DATE : 2017-01-09
Arkema is investing $90m to replace two reactors at its acrylic acid plant in Clear Lake, Texas, with start-up targeted for mid-2019, ICIS learned on Monday.
The France-based producer of acrylic monomers announced its plans to replace two 45,000-tonne/year acrylic acid reactors at the site with a single 90,000-tonne/year reactor.
The existing reactors are at the end of their life cycle, the company said. The new one will employ the latest technology.
Arkema’s current nameplate acrylic acid production at Clear Lake is about 270,000 tonnes/year, and the project is not expected to change that number.
Arkema also operates American Acryl near in Bayport, Texas, as a 50/50 joint venture with Nippon Shokubai subsidiary NA industries. That plant has a nameplate acrylic acid capacity of 120,000 tonnes/year.
In the meantime, Arkema will continue to meet customer demand from its European and Asian plants, as well as its American plants, which previously completed a modernisation programme between 2012 and 2014.
Acrylates are commonly used to make products including paint and coatings, plastics and construction and pressure-sensitive adhesives.
Source Icis News
DATE: 2017-01-05
Austrian petrochemicals producer OMV has declared force majeure on butadiene (BD) supply from its Burghausen, Germany plant, a company source confirmed on Thursday.
“I can confirm that we have had to declare force majeure in Burghausen,” the source said, adding that all of its customers had been informed.
The BD unit is currently running at reduced rates but will need to be fully shut down in order to resolve the problem, the details of which were not disclosed.
The source said that the shut down would occur around 20 January at the earliest, with production expected to be back online by mid-February.
The BD unit which has the capacity to produce about 70,000-80,000 tonnes/year, according to market sources, started up in June 2015.
OMV also has BD extraction capacity at its Schwechat, Austria petrochemical site.
Source Icis News
DATE : 2017-01-05
India’s ONGC Petro additions Ltd (OPaL) has started commercial production of its butadiene (BD) after achieving on-spec production in early January, a company source said on Thursday.
The company has a 115,000 tonne/year BD extraction unit at its new mixed-feed Dahej cracker.
The cracker has a 1.1m tonnes/year of ethylene capacity.
OPaL began operations at the mixed-feed cracker in Dahej in mid-September 2016 and was initially aiming to attain on-spec ethylene production in early October, but this was delayed as operations had yet to stabilise.
Other units at the Dahej complex include two 360,000 tonne/year high density polyethylene (HDPE)/linear low density polyethylene (LLDPE) swing units; a 340,000 tonne/year stand-alone HDPE facility; and a 340,000 tonne/year polypropylene (PP) unit.
OPaL is a joint venture between Gujarat State Petroleum Corp (GSPC), GAIL and Oil and Natural Gas Corp (ONGC).
Source Icis News
DATE : 2016-01-03
US methyl methacrylate (MMA) markets will be balanced to start 2017, with tighter supply balancing softer demand.
Market sources are saying that supply has become tighter due to production problems in Q4 2016.
Dow will continue sales controls on its methacrylates (including MMA) at least through early 2017, mostly because of some scheduled near-term maintenance, according to a company source.
It is also continuing to run its MMA facility in Deer Park, Texas, at a reduced rate and expects this to remain the case until early 2017.
Meanwhile, softer MMA demand fundamentals are likely to extend into the new year. Demand will pick up over the summer during the peak coatings season.
Coatings applications drive much of the domestic demand for MMA, with the construction sector seen as a market bellwether.
US MMA contract pricing will continue to be driven by movement in feedstock barge acetone in 2017. Barge acetone fell near the end of 2016, tracking steep declines in upstream refinery-grade propylene (RGP).
MMA prices increased throughout much of 2016 due to strong demand and higher feedstock costs. However, acrylates pricing pressure is weak heading into the new year, due to much lower upstream propylene and barge acetone contracts.
Pricing is likely to be more contentious in early 2017 as sellers try to keep prices flat in an attempt to preserve their margins. Meanwhile, buyers will want decreases in feedstock costs to be passed along to them.
MMA market participants have said they are expecting growth in line with US GDP, currently projected between 1.5-2.5%.
