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RELEASED ON 26/04/13 (DD/MM/YY)
Thai MMA plans to shut its 90,000 tonne/year No 1 methyl methacrylate (MMA) line in Map Ta Phut from 29 April for maintenance, a company source said on Thursday. The scheduled maintenance will take around 12 days to complete and the plant is expected to be restarted around early May, he added.
Thai MMA also runs another 90,000 tonne/year line at the same site, which is running almost at full capacity. Thai MMA is a joint venture between Japan's Mitsubishi Rayon Corp (MRC) and Thailand's Siam Cement Group. MMA is produced using a two-stage gas-phase oxidation of isobutylene to methacrylic acid, followed by esterification.
SOURCE Icis News
Thai MMA plans to shut its 90,000 tonne/year No 1 methyl methacrylate (MMA) line in Map Ta Phut from 29 April for maintenance, a company source said on Thursday. The scheduled maintenance will take around 12 days to complete and the plant is expected to be restarted around early May, he added.
Thai MMA also runs another 90,000 tonne/year line at the same site, which is running almost at full capacity. Thai MMA is a joint venture between Japan's Mitsubishi Rayon Corp (MRC) and Thailand's Siam Cement Group. MMA is produced using a two-stage gas-phase oxidation of isobutylene to methacrylic acid, followed by esterification.
SOURCE Icis News
RELEASED ON 26/04/13 (DD/MM/YY)
Thailand’s PTT Asahi Chemical plans to shut its 70,000 tonne/year methyl methacrylate (MMA) plant in Map Ta Phut on 10 May for scheduled maintenance, a company source said on Thursday. The plant will be shut for around 40 days, the source said.
The MMA plant shutdown is in conjunction with the shutdown of its upstream 200,000 tonne/year acrylonitrile (ACN) plant at the same site. PTT Asahi Chemical is a joint venture of Asahi Kasei Chemicals, PTT and Japanese trading firm Marubeni.
SOURCE Icis News
Thailand’s PTT Asahi Chemical plans to shut its 70,000 tonne/year methyl methacrylate (MMA) plant in Map Ta Phut on 10 May for scheduled maintenance, a company source said on Thursday. The plant will be shut for around 40 days, the source said.
The MMA plant shutdown is in conjunction with the shutdown of its upstream 200,000 tonne/year acrylonitrile (ACN) plant at the same site. PTT Asahi Chemical is a joint venture of Asahi Kasei Chemicals, PTT and Japanese trading firm Marubeni.
SOURCE Icis News
RELEASED ON 26/04/13 (MM/DD/YY)
China’s Anqing Petrochemical shut its 80,000tonne/year acrylonitrile (ACN) plant for maintenance on 25 April in Anqing city of Anhui province, a company source said on Friday. The plant was running at 75% of its capacity due to limited availability of feedstock propylene before it was taken off line. The company plans about 20 days maintenance and may restart the unit in the middle of May, the source said.
The company also has a 130,000 tonne/year ACN plant which was running at 75% of capacity. The unit was started in the end of January this year. Anqing Petrochemical plans to raise its production to 100% capacity during the shutdown of the 80,000 tonnes/year plant, the source added.
The company also has a downstream acrylic fibre (AF) plant with a capacity of 70,000 tonnes/year at the same site which is running at 100% of capacity, the source said.
SOUCE Icis News
China’s Anqing Petrochemical shut its 80,000tonne/year acrylonitrile (ACN) plant for maintenance on 25 April in Anqing city of Anhui province, a company source said on Friday. The plant was running at 75% of its capacity due to limited availability of feedstock propylene before it was taken off line. The company plans about 20 days maintenance and may restart the unit in the middle of May, the source said.
The company also has a 130,000 tonne/year ACN plant which was running at 75% of capacity. The unit was started in the end of January this year. Anqing Petrochemical plans to raise its production to 100% capacity during the shutdown of the 80,000 tonnes/year plant, the source added.
The company also has a downstream acrylic fibre (AF) plant with a capacity of 70,000 tonnes/year at the same site which is running at 100% of capacity, the source said.
SOUCE Icis News
RELEASED ON 26/04/13 (DD/MM/YY)
Global methyl methacrylate (MMA) growth is expected to be at close to 5% in 2013, an official of Japan’s Mitsubishi Rayon Co (MRC) said on Thursday.
