DATE : 2014-02-28
South Korea’s LG Chem will shut its 155,000 tonne/year butadiene (BD) unit at Yeosu in October, a company source said on 28 February.
“The BD unit at Yeosu will shut for 36 days in October,” the source added.
LG Chem has another 160,000 tonne/year BD unit at Daesan in South Korea.
The Daesan BD unit is not scheduled to shut for maintenance in 2014.
SOURCE Icis News
DATE : 2014-02-26
Asahi Kasei Corp., Asahi Kasei Chemicals Corp., and Asahi Kasei E-materials Corp. have made a decision to strengthen their petrochemical operations in Japan as described below. Background Having identified acrylonitrile (AN) and solution-polymerized styrene-butadiene rubber (S-SBR) for fuel-efficient tires as world-leading businesses in its strategic management initiative For Tomorrow 2015, the Asahi Kasei Group is proactively expanding production capacity for these products overseas, mainly in Asia. In contrast, the operating climate in the domestic Japanese petrochemical market is expected to be increasingly challenging, with contracting demand and increasingly severe competition from low-priced imports.
Based on careful study of how to best realign operations in such a climate, it was determined that the following measures would establish the optimum production configuration from feedstock to derivatives in balance with domestic demand in order to heighten competitiveness and ensure a stable earnings base. Outline of the measures to strengthen operations Unification of naphtha cracker facilities in Mizushima, Japan The naphtha crackers of Asahi Kasei Chemicals and Mitsubishi Chemical Corp. in Mizushima are scheduled for unification on the Mitsubishi Chemical facility in April 2016, in order to establish the optimum production configuration. For further information, please refer to the press release Basic agreement on unification of naphtha cracker facilities in Mizushima, dated February 25, 2014. AN business Asahi Kasei Chemicals currently has AN production capacity of 1,210,000 tons/year at four locations. Capacity in Japan is 450,000 tons/year, with one plant in Kawasaki (150,000 tons/year) and two plants in Mizushima (100,000 tons/year and 200,000 tons/year). Overseas capacity is 760,000 tons/year (560,000 tons/year in Korea and 200,000 tons/year in Thailand). In light of the challenging operating climate of recent years, including sluggish market prices due to deterioration of the supply-demand balance, rising feedstock prices, etc., the decision was made for closure of the AN plant in Kawasaki in August 2014. In addition, the 100,000 ton/year AN plant in Mizushima, currently used to produce another product as well, will be dedicated to the production of the other product, resulting in AN production concentrated on the most cost-competitive facilities at three sites. This realignment will further enhance competitiveness by engendering supply more clearly focused by geographic area, with production in Mizushima focused on the market in Japan, production in Korea focused on the market in Korea, China, and Taiwan, and production in Thailand focused on the market in ASEAN countries.
Source Al Bawaba.com
DATE : 2014-02-25
Un début d'incendie s'est déclaré, vers 13 h, dans l'usine Bolloré, implantée route de Coray, à Ergué-Gabéric (29) et site de fabrication des batteries au lithium pour la BlueCar.
Le foyer est localisé dans un local de stockage des batteries au lithium.
Lithium en feu
Cinq à six kilos de lithium étaient en feu, dégageant une forte chaleur, quand d'importants moyens de secours sont arrivés sur place.
La difficulté pour eux réside dans le fait que les flammes ne peuvent être éteintes à l'aide de lances à eau, le mélange de l'eau et des barres de lithium étant hautement dangereux.
Le bâtiment évacué
Le bâtiment a été évacué.
Deux employés, incommodés, ont été pris en charge par les pompiers.
Des mesures en cours sur les fumées dégagées
Les fumées dégagées par le sinistre posent également problème, en raison de leur toxicité.
Des mesures de qualité de l'air sont en cours.
Jean-Luc Videlaine, préfet du Finistère, est sur place.
Le feu confiné
Selon le groupe Bolloré, le feu serait né dans un congélateur du laboratoire "recherche et développement" de l’usine. Ce congélateur contenait "des déchets d’une batterie qui avait été "autopsiée" dans le cadre d’une recherche sur le recyclage des batteries". Il s’agissait "de matériau brut de lithium", a précisé la préfecture.
Le feu a été confiné, vers 15 h 15, à l’intérieur du local. Les pompiers ont finalement choisi de laisser le lithium achever sa combustion. Ils ont ensuite éteint les flammes restantes avec du sable, puis de l’eau.
SOURCE : Le Télégramme de Brest
DATE : 2014-02-25
China’s Sichuan Petrochemical is expected to start up its new 150,000 tonne/year butadiene (BD) unit in Sichuan province in mid-March, market sources said.