MMA is a liquid monomer used primarily to produce resins and acrylic polymers. It is used in the production of surface coatings and acrylic sheeting.
US MMA capacity
Arkema Deer Park, Texas 115,000 t/yr Dow Chemical Deer Park, Texas 360,000 t/yr Evonik Industries Fortier, Louisiana 150,000 t/yr Lucite International Inc Beaumont, Texas 155,000 t/yr Lucite International Inc Memphis, Tennessee 155,000 t/yr
Source Icis News
DATE : 2016-12-26
Spot methyl methacrylate (MMA) markets in Asia are poised to hold stable going into 2017 on expectations that supply will stay snug and demand steady, producers and industry players said.
MMA prices have registered substantial gains in the last quarter of 2016, bolstered by a persistent tight supply situation in the Asia-Pacific region.
This was in part triggered by a combination of plant shutdowns, both planned and unplanned, along with a steady flow of enquiries for regional MMA cargoes.
The MMA availability shortfall has had a trickle-down effect on downstream polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA) markets. PMMA production was affected due to shortage of raw material supply.
Meanwhile, term and frame contract negotiations for 2017 were ongoing at the time of writing, while overall market sentiment was optimistic.
“There are no additional [MMA plant] capacities coming up yet at least for the first-half of 2017 … so the market will still be tight,” a southeast Asia-based market source said.
“Maybe there will be [price] fluctuations along the way, depending on seasonal demand … but a stable to firm trend is likely,” the source said.
There were market participants who envisage potential MMA growth in cast sheet and emulsion resins applications.
The market took heart from steady markets, at least in China. The country’s official manufacturing purchasing managers’ index (PMI) rose a two-year high of 51.7 in November, up from 51.2 in October.
The PMI is a barometer of an economy’s manufacturing activities, with a reading of 50 or higher indicating an expansion, while a number below that denotes a contraction.
“Some customers asking for December [MMA] supplies … maybe they anticipate prices to go up, so the tight situation will likely continue,” a northeast Asia-based market source said.
A second southeast Asia-based source said: “The first half [2017] shouldn’t be as tight as currently but spot [supply] may not be as easy to get.”
New MMA plant capacities are expected to come on stream near the third quarter of 2017, but there might be possible delays. The actual impact on market fundamentals is difficult to ascertain for now, market sources said.
“The start-up [of a new plant] is one thing … producing on-spec material commercially is another,” a separate southeast Asia-based market source said.
In Saudi Arabia, a 250,000 tonne/year MMA facility is due to come on stream in 2017. The plant is a joint venture (JV) between Mitsubishi Rayon Co and SABIC.
Their downstream 40,000 tonne/year PMMA plant is also set to come on stream in the second half of 2017.
Meanwhile, construction of Petro Rabigh’s new 90,000 tonne/year MMA plant, also in Saudi Arabia, is scheduled to be completed next year, market sources said.
Petro Rabigh is a joint venture between Japan’s Sumitomo Chemical and Saudi Aramco.
MMA is used as a raw material in the production of PMMA resins, a type of engineering plastic.
Source Icis News
DATE : 2017-01-02
China imported 9,343 tonnes methyl methacrylate (MMA) in November 2016, according to latest official data from China Customs.
This was 23% higher than the previous month.
However, its November 2016 imports were 2% lower than the same period in 2015, according to the data.
Source Icis News
DATE : 2016-12-29
Allnex is investing for its Radcure Business Unit at its production site in Drogenbos, Belgium, to expandUV/EB-curable acrylates capacity by 12,000 tonnes. The project includes the development of a new and fully automated reactor, increased bulk truck loading capacity and upgrades to existing reactor lines. The implementation stage will not affect the product supply and service to customers. The project is scheduled to be finished by Jun 2017.
Source : Paint & Coatings industry
Date : 2016-11-17
China’s 2-ethylhexyl acrylate (2-EHA) producers have shut their plants this month to minimise losses amid cost pressures, industry sources said late on Wednesday.
The country has a total 2-EHA production capacity of 460,000 tonnes/year, excluding capacities of units idled for over one year.
