DATE : 2015-02-27
Japan’s Nippon Steel Chemical on 21 February restarted its 230,000 tonne/year No 3 styrene monomer (SM) unit at Oita after a scheduled maintenance, a company source said.
The unit was shut on 18 January.
The company operates another 190,000 tonne/year No2 SM unit at the same location. This unit is scheduled for maintenance from 25 March to 13 April.
Other SM producers in Japan included Idemtisu Kosan Co, Asahi Kasei Chemical and Taiyo Petrochemical.
SOURCE Icis News
DATE : 2015-02-27
South Korea's Taekwang Industrial shut its 290,000 tonne/year acrylonitrile (ACN) plant on 25 February for scheduled maintenance, a company source said on Friday.
“The plant was shut down 25 February on schedule, and it will be restarted around 16 March,” the source said.
The plant is located in Ulsan, South Korea.
SOURCE Icis News
DATE : 2015-02-24
The new company will provide cathode active materials (CAM) for lithium-ion batteries in Japan.
BASF TODA Battery Materials was established with 66% equity from BASF Japan Ltd. and 34% from TODA KOGYO CORP. The joint venture will conduct research and development, production, marketing and sales for a broad range of cathode materials, particularly NCA (Nickel Cobalt Aluminum Oxide), LMO (Lithium Manganese Oxide) and NCM (Nickel Cobalt Manganese) in Japan. These materials are used in lithium-ion batteries for the automotive, consumer electronics, and stationary storage markets. Internationally, the company will leverage BASF’s global network and reach to drive growth in the battery materials market, which BASF has identified as a key growth field for the future.
Kenneth Lane, President of BASF’s Catalysts division, said,“BASF brings global strength in cathode active materials to this new venture, together with a 150-year history of innovation. We look forward to developing the business in Japan, which is a global leader in lithium-ion battery manufacturing and innovation.”
Shigeru Takaragi, President of TODA KOGYO CORP., added,“With the formation of this joint venture we are ready to respond in a flexible and timely manner to the globally expanding cathode materials market for lithium-ion batteries. BASF and TODA will combine and mobilize resources to take full advantage of our synergies so that we can provide more innovative solutions to meet customer needs and demands.”
Yasuo Anno, who most recently served as Associate Senior Corporate Executive Officer, TODA KOGYO CORP., and President of Toda Energy Materials, has been appointed Chief Executive Officer of the new venture.
Headquartered in Minato-ku, Tokyo, BASF TODA Battery Materials has production facilities in Sanyo-Onoda city, Yamaguchi Prefecture, and Kita-Kyushu city, Fukuoka Prefecture, Japan. It has a direct employee base of approximately 80, with annual combined production capacity for cathode active materials and their precursors of approximately 18,000 metric tons.
BASF TODA Battery Materials will operate as part of BASF’s global Battery Materials business. It will benefit from BASF’s position as the leading chemical supplier to the automotive industry as well as from TODA KOGYO CORP.’s marketing and technical capabilities and extensive know-how in the battery materials industry.
About BASF
At BASF (basf.com), we create chemistry and have been doing so for 150 years. Our portfolio ranges from chemicals, plastics, performance products and crop protection products to oil and gas. As the world’s leading chemical company, we combine economic success with environmental protection and social responsibility. Through science and innovation, we enable our customers in nearly every industry to meet the current and future needs of society. Our products and solutions contribute to conserving resources, ensuring nutrition and improving quality of life. We have summed up this contribution in our corporate purpose: We create chemistry for a sustainable future. BASF had sales of about €74 billion in 2013 and over 112,000 employees as of the end of the year.
About TODA KOGYO CORP.
TODA KOGYO CORP. (todakogyo.co.jp) is specialized in the Wet Synthesis Technology of metal oxide, and manufacturing cathode materials for lithium-ion batteries, coloring materials including pigments and toners, magnetic powder materials, ferrite materials and other various magnetic materials. We aim to expand our business globally along with our fundamental line to provide solutions to support society in the aspects of information, environment and energy. TODA KOGYO CORP. had consolidated net sales of about 31.6 billion JPY in the fiscal year 2013, as well as about 932 employees as of March 31, 2013.
