DATE : 2014-07-03
China’s Fujian Refining & Petrochemicals (FREP) is running its new 60,000 tonne/year butadiene (BD) unit in Fujian province at 100% of capacity after starting up recently in May, market sources said on Friday.
Its existing 120,000 tonne/year BD unit at the same location in Quanzhou is currently running at a reduced rate of 70% capacity, market sources said.
FREP’s total BD capacity rose to 180,000 tonnes/year following the recent start-up of its new 60,000 tonne/year BD unit.
SOURCE Icis News
DATE : 2014-07-02
On 13 Jun 2014, Eastman Chemical Company announced that operations at its Kingsport, TN, US, site have been substantially restored following an unplanned shutdown on 4 Jun 2014. Eastman has made tremendous progress in bringing the plant back online in a safe and orderly manner with no material financial impact. Based on current information, the company projects the shutdown will negatively impact earnings $0.05-0.10/share, and continues to expect FY 2014 earnings per share to be $6.70-7.00/share. Non-core and non-recurring items are excluded from the earnings per share
projection.
SOURCE Icis News
DATE : 2014-07-03
Taiwan’s Formosa Petrochemical Corp (FPCC) will shut its 176,000 tonne/year butadiene (BD) extraction unit in Mailiao in August when its 1.2m tonne/year No 3 cracker shuts for maintenance, a company source said.
The No 3 cracker will shut from 16 August until 30 September, the source added.
FPCC’s two other BD units at the same site will run at 100% capacity during this period, according to the source.
FPCC has a 109,000 tonne/year BD unit at its 700,000 tonne/year No 1 cracker and a 162,000 tonne/year BD unit at its 1.03m tonne/year No 2 cracker.
SOURCE Icis News
DATE : 2014-07-01
Last month, The Linde Group (Pullach, Germany) and BASF announced plans to cooperate in developing and licensing processes for the on-purpose production of linear butenes and butadiene. BASF has developed process technology and catalysts as well as the extraction technologies, while Linde is providing its expertise for the integration, optimization and commercialization of the process.
Butadiene is a monomer used for the production of polymers, paper coating and synthetic rubber mainly for tire production. Butenes are building blocks that are used in the chemical and petroleum-refining sectors. Currently, the industry relies mainly on butadiene as a co-product from naphtha-cracking to ethylene. The shift to lighter cracker feedstock (results in reduced volumes of co-products (C3 and C4 hydrocarbons). Therefore the on-purpose production of higher olefins is gaining more and more importance.
The new process will deliver an on-purpose route from butane to butadiene via butenes. For the synthesis of butenes from butane, BASF developed a novel monolithic catalyst that is said to utilize the precious-metal component much more efficiently than conventional technology, while achieving a high yield of butenes. Linear butenes are oxydehydrogenated into butadiene using a mixed metal-oxide catalyst, which has a high activity and selectivity, says BASF. Butadiene is extracted from the C4 stream using a butadiene-selective solvent, and then purified by distillation. The BASF extraction technology has been proven for butadiene, and will be used for the purification in both process steps.
“The new BASF technology is currently being developed by mini-plant (kilogram scale) and pilot-plant (500 kg/h) operation in Ludwigshafen,” says Heinrich-Josef Blankertz, senior vice president Global Technology, of BASF’s Petrochemicals division. “We are optimistic that we can offer a new best-in-class technology for the manufacturing of on-purpose butadiene to help producers meet the increasing global demand.”
SOURCE Engineering Plastics
DATE : 2014-06-28
Lucite International has restarted a methyl methacrylate (MMA) plant.
A Polymeurpdate source in China informed that the plant restarted early this week.
It was shut in the second week of June 2014 following a mechanical failure.Located in Shanghai, China, the plant has a production capacity of 100,000 mt/year.
SOURCE PolymerUpdate
DATE : 2014-06-26
Ascend Performance Materials is in plans to shut an acrylonitrile (ACN) plant for maintenance turnaround.
A Polymerupdate source in the US informed that the company’s A7 unit is likely to be shut in August 2014.
It is planned to remain off-stream for around two weeks.Located at Chocolate Bayou in Texas, US, the plant has a production capacity of 1 billion lb/year.
SOURCE PolymerUpdate
DATE : 2014-07-01
China's Sinopec Zhenhai Refining & Chemical Corp (ZRCC) has restarted its 165,000 tonne/year butadiene (BD) unit at Ningbo in Zhejiang province after a 45-day turnaround and BD supply is expected to ease in China, market sources said on Tuesday.