In the previous three months, average run rates at the plants have steadily fallen from 43.8% in August to 35.2% in September and further down to 23.7% in October, according to data compiled by ICIS China.
This month, the plants were completely shut with unspecified restart dates, industry sources said.
Rising feedstock prices, coupled with 2-EHA producers’ inability to pass on the additional cost to their customers, has prompted the progressive reduction in output, market sources said.
Prices of feedstocks 2-ethyl hexanol (2-EH) and acrylic acid have been rising since early October.
On 15 November, ex-works prices of 2-EH were assessed at yuan (CNY) 7,150/tonne in north China, up by CNY650/tonne or 10% from 8 October, while prices of acrylic acid rose by CNY1,200/tonne or 18% over the same period to CNY7,800/tonne DEL (delivered) east China, ICIS China data showed.
Prices of 2-EHA rose by CNY825/tone or 9.6% over the same period to CNY9,400/tonne, but feedstock costs increased at a faster rate of 11%, exerting strong pressure on producers that do not have integrated upstream facilities.
Among major 2-EHA producers in China are Zhejiang Satellite Petrochemical, Formosa Acrylic Esters (Ningbo), Zhejiang Yonghe Adhesive Products and Jiangsu Guojiao Chemical Technology.
High inventory levels amid weak end-user demand also caused producers to suspend production.
Source Reed Business Information
Date : 2016-12-01
Dow Chemical has lifted order controls on its US acrylic acid and acrylate esters, a company source said on Wednesday.
Volume limits – 100% of contract customers’ monthly average – were implemented in late September on glacial acrylic acid (GAA) and methyl acrylate (methyl-A). Those constraints were broadened a month later to include 2-ethylhexyl acrylate (2-EHA), ethyl acrylate (ethyl-A) and butyl acrylate (butyl-A).
The order controls were only partly precautionary after BASF’s mid-October plant explosion and fire in Ludwigshafen, Germany, the sources said.
Dow said earlier in November that the measures were enacted primarily because it had seen heightened acrylates demand and inquiries, and sought to balance its own production with demand to protect supply to its contract customers.
Dow previously indicated that volume limits on its acrylic monomers could remain in effect through the end of the year. Dow said this week that it will continue order controls on its methacrylates at least through early next year, mostly because of some scheduled near-term maintenance.
Source Icis News
DATE : 2016-11-02
CNOOC and Shell Petrochemical Company (CSPC) is expected to start up facilities at its new petrochemical complex in Huizhou, China, around the fourth quarter of next year, the joint venture’s parent firms said on Wednesday.
“Around 70% of the construction work is now complete,” Shell and China National Offshore Oil Corporation (CNOOC) said in a joint statement.
Anglo-Dutch energy giant Shell and Chinese oil and gas giant CNOOC finalised the investment planfor the complex in March last year.
CSPC, a 50:50 joint venture firm between Shell and CNOOC, has now received all the government approvals to take over the ownership of the complex, they said.
The facilities being built next to CSPC’s existing petrochemical complex in Huizhou will increase ethylene production capacity by 1.2m tonnes/year.
The expansion project will also include the largest styrene monomer (SM) and propylene oxide (SMPO) plant in China, according to the two companies.
Shell will apply its proprietary OMEGA, styrene monomer and propylene oxide (SMPO) and polyols technologies to produce 150,000 tonnes/year of ethylene oxide, 480,000 tonnes/year of ethylene glycol, 630,000 tonnes/year of SM, 300,000 tonnes/year of propylene oxide, and 600,000 tonnes/year of high quality polyols at the new complex, they said.
This more than doubles the volumes CSPC’s products to around 6m tonnes/year, Shell and CNOOC said.
The Nanhai complex in Huizhou has a current capacity to convert 950,000 tonnes of ethylene per year into 2.7m tonnes/year of derivative products to supply to the Chinese domestic market.
Source Icis News
DATE : 2016-12-09
China’s Abel Chemical is targeting to have on-spec production at its 250,000 tonne/year styrene monomer (SM) plant in Jiangsu at the end of November, a company source on Wednesday.