SOURCE NewsWire
DATE : 2015-02-24
Solvay wants to expand its capacity of specialty polymers once again and builds a new plant in the USA to produce polyether etherketone. In India is the expansion of the production capacity already in progress.
Solvay recognises a growing demand for the specialty polymers polyether etherketone (PEEK) and polyaryl ether ketone (PAEK) and continues thus its expansion drive. The new unit at Solvay’s Specialty Polymers site in Augusta, Georgia, is expected to come on stream in mid-2016.
Combined with the expansion already underway at the site in Panoli, India, raise Solvay’s total PEEK neat resin production capacity to more than 2,500 Metric Tons worldwide. Collectively, Solvay will invest more than $85 million in these two expansions.
Secured Neat Resin Supply
The new unit will be located alongside Solvay Specialty Polymers’ existing resin and monomer production units in Augusta, and benefit from the site's proximity to the GBU’s Research & Innovation center in Alpharetta, Georgia. The new PEEK unit will use the same processes and technologies as Solvay’s well-proven and highly reliable Panoli plant. These two specialty polymers play a major role in light-weighting, reducing energy consumption and in enabling high performance in demanding applications such as healthcare, electronics, oil & gas, aeronautics and automotive.
“This major expansion drive will make Solvay the only player in the industry to produce PEEK at two different sites in two different, growing regions,” said Augusto Di Donfrancesco, President of Solvay’s Specialty Polymers Global Business Unit (GBU). “The new plant in the United States together with the one in India will provide unmatched security of neat resin supply. These investments reinforce our long-term commitment to our customers worldwide.”
“This major expansion drive will make Solvay the only player in the industry to produce PEEK at two different sites in two different, growing regions,” said Augusto Di Donfrancesco, President of Solvay’s Specialty Polymers Global Business Unit (GBU).
SOURCE Process Worldwide Online
DATE : 2015-02-23
Siam Styrene Monomer Co Ltd is likely to take off-stream its styrene monomer (SM) plant for maintenance turnaround.
A Polymerupdate source in Thailand informed that the plant is likely to be shut in Q1, 2015. A definite schedule for the shutdown could not be ascertained.
Located at Map Ta Phut in Thailand, the plant has a production capacity of 300,000 mt/year.
SOURCE PolymerUpdate
DATE : 2015-02-23
The worlds biggest defense contractor is showing more interest in the energy business than ever before.
With U.S. spending on defense declining, Lockheed Martin (LMT) is increasingly using its expertise in developing and building jet fighters, warships and satellites to help utilities and industrial customers produce and use energy more efficiently, and protect against cyber-attacks.
Energy is certainly an area of growth for us, Lockheed Martin CEO Marillyn Hewson told reporters at the corporations media day outside Washington. In a relative sense, its not a large business for us, but its a growing business for us. So, well continue to invest in that area.
Lockheed Martins not alone among defense contractors looking to energy for a boost in earnings. Boeing(BA), for example, also provides expertise in electric-grid management and cyber-security, and conducts research in energy storage, as well. But Lockheed Martin has been among the most active lately.
Eight of the 10 largest utilities in the U.S. use Lockheed Martin to help manage their operations, which have become increasingly complex with the emergence of wind and solar power, smart meters and sluggish demand for electricity. Among them is Dominion Resources. Earlier this month, the Virginia-based utility and Lockheed Martin announced a collaboration on technology that would enable remote detection of power outages for faster response.
All told, Lockheed Martins energy-efficiency services are saving its electric and gas utility customers more than 1 million megawatt-hours of electricity and more than 10 million therms of gas, enough energy to power nearly 100,000 homes, according to Hewson.
Thats where were seeing our biggest growth, said Frank Armijo, Lockheed Martins vice president for energy solutions. Weve seen 35% growth over the last five years. We continue to see ourselves as a technology leader, as an integrator. Were helping drive energy reductions.