The new BD unit was initially scheduled to start up in July 2013 but was delayed due to weak market conditions, the market sources said.
SOURCE Icis News
DATE : 2014-02-25
China’s Shanghai SECCO Petrochemical plans to start up its new 90,000 tonne/year butadiene (BD) unit in Shanghai by June, market sources said.
The new unit will expand the company’s BD capacity to 180,000 tonnes/year.
The company currently runs a separate 90,000 tonne/year BD unit at the same site.
SOURCE Icis News
DATE : 2014-02-25
Japan's Asahi Kasei is streamlining its downstream operations in the run up to the permanent closure of its naphtha-fed steam cracker at Mizushima, the company said in a statement on its website Tuesday.
Asahi Kasei will shut its steam cracker in April 2016, as part of an agreement with fellow producer Mitsubishi Chemical to consolidate their naphtha cracker operations to increase competitiveness at the Mizushima site, in the face of cheaper and more abundant supplies from the US, Middle East and China.
The steam cracker has a production capacity of 470,000 m/year ethylene and 300,000 mt/year propylene.
Following the closure of Asahi Kasei's steam cracker, both companies will jointly operate Mitsubishi Chemical's naphtha-fed steam cracker at Mizushima through an equally held joint venture Nishi Nippon Ethylene.
The nameplate capacity of Mitsubishi Chemical's Mizushima steam cracker will also be raised to 570,000 mt/year of ethylene through replacement of one of the cracker's compressors, Asahi said.
Currently, Mitsubishi Chemical's Mizushima steam cracker can produce 500,000 mt/year of ethylene and 320,000 mt/year of propylene.
Meanwhile, Asahi Kasei will permanently shut its 150,000 mt/year acrylonitrile plant at Kawasaki in August this year "in light of the challenging operating climate of recent years, including sluggish market prices due to deterioration of the supply-demand balance, rising feedstock prices," the company said.
Asahi Kasei has two other ACN plants in Japan at Mizushima with capacities of 100,000 mt/year and 200,000 mt/year. It also has plants in South Korea and Thailand, with a combined capacity of 760,000 mt/year.
The company will also shut its 320,000 mt/year styrene monomer plant at Mizushima in March 2016, due to an expected deterioration in the supply-demand balance caused by expansions and new large-scale SM plants.
Downstream from both SM and ACN, the company will close its 65,000 mt/year ABS plant in Mizushima in December 2015.
Also, its 24,000 mt/year styrene-butadiene latex plant at Mizushima will close down in December 2015, while its 37,000 mt/year epoxy resin plant at Mizushima will be permanently shut in May 2015, the statement said.
SOURCE PLATT
DATE : 2014-02-24
China’s Jiangsu Leasty Chemical plans to expand its styrene monomer (SM) plant in east China to 500,000 tonnes/year, at a cost of around yuan (CNY) 1.2bn ($197m), its parent firm said on Monday.
Jiangsu Leasty Chemical is a subsidiary of Shuangliang Eco-energy Systems Co, which holds a 75% stake.
The plant, located at Jiangyin, Jiangsu province, currently has a capacity of 420,000 tonnes/year, Shuangliang Eco-energy Systems Co said in a statement filed on the Shanghai Stock Exchange.
However, the company did not provide the specific timeline on the expansion.
The parent company’s operating revenues from chemical products in 2013 hit CNY4.6bn, up by 13.97% compared with 2012, largely attributable to rising SM prices, the company said, adding that it produced 360,000 tonnes of SM in 2013.
SOURCE Icis News
DATE : 2014-02-22
Japan’s Mitsubishi Rayon Co (MRC) will shut its 55,000 tonne/year No 2 butane-based methyl methacrylate (MMA) line in Otake from mid-March onwards for a scheduled turnaround, a company source said on Friday.
The turnaround is expected to be completed by mid-April, the source added.
MRC currently has another 55,000 tonne/year butane-based No 1 MMA line and 107,000 tonne/year acetone cyanohydrin-based MMA line at the same site.
SOURCE Icis News
DATE : 2014-02-24
Taiwan’s Formosa Plastics Corp (FPC) plans to shut its 160,000 tonne/year acrylic acid (AA) unit and 200,000 tonne/year acrylate esters plant at Ningbo in eastern China for scheduled maintenance in the first week of March, a company source said on Monday.
The company plans to restart the units after 15 March, the source said.
AA and acrylate esters prices have been on a downward trend recently as there is weak demand and most producers faced high inventory pressure, market sources said.
The shutdown could ease the inventory pressure and reduce industry risks as a result, a company source said.
SOURCE Icis News
DATE : 2014-02-22
La batterie d'un Boeing 787 Dreamliner qui avait rencontré un problème le mois dernier aurait atteint une température de quelque 660°C, selon les autorités japonaises.
