Enerkem expects to begin commissioning its renewable chemicals and biofuels plant in Edmonton, Alberta, this summer, the Canadian renewable chemicals firm said on Wednesday.
The plant will use municipal non-recyclable and non-compostable waste to produce renewable fuels and chemicals, Enerkem said.
According to information on Enerkem’s website, the plant will have a total capacity of 38m litres/year to produce ethanol and methanol. In addition to the plant in Edmonton, Enerkem is developing a similar project in Pontotoc, Mississippi, in the US.
Enerkem also said that it closed a Canadian dollar (C$) 37m ($37m) deal with two investors, Waste Management of Canada and EB Investments, to help finance the Edmonton project.
"We're glad to see Waste Management and EB Investments strengthen their relationship with us by increasing their direct investment in the Edmonton facility," said Enerkem CEO Vincent Chornet.
"This is further validation of Enerkem's business model and leadership position in the market for waste-to-fuels and chemicals," Chornet added.
SOURCE ICIS News - For internal use only
Nissan has started up a lithium-ion battery plant, located next
to an assembly plant for the automaker's Leaf all-electric car in Smyrna,
TN, USA. With an output capacity of up to 200,000 units/y of batteries, the
plant was opened on the second anniversary of the launching of Leaf. A $1.4
bn Department of Energy loan guarantee funded the battery and auto plant
retooling projects.
SOURCE Chemical and Engineering News
SOURCE EPCA
A Humboldt Forum for Food and Agriculture report highlights that if neonicotinoid seed treatments were no longer available, impact on the EU economy could be as great as EUR4.5 billion with a loss of at least 50,000 farm jobs across the EU. Over a 5-year period, the EU could lose up to EUR17 billion and face a significant increase in pest pressure.
"These figures demonstrate the value this technology brings to EU farming", Friedhelm Schmider, Director General of European Crop Protection Association (ECPA) commented. "They contribute more than EUR2 billion annually to commodity crop revenues, and reduce production costs by EUR1 billion across the EU", he added.
The independent study confirms the economic and environmental value of seed treatment neonicotinoids for Europe. The report includes the example of Germany where oilseed rape growers rely highly on neonicotinoid technology to remain competitive in the global market; and Spain, where sunflower growers can achieve better yields through earlier planting.
The study underlines the importance of maintaining a range of innovative crop protection solutions for managing the pressures of pests and disease, and enabling efficient use of natural resources (land and water).
"The report has revealed substantial consequences for the economy and the environment if there would be constraints on the availability of neonicotinoid seed treatments" Friedhelm Schmider concluded.
RELEASED ON 15/01/13 (DD/MM/YY)
RELATED STORIES
EU Seed Treatment Ban Could Cost EUR17 Billion in Lower Crop Yields
A move to rebuild in the US northeast after Hurricane Sandy could drive demand while cost pressures persist
A move to rebuild in the US northeast after Hurricane Sandy could drive demand while cost pressures persist
The US methyl methacrylate (MMA) and epoxy resins markets have inspired some guarded optimism for 2013.
"We're expecting a strong start to 2013," an MMA buyer said. "We're hoping it matches the strong start we had in 2012."
Most of the optimism is being fuelled by speculation that construction projects will start in the northeast US regions hit by Hurricane Sandy. Buyers and producers expect that new construction will create demand for architectural and interior coatings, which are key markets for MMA and epoxy resins.
A strong boost to demand will be needed for prices on epoxy and MMA to increase, which producers say is necessary because their margins have been eroded in the fourth quarter of 2012.
"The cost picture continues to weaken," an epoxy resins producer said. "Our margins are effectively zero."
Margin pressure is more of a concern for the epoxy resins market than the MMA market, mostly because of benzene.
With US benzene contract prices at record highs, the feedstock pressure on epoxy resins is immense. However, continued competition from overseas producers and importers has weakened efforts of US producers to raise prices.
"If US producers go through with big increases in January, the overseas guys will stay steady or go up just slightly," a trader said. "They'll be happy to gain more market share."
Epoxy resins buyers agreed, adding that they will look to keep imported material steady relative to their current purchasing portfolios.