The defense giants pursuit of innovative energy technologies - some call them disruptive, in a good sense - doesnt stop there. Last year, Lockheed Martin bought the assets of an MIT spinoff, Sun Catalytix, to develop batteries for grid- and commercial-scale storage. Such batteries are considered to be the big breakthrough needed to make solar, wind and other forms of renewable energy reliable around the clock.
With the Sun Catalytix acquisition, Lockheed Martin now has capability in every segment of the energy market - from generation and management to storage and security, Hewson said.
Other, longer-term energy ventures are also underway at Lockheed Martin, including a bid to build a fusion reactor within 10 years and a demonstration project off the coast of China that will leverage differences in ocean temperatures to produce electricity.
The interest in energy at Lockheed Martin isnt sudden; the company has been dabbling in energy technologies like ocean thermal energy and fusion energy for decades.
I think the key is (energy) is a domain where the corporation is really historically comfortable, and thats what really makes a difference, said Dan Heller, vice president for new ventures in Lockheed Martins Missile Systems and Training division. Its not like were jumping into something we havent touched in the last 40 years.
What does Wall Street think of Lockheed Martins energy businesses?
Its probably not going to move the needle, honestly, Christopher DeNicolo, a credit analyst with Standard & Poors Ratings Services, said of the impact of energy on a company with an estimated $45 billion in annual revenue.
But DeNicolo adds, If they think they can do it without much investment, its probably worth it for them. And if theyve already invested in all of that technology, they might as well try to monetize some of it.
SOURCE Mehr News Agency
DATE : 2015-02-20
Kumho Petrochemicals is in plans to shut a butadiene plant for maintenance turnaround.
A Polymerupdate source in South Korea informed that the plant is likely to be shut in end-October 2015. It is planned to remain off-stream for around one month.
Located in Yeochon, South Korea, the plant has a production capacity of 150,000 mt/year.
SOURCE PolymerUpdate
DATE : 2015-02-18
China National Offshore Oil Corp (CNOOC) is likely to start a new styrene monomer (SM) plant.
A Polymerupdate source in China informed that the plant is planned to be started in end-February 2015.
Located in Hainan, China, the plant has a production capacity of 120,000 mt/year.
SOURCE PolymerUpdate
DATE : 2015-02-23
Pioneering prostate cancer drug abiraterone significantly extends the lives of men with advanced prostate cancer if given before chemotherapy, the results of a major phase III clinical trial have shown.
The results, published in Lancet Oncology, showed that men with advanced, aggressive prostate cancer lived more than four months longer on average if they received abiraterone before chemotherapy than if they did not.
The trial, led in the UK by Professor Johann de Bono of The Institute of Cancer Research, London, and The Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust, could fill an important gap in previous evidence for abiraterone's effectiveness pre chemotherapy.
An earlier analysis, published in 2013, showed that abiraterone taken before chemotherapy increased the time before a man's cancer progressed but did not prove an overall extension in life. This point was cited by NICE when rejecting abiraterone pre chemotherapy in guidance released last year.
The new results coincide with the publication of a second new international study of patients in the same trial, also led in the UK by researchers at The Institute of Cancer Research (ICR) and The Royal Marsden.
That study, published in Clinical Cancer Research, shows it is possible to identify a subgroup of men with very aggressive prostate cancer who may benefit particularly strikingly from abiraterone pre chemotherapy.
Abiraterone, which was discovered at the ICR, is already an option on the NHS for men with advanced cancer who have already received chemotherapy.
The first new study compared the average survival of 354 men given abiraterone before moving on to chemotherapy with 387 men who received a placebo instead. Both groups also received low-dose prednisolone, a treatment used alongside abiraterone.
The men who received abiraterone lived significantly longer than those who did not - an average of 34.7 months, compared with 30.3 months. The trial results also further support the favourable safety profile of abiraterone, with relatively few patients experiencing severe side-effects.
The second new study of men from the same trial showed that a subgroup of patients with a very aggressive form of prostate cancer may benefit the most from treatment with abiraterone.
