DATE : 2015-01-27
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 : 2015-01-22
China National Offshore Oil Corp (CNOOC) is in plans to start a new styrene monomer (SM) plant.
A Polymerupdate source in China informed that the plant is likely to be started in February 2015.
Located in Hainan province of China, the plant has a production capacity of 120,000 mt/year.
SOURCE PolymerUpdate
DATE : 2015-01-12
Japanese group Kuraray has set in place a new strategic plan (GS-Step) for 2015-2017. By 2017 the group wants to be making sales of Yen 650 bn and operating profits of Yen 90 bn. For 2014 it registered operating profits of Yen 54 bn on a Yen 515 bn turnover. In order to meet its medium term financial objectives, the group will strengthen its position on the vinyl acetate, isoprene, functional materials, fibres and textiles markets. It will also develop new businesses. It is aiming to increase the proportion of turnover it makes on the international markets from 55% in 2013 to 68% in 2017. In particular, it expects to see sustained sales growth in N America. Over the next 3 years, Kuraray will invest Yen 200 bn (Yen 70 bn/y). Approximately 60% of this sum will be spent on increasing capacity. The group is planning to increase its polyvinyl alcohol resin films and Vecstar liquid crystal polymer films capacity in Saijo, Japan.
It also intends to increase methacrylic resins capacity in Niigata, Japan. In addition it will increase production volumes in N America, Europe and Asia.
SOURCE Chimie Pharma Hebdo
DATE : 2015-01-20
LG Chem, the chemical, battery, and electronics materials business unit of LG Group, said it would beef up its research and development capabilities for next-generation businesses throughout this year.
In line with the effort, the world’s leading chemical firm has recruited former Seoul National University professor Lee Jin-kyu, a renowned expert of inorganic nanomaterials, as the research chairman.
The new chief researcher received a doctoral degree under the guidance of Nobel Prize laureate in Chemistry Richard Schrock, and completed postdoctoral studies at Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s Interdisciplinary Research Group.
Serving as a chemistry professor for the past 16 years at SNU since 1998, he has published 106 treaties and holds 100 patents in the chemical sector.
Lee Jin-kyu, a new research chairman at LG Chem. (LG Chem)
“With his joining, I expect LG Chem to pick up pace in R&D for inorganic nanomaterials,” said Kim Min-hwan, chief human resource officer in a statement.
Renaming its core research devision under Research Park from Main R&D center to Corporate R&D, the chemical firm is also planning to pour more resources to secure core technologies in a wide range of fields including battery, display and electronic materials.
Research Park, consisting of different sub-divisions including those for basic materials and chemicals, IT and electronics materials, and energy solutions, has played an important role in enabling the LG affiliate to become the world’s leading chemical and battery maker.
The company is the largest producer of acrylonitrile butadiene styrene, or ABS, which is widely used for automotive interior parts, liquid crystal display glass substrates, core materials for LCDs, and batteries for electric vehicles.
More than 40 percent of the staff at the center will be researchers holding a doctorate by the end of this year, according to the Seoul-based battery maker.
“Amid a difficult management environment due to the fierce competition, the first thing many corporations do is to reduce R&D investments (to save costs),” said Yoo Jin-nyoung, president of Research Park, adding “LG Chem, however, will continue expanding its investment to solidify its leading position in the global materials industry.”
SOURCE The Korea Herald
Date: January 21, 2014
Sahara Petrochemical’s net profit in the fourth quarter was down 48%, to SR92.2 million, compared with the year-earlier quarter.
Sahara’s 2014 net profit declined 31%, to SR394.2 million, and operating profit was 21% down, to SR247.3 million.
The company blames a decline in demand and prices of products of companies, which recently entered commercial production. They include Saudi Acrylic Acid Co. (SAAC) and Superabsorbent Polymers Co., (SAPCO) as well as Sahara and Ma’aden Petrochemical Co. Sahara also cites lower profit from Saudi Ethylene and Polyethylene Co.
Source: Y. Bomal Competitive Intelligence Blog
DATE : 2015-01-19
Le groupe va fabriquer des tramways électriques en Bretagne.
FRED TANNEAU/AFP
Fabrication d’un tramway électrique "Bluetram" à l’usine Bolloré d’Ergué-Gabéric.