MRC, the world’s largest MMA producer, estimated that global MMA demand is set to hit 3.2m-3.3m tonne/year in 2013, said Hisato Haseda, general manager of Chemicals Department 1 of MRC.
Haseda was speaking in Japanese at a presentation at the 2013 10th China International Acrylate & MMA Forum. The global demand in 2012 was at slightly more than 3m tonne/year, he said. Asia is expected to experience a stronger growth of more than 6% in 2013 because of the growing domestic demand of MMA in the southeast Asian region, especially in developing countries like Vietnam, Indonesia and the Philippines, MRC estimated. Asia’s demand in 2013 is estimated to hit close to 2m tonnes/year, he added. Another driver in Asia that boosts the growth rate is the effects of the China’s economic stimulus to boost her economy.
Europe is expected to experience a slower growth of only 2% because of the eurozone debt crisis.
In the US, MMA demand growth is expected to be supported by the demand of paints for reconstruction of homes that were affected by the hurricanes.
Such figures are expected, considering the forecasts of a moderate recovery in the global economy between 2013 and 2014 amid the US financial worries and the eurozone debt crisis, MRC said.
MMA is used to produce polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA) polymer, cast sheets and acrylic resins for coatings and emulsions.
SOURCE Icis News
Global methyl methacrylate (MMA) growth is expected to be at close to 5% in 2013, an official of Japan’s Mitsubishi Rayon Co (MRC) said on Thursday.
MRC, the world’s largest MMA producer, estimated that global MMA demand is set to hit 3.2m-3.3m tonne/year in 2013, said Hisato Haseda, general manager of Chemicals Department 1 of MRC.
Haseda was speaking in Japanese at a presentation at the 2013 10th China International Acrylate & MMA Forum. The global demand in 2012 was at slightly more than 3m tonne/year, he said. Asia is expected to experience a stronger growth of more than 6% in 2013 because of the growing domestic demand of MMA in the southeast Asian region, especially in developing countries like Vietnam, Indonesia and the Philippines, MRC estimated. Asia’s demand in 2013 is estimated to hit close to 2m tonnes/year, he added. Another driver in Asia that boosts the growth rate is the effects of the China’s economic stimulus to boost her economy.
Europe is expected to experience a slower growth of only 2% because of the eurozone debt crisis.
In the US, MMA demand growth is expected to be supported by the demand of paints for reconstruction of homes that were affected by the hurricanes.
Such figures are expected, considering the forecasts of a moderate recovery in the global economy between 2013 and 2014 amid the US financial worries and the eurozone debt crisis, MRC said.
MMA is used to produce polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA) polymer, cast sheets and acrylic resins for coatings and emulsions.
SOURCE Icis News
RELEASED ON 26/04/13 (DD/MM/YY)
South Korea’s LG Chem plans to shut its No 2 crude acrylic acid (AA) line at Yeosu in May for scheduled maintenance, a company source said on Wednesday. The line will be shut for 10-14 days of maintenance, the source said. The company plans to restart its No 3 crude AA line by the end of this week after shutting it earlier this month for scheduled maintenance. “The No 3 crude AA line will likely be restarted by 26-27 April,” the source said.
SOURCE Icis News
South Korea’s LG Chem plans to shut its No 2 crude acrylic acid (AA) line at Yeosu in May for scheduled maintenance, a company source said on Wednesday. The line will be shut for 10-14 days of maintenance, the source said. The company plans to restart its No 3 crude AA line by the end of this week after shutting it earlier this month for scheduled maintenance. “The No 3 crude AA line will likely be restarted by 26-27 April,” the source said.
SOURCE Icis News
RELEASED ON 25/04/13 (MM/DD/YY)
Saudi Arabia’s Tasnee Sahara Olefins Co (TSOC) plans to start up its new butyl acrylate (butyl-A) plant in Al Jubail in the second-half of this year, a source familiar with the matter said on Thursday. The new 160,000 tonne/year butyl-A plant is likely to be started up in July, the source said.
Dow will be handling the marketing sales for export into Asia, according to the source. “We estimate about 50-75% of total output from the new plant to be exported out from the Middle East,” the source added. Butyl-A is mainly used in the emulsions for the construction industry as well as in the paints and coatings sector.
SOURCE Icis News
Saudi Arabia’s Tasnee Sahara Olefins Co (TSOC) plans to start up its new butyl acrylate (butyl-A) plant in Al Jubail in the second-half of this year, a source familiar with the matter said on Thursday. The new 160,000 tonne/year butyl-A plant is likely to be started up in July, the source said.
