EPA proposes five chemicals for High-Priority risk evaluation

The US Environmental Protection Administration (EPA) has proposed to designate vinyl chloride monomer (VCM), acetaldehyde, acrylonitrile, benzamine (aniline) and 4,4’-methylene bis(2-chloroaniline) (MBOCA) as High-Priority Substances for risk evaluation under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA). In its July 24 announcement, EPA said the move supports the Biden administration’s “mission to end cancer as we know it” and “efforts to make progress on delivering environmental justice and tackling plastic pollution.”

EPA said it selected the five chemicals from the 2014 TSCA Work Plan, a list of chemicals identified for further assessment based on their hazards and potential for exposure. The agency will accept public comment on the proposed designations for 90 days. If the designations are finalized, EPA will conduct risk evaluations to determine whether the chemicals present an unreasonable risk to human health or the environment within 3.5 years. If EPA makes a positive determination, the agency will act to eliminate the unreasonable risk.

VCM is the feedstock for polyvinyl chloride (PVC) resin. US producers include Formosa Plastics, OxyChem, Olin, Shintech and Westlake.

In the US, acetaldehyde is consumed primarily in the manufacturing of pyridine, pyridine bases, and acetate esters. The US is the world’s second-largest consumer of acetaldehyde, at 13% of the global total, while China dominates at 44%, according to data from S&P Global Commodity Insights. Eastman Chemical is the only producer in the US.

Acrylonitrile is a feedstock for many major products, including ABS/SAN resins, acrylic fibers, acrylamide, nitrile rubber, adiponitrile and carbon fibers. US producers include Ineos Nitriles, Ascend Performance Materials, and Cornerstone Chemical.

Benzamine, more commonly known as aniline, is a feedstock for the production of methylene diphenylene diisocyanate (MDI), feedstock for the production of flexible polyurethane foams. US producers include BASF, Covestro, Dow and Rubicon.

MBOCA is a curing agent used in the production of cast polyurethane elastomers.

We remind, the European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) has updated its report on regulatory challenges and said more research and methodological development is needed to continue to improve the regulation of hazardous chemicals in the EU. Among the areas where more research is needed are protection against neurotoxicity, immunotoxicity and endocrine disruption from harmful chemicals, according to ECHA.

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Researchers from BASF SE, the Austrian Research Centre of Industrial Biotechnology (ACIB; Graz, Austria) and the University of Graz in Austria have co-developed a new computer-assisted model that can improve enzyme performance and enable new biocatalytic production processes to be scaled up faster from the lab to industrial manufacturing, according to a BASF statement on July 24.

Enzymes are biological catalysts that speed up chemical reactions and are involved in almost all metabolic processes in the body, such as the digestion of food or the formation of cells and tissue, BASF said. The chemical industry uses enzymes as biocatalysts in production processes, it said. BASF uses them to make products such as vitamins, flavorings or ingredients for cosmetics and detergents, the company said.

Enzymes are very sensitive and stop working properly if the temperature is too high or too low, while they can also be influenced by substances contained in the reaction medium, such as solvents, the company said.

“In order to get the largest possible amounts of the desired product, we need to find the optimal point for the enzyme, where both the reaction temperature and the solvent concentration result in the highest possible activity,” said Stefan Seemayer, global head of computational protein engineering at BASF.

Determining this optimal combination of temperature and solvent concentration was a complex process involving many laboratory experiments, but the new computer-assisted regression model makes it “significantly” easier to determine the optimal combination, the company said.

“Only a few preliminary lab tests, such as determining the unfolding curve of the enzyme, are necessary. The obtained data is entered into the computer model, which then computes the optimal combination of reaction temperature and solvent concentration for the best-possible enzyme performance,” BASF said.

With this new method, different enzymes can be compared more easily with each other, and their performance can be optimized, BASF added. “This considerably reduces our efforts to find the most suitable conditions for each new production process. We can therefore conclude our research and development work in the laboratory more quickly and thus begin to scale up production faster. This significantly lowers costs and resource consumption, improving the sustainability of biocatalysis,” Seemayer said.

BASF has signed an agreement with chemical manufacturer Solenis (headquartered in Wilmington, Delaware, USA) for the sale of BASF's mining flocculant business. The deal is expected to close in the second half of 2024. Financial details of the transaction are not disclosed.

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Indorama Ventures Public Co. Ltd. (IVL; Bangkok, Thailand) announced a midyear strategic review of the progress of its IVL 2.0 plan, said the company.

The company said in the last six months it has made pivotal organizational changes, reflecting a proactive approach to confront the current market challenges.

To pivot toward the changing industry landscape, driven by Chinese-led overcapacity and the structural imbalance of regional refinery capacities that are impacting feedstock costs, the company said it is repurposing its global footprint.

As part of the asset optimization plan under IVL 2.0, the company has closed its polyethylene terephthalate (PET)/purified terephthalic acid site in the Netherlands and an ethylene oxide and derivatives facility in Australia.

Together with optimization of other sites, Indorama anticipates a total impairment and expense provision of USD660 million-USD680 million in the second quarter of 2024. The cash component will be paid in the second half of 2024, expected to be compensated by a working capital release of USD110 million-USD130 million from closed sites.