“Sinopec Zhenhai restarted the BD unit on 30 June, and we expect BD supply in China to ease soon,” a market source said.
The BD unit was taken off line on 16 May for maintenance.
SOURCE Icis News
DATE : 2014-06-28
Idemitsu SM (Malaysia) is in plans to restart its styrene monomer (SM) plant.
A Polymerupdate source in Malaysia informed that the plant is planned to be restarted on July 1, 2014. The plant was shut on June 24, 2014 owing to technical issues.
Located at Pasir Gudang, Malaysia, the plant has a production capacity of 240,000 mt/year.
SOURCE PolymerUpdate
DATE : 2014-07-01
Dow Chemical shut down its Texas vinyl acetate monomer (VAM) unit and declared force majeure on Tuesday, following complications that developed at the plant last week.
The company said the force majeure became effective on 25 june, when a tube leak in a reactor was discovered at its 365,000 tonne/year plant in Texas City, according to a state filing.
"We have experienced an unexpected mechanical failure that will result in a complete shutdown for at least two weeks and has impacted our ability to meet our supply obligations," Dow said in its force majeure statement, dated 2 July.
Dow's declaration marks the third ongoing force majeure in US VAM, following those by DuPont and LyondellBasell declared in March.
All of the major US VAM producers have been hit by a supply squeeze this year because of outages, mechanical failures and scheduled maintenance turnarounds. And conditions in the US have compounded a tightening in Europe stemming from two plant closures there late last year.
US spot VAM prices soared in March and April to well over $2,000/tonne, more than double the price in early January, before prices fell back to the current FOB export range of $1,600-1,700/tonne.
Sources this week said FOB export prices remained stable, though that was before Dow filed for force majeure.
Besides the high prices, another result of the squeeze has been a price war between South American and European customers for US material that has made VAM made outside the US – in the Middle East as well as Asia – a cheaper alternative.
A shipping report last week noted enquiries for 6,000 tonnes of VAM from Singapore to Europe in the first half of July. A VAM source this week said Dow was looking to buy 1,000 tonnes from China.
Sources in the past few days have said Dow put customers on 50% sales control. In its force majeure statement, the company said it could not provide customers full contract quantities and was putting together a "fair and reasonable" allocation plan.
A Dow spokeswoman last week issued a statement saying the company was "troubleshooting" problems at the VAM plant.
Buyers said last week that LyondellBasell had extended its FM through July – including a similar declaration on acetic acid.
The DuPont force majeure now has a new owner – Japan-based Kuraray took over DuPont's VAM plant in early June.
US VAM producers include Celanese, Dow, Kuraray and LyondellBasell.
DATE : 2014-07-01
Further to previous company announcements on Tadawul regarding Acrylic Acid plants, the latest of which was on 1-4-2014, (1-6-1435) for Super Absorbent Polymers Plant developments , the company announces that 1-7-2014 will be the date of commercial operation of Acrylic Acid Plants complex which includes a production Utilities Unit ( 100%-owned By Saudi Acrylic Acid), and Acrylic Monomers factory of Saudi Acrylic Monomers Company ( 75%-owned by Saudi Acrylic Acid Company, 25% Dow Chemicals Co), and Super Absorbent Polymers factory of Saudi Acrylic polymers company (75%-owned by Saudi Acrylic Acid Company, 25% Evonik of German ) where the necessary tests for commercial operation are completed. It is worth mentioning that it is not possible to measure the financial impact of these plants on TASNEE financials, which would be during the second half of this year, 2014. TASNEE owns 52.3% of Saudi Acrylic Acid (SAAC).
SOURCE GulfBase
Date: July 1, 2014
- Long-standing cooperation partner Peer+ becomes a wholly owned subsidiary of Merck as of July 1, 2014
- With the acquisition of the startup company Peer+, Merck is further advancing the future-oriented technology for liquid crystal windows
- Merck wants to launch the mass production of liquid crystal windows with cooperation partners in the glass and facade technology sector
Darmstadt, June 30 – Merck, a leading company for top-quality high-tech products in the pharmaceutical and chemical sectors, is acquiring the Dutch specialist for smart window technology Peer+ as of July 1, 2014. The two companies have agreed not to disclose the purchase price.