Les nouvelles usines en France ne sont pas nombreuses par les temps qui courent. Celle que vient d’ouvrir Vincent Bolloré en Bretagne est donc forcément un événement, comme l’a souligné le premier ministre Manuel Valls, qui avait accepté de faire le déplacement pour son inauguration, vendredi 16 janvier.
UN PROCÉDÉ RÉVOLUTIONNAIRE
Le site de 3 200 m2, installé à Ergué-Gabéric (Finistère) fabriquera un tramway électrique, le Bluetram, qui fonctionne sans rail, ni caténaire, mais simplement sur une voie dédiée. Un « système révolutionnaire » et à « faible coût » explique l’industriel qui a créé Autolib, les voitures électriques en libre-service dont les batteries sont fabriquées justement dans le bâtiment voisin de celui du futur Bluetram. « Pour faire 25 km de tramway avec une trentaine de stations, ça coûte environ 300 millions d’euros, nous, on peut faire un système à 30 millions d’euros », souligne Vincent Bolloré.
LE STOCKAGE D’ÉNERGIE
Équipé de pneus, le Bluetram ressemble à un petit bus à l’avant légèrement arrondi. Chaque rame, d’une longueur de six mètres, dispose sur son toit de « supercondensateurs », qui lui permettant de parcourir environ deux kilomètres en toute indépendance. Elle se recharge à chaque station en moins de 20 secondes grâce à un bras télescopique pendant que les passagers montent et descendent du véhicule. « La révolution, c’est de pouvoir stocker autant d’électricité, en un temps si court dans un endroit si petit », souligne Vincent Bolloré.
UNE CENTAINE D’EMPLOIS CRÉÉS
La nouvelle unité de production de ce véhicule futuriste représente un investissement de 50 millions d’euros, y compris la recherche et développement, dont 10 millions pour le bâtiment et la chaîne de montage. Une centaine d’emplois ont déjà été créés, mais un doublement des effectifs est programmé pour 2016, avec l’extension de l’usine. Une centaine de Bluetram seront produits dès cette année. Les modèles se déclineront en véhicules de 6 mètres de long pour une capacité de 30 passagers, puis de 12 mètres pour 100 passagers et enfin de 18 mètres pour 200 personnes. « On a beaucoup de demandes », souligne Vincent Bolloré. Selon lui, « les premiers Bluetram seront installés avant la fin de l’année », mais il ne dit pas où.
UN EMPIRE INDUSTRIEL
Le choix d’implantation à Ergué-Gabéric est symbolique. Cest là que le groupe a démarré, en 1822, dans la fabrication de papier à cigarettes. « Le berceau d’une des plus grandes histoires industrielles de notre pays », reconnaissait Manuel Valls, lors de l’inauguration. Avec Vincent Bolloré, la sixième génération est aux commandes. Le groupe Bolloré emploie au total 55 000 personnes, dont 11 500 en France. Le groupe est présent notamment dans le transport et la logistique en Afrique, mais aussi les médias au travers de sa participation dans Vivendi, dont Vincent Bolloré a pris la présidence du conseil de surveillance, mais aussi l’énergie avec les batteries et les systèmes d’autopartage, avec Autolib, que l’on trouve à Paris, Lyon, Bordeaux mais aussi à Londres et à Indianapolis, aux États-Unis.
LE PARI DE L’INDUSTRIEL BRETON
Il y a encore quelques années, personne ne croyait Vincent Bolloré quand il affirmait vouloir développer tout seul une voiture électrique. Quelques centaines de millions d’euros plus tard, financés sur les deniers propres du groupe, les sceptiques se sont tus. L’industriel breton est en train d’essaimer son système de voitures en auto-partage un peu partout dans le monde. D’autres copient aussi le modèle et de nouveaux opérateurs se mettent sur ce créneau.
Bolloré a ainsi signé un partenariat avec Renault, en septembre 2014, pour le développement de la voiture électrique. Une marque de reconnaissance pour le groupe breton qui a fait le choix d’une technologie de batterie, dite LMP (lithium métal polymère), qui a nécessité vingt ans de développement et évite notamment les risques de surchauffe de certaines batteries lithium ion.
Réputé pour son sens des affaires, Vincent Bolloré a regroupé ses activités de stockage d’électricité dans une structure uniqueBlue Solutions, introduite en bourse en octobre 2013 et dont il possède 71 % du capital. L’entreprise est aujourd’hui valorisée 800 millions d’euros.