“This does not include estimated cash gains of USD100 million-USD125 million expected from the sale of freehold land, to be realized in due course. These actions represent a significant proportion of the company’ asset optimization program, and it does not expect material additional impairments arising from this program,” said the company.

The company said that these actions primarily impact the integrated PET business, where operating rates improve by 7%. Revenue will remain largely unchanged as it continues to serve customers from other sites. By taking these actions, the company said that it is strengthening its asset base and improving cash flow and quality of earnings to increase return on capital employed (ROCE) by around 230 basis points and return on equity by 450 basis points.

Indorama announced that after the optimization process, the group’s production capacity in the first half of 2024 will be lower by 9.9% to 17.2 million metric tons and the fixed cost will be USD2.2 billion, a decrease of 8.3%.

The company earlier in March said it is reviewing seven of its production sites as part of a drive to lower costs, improve ROCE and lift operating rates. The planned measures include asset rationalizations, USD1.3 billion in planned divestitures and a new USD450 million cost-saving program.

The company has put in place governance structures and project teams to manage the public listings of its businesses Indovida and Indovinya and the divestitures of noncore businesses, and they are now working toward unlocking and maximizing market value.

The initial public offering (IPO) of Indovida is expected to be completed in 2025 in Asia, while the IPO of Indovinya is expected in 2026 in the West, with expected combined proceeds of $1 billion for both transactions. The company has started selecting advisors for various workstreams and structuring and reorganizing the businesses and the entities under Indovida and Indovinya. “Discussions with our top-tier team of capital market advisors are underway and indications are that a healthy investor appetite exists for the assets,” said Indorama.

The divestments of the two noncore businesses are expected to bring cash proceeds of about USD300 million in 2025.

It was previously reported that Indorama Ventures is closing a plant for the production of terephthalic acid and polyethylene terephthalate in Rotterdam (Netherlands). In April 2024, the concern launched a consultation process regarding the future of the production site.

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Sherwin-Williams (SW) reported second-quarter net income up 12.1% year over year, to USD889.9 million, on net sales up 0.5%, to USD6.27 billion, said the company.

Adjusted earnings totaled USD3.70 per share, up 12.5% and ahead of analysts’ consensus estimate of USD3.49 per share, as reported by S&P Capital IQ. Higher volumes in paint stores and performance coatings drove the increases, which were boosted by sequential price increases.

“We are clearly seeing a return on last year’s growth investments in residential repaint, where volume increased by a mid-single digit percentage in a down market,” said SW President and CEO Heidi Petz. “We’re also encouraged by growth in new residential, where we expect continued momentum over the back half of the year.”

Paint stores segment sales increased 3.5% year over year, to USD3.62 billion, while segment profit was up 6.8%, to USD907.1 million. Volumes grew by a low-single-digit percentage, and selling prices increased. “Net sales grew in all end markets, led by residential repaint, new residential, commercial and protective and marine, with the exception of property maintenance which declined modestly year-over-year,” SW said.

Performance coatings segment sales rose 0.6% year over year, to USD1.81 billion, while segment profit increased 10.6%, to USD301.5 million. An acquisition boosted sales, while profits were increased by lower raw material costs. “Performance was led by industrial wood, coil and automotive refinish in North America, partially offset by a decrease in general industrial across all regions,” SW said.

Consumer brands segment sales fell 10.7% year over year, to USD844.3 million, while segment profit was up 85.3%, to USD204.4 million. Soft do-it-yourself demand in North America and a divestiture in China cut into sales, while profits increased due to higher fixed-cost absorption and moderating raw material costs.

SW has raised its full-year 2024 adjusted earnings guidance slightly, to USD11.10-USD11.40 per share from USD10.85-11.35 per share. “We are updating our guidance for the full year 2024 to reflect our better than expected second quarter diluted net income per share results, tempered by continued demand uncertainty in several end markets,” Petz said.

Borouge, Borealis Group, ADNOC and Wanhua Chemical Group, together with Wanrong New Materials (Fujian), a subsidiary controlled by Wanhua, signed a cooperation agreement for a feasibility study project to develop a special advanced polyolefin complex with a capacity of 1.6 in Fuzhou, Province Fujian, China.

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Russia's Tuapse oil refinery is still operating, Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak said on Tuesday, a day after local authorities reported that the refinery had been damaged in a Ukrainian drone attack.

The Tuapse plant, Russia's biggest refinery on the Black Sea, was damaged in a major Ukrainian drone attack on Monday which sparked a fire. The extent of the damage is still unclear.

Ukraine has been systematically targeting Russian energy infrastructure in an attempt to disrupt Russia's economy and its ability to fund Russia's war in Ukraine, something the Kremlin calls a special military operation.

The refinery, which has a processing capacity of 240,000 bpd of oil, has been a target of several Ukrainian air attacks since the start of the conflict.

We remind, Russia might decide to reinstate a gasoline export ban from August should there be supply shortages on the domestic fuel market, according to Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak. He said the domestic fuel market had been stable so far, but there had been some difficulties with a popular gasoline, the Ai-95 grade, which were being dealt with.
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