Import supply issues are not expected to pose a challenge, with upstream phenol-acetone capacity increasing in Asia and strong demand in the US keeping Asian epoxy resins operating rates high enough to export material.
TIGHT ACETONE
The record-high benzene costs will also affect MMA through its key feedstock, acetone.
With benzene prices high, production of acetone and its co-product, phenol, is expected to remain low.
The low production rates will keep phenol supply balanced but are expected to make acetone supply tight. Tight acetone supply is expected to push contract prices higher for even the largest customers, MMA producers.
"It doesn't make sense for the US to have the tightest market and the cheapest prices," an acetone producer said. "If we had material we'd rather export it than sell it domestically."
Sources in the MMA market said they expect higher prices in 2013 based on the acetone rise.
In November and December, US MMA producers nominated cumulative price increases of 4 cents/lb ($88/tonne, €67/tonne), 9 cents/lb and 10 cents/lb, respectively.
However, US contract prices increased by 3.5-4.0 cents/lb during those two months, sources said.
"I think pent-up price increase nominations from previous months will be implemented in January," an MMA producer said. "Producers can't continue to eat cost increases."
"We're expecting a strong start to 2013. We're hoping it matches the strong start we had in 2012"
SOURCE ICIS News - For internal use only
US propylene maker Enterprise Products said it is considering building a second propane dehydrogenation (PDH) facility, citing anticipation of a continuing decrease of propylene supplies in the US. The company plans to launch production at its first PDH facility in the third quarter of 2015, bringing about 1.65bn lb/year (750,000 tonne/year) of new polymer-grade propylene (PGP) capacity to the US market. The company did not provide details on capacity or a timeframe for the construction of a second plant.
SOURCE ICIS News - For internal use only
Japan’s Sekisui Plastics said on Wednesday that its new facility in Saraburi, Thailand will start commercial production of polystyrene (PS)/polyolefin hybrid resin foam in March 2013.
The plant, which will be operated by its subsidiary Sekisui Plastics (Thailand), is still under construction and will be completed at the beginning of March, a company official said.
The Thailand plant has a 60 tonne/month capacity but will initially run at 50 tonnes/month, the official said.
Sekisui Plastics (Thailand) was set up in 2003 and has been supplying moulding resin foam products to the Japanese car manufacturers and Thai makers of electronic machinery.
SOURCE ICIS News - For internal use only
Construction of a new complex processing oil, gas and petrochemicals in Azerbaijan is the largest project to be implemented in the next few years, not only for the State Oil Company of Azerbaijan (SOCAR), but for the whole country.
This was recently stated by head of SOCAR Rovnag Abdullayev during a meeting with the president and CEO of the American company Air Products John McGlade.
According to a statement issued by SOCAR, Abdullayev spoke about projects implemented by the State Oil Company in Turkey, construction of a new shipyard and the Sumgayit plant for production of nitrogen fertilisers in Azerbaijan, construction of a new oil refinery in Turkey, expansion of the petrochemical complex Petkim's port, as well as a power plant to be built there.
"These are big challenges for SOCAR and its partners in the next five years," Abdullayev said.
The Air Products Company has more than 20 years of experience in manufacturing equipment for the production of industrial and liquefied gas for oil refining and petrochemical industry facilities. The company has more than 40 subsidiaries and its annual sales exceed $10 billion.
SOCAR includes production association Azneft (companies producing oil and gas on land and sea) and Production Association Azerkimya (chemical industry), production association Azerigas (gas distribution).
The State Oil Company is the only producer of oil products in the country (it has two refineries on its balance sheet) and also owns petrol stations in Azerbaijan, Georgia, Ukraine and Romania. SOCAR possesses a network of petrol stations in Switzerland and is the co-owner of the largest Turkish petrochemical complex Petkim.
Do you have any feedback? Contact our journalist at agency@trend.az
Tags: SOCAR, Rovnag Abdullayev, Air Products
Jan. 16--Construction of a new complex processing oil, gas and petrochemicals in Azerbaijan is the largest project to be implemented in the next few years, not only for the State Oil Company of Azerbaijan (SOCAR), but for the whole country.
This was recently stated by head of SOCAR Rovnag Abdullayev during a meeting with the president and CEO of the American company Air Products John McGlade.
