DATE : 2014-08-18
Lanzhou Petrochemical has restarted a butyl acrylate (butyl-A) plant. A Polymerupdate source in China informed that the plant restarted on August 14, 2014. It was under a maintenance turnaround of 45 days.
Located at Lanzhou in Gansu province of China, the plant has a production capacity of 80,000 mt/year.
SOURCE PolymerUpdate
DATE : 2014-08-01
Japan’s Mitsui Chemicals has resumed production at its 40,000 tonne/year methyl methacrylate (MMA) plant at Sakai in Osaka earlier this week, a company source said on Friday.
The plant was taken off line earlier in mid-June for a scheduled maintenance.
Mitsui Chemical is currently one of six MMA producers in Japan.
SOURCE Icis News
DATE : 2014-08-08
Taiwan's Formosa Plastics Corp (FPC) will shut down its 98,000 tonne/year methyl methacrylate (MMA) plant in Mailiao on 8 August for a short turnaround, a source close to the company said on Friday.
The plant is expected to be offline from 8 August to 11 August, the source added.
The shutdown is expected to impact about 800 tonnes for August, the source said.
SOURCE Icis News
DATE : 2014-08-08
US producer Ascend Performance Materials has shut down its largest acrylonitrile (ACN) plant in Texas for a scheduled turnaround, a company source confirmed on Friday.
The turnaround at its Chocolate Bayou facility is expected to last two weeks, the source said.
Ascend's AN7 unit had a capacity of approximately 130,000 tonnes/year, according to Icis plants and projects.
The tightness in global supply is expected to continue amid ongoing and upcoming plant shutdowns worldwide during the heavy turnaround season.
SOURCE Icis News
DATE : 2014-08-15
China’s Shanghai SECCO Petrochemical started commercial production of its new 90,000 tonne/year butadiene (BD) unit in Shanghai on 11 August, market sources said.
It was originally scheduled to start up at the end of July, but was delayed due to technical issues.
Shanghai SECCO has an existing 90,000 tonne/year BD unit at the same site, which is now running at 95-100% capacity.
SOURCE Icis News
DATE : 2014-08-06
China’s CNOOC and Shell Petrochemicals Co (CSPC) plans to halve the operating rate of its propylene oxide (PO)/styrene monomer (SM) plant at Huizhou in Guangdong province to conduct a catalyst change, a company source said on Wednesday.
CSPC will reduce the run rate to half its capacity around 8-10 August, but the plant is running at full tilt for now, the source added. The plant can produce 320,000 tonnes/year of PO and 700,000 tonnes/year of SM.
The plant is expected to run at the lower rate for eight days, industry sources said, but this could not be confirmed with the company.
While the delivery of SM cargoes would be delayed, any impact on the spot market would depend on the actual timeframe of CSPC’s reduced production because demand is currently weak, one major distributor said.
CSPC is a 50:50 joint venture between state-owned China National Offshore Oil (CNOOC) and Anglo-Dutch major Shell.
SOURCE Icis News
DATE : 2014-08-11
Prof. Dr. Martin Winter and his colleagues at the University of Münster report promising results for the use of graphite as both the anode and cathode material in a so-called “dual-graphite” or “dual-carbon” cell (earlier post) based on anion intercalation. Dr. Winter and his colleagues have been working with anion intercalation in dual carbon cells for several years. (Because both cations and anions participate in the charge/discharge reaction and other anode materials than graphite are possible, the Münster team earlier proposed the name “dual-ion cells” for these systems.)
In such a cell, the electrolyte cations intercalate into the graphite anode and the electrolyte anions intercalate into the graphite cathode during charge. On discharge, cations and anions are released back into the electrolyte.
A major goal for such as system is to find suitable electrolyte mixtures which exhibit not only a high oxidative stability at the cathode but also form a stable solid electrolyte interphase (SEI) at the graphite anode, they note. Of particular interest are electrolytes which display a high stability vs. oxidation due to the very high operation potentials of the cathode, which may exceed 5 V vs. Li/Li+
In their latest report, published in the RSC journal Energy & Environmental Sciencethey used as an electrolyte system the ionic liquid-based electrolyte mixture Pyr14TFSI-LiTFSI in combination with the SEI-forming additive ethylene sulfite (ES). This combination allows a stable and highly reversible Li+ ion and TFSI- anion intercalation/de-intercalation into/from the graphite anode and cathode, respectively.