Dow will be handling the marketing sales for export into Asia, according to the source. “We estimate about 50-75% of total output from the new plant to be exported out from the Middle East,” the source added. Butyl-A is mainly used in the emulsions for the construction industry as well as in the paints and coatings sector.
SOURCE Icis News
RELEASED ON 20/04/13 (DD/MM/YY)
An Indian researcher is part of a team led by a renowned Japanese scientist that has developed a new way of making the only known drug used for treating bird and swine flu. Presently, the drug oseltamivir, known by its brand name Tamiflu, is made solely by the Swiss pharma giant Roche through a costly and secretive process.
Kaliyamoorthy Alagiri, the son of a farmer in Nagapattinam district of Tamil Nadu, joined Masakatsu Shibasaki, a renowned organic chemist at the Institute of Microbial Chemistry, Tokyo, last year as a post-doctoral researcher.
The discovery of the new synthesis for tamiflu would shake up the pharma world and end the Roche patent monopoly. In 2009, Roche reportedly earned nearly $2 billion from tamiflu global sales as governments stockpiled the drug to fight swine flu. Roche is currently making tamiflu by two methods. One involves extraction from the fragrant spice star anise, grown primarily in China and the other is biofermentation.
Professor Shibasaki's team used an easily available natural substance called glutamic acid as the starting point and synthesized the flu-drug.
"Our process involves simple synthetic methods with inexpensive chemicals and minimum number of cost- and time-consuming chromatographic purification," Shibasaki explained to TOI.
The real question now is whether the process discovered by Shibasaki and his colleagues can be upscaled and commercialized. Alagiri is confident that it can be.
"There is high possibility for industrial scale production of tamiflu using our latest protocol starting from L-glutamic acid. We are now collaborating with a pharmaceutical company," Alagiri told TOI from his village Karuvazhakkarai where he has come to spend a few days with his parents.
Alagiri elected to join the Shibasaki Lab because of the fame of the Japanese master. Professor Shibasaki has authored over 500 papers and several books and he is one of the leading chemists in the world, Alagiri said.
"Working in Prof. Shibasaki's lab is a great learning experience. He gives full freedom and encourages his students to give their inputs towards research," he said.
On his part, Professor Shibasaki is quietly appreciative of Alagiri. "Alagiri was one of the top candidates and I offered him a postdoctoral position supported by my research grant," he said.
There have been many attempts to synthesise tamiflu earlier including one by E.J.Corey, the Nobel winning Harvard chemist, and one by Shibasaki himself. Although laboratory level success has been achieved, up-scaling to production levels has been difficult.
The recent outbreak of a new H7N9 bird flu virus in China has again revived interest in drugs to deal with these mutating viruses. A Roche spokesperson claimed the new strain is sensitive to tamiflu "according to preliminary reviews". Scientists around the world are racing to decipher the mutated H7N9 virus that has caused over 20 deaths in China. So, Roche's assertion is still wishful thinking.
Meanwhile, Alagiri wants to move on to "Europe or US" for more research, and then come back to India to work for a "premier research institute".
SOURCE The Times of India
An Indian researcher is part of a team led by a renowned Japanese scientist that has developed a new way of making the only known drug used for treating bird and swine flu. Presently, the drug oseltamivir, known by its brand name Tamiflu, is made solely by the Swiss pharma giant Roche through a costly and secretive process.
Kaliyamoorthy Alagiri, the son of a farmer in Nagapattinam district of Tamil Nadu, joined Masakatsu Shibasaki, a renowned organic chemist at the Institute of Microbial Chemistry, Tokyo, last year as a post-doctoral researcher.
The discovery of the new synthesis for tamiflu would shake up the pharma world and end the Roche patent monopoly. In 2009, Roche reportedly earned nearly $2 billion from tamiflu global sales as governments stockpiled the drug to fight swine flu. Roche is currently making tamiflu by two methods. One involves extraction from the fragrant spice star anise, grown primarily in China and the other is biofermentation.
Professor Shibasaki's team used an easily available natural substance called glutamic acid as the starting point and synthesized the flu-drug.
"Our process involves simple synthetic methods with inexpensive chemicals and minimum number of cost- and time-consuming chromatographic purification," Shibasaki explained to TOI.
The real question now is whether the process discovered by Shibasaki and his colleagues can be upscaled and commercialized. Alagiri is confident that it can be.