According to a statement issued by SOCAR, Abdullayev spoke about projects implemented by the State Oil Company in Turkey, construction of a new shipyard and the Sumgayit plant for production of nitrogen fertilisers in Azerbaijan, construction of a new oil refinery in Turkey, expansion of the petrochemical complex Petkim's port, as well as a power plant to be built there.
"These are big challenges for SOCAR and its partners in the next five years," Abdullayev said.
The Air Products Company has more than 20 years of experience in manufacturing equipment for the production of industrial and liquefied gas for oil refining and petrochemical industry facilities. The company has more than 40 subsidiaries and its annual sales exceed $10 billion.
SOCAR includes production association Azneft (companies producing oil and gas on land and sea) and Production Association Azerkimya (chemical industry), production association Azerigas (gas distribution).
The State Oil Company is the only producer of oil products in the country (it has two refineries on its balance sheet) and also owns petrol stations in Azerbaijan, Georgia, Ukraine and Romania. SOCAR possesses a network of petrol stations in Switzerland and is the co-owner of the largest Turkish petrochemical complex Petkim.
SOURCE Business Week
South Korea’s S-Oil plans to shut its fluid catalytic cracker (FCC) unit at Onsan for a turnaround starting 1 July, a company source said on Thursday.
The FCC unit, which has a nameplate propylene capacity of 200,000 tonnes/year, is expected to be off line until the first week of August, he said.
S-Oil supplies propylene mainly to domestic customers such as acrylonitrile producers Tongsuh Petrochemical and Taekwang Industrial.
SOURCE ICIS News - For internal use only
Naphtachimie’s cracker at Lavera in the south of France may not run at full rates for up to 12 months following a fire at one of the unit’s main compressors, market sources said on Wednesday.
The Naphtachimie cracker, which has a nameplate capacity of 120,000 tonnes/year of butadiene (BD), 775,000 tonnes/year of ethylene and 540,000 tonnes/year of propylene, is a 50:50 joint venture operation between Switzerland-headquartered INEOS and France-based Total.
The fire in the afternoon of 22 December led to a complete shutdown of the facility which alongside ethylene, propylene and BD also includes polyolefins, ethylene oxide (EO), and ethanolamines production.
According to sources, force majeure declarations have been made on ethylene, propylene, polypropylene (PP) and high density polyethylene (HDPE) supply, although this has not been officially confirmed. Force majeure has been declared on BD production from Naphtachimie’s unit.
"We are supposed to be preparing for turnarounds and this is [an] additional weight on our shoulders,” one source said.
Coming ahead of a particularly heavy maintenance turnaround season in March-April, the outage has created some headaches and “tensions on the market.”
However, sources agreed there was still room for remaining European crackers to increase rates to help mitigate the problems as demand, although improved, was “not booming.”
INEOS has not yet responded to a request for comment.
SOURCE ICIS News - For internal use only
RELATED STORIES
Force majeure declared on BD from Naphtachimie unit
The 11 Dec 2012 auction sale of bankrupt battery maker A123
Systems to China-based Wanxiang Group is being appealed by Johnson Controls.
A lithium-ion battery maker like A123, Johnson Controls had previously
signed a deal to buy A123's assets for $125 M. Wanxiang offered $257 M for
A123, excluding US military contracts. One of the goals of the appeal is to
influence government officials who may attempt to intercede in the sale on
reasons of national security.
SOURCE Chemical and Engineering News
RELEASED ON 17/01/13 (DD/MM/YY)
European authorities said three insecticides long suspected of contributing to plunging populations of honey bees pose risks to the insects and called for such chemicals to be placed under tougher scrutiny.
The finding by scientists at the European Food Safety Authority adds fuel to a debate that has raged in recent years in North America and Europe over the cause of mass deaths in the bee colonies that farmers depend on to pollinate their crops. And it could raise pressure on U.S. regulators, who are now reviewing the environmental effects of the chemicals, to withdraw them from the lucrative U.S. market.
France, Germany, Italy and other European nations previously banned or suspended the use of certain insecticides, known as neonicotinoids, that many farmers and scientists argue are the main causes of declining honey bee populations. The pesticide industry and other scientists say disease and environmental changes are responsible.
