DATE : 2017-02-14
Materials group Evonik said it will start construction on a new plant at its facility in Weiterstadt, Germany to produce high-quality flat films made from multi-layer polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA).
The German group plans to invest “a sum in the double-digit millions in its Weiterstadt site”, it said in a Feb 14 news statement. Production start-up is planned for the end of 2018.
“With the investment we have now approved, we are strengthening our role as innovation leader for acrylic-based technologies and products," said Martin Krämer, head of Evonik’s acrylic products business line.
The new plant will be able to produce “extremely wide films with a previously unachieved number of layers”, the company claimed.
At the Bau 2017 trade show in Munich in January, Evonik presented façade elements made from fiberglass plates equipped with a top layer made of its Plexiglas brand PMMA film.
Evonik said: “The demand for extremely long-lasting and sustainable products has become increasingly important, particularly in the construction and architecture segment.”
Source Plastics News
DATE :2017-02-16
OMV has restarted its Burghausen, Germany, butadiene (BD) unit but the force majeure is still currently in place, a company source said Thursday.
OMV declared force majeure on BD supply from the plant in early January on undisclosed production problems which led to the plant running at reduced rates followed by a shutdown in the week of 24 January.
The BD unit has the capacity to produce about 70,000-80,000 tonnes/year, according to market sources.
OMV also has BD extraction capacity at its Schwechat, Austria, petrochemicals site. The whole site will be shut for planned maintenance from mid-April.
Source Icis News
DATE : 2017-02-17
INEOS Nitriles has announced to lift a force majeure (FM) on the supply of acrylonitrile (ACN) from its Green Lake plant in the US, market sources said on Monday.
The company declared an FM on 15 July, 2016, which was caused by the shutdown of a propylenepipeline supplying INEOS Green Lake unit, according to an earlier report by ICIS.
The company said in a letter to its customers that the pipeline operator completed necessary repairs to the propylene pipeline, which is now fully operational.
INEOS anticipates attaining normal shipments of ACN from the US to Asia during January and February 2017, which means deliveries to all customers will return to normal from 1 March, 2017.
The Green Lake ACN unit has a 545,000 tonne/year capacity.
Source Icis News
DATE : 2017-02-01
South Korea's SK Innovation said on Thursday it will acquire Dow Chemical Co's ethylene acrylic acid (EAA) business in a bid to boost its efforts to lead high-value added chemical markets.
SK Global Chemical Co Ltd, a unit of SK Innovation, signed the acquisition deal worth $370 million, SK Innovation said in a filing to the stock exchange.
Under the deal, SK Global Chemical will take over Dow Chemical-owned assets and the EAA business in the United States and Spain, the company said.
Source Reuters
DATE :201-02-01
IHS understands Total Petrochemicals and Sabic have placed styrene customers in North America on 40% allocation after a mechanical failure forced Cosmar, their styrene joint venture, to shut down one of two 575,000-metric tons/year styrene lines in Carville, Louisiana. According to market sources, the outage could extend through June. Supply is already tight, and with demand from Asia set to rise, prices are likely to surge. On 31 January, spot prices on the US Gulf Coast reacted to the news by climbing to $1,500/metric ton for February business, up from $1,450/metric ton on 27 January and $1,325/metric ton on 24 January.
Neither company has confirmed the outage or allocation.
The Cosmar line represents about 10% of North American styrene capacity, notes David Byrne, senior director/C3 derivatives and styrene at IHS Chemical. Combined with other ongoing or planned outages, up to 25% of regional capacity could be lost during February and March, eliminating supply ordinarily exported to Asia. If the plant is off-line through June, 269,000 metric tons of production could be lost. The plant shutting down will free about 14,000 metric tons/month of ethylene and about 35,000 metric tons/month of benzene.
Adding to the shortfall, Americas Styrenics has announced it is extending the scheduled maintenance turnaround of a St. James, Louisiana, styrene unit through mid-March to address critical repairs. The 525,000-metric ton/year unit was expected to return to operation in the next couple of weeks. Ineos Styrolution is scheduled to begin turning around its 500,000 metric ton/year unit at Texas City, Texas, at the end of February, although that could be delayed given the latest developments.
