SABIC’s butadiene (BD) extraction unit in Wilton, the UK, remains offline because of a fouling issue, a company source said on Thursday.
The unit, which has the capacity to produce 100,000 tonnes/year of BD, was shut down on 1 March.
The source said the company was trying to fix the issue and that “hopefully the unit would be back onstream soon.”
SABIC recently postponed its planned March-April turnaround at its Geleen site in the Netherlands until 2014.
SOURCE ICIS News - For internal use only
Flotek Industries, a US-based developer of oil field technologies, has entered into an agreement with Oman-based Gulf Energy's affiliate to develop advanced oil field chemistry production and research and development (R&D) facilities in the sultanate.
The partnership aims to develop facilities to address the growing need for advanced oil field chemistry and analysis in the Middle East and North African regions.
"The partnership aims to develop facilities to address the growing need for advanced oil field chemistry and analysis."
The chemistry production facility, which is expected to cost around $10m, will be located near the Omani port of Sohar, while the R&D facility in or near Muscat, Oman.
Under the agreement, Flotek will own 60% of two new Omani-registered limited liability companies and will begin shipping certain oil field chemistries to the region in the coming weeks, prior to the completion of the production facility.
Upon its completion, the production facility having similar capabilities as Flotek's current facility in Marlow, Oklahoma, and will market and provide oil field chemistry services to projects throughout the region.
Flotek chairman, president and chief executive officer John Chisholm said: "Combining Flotek's advanced oil field chemistry solutions, Gulf Energy's existing clients and the best research minds in the region is a formula that should create a leading oil field technology effort in the Middle East and North Africa."
The partnership will jointly market the products and services along with Flotek's international marketing partner Basin Supply Company, which will serve as the marketing and logistics facilitator for the sales and continue to work with the joint venture, once the production facility is complete.
Gulf Energy chief executive officer Hilal Al Busaidy said: "We look forward to developing our partnership into a leader in oil field chemistry throughout the Middle East and North Africa."
SOURCE chemicals-technology.com
South Korean producer LG MMA plans to shut its 50,000 tonne/year methyl methacrylate (MMA) No 2 line at Yeosu early next week for maintenance, a company source said on Friday.
The shutdown will last less than a week, he added.
Meanwhile, its 76,000 tonne/year No 3 line at the same site is scheduled for a 3-4 week-long maintenance in end August, he said.
The company also runs a 50,000 tonne/year No 1 line, also at the same site.
SOURCE ICIS News - For internal use only
Ube Industries, two Lotte group companies and Mitsubishi Corp. formed a joint venture in Johor, Malaysia, to manufacture and sell butadiene rubber in response to growing Asian demand for the synthetic rubber for use in automotive tires, high-impact polystyrene and shoe soles.
Production is to start in 2014 with 50,000 t/y of capacity initially. A 22,000-t/y expansion is planned, as demand is forecast to grow by 6-7% annually in the region.
Ube Industries and South Korea's Lotte Chemical hold shares of 40% each, and Mitsubishi Corp. and Lotte's Malaysian subsidiaryLotte Chemical Titan Holding have stakes of 10% each, in the new company, named Malaysian Synthetic Rubber, which is capitalized at 184 mn ringgit ($59.1 mn). The initial investment is expected to total to about 10 bn yen ($104 mn), and production technology will be licensed from Ube Industries. Lotte Chemical Titan Holding will provide local supply of butadiene as raw material, the joint venture will handle domestic sales, and Ube Industries will take charge of exports.
Ube Industries currently has 110,000 t/y of output capacity for butadiene rubber in Chiba Prefecture in Japan, which will be increased by 16,000 t/y this year, and 72,000 t/y each in Thailand and China.
SOURCE Japan Chemical Web
Hindustan Petroleum Corporation (HPCL), a Mumbai-based oil and natural gas company, has entered into a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the government of Indian state Rajasthan, in order to establish a refinery-cum-petrochemical complex in Barmer.
