DATE : 2015-06-19
Austrian energy and petrochemicals major OMV on Friday officially started up a new butadiene (BD) extraction unit at its refining and petrochemicals production site in southern Germany.
OMV said that the BD unit at Burghausen in Bavaria would help meet rising global demand for BD, which is primarily used in the auto and tyre sectors.
At the same time, the investment would further strengthen OMV’s focus on petrochemicals, it said.
“With the global changes in refining, crude oil-based petrochemical derivatives will play an increasingly important role” in the international refining industry, said Alois Virag, head of OMV’s refining and petrochemicals business.
OMV did not disclose how much it invested in the project, and it did not comment on capacities.
Industry sources told ICIS previously that the BD unit has a capacity of about 70,000 tonnes/year. The project underwent testing earlier this year.
The Burghausen BD unit is one of three such new facilities expected to come online this year in Europe.
SOURCE Icis News
DATE : 2015-06-19
US acrylonitrile (ACN) market participants on Friday continue to monitor the potential impacts of the INEOS Nitriles plant shutdown in Texas, following a chemical exposure fatality at the Green Lake facility last week.
“It is with great sadness that INEOS Nitriles confirms a contractor fatality at its Green Lake site in Texas, occurring the morning of June 10, 2015,” the company said in a statement. “Circumstances concerning the incident are still under review.”
The worker was exposed to cyanide, according to media reports.
The 545,000 tonnes/year ACN plant in Green Lake has been shut while the investigation is being conducted, although the duration of the plant shutdown is unknown at this time.
An INEOS spokesperson said it is company policy not to comment on operations.
Consumers are hoping that the issue is resolved soon, although some market sources have said that theinvestigation could take months.
INEOS had scheduled a turnaround for June, although there had been some delays.
It is unclear whether the turnaround had begun before the incident or whether INEOS had built up enough inventory to meet demand while the investigation continues.
SOURCE Icis News
DATE : 2015-06-19
BASF has inaugurated a 160,000 tonne/year acrylic acid plant in the Brazilian state of Bahia following an investment of €500m, the German chemical major said on Friday.
The company said the investment was the largest in its history in South America. The facility will also produce butyl acrylate and superabsorbent polymers.
“This complex will secure national and regional supply of products that are currently imported. In addition, it will positively impact the local economy by encouraging investment and innovation in the region and attracting new companies to the Camacari [Bahia, Brazil] industrial area,” said the president of BASF in South America, Ralph Schweens.
The construction of the plant started in 2012 and according to the company will be the only facility in South America producing acrylic acid.
In related news, BASF said it will convert its plant in Guarantigueta, near Sao Paulo, to produce 2-ethylhexyl acrylate, a raw material for the adhesive and coatings industries. Production is expected tostart in 2016.
SOURCE Icis News
China acrylic industry recovered in May after a depressed month of April. May production volumes and OEE are more or less similar to those of March in the range of 55 to 65%
DATE : 2015-06-05
Project Status: Under Implementation
Industry: Chemicals & Petrochemicals
Product: Hydroquinone (9,000-TPA) ,Vanillin (6,000-TPA)
Cost: : Rs.1,850 Million
Project Location: Dahej Special Economic Zone
Project State: Gujarat
Project Summary: Chemical Manufacturing Unit In Bharuch; Camlin Fine Sciences is implementing a chemical manufacturing unit in dist. Bharuch, Gujarat.
Project Details: Camlin Fine Sciences is implementing a chemical manufacturing unit at Dahej Special Economic Zone, dist. Bharuch, Gujarat on 64,407.91 Sq. Mtrs of acquired land. The unit will manufacture 9,000 TPA hydroquinone and 6,000 TPA vanillin. The estimated cost of the project is Rs. 1,850 million. Environmental clearance is yet to be received. Civil work is in progress. The project is scheduled for commissioning in September 2017. The board of directors have also approved (1) setting up a wholly owned subsidiary company in Mexico for undertaking trading and distribution of antioxidants, food ingredients, blends, formulations, feeds, performance chemicals etc in Central American markets. (2) Setting up a wholly owned subsidiary company in China for undertaking trading and distribution of antioxidants, food ingredients, blends, formulations, feeds, performance chemicals etc in Chinese markets.