"Exports are going to dry up if they haven't already," says Byrne. The problem will become acute with the approach of Asia's second-quarter turnaround season, he notes. Inventories in that region began the year even lower than usual because production issues on the US Gulf Coast (USGC) reduced the availability of exports during the fourth quarter of 2016. When Asia returns from the Lunar New Year holiday, the realization export availability from the USGC will be severely curtailed through the first quarter will create strong upward pressure on pricing.
Imports from Europe may be able to make up the difference, says Byrne. Europe is normally a styrene importer, but with production units there running well and demand soft, supply in the region is long.
US styrene prices averaged $1,370/metric ton FOB Houston, Texas, during the week ending 26 January, up from $1,314/metric ton the previous week. In northeastern Asia, styrene averaged $1,362/metric ton CFR China, up from $1,309/metric ton. In Europe, prices averaged $1,338/metric ton, up from $1,277/metric ton.
Source IHS Chemicals
DATE : 2017-01-27
USES
About 75% of the butadiene (BD) produced in the US is used for the production of synthetic rubber, including styrene butadiene rubber (SBR), which is used in varying degrees to make tyres.
About 80% of the SBR market is for replacement tyres, a market segment that affects both SBR and BD up through the supply chain. Demand for SBR and BD has been significantly reduced because of weak macroeconomics in Europe and Asia and an only slightly better consumer market in the US.
Most of the rest of US BD production goes toward making acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene (ABS), which is used to make plastics for the automotive industry.
Another large ABS market is appliances and electronics, which is mostly driven by the housing market. A small portion is used for plastic piping in housing.
SUPPLY/DEMAND
Overall US BD supply is expected to remain balanced-to-snug in 2017. Although there are four new crackers scheduled to come online this year, the three world-scale units are scheduled in the second half. Players do not expect a significant impact on supply of ethylene – and in turn, co-products such as BD – until about Q4.
There are two or three BD extraction units that are scheduled to undergo turnarounds in 2017, and unexpected production issues could constrain supply. Currently, one producer is said to be on allocation.
Any excess volumes are likely to be fixed for exports as long as Asia prices remain firm. Asia values have been high for much of 2016 and into the beginning of 2017. This has resulted in a wide arbitrage window with other regions.
Demand in the US market is expected to continue to grow at a slow but steady rate. In the synthetic rubber market, several factors – including lower miles driven, technological advances, as well as social and lifestyle changes – have led to longer replacement cycles of when consumers change their tyres.
The Rubber Manufacturers Association (RMA) forecasts that tyre shipments in 2016 will show a slight 0.3% gain year on year, and this trend could continue in 2017.
There are a number of new tyre plants that are starting up in 2016 and 2017, which means higher consumption of rubber, as well as BD. While some BD players are hoping to see 50% of consumption from the new tyre plants for domestically made product, others are sceptical the US market will see much, if any, significant increase in demand.
BD consumption levels should also see some boost from other derivatives such as ABS and nylon 6,6, particularly amid strong demand for engineering plastics in cars. The market could also see some increased demand from the downstream synthetic butadiene latex (SBL) market.
PRICES
US January BD contracts fully settled at individual increases of 10 cents/lb for three producers and 21 cents/lb for one producer. The settlement puts US BD contract prices at their highest level since June 2014.
Players had been expecting a large jump in January contracts because of the relentless price surge in Asia, but sources had pegged various increases of 6-10 cents/lb before Asia values surpassed the $2,000/tonne mark.
For now, spot pricing remains unclear as domestic consumers and traders looking to export are wide apart on buying ideas. With excess volumes scarce, sources said it is difficult to determine where spot pricing is.
Sentiment remained bullish as sources acknowledged that any near-term spot trades were likely to be done for export. There was also belief that US prices should remain aligned with values in other regions in order to keep volumes in the domestic market.
TECHNOLOGY
BD is produced as a byproduct of the same steam cracking process used to produce ethylene and other olefins.
Traditionally, BD has been made from heavier feedstocks such as naphtha as it results in a greater yield. But with the abundance of lighter feedstocks in North America, more BD is now made from ethane, despite the lower yield.
TPC, the largest producer of BD in the US, has announced plans to build a plant that makes BD by dehydrogenating normal butane. TPC continues to develop the technology, but said the need for the plant in the US has been delayed due to slower growth in the BD market.
There are also efforts under way to produce BD from biomass, but they are still in the experimental phase.
Source Icis News