ExxonMobil to Grant rights for its metallocene technology to Sumitomo Chemical
ExxonMobil has agreed to license intellectual property rights for the use of metallocene technology to Sumitomo Chemical Company. Sumitomo intends to use the metallocene technology in its solution process plant in Chiba for the production of novel amorphous propylene-based copolymer. Products manufactured via the new technology will most likely be positioned in the market to compete against flexible PVC and other soft touch/feel applications.
Comments: At FlexPO+ 2001 ExxonMobil Polymers, discussed in passing a novel set of materials referred to as propylene plastomers. Shortly after, CMR published an article on propylene plastomers in its Bimonthly Review entitled New Generation Polyolefins (Vol. 7 Iss. 1). In this article we covered a series of patent applications by workers at ExxonMobil and in some cases from Advanced Elastomer Systems that in part teach what we believe to be propylene plastomers – propylene-based ethylene copolymers made using metallocene catalyst systems (US 2001/0003768 A1, WO 99/07788, EP 0 969 043 A1, WO 00/01766, WO 00/69966, WO 00/70134, WO 00/69963, WO 00/69964, WO 00/69965, WO 01/46277 A2). The technology licensed to Sumitomo seems to have many similar features to that of propylene plastomers.Due to the increased demand for soft touch applications couple with a continued effort to replace f-PVC, many of the polyolefins and elastomers suppliers are developing materials in the low flexural modulus and hardness ranges
The development of soft PPs is the next frontier for the polypropylene organizations. The quest that began in the mid-80s with the quest to incorporate more rubber content in the base PP to increase impact strength – which took the route of reactor TPOs to atactic and amorphous alphaolefins to elastomeric PPs (Amoco and most recently P&G-Equistar). All the while the major polyolefin organizations have been developing PP based copolymers using metallocene technology for soft PP.
ExxonMobil termed it appropriately “PPPlastomers”. This will introduce several new products from other organizations essentially as an extension ofpolyolefins.
A representative of ExxonMobil will present an overview of these materials in the FlexPO2003 conference Sept 17-19, 2003 in Galveston, TX.
There are other organizations which also developed similar products based on their proprietary technology and will discuss their results at the FlexPO2003 conference.
Basell announces worldwide availability of new succinate catalysts
Basell announced the global availability of succinate catalysts, the new Ziegler-Natta catalyst family that significantly and uniquely expands polypropylene’s property envelope.
The proprietary succinate catalysts make possible the production of PP grades with broad molecular weight distribution, resulting in improved processability and performance in applications such as pipes, film and injection molding.
According to the company, succinate catalysts are drop-in replacements for most all process technologies including a variety of bulk (liquid phase), gas phase (stirred or fluidized), slurry, or most combinations such as “bulk + gas phase” hybrids.
Comments: Basell has been at the forefront of Ziegler-Natta catalyst development, and today is offering a variety of catalyst under the AVANT ZN catalyst trade name. The diethers allow for high activity, narrow MWD, high crystallinity, high stiffness, and excellent hydrogen response. The succinate catalysts, on the other hand, enable the production ofbroader MWD, higher stiffness resin, and low/medium hydrogen response. Resins produced for succinate catalysts are designed for low fluidity applications such as pipes, sheets, and super stiff injection molded articles, as well as bi-axially oriented films. Basell has been and will remain actively involved in the development of PP process and catalyst technology (i.e., multi-zone reactor, reactor granule technology). Basell will be talking about Expanding the Z-N Catalyst Envelope via Succinate catalyst technology at the upcoming FlexPO2003 conference in Galveston, TX, September 1-19, 2003 in addition to discussing the licensing opportunities for the same.
SABIC moves to Düsseldorf
SABIC moved its office of SABIC Deutschland GmbH in Essen to Düsseldorf, the sales team will combine forces with their colleagues in Stamylan, Germany, the German marketing arm of SABIC EuroPetrochemicals B.V. Apart from Germany, the combined new sales office will service SABIC’s customers in Austria and Switzerland.
Comments: SABIC acquired DSM’s petrochemicals division, including DSM’s polyolefins businesses and related process technologies in 2002. The acquisition undoubtedly strengthened SABIC’s presence in the global polyolefins industrySABIC’s entry into European market comes at a point when the European petrochemical industry in general and polyolefins in particular are in transition. The recent mergers and acquisitions in Europe and the general squeeze on margins on polyolefins have made the major organizations look for strategies to exit the polyolefins and other level II derivatives to get closer to the feed stocks. All of the major players in Europe including: (1) Basell, (2) BASF, (3) ENI, (4) Borealis, and (5) Repsol are evaluating the strategies to exit the level II derivatives like polyolefins.