The producer started up its plant on around 17 November, the source said.
The start-up of the standalone plant is expected to boost China’s ethylene imports.
Source Icis News
DATE : 2016-12-08
Swiss specialty chemicals and catalysts firm Clariant has launched a new styrenemonomer (SM) catalyst, it said on Tuesday.
Clariant, which partnered with Taiwan’s Grand Pacific Petrochemical Corporation (GPPC), installed the catalyst at a GPPC styrene plant in that country.
The ethyl benzene dehydrogenation catalyst was designed for "ultra-low steam-to-oil ratio conditions", producing SM more efficiently than other catalysts, according to the company.
Source Icis News
DATE : 2018-09-05
Project Status: Under Implementation
Industry: Chemicals & Petrochemicals
Product: Synthetic organic chemical
Project Location: Dahej SEZ
Project State: Gujarat
Project Summary: Synthetic Organic Chemical Manufacturing Unit In Bharuch;Camlin Fine Sciences is implementing a synthetic organic chemical manufacturing unit in dist. Bharuch, Gujarat.
Project Details: [Info as of: May '15] 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 TPAhydroquinone 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. [Info as of: May '16] Camlin Fine Sciences is implementing a chemical manufacturing unit at Dahej SEZ, dist. Bharuch, Gujarat on 67,507 sq. mtrs of land. The unit will manufacture 9,000 TPAhydroquinone and 6,000 TPA catechol/vanillin. The project is waiting for environmental clearance. Basic engineering work has been completed. Detailed engineering work is under progress. Commissioning is scheduled for FY18 and commercial production is expected to commence in FY19. UPDATE: [Info as of: Jul. '16] Camlin Fine Sciences is implementing a synthetic organic chemical manufacturing unit at Dahej SEZ, dist. Bharuch, Gujarat. The State Level Environment Impact Assessment Authority (SEIAA), Gujarat, at its meeting held on 16th July, 2016, has granted the environmental clearance for the project. Work is in progress. The project is scheduled for completion in 2018. According to SEIAA sources, the unit will produce 18,000 TPA diphenol (hydroquinone & catechol), 8,000 TPA guaiacol, 1,500 TPA guaethol, 6,000 TPA tertiary butyl hydroquinone, 6,000 TPA vanillin, 2,000 TPA para benzoquinone and also include a 4.4 MW power plant. Co-products include 400 TPA veratrole, 75 TPA ortho diethoxy benzene and 600 TPA di-tertiary butyl hydroquinone.
Company Name: Camlin Fine Sciences Limited
Source Domex Business Information
DATE : 2016-08-25
The plant of the Dow Chemical Co in Freeport, TX, US, has successfully completed a critical debottlenecking project. The move increases glycidyl methacrylate (GMA) capacity by 30%/y, which enable the company to serve the rising global demand for the monomer.
Source Paint & coatigs industry
DATE : 2016-07-18
By a News Reporter-Staff News Editor at Food Weekly News -- The Valspar Corporation announced that it is expanding production capacity at its Singapore facility to meet increased demand for its food and beverage packaging products in the Asia Pacific region. The expansion is expected to come on line in 2017.
"This investment represents another important milestone in our growth strategy for the region," said Louie Wang, managing director of Valspar's Asia Pacific Packaging business. "We have been experiencing strong growth, and this expansion, along with Valspar's recent capacity increase in China, positions us well to continue to meet rising customer demand. Valspar is the global technology leader in coatings for metal packaging, and as governments, industry and consumers show increased interest in high-performance products, Valspar is ready to deliver."
The capacity increase will enable Valspar to manufacture higher volumes of both existing and new technologies, including non-BPA coating solutions for the food and beverage markets.
Valspar is the No. 1 metal packaging coatings solutions provider in the world. Across all of Valspar's packaging solutions, the company adds value to can makers, end makers and brand owners through its technology leadership, regulatory expertise and best-in-class technical service. Valspar provides complete packaging solutions to reduce costs, improve performance and protect the quality of brands and products.
Source Food Weekly News