The researchers cross-referenced data on how well 348 men on the trial responded to either abiraterone or a placebo - as defined by a halt in the progress in their cancer - with a detailed genetic analysis of their tumours.
They looked in particular at whether changes to a gene called ERG, which are often associated with faster cancer progression, correlated with abiraterone response.
They found a clear link between major ERG mutations and response to abiraterone. Although abiraterone improved survival generally regardless of ERG mutations, a subset of patients with the most pronounced mutations to the gene - accounting for 15 per cent of the men studied - responded particularly well.
These men lived for an average of 22 months without their disease progressing, compared with 5.4 months for men with the same ERG status who received a placebo.
Both studies were funded by the manufacturer of abiraterone, Janssen.
Professor Johann de Bono, Professor of Experimental Cancer Medicine at The Institute of Cancer Research, London, and Honorary Consultant at The Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust, said:
"These two new studies, from a major trial of abiraterone in men who are yet to receive chemotherapy, both represent very significant advances. In the overall trial analysis, we've shown definitively that the drug extends life if taken before chemotherapy, by an average of around four months.
"The second study shows that men with a particular type of genetic mutation in their tumour respond particularly well to abiraterone, and importantly that a subset of patients with a very bad outlook respond best of all.
"Those results could help provide a rationale for using abiraterone as early as possible in men with these mutations. Currently, men are not generally tested for mutations in their cancer over time - which is why a major focus of our research is on developing new tests to monitor cancer's genetic progression in individual men, and ultimately match their disease to the best possible treatment."
Professor Paul Workman, Chief Executive of The Institute of Cancer Research, London, said: "Abiraterone has already transformed care for patients with advanced prostate cancer, but the latest trial evidence strengthens the already powerful case for it to be accepted for NHS use earlier in the course of treatment.
"Not only do the overall results find that abiraterone significantly extends lives when used before chemotherapy, but the second study shows it is possible to pick out a subgroup of men who benefit especially strikingly."
SOURCE Clinical Trials Week
DATE : 2015-02-18
FMC Corporation is launching Fracture fungicide, a new broad spectrum, biological fungicide labeled for the prevention and control of powdery mildew, botrytis, and brown rot blossom blight. Fracture is a patented fungicide labeled for use in the U.S. on almonds, grapes, strawberries and tomatoes, and is the first biological fungicide to be launched by FMC since announcing Biosolutions as a strategic initiative in late 2013.
Fracture includes a new mode of action for disease management, providing decisive, multisite control. It works on contact by deforming and inhibiting fungal cell production, tearing apart the cell wall, and disrupting the fungal cell membrane. Within eight hours, the fungal cell is dead, according to the company.
The active ingredient, Banda de Lupinus albus doce (BLAD), is so new that it is not yet classified by the current FRAC group codes. BLAD is a naturally occurring seed storage protein from the sweet lupine plant.
“Fracture is an excellent resistance management tool,” said David Davies, FMC Agricultural Solutions North America segment manager. “By offering an entirely new mode of action that compliments synthetic fungicides, Fracture expands growers’ options and will help extend the lifespan of other chemistries.” Fracture should be used as part of a complete spray program for disease control and resistance management.
“This is our first biological fungicide offering, and we expect many more solutions will come from our significant investment in biological discovery and development,” said Marc Hullebroeck, vice president and business director, FMC Agricultural Solutions. “With our purchase of the Center for Agricultural and Environmental Biosolutions and our global Alliance with Chr. Hansen, FMC has created an end-to-end biological platform that complements our traditional strengths in synthetic crop protection chemistries. We look forward to bringing a market-leading portfolio of biological solutions.”
With a one-day pre-harvest interval and a four-hour re-entry interval, Fracture can be applied up to five times per season, providing growers with a flexible management tool that offers quick, reliable disease control and meets or exceeds established standards.
When asked about the reason for FMC’s investment in the biological market, Hullebroeck explained, “FMC is broadening its portfolio of crop protection products to deliver more value to growers around the world. Biologicals have a significant role to play in resistance management, environmental stewardship and sustainable agriculture.”