SOURCE La Croix
DATE : 2015-01-19
Sinopec subsidiary Shanghai Petrochemical is in plans to shut an acrylonitrile (ACN) line for maintenance turnaround.
A Polymerupdate source in China informed that the line is planned to be shut on January 20, 2015 owing to mechanical issues. However, a restart date for the line could not be ascertained.
Located in Shanghai, China, the line has a production capacity of 130,000 mt/year.
SOURCE PolymerUpdate
DATE : 2015-01-19
Formosa Plastics Corp (FPC) has shut its acrylonitrile (ACN) plant for maintenance turnaround.
A Polymerupdate source in Taiwan informed that the plant shut on January 16, 2015. It is likely to remain off-stream for around one month.
Located at Mailiao in Taiwan, the plant has a production capacity of 280,000 mt/year.
SOURCE PolymerUpdate
DATE : 2015-01-18
South Korea’s Lotte Chemical will shut its 150,000 tonne/year butadiene extraction unit at Daesan for one week in January for maintenance, a company source said on Monday.
“The BD unit at Daesan will shut from 20 to 27 January for maintenance,” the source said.
The company’s other 130,000 tonne/year BD unit in Yeosu will run at full rate during this period, the source added.
SOURCE Icis News
DATE : 2015-01-16
From an research perspective, the drive to build high-density batteries for electric vehicles is just starting. Sure, research on better batteries has been going on for years, but until the last year or two the electric-vehicle market was so small that universities, much less large battery manufacturers, didn't see it as a priority.
That's why Tesla Motors essentially stuffed a bunch of computer batteries into a car -- it was the best option available. A decade or two from now we may look back on the lithium ion-fueled Model S as a stepping stone to a more electrified world, one that is powered by the next generation of battery technology.
Research that could make lithium ion batteries obsolete
Scientists at the University of Waterloo in Ontario announced this week that they have made a breakthrough in lithium-sulfur battery technology that could increase an EVs range by 3 times with the same weight and a lower cost. Essentially, sulfur would be a good battery cathode material because, along with increasing energy density, it is abundant, light, and cheap. So finding materials that make the battery's construction possible would be a breakthrough.
Lithium-sulfur technology is far from production, but if it lives up to expectations we could see a Model S with a range of nearly 900 miles or a Nissan Leaf that could go 250 miles on a single charge, without a bigger battery.
More technologies that could advance EVs
Lithium-sulfer is not the only technology being tested to improve battery performance. Dozens of research institutes and large companies are beginning to work on batteries given the large market potential. Here are a few technologies that have shown promise in the laboratory.
- Metal-air cells could hypothetically increase the energy density of an EV battery while also lowering costs.
- Flow batteries are essentially rechargeable fuel cells that have shown promise. So far, though, they have proven to be too complex for mass production and have a lower energy density than lithium-ion batteries today.
- Lithium-air is a technology IBM is working on in an effort to provide electric vehicles with a 500-mile range. Even if successful the company doesn't expect to see commercial applications before 2020.
- Lithium silicon polymer is a concept the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory has been developing to improve energy density in lithium-based cells by adding a specially designed polymer to the cell's anode.
If even just one of these technologies, or other corresponding battery efforts, succeeds, it could be a windfall for the company that can successfully commercialize that big advancement in battery technology.
The most important question for EV makers to answer
Electric vehicles have made huge advancements over the last five years, but they still need better batteries to go mainstream. A 50-mile range is enough to attract die-hard EV enthusiasts, but a 500-mile range would appeal to nearly everyone.
If researchers can figure out a way to pack 500 miles worth of energy into an electric vehicle, and to ensure it could be charged overnight, the industry's growth could explode.
The missing link is the technology that makes a longer-range vehicle possible. Given the capital flowing into research and development, I think it's only a matter of time before batteries take a major step forward. And I, for one, hope one (or more) of these technologies make a future filled with electric vehicles possible.
SOURCE The Motley Fool
Date: January 14, 2015
Continuing unplanned production shutdowns will help European styrene prices maintain a strong premium over benzene into 2015, even as outright prices for both materials decrease on the spot market as a result of lower upstream energy market prices.
In the second half of 2014, styrene's spot premium to benzene — its main feedstock alongside ethylene — averaged $290/t and reached a high of $540/t in November. That is a sharp change from the first half of the year when the premium sank close to $100/t and averaged $220/t.