HPCL will execute the project in association with Rajasthan State Refinery (RSRL) and other equity partners. The project is expected to go on stream in around four years time.
"HPCL will execute the project in association with Rajasthan State Refinery (RSRL) and other equity partners."
The nine million metric tonne per annum (MMTPA) complex, which will be set up with an investment of INR372.3bn ($6.87bn), will process locally-available Rajasthan crude, as well as other crudes, and produce motor fuels with the latest environmental specifications, along with various petrochemicals.
Minister of petroleum and natural gas, Veerappa Moily, said the refinery would become a catalyst for the development of downstream and other service sector industries in the area.
He added that the Barmer refinery project will be the first one to produce petrochemicals from indigenous crude.
SOURCE Chemicals-technology.com
RELEASED ON 14/03/13 (DD/MM/YY)
Mitsui Chemicals India is to soon start market research on businesses related to life sciences, with the focus on pharmaceutical and agrochemical intermediates and eyeglass-lens monomers. Headquartered in New Delhi, the Mitsui Chemicals subsidiary is expected to establish the new businesses as a third core source of revenue and profits after businesses in automotive parts and packaging materials.
SOURCE Japan Chemical Web
Mitsubishi Rayon Co Ltd (MRC) has entered into a merger agreement in which it will purchase all Dia-Nitrix Co Ltd shares held by Mitsubishi Chemical Corp (MCC) on 31 Mar 2013. DNX, which is a jv company of MCC and MRC, will become a wholly owned subsidiary of MRC. Following the merger, MRC's DNX Business Bloc will be reorganized into the acrylonitrile (AN) Business Bloc (and within that, the AN Division). The merger will enable MRC to comprehensively enhance its competitiveness by strengthening its ability to meet R&D, manufacturing and customer needs across the entire acrylonitrile chain. The AN chain extends from acrylic fibres and carbon fibres and composite materials to carbon fibre products that include golf club shafts. DNX's AN by-product-related intermediary function will boost the competitiveness of MRC's core methyl methacrylate (MMA) monomer business.
SOURCE Elsevier Engineering Information
RELEASED ON 13/03/13 (DD/MM/YY)
Makhteshim Agan is the world's leading manufacturer and distributor of branded off-patent crop and non-crop protection products, with 2012 global sales of US$2.83B. Makhteshim Agan serves farmers in 120 countries and operates in Australia as Farmoz.
The collaboration program leverages Makhteshim Agan's broad product portfolio and extensive formulation capabilities alongside Starpharma's Priostar® dendrimer technology. The program includes the development of new formulations of a number of active ingredients, including three actives with total market sales for 2011, each exceeding $400m globally. Other terms of the agreement were not disclosed due to commercial confidentiality restrictions.
"Through this collaboration Starpharma has the opportunity to further extend the reach of its dendrimer technology in agrochemicals. This partnership which involves multiple products in major global markets represents an exciting and valuable commercial opportunity for our Priostar® dendrimers," said Dr. Jackie Fairley, CEO Starpharma. "We look forward to working closely with Makhteshim Agan to produce exciting new crop protection products."
"Makhteshim Agan strives to offer differentiated solutions to address growers' needs, based on innovation, quality and value," said Sami Shabtai, Head of Innovative Development at Makhteshim Agan. "We actively seek out exciting technologies that can complement our in-house capabilities and market understanding to deliver effective and simple crop protection solutions."
David Peters, Managing Director of Farmoz added "As Makhteshim Agan's Australian subsidiary, Farmoz looks forward to applying Starpharma's dendrimer technology to complement our effective and reliable Australian portfolio. Australia is an environment with unique challenges for agriculture and innovation is an important component in our strategy for providing the solutions today's Australian growers need."
The benefits of Starpharma's Priostar® dendrimers to agrochemical companies and end-user growers can include:
- Improved product efficacy
- More concentrated formulations to reduce supply chain costs and for greater ease of handling
- Reduction in solvent loading
- Improved bioavailability through increased adhesion, to reduce losses due to rain run-off, and the need for multiple applications.