SOURCE : Domex New Chemical Process Industry Projects
DATE : 2015-06-08
French specialty chemicals producer Arkema has lifted force majeure on glacial acrylic acid (GAA) from its Carling site in France, a source from the company confirmed on Monday.
Arkema said in a letter to its customers that it was now able to resume full production of GAA on 5 June, and was also able to resume its full commitments from that date.
The GAA declaration had been made on 27 April. The cause of the outage was unconfirmed.
The force majeure on butyl acrylate (butyl-A) and 2-ethyl hexyl acrylate (2-EHA) from the same facility is still in place, but is unrelated to the recent GAA outage.
The declaration on butyl-A and 2-EHA was made on 22 May, and was announced on the back of the force majeure on oxo alcohols at Lavera a few days prior.
The force majeure on butyl-A and 2-EHA is in place for an undetermined period, a source from the company had previously said.
Arkema has the capacity to produce 276,000 tonnes/year of crude AA at its Carling site, according to ICIS data.
Acrylate esters include methyl acrylate (methyl-A), ethyl acrylate (ethyl-A), butyl-A and 2-EHA, and are used to make paints, coatings, textiles, adhesives, polishes and plastics.
SOURCE Dow Jones
Personal comment: Will Antwerp become the European hub for acrylics (BASF Antwerp, Nippon Shokubai existing and new Plants, ..) ? CLEVELAND, June 3, 2015 - The Lubrizol Corporation's Performance Coatings business announces the addition of new acrylic emulsion capacity at its manufacturing facility in Antwerp, Belgium. The facility manufactures resin technologies for the paint and coatings, graphic arts, engineered paper, textile and other industries under such brand names as Hycar®, Carboset® and Printrite(TM). The new capacity is key to meet the demand of customers throughout Europe that require unique, high performance technologies for differentiated resin performance. "Over the past 18 months, new reactors have been installed," comments Ivo Van Aken, Lubrizol Antwerp plant manager. "This was done to replace older equipment and also to increase our production capabilities, allowing us to address new market demand". For Lubrizol's customers, the new acrylic emulsion capabilities provide greater flexibility to manufacture customized solutions that meet very specific performance requirements," notes Tom Keir, Lubrizol director of product management. "It also allows our global customers to access the same technologies in Europe as are available in other parts of the world. This helps them simplify operations and improve global efficiencies." This investment in the Antwerp facility is another example of why customers can continue to count on Lubrizol for consistent, high quality products with a commitment to provide uninterrupted supply. About Lubrizol Performance CoatingsAt Lubrizol, we innovate coatings solutions that help our customers balance the aesthetics, durability, and functionality needs of their products for a wide array of surfaces and substrates. Our strength is in collaborating with customers to solve their toughest challenges-such as making coatings safer, enhancing production efficiency and reducing environmental impact-without compromising performance. To learn more, contact your Lubrizol representative or visit www.lubrizol.com/coatings About The Lubrizol Corporation With headquarters in Wickliffe, Ohio, Lubrizol owns and operates manufacturing facilities in 17 countries, as well as sales and technical offices around the world. Founded in 1928, Lubrizol has approximately 8,000 employees worldwide. Revenues for 2014 were $7 billion. For more information, visit Lubrizol.com.
Source: Lubrizol via Chemistry Daily |
DATE : 2015-05-25
Asahi Kasei will pursue growth through diversity as its strategic initiative in the next five years starting April 2016, while it expects to post record earnings in the current fiscal year, the Japanese chemical producer said on Wednesday.
“It is all about sales expansion and further reducing production cost for existing products, for all four business sectors,” Asahi Kasei president Toshio Asano said.
Asahi Kasei’s operations are divided into chemicals & fibres, homes & construction materials, electronics and health care.