SABIC on the other hand is following its strategy of expansion in to Europe. Its objective is to become a leader in Europe and use it as a launching pad for further Global expansion into markets and technologies.
SABIC North America Rumors; Rumors and Rumors
SABIC is rumored to be quite seriously evaluating options to enter the North American market by acquiring one of the major polyolefin players. So far the rumor mill has pointed: (1) Nova Chemicals, (2) Equistar and most recently (3) Formosa Plastics as the options. – We wonder why not Sunoco?
Comments: SABIC following its recent acquisition of DSM (after due evaluation of DSM and Polimeri Europa) for an entrée into the European markets, has been rumored to be considering similar strategy for North America.SABIC has the money, need to get into North America and desire to be a major Global player in polyolefins – all fall in.Nova and Equistar are very attractive because of their commodity orientation with superior technology capabilities and the current stock and value issues.But these are just rumors – All the organizations contacted neither denied nor agreed with the rumors. Let’s Wait and See!
Japanese Polyolefin Players add PP & PE capacity
Mitsubishi Chemical Corp subsidiary Japan PolyChemCorp intends to establish a polyethylene plant with Showa Denko affiliate Japan Polyolefin. The split will be 52:48 with Japan PolyChem having the major share. Japan PolyChem will also own 65% of a polypropylene company with Chisso.
Japan’s Tokuyama Polypro Co has started commercial production of its polypropylene plant in Tokuyama. The new plant has a capacity of 200,000 MT/yr and is a 50:50 joint venture between Idemitsu Petrochemical and Tokuyama Co, and was established in 2001.
Comments: The Japanese polyolefins industry has been an industry in transition for the past decade. Starting with over a dozen companies and has gone through consolidation to only a handful. Over the past couple of years, the industry was trying to further consolidate in order to compete with the largest global players. However, some of the planned mergers have not gone through. The need to consolidate was prompted by increased capacity additions in China and other Asian regions, which used to and some still do reply on Japanese material.
Bayer and PolyOne forms PU systems
Bayer has formed a 50:50joint venture with PolyOne to development, supply and market polyurethane systems, in the United States. The new company will be known as BayOne Urethane Systems LLC and will operate from St Louis, Missouri.
Comments: Bayer has been a leader in the polyurethane raw material supply chain. Like Dow and BASF, Bayer is backward integrated into the production of both isocyanates and polyols (major polyurethane components). Bayer hopes to leverage PolyOne’s distribution channel, end-user knowledge, and regional manufacturing capabilities to increase market presence and introduce new productions. Polyurethanes are used in a variety of applications including construction, transportation, appliances, furniture, and consumer goods.
Brazil’s Braskem ships first big volumes of PE to US source
Braskem has started shipping its first large volumes of high density and linear low density polyethylene to the United States. Braskem has opened up an office in Wilmington, Delaware. Nearly all of Braskem’s polyethylene will go to a northeastern US resin compounder.Traditionally Braskem exports HDPE and LLDPE, mainly to other South American countries and to Asia.
Comments: Brazil outpaces other Latin American countries in the production of petrochemicals including ethylene and derivatives. In 2002, Brazil produced close to 2,500 KT of ethylene, of which 70% was consumed for the production of polyethylene. The growth rate for polyethylene consumption has been quite healthy, with majority of the production consumed in the domestic market. Only a small amount of resin is exported outside South America. The olefin and polyolefins industry is comprised of domestic holding companies and foreign enterprises..
Sunoco to lay off 50 employees at the PP facility
Sunoco Inc. plans to lay off about 50 employees at its polypropylene plant in Neal, WV. Sunoco has not decided on when the layoff or move will be made, but the company said that the layoffs will come from all departments.
Comments: Sunoco in a very short amount of time has become one of the leaders in the polypropylene industry via the (1) acquisition of Aristech, (2) control of Epsilon, and (3) recently of Equistar’s Bayport facility. Sunoco’s has an operational capacity of 2.5 billion pounds, and is working towards rationalizing the polypropylene assets. The Neal facility was part of the Aristech acquisition in 2001 and comprises a polypropylene plant using Basell’s Spheripol technology.
Sunoco has fine tuned the strategy to be in a decidedly commodity market, with TPOs for automotive with excellent cost position via Propylene from Equistar. This realignment is a necessary step.