"There is high possibility for industrial scale production of tamiflu using our latest protocol starting from L-glutamic acid. We are now collaborating with a pharmaceutical company," Alagiri told TOI from his village Karuvazhakkarai where he has come to spend a few days with his parents.
Alagiri elected to join the Shibasaki Lab because of the fame of the Japanese master. Professor Shibasaki has authored over 500 papers and several books and he is one of the leading chemists in the world, Alagiri said.
"Working in Prof. Shibasaki's lab is a great learning experience. He gives full freedom and encourages his students to give their inputs towards research," he said.
On his part, Professor Shibasaki is quietly appreciative of Alagiri. "Alagiri was one of the top candidates and I offered him a postdoctoral position supported by my research grant," he said.
There have been many attempts to synthesise tamiflu earlier including one by E.J.Corey, the Nobel winning Harvard chemist, and one by Shibasaki himself. Although laboratory level success has been achieved, up-scaling to production levels has been difficult.
The recent outbreak of a new H7N9 bird flu virus in China has again revived interest in drugs to deal with these mutating viruses. A Roche spokesperson claimed the new strain is sensitive to tamiflu "according to preliminary reviews". Scientists around the world are racing to decipher the mutated H7N9 virus that has caused over 20 deaths in China. So, Roche's assertion is still wishful thinking.
Meanwhile, Alagiri wants to move on to "Europe or US" for more research, and then come back to India to work for a "premier research institute".
SOURCE The Times of India
RELEASED ON 19/04/13 (DD/MM/YY)
Friday, the FAA approved a redesigned battery system for the 787 Dreamliner created by Boeing to protect the aircraft from potential battery fires, meaning the airliners may soon return to service. The 50 jets in service have been grounded since January, when two 787s suffered fires. Boeing must now issue a service bulletin that details the design changes that carriers will need to apply before their Dreamliners are approved for flight by the FAA. The FAA is expected to publish the information next week and foreign regulators are expected to follow the FAA with their own approvals. Meanwhile, the NTSB is still trying to determine why the aircraft's lithium ion batteries failed.
Beginning the week of April 22, the NTSB will hold meetings in which senior Boeing officials and representatives from two companies (France's Thales SA, and Japan's GS Yuasa Corp) that produce the battery and its larger systems for Boeing will testify. The company operated two flights (the last of which took place on April 5) to test the fix. The new battery system employs additional insulation and spacing for parts within the battery. Boeing had halted deliveries of the airliner while seeking resolution for the problem. The jet is currently operated by eight different airlines worldwide. Both JAL and All Nippon Airways in January operated Dreamliners that suffered battery fires during revenue operations.
SOURCE Avweb.com
Friday, the FAA approved a redesigned battery system for the 787 Dreamliner created by Boeing to protect the aircraft from potential battery fires, meaning the airliners may soon return to service. The 50 jets in service have been grounded since January, when two 787s suffered fires. Boeing must now issue a service bulletin that details the design changes that carriers will need to apply before their Dreamliners are approved for flight by the FAA. The FAA is expected to publish the information next week and foreign regulators are expected to follow the FAA with their own approvals. Meanwhile, the NTSB is still trying to determine why the aircraft's lithium ion batteries failed.
Beginning the week of April 22, the NTSB will hold meetings in which senior Boeing officials and representatives from two companies (France's Thales SA, and Japan's GS Yuasa Corp) that produce the battery and its larger systems for Boeing will testify. The company operated two flights (the last of which took place on April 5) to test the fix. The new battery system employs additional insulation and spacing for parts within the battery. Boeing had halted deliveries of the airliner while seeking resolution for the problem. The jet is currently operated by eight different airlines worldwide. Both JAL and All Nippon Airways in January operated Dreamliners that suffered battery fires during revenue operations.
SOURCE Avweb.com
RELEASED ON 19/04/13 (DD/MM/YY)
Japan’s Mitsubishi Rayon Co (MRC)’s methyl methacrylate (MMA) units in Otake were shut by lightning that struck on 13 April, and are expected to resume operations by the end of the month at the earliest. The company’s two 55,000 tonne/year butane-based lines and its 107,000 tonne/year acetone cyanohydrin-based MMA line at the site halted operations, the source said.
The shutdown is expected to result in an MMA production loss of more than 10,000 tonnes, the source said.
