Arkema to produce bio-based acrylic thickeners in Europe

Arkema SA said it is introducing up to 30% bio-based content into its full line of acrylic thickeners produced in Europe, which will result in a reduction in the carbon footprint of the products of up to 25%, compared with the standard, fossil-based, grades, as per Chemweek.

“These bio-based specialty additives set the stage for the next generation of sustainable coatings and adhesives products, supporting our customers to achieve their sustainability and carbon footprint reduction goal," said Helene Pernot, global sustainability marketing director/coating solutions at Arkema.

They are first products made with the recently announced bio-sourced ethyl acrylate produced at the Arkema acrylic monomer facility at Carling, France, the company said.

Arkema’s acrylic thickeners are used in architectural paints, industrial coatings, plasters, renders, adhesives, sealants, and various applications to optimize the rheology of those systems, Yohann Trang, global market director/construction materials at Arkema’s coating solutions.

”Those bio-based acrylic thickeners are identical in term of performance and cost for our customers. This evolution reflects our commitment to more sustainability across the value chain,” said Trang.

We remind, Dow has completed the sale of its Packaging and Specialty Plastics business (which specializes in the production of flexible packaging lamination adhesives) to Arkema. The deal was valued at $150 million.

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China’s Anqing Taiheng Chemical Technology is planning to shut its two methyl tert-butyl ether (MTBE) lines at Anqing in Anhui province in the week starting April 14 due to increased price volatility, a company source said April 14, as per Chemweek.

The site’s largest MTBE line has capacity to produce 850,000 metric tons per year while the smaller second line can produce up to 150,000 metric tons per year, the source said. The plant could stop producing MTBE for one or up to two months, although it would depend on the market situation, the source said.

The plant usually caps its overall production rate at around 900,000 metric tons per year, the source added. International MTBE prices have plunged since the US tariff announcements, while in China the price of LPG has increased amid news of China’s retaliatory tariffs on imports from the US.

LPG is a feedstock for the production of MTBE and the price rise in LPG has caused problems for Chinese MTBE producers, who rely fairly extensively on exports, market sources said recently.

“LPG is so expensive, and MTBE is so low,” one source said. Platts last assessed Asian MTBE FOB Singapore down $4.30 per metric ton day on day at $633.55 per metric ton on April 11. Platts is part of S&P Global Commodity Insights.

Earlier, it was reported that LyondellBasell will build a new 400,000-ton propylene production unit at its Channelview complex near Houston, Texas. The company did not disclose the investment volume for the expansion. Construction is expected to begin in the third quarter of 2025, with launch scheduled for late 2028. Propylene oxide is used to make polyurethane foam and insulation materials. Tertiary butyl alcohol is converted into two ether-based products: methyl tert-butyl ether (MTBE) and ethyl tert-butyl ether (ETBE). Both MTBE and ETBE are high-octane fuel additives that help gasoline burn more efficiently, reducing vehicle emissions.

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The European naphtha market ended a volatile week with a slight recovery on April 11 as the crack spread and backwardated time spreads strengthened, as per Chemweek.

Falling crude oil prices, uncertainty around US tariff policies, and macroeconomic concerns had caused volatility in naphtha prices and sentiment throughout last week.

Several tariff announcements by the US and China on each other’s goods sparked predictions by economists that a decoupling of the world’s two largest economies could spur a global recession and weigh on already weak oil demand.

Naphtha prices followed crude prices lower. The naphtha market is also particularly sensitive to economic data sentiment as it is a major feedstock for chemical and plastics production industries that are heavily dependent on global economic demand.

However, the price and market structure in Europe recovered slightly in April 11 trading as the widened petrochemical margins supported prompt demand for naphtha in the petchems sector.

On April 11, Platts, part of S&P Global Commodity Insights, assessed the front-month CIF NWE naphtha swap at $519.75 per metric ton, up $7 per metric ton day over day, but considerably down from $618.25 per metric ton on Apr. 1 before the various tariff announcements.

Platts Petrochemicals Cracker Margin, the calculation of the petchem margins of steam cracker operators in Europe, was assessed on April 11 at $443.75 per metric ton, rising by more than double compared to the margin on April 1 before the tariff announcements of $198.35 per metric ton.

According to market sources, lower naphtha flat prices meant wider margins for petchem producers as the relatively stable pull into steam cracking kept the naphtha market supported.