Un Boeing 787 de la compagnie Japan Airlines (JAL) avait été cloué au sol le 15 janvier à Tokyo après une surchauffe d'une batterie et un dégagement de fumée, un an après une série de problèmes voisins qui avaient immobilisé la flotte des 50 appareils du même type alors en service pendant trois mois.
D'après un rapport du ministère japonais des Transports dont le contenu a été divulgué vendredi, l'une des huit cellules lithium-ion qui compose la batterie incriminée de l'avion a gonflé et l'électrolyte s'est échappé.
"Nous estimons que la température à l'intérieur de la cellule a pu atteindre 660 degrés Celsius car l'électrode d'aluminium a fondu", a expliqué un fonctionnaire.
On ignore toujours ce qui a vraiment causé la surchauffe, a indiqué ce responsable, ajoutant que le ministère continuerait à enquêter sur cet incident avec l'aide de l'avionneur américain Boeing et du fabricant de la batterie, la société nippone GS Yuasa.
Après une série d'incidents similaires il y a un an et des examens très poussés, Boeing a envisagé des dizaines d'hypothèses de dysfonctionnements et pris des dispositions qui, de l'aveu même de l'avionneur, n'empêchent certes pas à 100% les surchauffes mais en diminuent les risques et évitent surtout "tout départ de feu" ainsi que toute propagation d'un éventuel problème au-delà du caisson de batterie.
Ce sont ces modifications de conception qui avaient convaincu les autorités de permettre de nouveau les vols du "Dreamliner" à partir d'avril 2013, mais le 787, un appareil de nouvelle génération, reste pour autant régulièrement victime de petites avaries qui occasionnent annulations et retards de liaisons.
SOURCE RTL.info
DATE : 2014-02-21
BASF has launched its flagship fungicide Jianda-R in China, based on the active ingredients Xemium (fluxapyroxad) and pyraclostrobin. The product has both protective and curative activities against fungal disease.
In September 2013, China approved BASF’s Jianda-R fungicide for the control of botrytis cinerea. The company plans to further extend its application to crops including banana, mango, strawberry, watermelon, cucumber, pepper, and potato.
Except its striking effectiveness, the environmental friendliness of Jianda-R is another highlight for it poses no poisonous threat to beneficials like bees, predatory mites, and earthworm when using under the product’s technical guidelines. Leveraging its property of plant health enhancement and disease prevention, growers could expect a higher yield and quality of their crop and a longer shelf life of the harvest. Jianda-R also provides growers a better choice of resistance management when addressing the growing and preserving challenges.
SOURCE China Chemical Reporter
DATE : 2014-02-22
Thai MMA plans to shut its 90,000 tonne/year No 1 methyl methacrylate (MMA) line in Map Ta Phut in mid-March for scheduled maintenance, a company source said on Friday.
The plant is expected to be offline for about a month until mid-April, the source added.
Thai MMA also runs a separate 90,000 tonne/year line at the same site.
The company is a joint venture between Japan's Mitsubishi Rayon Corp (MRC) and Thailand's Siam Cement Group.
SOURCE Icis News
DATE : 2014-03-14
South Korea’s Daesan MMA (DMMA) is expected to shut its 90,000 tonne/year methyl methacrylate (MMA) plant in Daesan in mid-May for scheduled maintenance, a source close to the company said on Friday.
The turnaround is expected to last until mid-June, the source added.
DMMA has another MMA plant in Yeosu with a nameplate capacity of 98,000 tonnes/year.
The company is a joint venture between Japan’s Mitsubishi Rayon Co (MRC) and South Korea’s Honam Petrochemical.
SOURCE Icis News
DATE : 2014-02-20
Japan’s Idemitsu Kosan Co plans to shut its 210,000 tonne/year styrene monomer (SM) unit at Chiba in late March for maintenance, a company source said on Thursday.
“The shutdown will be from end-March to end-April,” the source said.
In Tokuyama, the company has two SM plants – a 120,000 tonne/year and a 220,000 tonne/year unit – that are due for turnaround from end-August to mid-October, the source said.
Other Japanese SM makers include Denka, Asahi Kasei Chemicals and Nihon Oxirane.
SOURCE Icis News
DATE : 2014-02-18
Grand Pacific Petrochemical Corp (GPPC) is in plans to take off-stream a styrene monomer (SM) plant.
A Polymerupdate source in Taiwan informed that the plant is likely to be taken off-stream in mid-April 2014. It is slated to remain shut till early June 2014.
Located at Tashe in Taiwan, the plant has a production capacity of 240,000 mt/year.
SOURCE PolymerUpdate