With the addition of ES, the discharge capacity for the anion intercalation can be remarkably increased from 50 mAh g-1 to 97 mAh g-1.
Resources
- Sergej Rothermel, Paul Meister, Guido Schmuelling, Olga Fromm, Hinrich-Wilhelm Meyer, Sascha Nowak, Martin Winter and Tobias Placke (2014) “Dual-Graphite Cells based on the Reversible Intercalation of Bis(trifluoromethanesulfonyl)imide Anions from an Ionic Liquid Electrolyte”Energy Environ. Sci. doi: 10.1039/C4EE01873G
- Tobias Placke, Olga Fromm, Simon Franz Lux, Peter Bieker, Sergej Rothermel, Hinrich-Wilhelm Meyer, Stefano Passerini and Martin Winter (2012) “Reversible Intercalation of Bis(trifluoromethanesulfonyl)imide Anions from an Ionic Liquid Electrolyte into Graphite for High Performance Dual-Ion Cells” J. Electrochem. Soc. volume 159, issue 11, A1755-A1765 doi: 10.1149/2.011211jes
SOURCE Green Car Congress
DATE : 2014-08-18
China’s Shandong Kaitai Petrochemical on 18 August shut down its 80,000 tonne/year butyl acrylate (butyl-A) plant at Zibo in Shandong province because of a boiler failure, a company source said on Monday.
The repair work would take one week and during this period its butyl-A output could be reduced by 2,000 tonnes, the source added.
Shandong Kaitai is offering butyl-A at yuan (CNY) 12,300/tonne ($2,000/tonne), methyl acrylate at CNY12,400/tonne, acrylic acid (AA) at CNY10,800/tonne and glacial AA at CNY11,300/tonne on 18 August, according to the company.
SOURCE Icis News
DATE : 2014-08-18
China’s Zhejiang Satellite Petrochemical has shut down its 60,000 tonne/year crude acrylic acid plant at Jiaxing in Zhejiang province for maintenance, a company source said on Monday.
The maintenance period started from 18 August and would last for one week, the source added, but did not provide a clear reason for the shutdown.
The company’s 160,000 tonne/year crude acrylic acid unit and 150,000 tonne/year acrylate ester plants at the same site have remained off line since 23 July, the source said.
SOURCE Icis News
DATE : 2014-08-14
Lukoil is in plans to shut its acrylonitrile (ACN) plant for maintenance turnaround.
A Polymerupdate source in Russia informed that the plant is likely to be shut in September 2014, It is likely to remain off-stream for around one month.
Located in Saratov, Russia, the plant has a production capacity of 150,000 mt/year.
SOURCE : PolymerUpdate
DATE : 2014-08-01
Several companies are teaming up to develop technology to produce butadiene from the suddenly-abundant butane supplies from the US shale boom.
The ongoing shale boom has generally been a welcome development for the US petrochemical sector, but some niche markets have been left out. With olefins producers cracking shale-gas-derived ethane rather than oil-based naphtha, one downside is fewer co-product volumes.
That's especially the case in the US butadiene (BD) industry, which has seen rising shortages as producers switch their feedstocks from naphtha to ethane. The shortfall in butadiene, often used to produce styrene-butadiene rubber (SBR) for tire makers, could be as little as 7% over the next decade if the industry shift to gas-based feedstocks is limited to North America, or up to 27% if Europe and Asia also embrace the trend.
But the shale revolution that has helped create the problem might also present the solution. Like ethane, butane is also a popular natural gas liquid (NGL) derived from shale, and several companies are teaming up to develop technology to produce butadiene from the suddenly abundant butane supplies.
"Whenever there is a gap that opens up in the petrochemical world, people are going to throw capital and technology at it until they solve it," said John Roberts, a New York-based chemical industry analyst at UBS Securities, in an interview with Bloomberg.
TPC Group works with Honeywell's UOP
One partnership that could work is between the Houston-based TPC Group and Honeywell's UOP. TPCplans to have a plant ready by 2017 or 2018 to produce butadiene by on-purpose production rather than capturing it as a byproduct.