One source said the European naphtha market “is slightly stronger on the front because petchems bought some cargo, so in a way they are covered now,” adding that this purchase is “just normal demand, nothing extraordinary.”

Another source said there may be more potential for naphtha to be a feedstock of choice in Asia due to tariff-caused issues limiting US NGLs coming to the market, saying they “heard that some LPG vessels from US had been diverted.”

Even though the stronger demand on the petchems side supported the naphtha market, concerns over the global economic recession continue to pressure the European chemical industry and oil refineries, potentially challenging this recently seen strength on the prompt.

Earlier reports suggested that Chinese petrochemical companies could significantly cut production and be prepared to shut down for maintenance in the coming weeks as Beijing's retaliatory tariffs on US imports push up costs. The industry relies heavily on US liquefied natural gas (LNG) and propane to convert into propylene.

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Battery materials company Vianode AS (Oslo, Norway) said Innovation Norway has committed to grant the company a loan of 400 million Norwegian kroner ($38 million), as per Chemweek.

The loan will provide part financing for Vianode’s first full-scale plant Via ONE at Heroya Industrial Park, its technology center at Kristiansand and the company’s headquarters, the company said in a statement April 14.

The loan from Innovation Norway assists ongoing work to establish long-term financing for industrial-scale production, the company said, adding that the loan is supported by further investments from Vianode’s owner Altor.

Innovation Norway is the Norwegian government's instrument for innovation and development of Norwegian enterprises and industry. The loan is part of the Green Industrial Financing program, provided on market terms and not classified as state aid under ESA (EFTA Surveillance Authority) regulations, Vianode said.

The funds are an important contribution to Vianode’s development, as they will help strengthen the company’s R&D environment in Norway and enables scaling for international growth, the company said.

“The loan from Innovation Norway strengthens our execution platform as we progress long-term funding for our multi-billion-dollar phased investment program which will enable Vianode to deliver materials for 3 million electric vehicles per year by 2030,” said Burkhard Straube, CEO of Vianode.

Innovation Norway has previously supported Vianode as part of the Norwegian Government’s focus on developing the battery value chain in Norway.

Vianode has recently entered into a multi-billion-dollar long-term supply agreement to supply synthetic anode graphite to the automaker General Motors (GM; Detroit, Michigan) through 2033.

Anode graphite is the largest component in a lithium-ion battery in terms of weight, up to 70kg per battery cell, and a key battery material regardless of commercially available technologies, Vianode said.

Vianode produces synthetic graphite in high-temperature production processes that differ from natural graphite typically mined from carbon-rich rock formations, it said. The company’s anode graphite cuts CO? emissions by up to 90% compared to conventional production, it added.

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A U.S. and biofuel coalition recommended that the Environmental Protection Agency propose federal mandates for biomass diesel blending for 2026 at 5.25 billion gallons (Bgal), which would be a significant increase from previous mandates, as per Hydrocarbonprocessing.

The coalition also recommended total federal biofuel blending mandates for 2026 at 25 Bgal, the sources said. The coalition, led by the American Petroleum Institute, a top U.S. oil trade group, presented the figures to the EPA in a meeting last week.

While the recommendations were for one year of mandates, the EPA is expected to release a proposal that covers both 2026 and 2027, Reuters previously reported.

The coalition's suggestion of 5.25 Bgal for biomass-based diesel mandates was slightly lower than the range of 5.5 Bgal to 5.75 Bgal considered ahead of the meeting.

Big Oil and the Farm Belt's biofuel makers are traditional competitors in the multibillion-dollar U.S. gasoline market, but have come together to form a consensus at the request of the White House in recent months in hopes of avoiding the type of clashes that defined the first Trump administration.

The new 5.25 Bgal figure from the API-led coalition is in line with a number recommended to the EPA by Clean Fuels Alliance America - a U.S. biodiesel trade group - along with farm and feedstock groups.

In a mid-March letter to EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin, that coalition said EPA's previous mandates failed to support the growth of the advanced biofuel industry and undercut the market. The EPA set biomass-based diesel mandates for the 2025 compliance year at 3.35 Bgal.

Under the U.S. Renewable Fuel Standard, oil refiners must blend billions of gallons of biofuels into the nation's fuel mix, or buy tradable credits from those that do.

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