The explosion and subsequent shutdown of the Ellba 550,000 t/yr styrene unit at Moerdijk in June gave an initial lift to styrene prices but the market remained relatively well supplied until Shell's 450,000 t/yr styrene unit at the same site shut down in October because of a steam leak affecting the entire site. Planned maintenance at the 550,000 t/yr BASF styrene unit in Ludwigshafen, in November and December, tightened supply further.
After hitting the November peak, the styrene to benzene premium retreated with the help of US spot imports as the arbitrage widened. US imports rose to average around 50,000 t/month in the second half of the year, from 40,000 t/month in the first half. The spot arbitrage closed in December as the impact of falling feedstock prices left traders unwilling to take the risk on further price declines, but is expected to reopen in the first quarter to cover European production shortfalls and stronger demand as buyers' ability to defer orders waiting for styrene prices to find a floor is reduced.
The Shell Moerdijk unit restarted on December 18, but the larger Ellba unit will not restart until at least the second half of 2015, helping to maintain European styrene at a relatively strong $300/t premium to benzene for the first six months of the year.
European styrene demand is expected to start 2015 strong, with market participants restocking following the end-of-year reduction of inventories. In addition, many will also be replenishing stock after sluggish demand through November and December as downstream producers reduced output while waiting for styrene prices to reach a floor.
Demand in February is expected to be somewhat quieter than January, with much of the restocking completed, but is due to rise again by March in preparation for the spring turnaround season with at least one styrene unit in the Netherlands down in March.
Source: Dewiit website
DATE : 2015-01-13
Japanese chemical manufacturer Nippon Shokubai has announced it stopped manufacturing activities at its Suita Plant, located in the city of Suita, at the end of 2014. Opened in 1943, the Suita Plant produced phthalic anhydride, maleic anhydride, unsaturated polyester resin, acrylic resin for paint and adhesives and fine particle products. The company intends to build a new research and development facility at the site to strengthen its R&D operations .Production capacity at the Suita plant decreased as a result of the transfer of Nippon Shokubai's unsaturated polyester resin business to Japan Composite, a joint-venture between the company and Mitsui Chemicals. The company said the proliferation of residences surrounding the plant also created difficult conditions for continuing production.
Due to these circumstances, the company proceeded to transfer production from the Suita Plant to its other manufacturing facilities, finally ending production operations at the plant.
The company's new R&D facility, scheduled to be completed in 2016, is designed to quickly and efficiently take idea creation to the next stage of incubation. According to the company, the new R&D centre will actively promote open innovation, as well as accelerate the development of new products needed to drive its growth. In October 2014, the company announced plans to expand its production capacity of superabsorbent polymers (SAP) by building a new SAP plant at its existing plant in Himeji, Japan.The expansion aims to meet the huge demand for SAP, which is mainly used for disposable personal hygiene products, such as baby diapers, adult protective underwear and sanitary napkins.
SOURCE Emerging Markets Business Information News
DATE : 2015-01-13
SK Global Chemical (SKGC) has no plans to restart operations at its styrene monomer (SM) plant in 2015.
A Polymerupdate source in South Korea informed that the decision to keep the plant shut has been attributed to weak margins for the product. The plant has been under a shutdown since August 2014.
Located at Ulsan in South Korea, the plant has a product capacity of 350,000 mt/year.
SOURCE PolymerUpdate
DATE : 2015-01-10
DSM is in plans to shut its acrylonitrile (ACN) plant for maintenance turnaround.
A Polymerupdate source in the Netherlands informed that the plant will be shut in May 2015. It is likely to remain off-stream for around one month.
Located at Geleen in the Netherlands, the plant has a production capacity of 275,000 mt/year.
SOURCE PolymerUpdate
DATE : 2015-01-09
Styrindo Mono Indonesia (SMI) is likely to restart its No 2 styrene monomer (SM) plant following an unexpected shutdown.
A Polymerupdate source in Indonesia informed that No 2 SM plant is planned to be restarted next week. It was shut in end-December 2014 owing to the closure of a 600,000 cracker at the site operated by Chandra Asri.
Located at Merak in Indonesia, the No 1 SM plant has a capacity of 100,000 mt and No 2 SM plant has a capacity of 250,000 mt/year.
SOURCE PolymerUpdate