To accomplish this, TPC is working with UOP to update technology that hasn't been used since the 1980s. The companies say they will jointly develop further enhancements to the OXO-D technology, which they say is the most efficient and low-cost method to make on-purpose butadiene.
"We believe our OXO-D technology is the most efficient, competitive and commercially proven technology in the world for the on-purpose production of butadiene," said Mike White, senior vice president of operations and technology for TPC. "We look forward to working jointly with UOP to continue to advance our leading on-purpose butadiene technology through UOP's depth of knowledge and experience as a licensor within our industry.
The companies say they plan to have their technology ready by the end of 2014 and are already talking with potential licensees. Demand could lead to as many as 20 or 30 new plants worldwide, according to UOP officials.
BASF, Linde offer an alternative
But TPC and UOP aren't the only companies working together for the mission of on-purpose butadiene. In early June, The Linde Group and BASF (Fig. 1) announced plans to cooperate in developing and licensing processes for linear butenes and butadiene.
BASF says it has developed process technology, catalysts and extraction technologies, while Linde is providing expertise for the integration, optimization and commercialization.
"We focus on elaborating a solution that provides an efficient process characterized by optimal integration of the whole process chain," said Dr. Ernst Haidegger, head of the product-line petrochemical plants in Linde's engineering division.
The new BASF technology is currently being developed in a pilot-plant operation in Ludwigshafen, Germany, according to Dr. Heinrich Josef Blankertz, senior vice president of global technology withinBASF's petrochemicals business.
"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," he said.
Specifics remain unclear
But until the processes are commercially available, the specifics of each process will not be disclosed. TPCand UOP hope to have theirs ready by the end of 2014, while BASF said it was too early to offer a timetable for when theirs would be ready.
In China, several plants are similarly being built for on-purpose production of butadiene, two of which are expected to begin operations in the second half of this year. But, as with their American rivals, the technology has yet to be proven.
In the meantime, the butadiene shortfall continues to increase, and industry innovators are racing to find the best solution.
SOURCE Hydrocarbon Processing
DATE : 2014-08-11
Idemitsu Kosan is likely to shut its No 1 styrene monomer (SM) plant for maintenance turnaround.
A Polymerupdate source in Japan informed that the plant will be shut in end-August 2014. It is likely to remain off-stream for around one month.
Located in Tokuyama, Japan, the plant has a production capacity of 120,000 mt/year.
SOURCE PolymerUpdate
DATE : 2014-08-11
Idemitsu SM Malaysia (ISM) is on schedule to shut its styrene monomer (SM) plant for maintenance turnaround.
A Polymerupdate source in Malaysia informed that the plant will be closed on August 18, 2014. It is scheduled to remain off-stream for around one month.
Located at pasir Gudang in Malaysia, the plant has a production capacity of 240,000 mt/year.
SOURCE : PolymerUpdate
DATE : 2014-07-30
Americas Styrenics said on Wednesday that its St James, Louisiana facility was at reduced rates as it was on force majeure.
The St James facility has a combined styrene capacity of 950,000 tonnes/year.
Americas Styrenics sent a letter to customers on 22 July announcing that effective 1 August until further notice, it is declaring force majeure for all styrene sales, because of reduced feedstock ethylene supply and a force majeure from a critical supplier.
Americas Styrenics said its supplier’s ethylene force majeure was declared on 11 July, and its own current ethylene supply was also limited because of this. The company added that it is working to minimize the impact on all customers and is looking to return to full production values as soon as possible.
Most North American styrene producers are at reduced rates because of weak demand.
Styrolution also confirmed today that its Texas City, Texas, facility is undergoing routine maintenance this week and that the facility would be back online in a few days.
The company said the Texas City facility, which has a styrene capacity of 450,000 tonnes/year, began the maintenance on Monday.
SOURCE Icis News
DATE : 2014-08-13
Idemitsu Kosan is in plans to shut its No 2 styrene monomer (SM) plant for maintenance turnaround.
A Polymerupdate source in Japan informed that the plant is likely to be shut in end-August 2014. It is likely to remain off-stream for around one month.
Located in Tokuyama, Japan, the plant has a production capacity of 220,000 mt/year.
SOURCE PolymerUpdate