The risk assessment, published Wednesday, said three neonicotinoids—clothianidin and imidacloprid, which are made primarily by Bayer AG, and thiamethoxam, which is made by Syngenta AG—pose risks to bees through contaminated dust and pesticide residues on nectar and pollen.
The agency sees a "high acute risk" to bees in how the three insecticides are applied to cereals, cotton, rapeseed, corn and sunflowers.
Its analysis "proposed a much more comprehensive risk assessment for bees and also introduced a higher level of scrutiny for interpretation of field studies," the agency said. But the agency said data aren't available to conclude that the insecticides are contributing to the collapse of bee colonies.
The European Commission, the European Union's executive arm, will request further information from the companies producing the chemicals, a commission spokesman said. The EU is prepared to take "necessary measures" if further studies show a definitive threat to bee populations from the chemicals, the spokesman said.
A top executive at Syngenta criticized the study. "It is obvious to us that EFSA has found itself under political pressure to produce a hurried and inadequate risk assessment, which even they acknowledge contains a high level of uncertainty," said John Atkin, Syngenta's chief operating officer, in a statement. "This report is unworthy of EFSA and of its scientists.
EFSA didn't immediately respond to a request for comment.
Bayer said it stands by previous data it has submitted to regulatory agencies showing the chemicals don't harm bees if used as approved in Europe. "We do not believe that the new EFSA reports alter the quality and validity of these risk assessments and the underlying studies," the German chemical giant said.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, which regulates pesticides, says it is unaware of any data showing that neonicotinoids have contributed to the collapse of bee colonies. Researchers at the U.S. Department of Agriculture are examining the issue, but the department says it has found no evidence linking use of the pesticides to mass bee deaths.
The EPA has refused emergency requests from environmental groups to remove a number of neonicotinoids from the market. But the agency, responding to public pressure, has accelerated a periodic safety review of the chemicals to see if additional restrictions are needed on their use.
Environmental groups say the EPA is moving too slowly. They are considering suing to force the agency to take action.
"The EPA has a huge compliance problem," said Jay Feldman, executive director of the anti-pesticides group Beyond Pesticides.
The EPA didn't respond immediately to a request for comment.
Neonicotinoids have been replacing other pesticides in the U.S. that are considered more dangerous and have been gradually removed from the U.S. market.
An industry-backed study published on Monday says that a ban or suspension on the use of neonicotinoids could cost the EU more than €17 billion ($22.68 billion) in lower crop yields over a five-year period. Were the pesticides no longer available, the 27-nation bloc would also see a significant drop in food production at a time of increasing global demand, the study said.
SOURCE Wall Street Journal
RELATED STORIES
EU Seed Treatment Ban Could Cost EUR17 Billion in Lower Crop Yields
The new ACN unit was scheduled to come onstream on 20 December last year, but was postponed to 10 January and again to the end of the month, the source added, without disclosing the reason for the delay.
The producer has a separate 80,000 tonne/year ACN unit and a 70,000 tonne/year downstream acrylic fibre (AF) plant at the same site, according to the source.
In view of the short supply of raw material propylene, Sinopec Anqing plans to shut its 80,000 tonne/year ACN plant once the new 130,000 tonne/year ACN unit is running at normal rates, the source said.
The total production capacity of ACN in China will reach 1.416m tonnes/year, following the start-up of Sinopec Anqing’s ACN unit.
SOURCE ICIS News - For Internal use only
RELEASED ON 16/01/13 (DD/MM/YY)
RELEASED ON 14/01/13 (DD/MM/YY)
The ban or suspension on the use of a seed treatment could cost the European Union more than 17 billion euros ($22.68 billion) over a five-year period in lower crop yields, according to a study seen by Dow Jones Newswires Monday.
EU countries including France, Germany and Italy have all previously banned or suspended the use of certain neonicotinoid seed treatments, which have been blamed for lowering populations of honey bees which pollinate crops. The European Food Safety Authority, which assesses food and feed safety risks, is currently studying the seed treatments.
Were the seed treatment no longer available, the 27-nation bloc would also see a significant fall in food production at a time of increasing global demand, according to a study backed by a unit of chemical company Bayer AG (BAYN.XE) and Syngenta AG (SYNN.VX), which produce such products. The treatment protects against crop damage caused by insects by distributing insecticide in a plant as it grows.