In addition to the collaboration with Makhteshim Agan, Starpharma continues to advance the commercialisation of Priostar® for crop protection applications through both its own internal research program and through valued partnerships with other crop protection companies.
About Starpharma Holdings Limited
Starpharma Holdings Limited (ASX:SPL, OTCQX:SPHRY) is an ASX 300 company and is a world leader in the development of dendrimer products for pharmaceutical, life science and other applications.
Starpharma’s underlying technology is built around dendrimers – a type of synthetic nanoscale polymer that is highly regular in size and structure and well suited to pharmaceutical and other uses. Starpharma has three core development programs: VivaGel® portfolio, drug delivery and agrochemicals with the Company developing a number of products internally and others via commercial partnerships.
In Agrochemicals Starpharma has series of industry partnerships with leading industry players including Nufarm (ASX:NUF) as well as with internal programs including an enhanced version of glyphosate (the active ingredient in Roundup®).
Starpharma’s lead pharmaceutical product is VivaGel® (SPL7013 Gel), a gel-based formulation of a proprietary dendrimer. VivaGel® is under clinical development for the treatment and prevention of bacterial vaginosis (BV).
Starpharma has also signed separate licence agreements with Ansell Limited (ASX:ANN) and Okamoto Industries Inc (Tokyo Stock Exchange) to market a value-added, VivaGel®-coated condom.
In the wider pharmaceutical fields, Starpharma has both partnered and internal programs in Drug Delivery. Drug Delivery partners include GSK, Lilly and AstraZeneca.
About Makhteshim Agan Industries Ltd.
Makhteshim Agan Industries Ltd. is a leading manufacturer and distributor worldwide of crop-protection solutions and the largest off-patent player in the industry.
The Company supplies efficient solutions to farmers that assist them in combating disease and increasing yields. In 2012, the Company’s revenues were over $2.83 billion, and it is ranked seventh in the world in the overall agro-chemicals industry. The Company is characterized by its know-how, high-level technological-chemical abilities, expertise in product registration, and observance of strict standards of environmental protection, stringent quality control and global marketing and distribution channels.
Makhteshim Agan Group sells its crop protection products in over 120 countries and together with its strategically located global manufacturing and distribution facilities delivers simplicity in agriculture around the globe.
SOURCE nanotech-now.com
Asahi Kasei is in plans to take its acrylonitrile (ACN) plant off-stream for a maintenance turnaround.
A Polymerupdate source in Thailand informed that the plant is likely to be shut in mid-June 2013. The plant is expected to remain off-stream for around one month.
Located at Map Ta Phut in Thailand, the ACN plant has a production capacity of 200,000 mt/year.
SOURCE Polymer Update
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World’s first acrylonitrile plant commences operations
Toyota has never been a big fan of lithium ion batteries, and has a plan in place to replace them with solid-state batteries that are three-to-four times more powerful. Toyota will commercialize solid-state batteries around 2020 and lithium air batteries – which offer a fivefold increase for the same weight – could follow several years later, said Shigeki Suzuki, managing officer for material engineering. Suzuki didn't offer details on a rollout plan or vehicle volumes.
As for Toyota's limited interest in lithium ion batteries, they are present in the Toyota RAV4 EV (pictured) and the Toyota Prius V, but nickel metal hydride batteries have been the mainstay in the automaker's hybrid lineup for years. Solid state and lithium air batteries have advantages over li-ion and NiMH batteries. They're smaller and use less expensive materials than li-ion, such as rare earth metals.
There are obvious benefits to solid-state batteries. The liquid electrolyte found in li-ion batteries is replaced with a solid material (hence the name), and solid-state packs are more compact and stable, allowing a higher voltage to be packed into a smaller space, Suzuki said. Toyota has been working on solid-state batteries for years and might be taking the lead over competitors such as Sakti3 and Planar Energy in the plug-in vehicle market.