MRC’s other units, including those that produce acrylic sheets and polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA) and methacrylic acid (MAA) units in Otake were also affected, the source said. “We are trying to restart as early as possible. The units will be starting one by one, starting [with] the butane based MMA line,” he said.
Resuming operations, however, could be delayed to mid-May if repairs do not progress smoothly, the source said, adding that the company’s domestic and overseas customers have been duly informed about the situation.
MRC is now looking into MMA swaps or imports from its subsidiaries from Korea or Thailand to prevent a disruption of supply to customers, the source said.
SOURCE Icis News
Japan’s Mitsubishi Rayon Co (MRC)’s methyl methacrylate (MMA) units in Otake were shut by lightning that struck on 13 April, and are expected to resume operations by the end of the month at the earliest. The company’s two 55,000 tonne/year butane-based lines and its 107,000 tonne/year acetone cyanohydrin-based MMA line at the site halted operations, the source said.
The shutdown is expected to result in an MMA production loss of more than 10,000 tonnes, the source said.
MRC’s other units, including those that produce acrylic sheets and polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA) and methacrylic acid (MAA) units in Otake were also affected, the source said. “We are trying to restart as early as possible. The units will be starting one by one, starting [with] the butane based MMA line,” he said.
Resuming operations, however, could be delayed to mid-May if repairs do not progress smoothly, the source said, adding that the company’s domestic and overseas customers have been duly informed about the situation.
MRC is now looking into MMA swaps or imports from its subsidiaries from Korea or Thailand to prevent a disruption of supply to customers, the source said.
SOURCE Icis News
RELEASED ON 19/04/13 (DD/MM/YY)
Versalis (Milan), the chemicals business of ENI (Rome), has outlined a major transformation program that aims to shift the company's portfolio from one dominated by commodities toward differentiated and green chemicals; internationalize the business; and make it profitable by 2017–18, delivering €300 million ($392.4 million) in profit by the end of that period. The company is also looking to double capacity for elastomers and increase production of butadiene to feed the elastomers operation through three separate projects: conventional steam cracker–derived butadiene at Dunkirk, France; an on-purpose dehydrogenation of butanes facility based on proprietary technology, currently at pilot scale; and construction of a green butadiene production unit in partnership with Genomatica (San Diego).
Speaking at an analysts and media seminar in London on Thursday—the first such event that Versalis has held—Daniele Ferrari, CEO, said that the current focus is on fixing three "problem sites" in Italy: Porto Torres, Sardinia; Priolo, Sicily; and Porto Marghera, near Venice. “These were the biggest loss-making sites with a combined Ebitda loss of €210 million/year during 2008–12,” Ferrari said. Versalis, or Polimeri Europa, as the company was previously known, generated a positive Ebitda of €110 million/year at its other 11 sites in Italy combined, he said. Versalis has agreed with local trade unions to transform the three challenged sites. Meanwhile, to improve its profitability, Versalis is looking at options to import cheap gas feedstock from the United States. The company’s Brindisi, Italy, cracker is capable of using gas feedstock and, with minor adjustments, the Dunkirk facility could also gain flexibility to use gas.
SOURCE Chemweek Business Daily
Versalis (Milan), the chemicals business of ENI (Rome), has outlined a major transformation program that aims to shift the company's portfolio from one dominated by commodities toward differentiated and green chemicals; internationalize the business; and make it profitable by 2017–18, delivering €300 million ($392.4 million) in profit by the end of that period. The company is also looking to double capacity for elastomers and increase production of butadiene to feed the elastomers operation through three separate projects: conventional steam cracker–derived butadiene at Dunkirk, France; an on-purpose dehydrogenation of butanes facility based on proprietary technology, currently at pilot scale; and construction of a green butadiene production unit in partnership with Genomatica (San Diego).
Speaking at an analysts and media seminar in London on Thursday—the first such event that Versalis has held—Daniele Ferrari, CEO, said that the current focus is on fixing three "problem sites" in Italy: Porto Torres, Sardinia; Priolo, Sicily; and Porto Marghera, near Venice. “These were the biggest loss-making sites with a combined Ebitda loss of €210 million/year during 2008–12,” Ferrari said. Versalis, or Polimeri Europa, as the company was previously known, generated a positive Ebitda of €110 million/year at its other 11 sites in Italy combined, he said. Versalis has agreed with local trade unions to transform the three challenged sites. Meanwhile, to improve its profitability, Versalis is looking at options to import cheap gas feedstock from the United States. The company’s Brindisi, Italy, cracker is capable of using gas feedstock and, with minor adjustments, the Dunkirk facility could also gain flexibility to use gas.