All state registrations for Fracture have been received, with the exception of California and Florida, which are expected soon.
SOURCE FMC release
Date: February 17, 2015
Arkema and Jurong Chemical announce today that they have concluded an agreement regarding the next steps of their cooperation in Acrylics in China. This agreement extends, until January 2016, the period for Arkema to exercise its call option to access a total of 320,000 t/year acrylic acid production capacity.
In 2014, Arkema and Jurong Chemical set up Sunke, a manufacturing joint-venture which owns and operates Acrylic Acid and Butyl Acrylate productions lines in Taixing, Jiangsu Province, PRC.
Under the new agreement, Arkema’s call option to increase its share in Sunke and access a total production capacity of 320,000 t/year of Acrylic Acid has been extended until January 2016. According to the terms of the agreement signed in January 2014, the exercise of this option was initially expected during the 1st quarter 2015.
In the meantime, the joint-venture will be jointly operated[1] by the partners and production will be adjusted to market conditions providing partners with all the flexibility needed to optimize performance.
The financial terms of the initial agreement signed in January 2014 have been adjusted to reflect the extension of the option. All other conditions remain unchanged.
Finally, Arkema’s option to acquire the remaining third of the acrylic acid production capacities and fully hold Sunke’s share capital remains unchanged and can be exercised until early 2020.
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 close to 50 countries, some 19,000 employees and research centers in North America, France and Asia, Arkema generates pro forma annual revenue of some €7.6 billion, and holds leadership positions in all its markets with a portfolio of internationally recognized brands.
Source: Arkema Website
DATE : 2015-02-17
Asahi Kasei is in plans to shut a methyl methacrylate (MMA) plant for maintenance turnaround.
A Polymerupdate source in Japan informed that the plant is planned to be shut in March 2015. It is likely to remain off-stream for around one month.
Located at Kawasaki in Japan, the plant has a production capacity of 100,000 mt/year.
SOURCE PolymerUpdate
DATE : 2015-02-17
LG is likely to shut a styrene monomer (SM) plant for maintenance turnaround.
A Polymerupdate source in South Korea informed that the plant is likely to be taken off-stream in March 2015. It is likely t remain off-stream for around one month.
Located in Daesan, South Korea, the plant has a production capacity of 180,000 mt/year.
SOURCE PolymerUpdate
DATE : 2015-02-17
Arkema has extended a deadline to increase its share in Jurong Chemical’s acrylic acid production in China, the French chemicals producer said on Tuesday.
“Arkema and Jurong Chemical announce today that they have concluded an agreement regarding the next steps of their cooperation in acrylics in China,” Arkema said in a statement.
“This agreement extends, until January 2016, the period for Arkema to exercise its call option to access a total of 320,000 tonnes/year acrylic acid production capacity.”
The exercise of this option was initially expected during the first quarter.
Arkema and Jurong formed a joint venture firm called Sunke in 2014, which comprises the assets of Jurong Chemical’s acrylic acid production at Taixing in Jiangsu province.
The first stage of the cooperation was finalised in october last year, giving Arkema access to 160,000 tonnes/year of acrylic acid production for an investment of $240m. This next phase would give Arkema access to a further 160,000 tonnes/year capacity. Arkema said the financial terms of the initial agreement signed in January 2014 had been adjusted to reflect the extension of the option, while other conditions remain unchanged. The firm’s option to acquire the remaining third of the acrylic acid production capacities and fully hold Sunke’s share capital remains unchanged and can be exercised until early 2020, it said.
SOURCE Icis News
DATE : 2015-02-17
LG MMA is in plans to shut its No 2 methyl methacrylate (MMA) plant for maintenance turnaround.
A Polymerupdate source in South Korea informed that the plant is likely to be shut in March 2015. It is likely to remain off-stream for around one week.
Located in Daesan, South Korea, the plant has a production capacity of 50,000 mt/year.
SOURCE PolymerUpdate