With lithium air batteries, the lithium cathode used in li-ion batteries is replaced with material that interacts with oxygen. It offers much higher density than current li-ion batteries.
For Toyota, the goal is to make a battery that has an energy density approaching that of gasoline, Suzuki said, because li-ion batteries can only offer electric vehicles limited range because these batteries typically have an energy density only one-fiftieth that of a tank of gasoline. While they're still years away, solid-state or lithium-air batteries may provide the solution Toyota's been looking for.
SOURCE http://green.autoblog.com
South Korea based Tongsuh Petrochemical has reduced operating rates at its three Acrylonitrile (ACN) lines in Ulsan.
“Due to weak demand fundamentals in the domestic market, our three ACN lines are currently operating at 80 percent production capacity,” a Tongsuh official informed fibre2fashion.
Providing details of any impending turnarounds at the ACN plant, he said, “The annual maintenance turnaround of ACN line No-2 and No-4 will take place in October 2013 and they will remain shut for a period of one month.”
The total production capacity of the Ulsan ACN plant is 560,000 tons per year. Line No- 2 has a production capacity of 70,000 tons per year and line No-3 and No-4, each have a capacity of 245,000 tons per year.
SOURCE http://www.fibre2fashion.com
In reference to SIIGs previous announcement dated 20 Jan 2013, regarding the shutdown of operations at its Saudi Chevron Phillips (SCP), a plant that produces benzene, cyclohexane, and motor gasoline, for scheduled maintenance. SIIG announces that SCP has resumed operations on 9 Mar 2013, after completing the required maintenance work. SCP is currently working on gradually increasing production until the plant production capacity is reached. JCP, which produces styrene and propylene, is shutdown for planned maintenance and operations are expected to start up during the first week of April 2013 as scheduled.
SOURCE ICIS News - For internal use only
LG Chem is likely to shut a styrene monomer (SM) plant for a maintenance turnaround.
A Polymerupdate source in South Korea informed that the plant is likely to be taken off-stream in mid-March 2013. The plant is expected to remain off-stream for around two weeks.
Located in Yeosu, South Korea, the plant has a capacity of 500,000 mt/year.
SOURCE Polymer Update
South Korean petrochemical company Lotte Chemical said Wednesday that it will build a new synthetic rubber plant in Johor Bahru, the capital city of Johor in southern Malaysia.
To this end, the company established a joint venture with Japanese chemical firm Ube Industries and Mitsubishi, both in Japan, and Lotte Titan Chemicals. The joint venture will be responsible for manufacturing and selling polybutadiene rubber.
The new plant, if completed, will have an annual production capacity of 50,000 tons (t). It is scheduled to be operated in 2014.
Ube Industries will provide technologies for the building construction and Lotte Titan Chemicals will supply butadiene as materials. Polybutadiene rubber is widely used to produce tire, conveyer belt, shoes and other rubber products of high dynamic characteristics.
In 2010, Lotte acquiredTitan Chemicals, a Malaysian company that produces butadiene to make polybutadiene rubber. Earlier, Lotte announced it will build a plant in Yeosu, Korea by 2015 to produce about 200,000 t of rubber.
SOURCE Maeil Business Newspaper
South Korea's Taekwang Petrochemical restarted its 290,000 tonne/year acrylonitrile (ACN) plant in Ulsan on Tuesday after a scheduled turnaround, a company source said. “The plant was restarted today and is expected to ramp up the operating rate to 100% on 13 March,” the source said. The plant was shut down on 20 February. ACN prices in Asia were assessed as stable at $1,950-2,050/tonne (€1,502-1,577/tonne) CFR NE Asia in the week ended on 8 March, according to ICIS.
SOURCE ICIS News - For internal use only
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S Korea’s Taekwang shuts ACN plant for maintenance on 20 Feb