SOURCE Chemweek Business Daily
RELEASED ON 19/04/13 (DD/MM/YY)
South Korea’s Asia Acetyls Co (Asacco) is in the process of raising operating rates at its recently restarted 210,000 tonnes/year vinyl acetate monomer (VAM) plant in Ulsan, a company official said on Friday.
The VAM plant, along with an upstream 600,000 tonne/year acetic acid plant at the same site, was taken off line on 18 March for turnaround. The two plants resumed operations on 14 April as sheduled, the source said.
“It takes some time to raise the VAM plant operating rates,” the official said, without providing the exact run rates.
Asacco is a joint venture between London-headquartered BP, US-based major Dow Chemical and South Korea’s Samsung.
SOURCE Icis News
RELEASED ON 31/03/13
TPC Group is set to outlay for production of butadiene and its production capacity expansion. In the wake US shale gas development, natural gas liquids availability is increased to use a feedstock for manufacturing butadiene and the company vouches for remaining leading butadiene supplier in US.
SOURCE Chemical Engineering Group
TPC Group is set to outlay for production of butadiene and its production capacity expansion. In the wake US shale gas development, natural gas liquids availability is increased to use a feedstock for manufacturing butadiene and the company vouches for remaining leading butadiene supplier in US.
SOURCE Chemical Engineering Group
RELEASED ON 04/04/13 (DD/MM/YY)
Arkema announces that it has acquired a majority stake in AEC Polymers, a French manufacturer of structural adhesives. AEC Polymers recently developed a range of methacrylate glues (SAF(R) range) based on an Arkema technology, which boast unrivalled mechanical properties. AEC Polymers will join the Group's new products and new technologies incubator.
Structural adhesives are increasingly used in industry to assemble composite materials, plastics, glass and metals. In the example of metals, the properties obtained are equivalent or superior to welding.
Growth in the structural adhesives market is driven by the quest for lighter materials used in transport (automotive, aerospace, shipbuilding, etc.), the increasing role of plastics in electronics and household electricals (miniaturization), and the development of wind power and alternative energies.
This acquisition illustrates Arkema's strategy to expand in high added value specialty chemicals, in particular composite materials and advanced materials. The performances of AEC Polymers' SAF(R) range, combining mechanical strength, extreme elongation, lighter assembly capability, and resistance to chemical and weathering attacks aptly illustrate this commitment.
Christian Collette. Vice President Research at Arkema explains: « The technology of AEC Polymers uses mostly products manufactured by Arkema such as block copolymers, organic peroxides, acrylic and methacrylic monomers. Together we will grow our customers' performance in the assembly of advanced materials, and make Arkema an essential player in this sector ».
For Christian Bret, President of AEC Polymers, « With this alliance, AEC Polymers, now associated with a major group, will be in a position to speed up its development in new geographic regions and with new customers and renowned brands. Our credibility will be boosted, which will allow us to step up our growth ».
A global chemical company and France's leading chemicals producer, Arkema is building the future of the chemical industry every day. Deploying a responsible, innovation-based approach, we produce state-of-the-art specialty chemicals that provide customers with practical solutions to such challenges as climate change, access to drinking water, the future of energy, fossil fuel preservation and the need for lighter materials. With operations in more than 40 countries, some 14,000 employees and 10 research centers, Arkema generates annual revenue of (EURO)6.4 billion, and holds leadership positions in all its markets with a portfolio of internationally recognized brands.
AEC Polymers was created in 2003, employs 25 people near Bordeaux (France), and manufactures a range of methacrylate-based structural adhesives (two-component adhesives based on an Arkema technology) and MS polymers (sealants curable at ambient moisture). It reports sales of (EURO)3.5 million.
SOURCE MarketLine
Arkema announces that it has acquired a majority stake in AEC Polymers, a French manufacturer of structural adhesives. AEC Polymers recently developed a range of methacrylate glues (SAF(R) range) based on an Arkema technology, which boast unrivalled mechanical properties. AEC Polymers will join the Group's new products and new technologies incubator.
Structural adhesives are increasingly used in industry to assemble composite materials, plastics, glass and metals. In the example of metals, the properties obtained are equivalent or superior to welding.