Merck and Peer+ have been cooperating closely since 2011 to develop a market-ready product and production concept for liquid crystal windows. In 2012, the cooperation partners entered into a shareholder agreement under which Merck acquired 70% of the capital interest in Peer+. Merck is now also acquiring the remaining 30%, including around 3% from the Eindhoven University of Technology (TU/e), which co-founded Peer+ in 2008 and has been intensively supporting it since then.
In the future, Merck will concentrate the research and development activities of the liquid crystal windows technology at the Peer+ site in Eindhoven, the Netherlands. Merck will not produce the liquid crystal windows itself. “We see ourselves as an advisor and technology supplier for the industry. We aim to become the leading supplier for liquid crystal materials for the production of smart windows. The liquid crystal technology has proven itself in display applications for decades. It has great potential for revolutionary new applications, such as smart windows, and as the technology leader we want to develop these new markets with strong partners,” says Walter Galinat, Head of the Performance Materials division at Merck, explaining the reasons for the acquisition of Peer+.
“Together with cooperation partners in the glass and facade technology sector, we want to develop the liquid crystal windows technology ready for mass production. With our expertise and experience in research and development as well as pilot production, we can acquire a pioneering role in the smart windows market and effectively support the industry in integrating this technology into mass production,” says Michael Heckmeier, Head of LC Research and Development in the Performance Materials division.
Peer+ has already built an R&D production line for small quantities in Eindhoven. This shows how to integrate the concept of liquid crystal windows into industrial settings. “In the next step, we are planning together with our partners a pilot line for custom-tailored projects in the premium segment of glass facades. We plan to enter the market with our first pilot projects already in 2015,” says Managing Director of Peer+ van Oosten.
As part of its “Fit for 2018” transformation and growth program, besides efficiency improvement measures Merck is also driving initiatives and investments for securing future growth, also including the acquisition of Peer+.
Liquid crystal windows basically consist of two panes of glass that are glued together at a distance of a few micrometers. The inward-facing sides of the panes are covered with a transparent, electrically conductive layer (transparent conductive oxide) as well as an orientation layer (polyimides). The gap between the coated substrates is filled with a special liquid crystal mixture. The light transmittance of the window can be controlled by applying a low electrical voltage. The liquid crystal windows technology developed by Peer+ and Merck (also known so far as Merck Smart Energy Glass Technology (MSEGT)) excels by a number of unique properties: The liquid crystal windows can be switched in just seconds from light to dark and vice versa. Continuously variable dimming and segmented switching are also possible in the future. It will be relatively simple to integrate the technology into all conventional windows. Liquid crystal windows open up totally new possibilities in facade design, for example with very large-surface windows or unusually shaped windows, as well as individual coloring of each single window. The optimally regulated light and temperature management can decisively improve the energy efficiency of a building. Solar cells can be additionally integrated as an option. Liquid crystal windows are extremely durable and also suitable for extreme climate conditions.
Peer+ arose from a research project of the Eindhoven University of Technology (TU/e) in 2008. In close collaboration with the department of Chemical Engineering and Chemistry (research group of Profs. Dick Broer and Albert Schenning) and the Building Physics section as well as Merck, the founders Casper van Oosten and Teun Wagenaar soon succeeded in making Peer+ one of the few specialists worldwide in the smart glass technology sector.
Source: Merck web site
Date June 30, 2014
Rolle, Switzerland and Ludwigshafen, Germany, June 30, 2014 – INEOS will acquire BASF’s 50% share in Styrolution, a joint venture between the companies. The purchase price to be paid by INEOS amounts to €1.1 billion. A call option in favor of INEOS to buy BASF’s share in Styrolution was already included in the shareholders’ agreement signed in 2011.
The transaction is subject to approval by the appropriate antitrust authorities. Styrolution will continue to operate as an independent company until the completion of the deal, which is expected in the fourth quarter of 2014.
“Styrolution has fulfilled its promise as a globally competitive business that competes effectively with large-scale producers from Asia and the Middle East. We are pleased to bring Styrolution fully into the INEOS family. After the purchase, Styrolution will be run separately as a standalone company within INEOS, and continue to operate as it does today,” said Jim Ratcliffe, Chairman, INEOS Capital.
The business will be a subsidiary of INEOS Industries Holdings Limited.
Styrolution was founded in October 2011 as a 50-50 joint venture between BASF and INEOS, and is the leading, global styrenics supplier.