"Growers across the EU would lose a significant part of their economic margins, or entirely lose profitability on some major crops," the study by Humboldt Forum for Food and Agriculture said, estimating that such a move could lead to the loss of up to 60,000 jobs.
The HFFA is a think-tank aiming to develop strategies for a sustainable global agriculture, and is backed by major corporations including BASF SE (BAS.XE), E.ON SE (EOAN.XE) and Nestle S.A. (NESN.VX).
Were there to be a ban, "large agricultural industries, such as European sugar producers, or seed companies would be exposed to significant risks and become far less competitive and entire regions could suffer negative socio-economic consequences, or be deprived of important growth opportunities," the study added.
Reports about bee colony losses and damage have increased in recent years all over the continent, according to the European Parliament, with the use of neonicotinoids increasingly held responsible by some governments for the losses. Their use is also widely opposed by environmentalists.
The HFFA study said such seed treatments have become an integral part of European agriculture and a ban or suspension would result in declines in the EU's net exports of barley and wheat, crops pollinated by bees. The EU would also need to increase its net imports of corn, raw sugar and soybeans to compensate for a shortage of protein feed from rapeseed, the HFFA study added.
The study also said neonicotinoid technology helps minimize price increases in world agricultural markets and damps price volatility, since tradable volumes are higher because of their use.
Meanwhile, any reduction in the EU's agricultural productivity as a result of a ban would need to be compensated for by making new arable land available outside its borders, the study said.
Europe already relies on around 29 million hectares of land outside its borders to meet domestic food demand, but a neonicotinoid ban or suspension would require at least an additional 3.3 million hectares of arable land to be brought into production elsewhere, the study said.
The study was supported by farming lobby groups Copa-Cogeca, the European Seed Association and the European Crop Protection Association, with financing from Bayer CropScience and Syngenta.
SOURCE Dow Jones Global News Select
RELEASED ON 24/12/12 (DD/MM/YY)
Sumitomo Chemical's US subsidiary Valent Biosciences Corporation (VBC) has signed an agreement to acquire the US agrochemicals firm Pace International. VBC already holds 25% of the firm. Pace is based in Seattle, WA and also has production, research and administration activities in Wapato, WA. The firm develops and markets disinfectants and post-harvest treatments for a wide range of crops including citrus fruits, stoned and pipped fruits and potatoes. The acquisition will complete VBC's range of compounds which includes microbial insecticides and fungicides, nematocides and growth regulators. With the investment of $150 M in a new production plant at Osage, IA, the acquisition will allow VBC to respond to growing demand for quality products. The Osage unit is scheduled to open in 2014. It will have a fermentation capacity of over 56.8 M litres.
SOURCE Chimie Pharma Hebdo
RELATED STORIES
Sumitomo Chemical subsidiary acquires US agribusiness firm for $65 million
The Dow Chemical Company has partnered with the University of Illinois, US, to open a new innovation centre as part of the company's mission to solve challenging problems through research.
Located at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, the Dow Innovation Center will develop data management solutions to drive value and speed up discovery in the company's research and development (R&D) organisations.
University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign Chancellor Phyllis Wise said the partnership is pushing the edges of science and technology to explore new ideas in critical areas such as coatings, energy, water and agriculture.
"Solutions to increasingly complex societal challenges brought about by an expanding global population will be found in this kind of innovative partnership," Wise added.
"The new centre will draw upon the strengths in high performance computing (HPC), informatics and computer science at the University of Illinois to enhance technology and research within Dow."
Dow has also entered into an industry partnership with the National Center for Supercomputing Applications (NCSA) to advance the company's discovery processes.
Dow Global Information Research director Roy Ladd said: "With access to a highly passionate student body and NCSA's valuable resources, we are confident that we can develop innovative IT solutions that will help solve some of the most pressing challenges facing our customers and society today."
The innovation centre is scheduled to open in the spring of 2013.
The University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign is also part of the Strategic University Partnership, launched by Dow in 2011, to focus research capabilities with 11 chemistry, materials science and chemical engineering departments in the US, according to the University.
SOURCE Chemicals-technology.com