Growth in the structural adhesives market is driven by the quest for lighter materials used in transport (automotive, aerospace, shipbuilding, etc.), the increasing role of plastics in electronics and household electricals (miniaturization), and the development of wind power and alternative energies.
This acquisition illustrates Arkema's strategy to expand in high added value specialty chemicals, in particular composite materials and advanced materials. The performances of AEC Polymers' SAF(R) range, combining mechanical strength, extreme elongation, lighter assembly capability, and resistance to chemical and weathering attacks aptly illustrate this commitment.
Christian Collette. Vice President Research at Arkema explains: « The technology of AEC Polymers uses mostly products manufactured by Arkema such as block copolymers, organic peroxides, acrylic and methacrylic monomers. Together we will grow our customers' performance in the assembly of advanced materials, and make Arkema an essential player in this sector ».
For Christian Bret, President of AEC Polymers, « With this alliance, AEC Polymers, now associated with a major group, will be in a position to speed up its development in new geographic regions and with new customers and renowned brands. Our credibility will be boosted, which will allow us to step up our growth ».
A global chemical company and France's leading chemicals producer, Arkema is building the future of the chemical industry every day. Deploying a responsible, innovation-based approach, we produce state-of-the-art specialty chemicals that provide customers with practical solutions to such challenges as climate change, access to drinking water, the future of energy, fossil fuel preservation and the need for lighter materials. With operations in more than 40 countries, some 14,000 employees and 10 research centers, Arkema generates annual revenue of (EURO)6.4 billion, and holds leadership positions in all its markets with a portfolio of internationally recognized brands.
AEC Polymers was created in 2003, employs 25 people near Bordeaux (France), and manufactures a range of methacrylate-based structural adhesives (two-component adhesives based on an Arkema technology) and MS polymers (sealants curable at ambient moisture). It reports sales of (EURO)3.5 million.
SOURCE MarketLine
RELEASED ON 18/04/13 (DD/MM/YY)
China’s Jilin Petrochemical plans to shut its No 3 and No 4 Acrylonitrile (ACN) plants in Jilin city of Jilin province for 17 days of maintenance on 19 April, a company source confirmed on Thursday.The company also plans to shut its No 2 ACN plant for 10-15 days of maintenance in May after the two units are restarted, the source said. The shutdown was originally scheduled in early April.
The company owns four separate units at the same site with a total capacity of 452,000 tonnes/year. The No 1 and No 2 units have a capacity of 106,000 tonnes/year each, whereas the No 3 and No 4 units have a capacity of 120,000 tonnes/year each. The No 2, No 3 and No 4 plants are running at 80% capacity at present, while No 1 unit remains shut, the source said.
SOURCE Icis News
China’s Jilin Petrochemical plans to shut its No 3 and No 4 Acrylonitrile (ACN) plants in Jilin city of Jilin province for 17 days of maintenance on 19 April, a company source confirmed on Thursday.The company also plans to shut its No 2 ACN plant for 10-15 days of maintenance in May after the two units are restarted, the source said. The shutdown was originally scheduled in early April.
The company owns four separate units at the same site with a total capacity of 452,000 tonnes/year. The No 1 and No 2 units have a capacity of 106,000 tonnes/year each, whereas the No 3 and No 4 units have a capacity of 120,000 tonnes/year each. The No 2, No 3 and No 4 plants are running at 80% capacity at present, while No 1 unit remains shut, the source said.
SOURCE Icis News
RELEASED ON 11/04/13 (DD/MM/YY)
US renewable chemicals firm Genomatica and Italian chemicals major Versalis on Thursday launched their joint venture to develop bio-based butadiene. The launch – with the signing of a definitive joint development and licensing agreement establishing the joint venture - follows a memorandum of understanding the companies agreede in July 2012.
Genomatica and Versalis said that the joint venture would develop a complete “end-to-end” process for the on-purpose production of butadiene from non-food biomass.
The process would be licensed across Europe, Asia and Africa. Licensees of the process, including Versalis, would provide the capital required for the construction and operation of their own plants, and be responsible for use and sale of the resulting butadiene, they said.
Versalis aims at being the first to license the process and build commercial plants. It will also provide more than $20m (€15m) in funding to Genomatica to support development of the integrated end-to-end process.
“The signing of this joint venture will offer Versalis a better way to start on an innovative path between the traditional butadiene production process, which positions the company as a leader in Europe, and any new opportunity for the application of biotechnologies within the chemical industry," said Daniele Ferrari, CEO of Versalis
SOURCE Icis News