“For chemicals & fibers, the key idea is advancing portfolio transformation. This is not just for petrochemicals. It also applies to performance polymers, performance chemicals such as functional chemicals for food and pharmaceutical manufacture, fibers, as well as consumables,” Asano said.
“We will also focus on development of new process technology. Recognizing that the shale-gas revolution will have a great impact on the petrochemical supply chain, and building on our strength in catalyst technology, we are advancing the verification of two new process technologies to enable feedstock diversification,” Asano said.
These are the processes of producing propylene from ethane, and butadiene from butane, he said.
“Yet another focus is development of new applications for existing products, for fibers as well as polymers,” the Asahi Kasei executive said.
For year to March 2016, the company expects its sales to inch up by 0.7% from a record high in the previous year to yen (Y) 2,000bn, about 45% of which or Y894bn will be derived from its chemical & fibres business, the company said.
But the projected sales for this segment represent a 6.3% decline from the previous corresponding period.
Group operating income for year to March 2016 is expected to hit Y164bn, up by 3.9% from a record high in the previous year, with chemical earnings posting a 3.3% increase to Y56bn, and fibres a 4.8% increase in income to Y11bn, Asahi Kasei said.
These earnings forecasts exclude the acquisition of Polypore International that is worth about Y260bn, the company said. The acquisition was first announced in February.
Asahi Kasei is targeting increased profitability for its materials business, which covers the chemical & fibres segment; stable growth for its homes business; and high growth for its healthcare operations.
The company currently can produce 960,000 tonnes/year of acrylonitrile; 710,000 tonnes/year of styrene monomer (SM); 170,000 tonnes/year of methyl methacrylate (MMA); 170,000 tonnes/year of adipic acid (AA); and 170,000 tonnes/year of cyclohexanol.
In March 2016, its SM capacity will fall to 390,000 tonnes/year with the planned closure of its 320,000 tonne/year unit in Mizushima, to focus on the domestic market.
The closure is in line with the company’s strategy to strengthen its petrochemical operations in Japan, Asahi Kasei said.
Asahi Kasei closed its 150,000 tonne/year ACN plant in Kawasaki in August 2014, with a 100,000 tonne/year unit in Mizushima dedicated to another product, the company said.
The company is targeting to strengthen its position as Asia’s top supplier of ACN through further enhancing its catalyst technology for propane process, among other things; enhancing cost-competitiveness to include derivative products; and establishing optimum production configuration for its operations in Japan, Korea and Thailand.
It has a 200,000 tonne/year ACN capacity in Thailand and a 245,000 tonne/year capacity in South Korea. Tongsuh Petrochemical is Asahi Kasei’s ACN subsidiary in South Korea.
SOURCE Icis News
DATE : 2015-05-27
Global Bioenergies has achieved the initial milestone of the BioMA+ project to develop a renewable value chain for methacrylic acid. The firm inaugurated an industrial pilot facility for methacrylic acid, used in producing acrylic paints, at the Pomacle-Bazancourt agro-industrial site in France. The plant uses bio-derived isobutene generated as a result of the initial phase of the project.
SOURCE ICis News
DATE : 2015-05-22
Evonik, one of the world's leading suppliers of methacrylate chemistry products, doubled its production capacities for VISIOMER MAAH (methacrylic anhydride) at its site in Worms, Germany, in 2015.
VISIOMER MAAH is an important building block in the production of specialty methacrylates, which are used in concrete additives, paints and colorants, electronics applications, and plastics. In addition to MAAH, Evonik Industries produces and markets a wide range of specialty methacrylates as well as MMA, GMAA, n-BMA, i-BMA, and hydroxy methacrylates under the VISIOMER brand.
Evonik, the creative industrial group from Germany, is one of the world leaders in specialty chemicals. Profitable growth and a sustained increase in the value of the company form the heart of Evonik's corporate strategy. Its activities focus on the key megatrends health, nutrition, resource efficiency and globalization. Evonik is active in over 100 countries around the world.
SOURCE PharmaBiz