global styrene capacity additions, we believe that we will be able to support our downstream business effectively through market purchases with lower carbon, capital and energy intensity for the foreseeable future,” added Bozich.

These latest restructuring actions, in combination with lower natural gas hedge losses, are expected to result in a sequential profitability improvement of $100 million in 2024.

We remind, Trinseo, a specialty material solutions provider, today announced that it will host a conference call to discuss its third quarter 2023 financial results on Monday, November 6 at 10 a.m. Eastern Time. Commenting on results will be Frank Bozich, President and Chief Executive Officer, David Stasse, Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer, and Andy Myers, Director of Investor Relations. The conference call will include introductory comments followed by a question and answer (Q&A) session.

mrchub.com

INEOS Group Holdings S.A. announces its trading performance for the third quarter of 2023, said the company.

Based on unaudited management information INEOS reports that EBITDA for the third quarter of 2023 was €403 million, compared to €511 million for Q3, 2022 and €387 million for Q2, 2023.

High energy costs, particularly in Europe, together with continued high inflation rates have led to reduced demand levels and weak margins. North American markets were relatively robust, taking full benefit from their current cost advantage. Market conditions in Europe and Asia have remained weak in the quarter. Nevertheless, the business saw a slowly improving trend in performance throughout the quarter.

O&P North America reported EBITDA of €177 million compared to €207 million in Q3, 2022. Ethylene markets were generally weaker in the quarter with lower demand, improved industry supply availability and reduced export opportunities. Polymer markets were softer with erosion of margins for most products in the quarter, although pipe markets remained solid. The results in the quarter were adversely impacted by an incident on a pipeline at the Chocolate Bayou, Texas facility, which resulted in reduced operating rates during the quarter.

O&P Europe reported EBITDA of €103 million compared to €149 million in Q3, 2022. Markets for olefins in the quarter were generally weaker with most industry crackers being trimmed across Europe. Propylene markets were soft with weak demand across most derivatives due to high energy costs. European polymer markets were long with reduced demand and increased levels of imports, although there was some improvement towards the end of the quarter.

Chemical Intermediates reported EBITDA of €123 million compared to €155 million in Q3, 2022. Overall demand in the Oligomers business was solid across the product portfolio, although there was some weakness in Asian markets. Demand was weaker across most market sectors for the Oxide business, particularly the European glycol markets. The results were adversely impacted in the quarter by an incident on a supplier pipeline to the Plaquemine, Louisiana site. Demand for the Nitriles business was mixed, with firm demand in the USA, but softer demand in Europe due to high energy costs, and Asia due to improved industry supply. Markets for the Phenol business were balanced in the USA, but weaker in Europe and Asia.

The Group has continued to focus on cash management and liquidity. Net debt was approximately €8.1 billion at the end of September 2023 (including the SECCO Term Loan and Project One Facility). Cash balances at the end of the quarter were €2,220 million, and availability under undrawn working capital facilities was €541 million. Net debt leverage (excluding the SECCO Term Loan and Project One facility) was approximately 4.1 times as at the end of September 2023.

We remind, INEOS has today 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 $500 million. Eastman and INEOS have also entered into a Memorandum of Understanding to explore options for a long-term supply agreement for vinyl acetate monomer.

mrchub.com