BASF, Honeywell complete nylon swap
BASF and Honeywell have completed swapping BASF’s nylon fibers business for Honeywell’s nylon resins after regulatory approvals. BASF took over Honeywell’s global engineering plastics business where as Honeywell got the global nylon fibers business and $90 million.The companies have also entered into a long term agreement under which Honeywell will supply BASF with specialty nylon and nylon copolymers and BASF will supply Honeywell with Nylon chips.
Honeywell has a strong presence in electrical and tooling applications, while BASF is strong in the automotive sector. Honeywell says that it has plans to sell the nylon business in the longer term.
Comments: This transaction will increase BASF’s share in Global capacity for Nylon resins from 13% to 22%. The largest producer DuPont has 21% of the Global capacity for Nylon resins. With this transaction BASF will exit the Nylon fiber market and compete in the polyester market with 200 million pounds of capacity acquired from Honeywell. Honeywell will increase its global capacity share for Nylon fibers from 4.8% to 9.3%. The largest producer DuPont has 16% of the global capacity for Nylon fiber.
Both BASF and Honeywell have strengthened their respective portfolios through this deal. BASF has increased its presence in the engineering plastics market while Honeywell has increased its presence in the Nylon fiber business.
Denka expands Specialty Elastomers
Denki Kagaku Kogyo (Denka) has announced its plan to double capacity for its EVA copolymer elastomer(Denka ER) at Chiba from 1000 MT/year to 2000 MT/year by third quarter 2003. According to the company, the elastomer has high temperature and chemical resistance and is used mainly in the automotive industry.
Comments: Denka ER is an elastomeric copolymer synthesized from ethylene, vinyl acetate and acrylic ester exhibiting excellent heat and oil resistance. The heat resistance of Denka ER is claimed to be in the range of silicone rubber and chlorosulfonated polyethylene. The heat and oil resistance may be adjusted according to the level of comonomer incorporation. The material is intended for use in automotive applications requiring high cyclic integrity such as under-the-hood hoses, seals and gaskets.
Alloy Polymers plans expansion of its compounding facility– Basell’s Hivalloy ends up here
Headquartered in Richmond, VA, Alloy Polymers has announced its plan to open a color lab and add a production line at its Gahanna, OH facility. The plant has a capacity of about 110 million pounds per year.
Alloy Polymers purchased the Gahanna plant from Basell in 2002 which increased Alloy Polymers’ extrusion lines from 13 to 18. Alloy Polymers is a leading toll compounder of engineering thermoplastics and high performance polypropylene compounds and alloys with over 100 million pounds of nameplate capacity at its Richmond facility and 110 million pounds at its Gahanna facility.
Comments: Alloy Polymers acquired the Hivalloy technology from Basell as part of the Gahanna plant last year. The Hivalloy technology is similar to Basell’s Catalloy products except that the comonomercomprises of non-olefinic moieties like styrene, SMA, and acrylics. There are mainly three types of products, namely general purpose (G120, G130, and G170, glass-filled (GXPA018, 055, 062, 066), and impact/toughened grades (GXPA048, 058). Due to a combination of mechanical and processing properties, these materials were initially positioned for the consumer and automotive industries. Alloy Polymers is working towards expanding the scope of application for the Hivalloy line. For a detailed review of Hivalloy and other Basell developed technologies pleaser refer to NGP Vol 2. Iss1.
PP prices increase with PE to follow
In April, polypropylene prices increased by 2 cents per pound due to tight supply and feedstock prices. Since the beginning of 2003, the North American prices for PP have increased by an average of 11 cents per pound. Similar price increases have been realized for the polyethylene side of the business.
Comments: The normal business cycle for the polyolefins industry is 7-8 years. Polyolefins industry normally witnesses one recession in each cycle. Recessions are essentially caused by overcapacity, economic slowdown, or external factors like influx of cheaper materials from foreign countries.The operating rates peaked in 1989 and then start declining and hit the bottom in 1993. From 1993 the operating rates again start increasing and peakedafter 4 years in 1997. From 1997 the decline starts and the bottom hits after 4 years in 2001. This suggests that the polyolefins industry follows eight-year business cycles with a peak and trough hitting once in every four years. If this trend continues then the industry will experience the next peak in 2005 then start declining and bottom out in 2009.
ExxonMobil Sells Vistanex to BASF
ExxonMobil Chemical announced the sale of its Vistanex™ LM polyisobutylene business to BASF.Although no manufacturing sites, process technology, nor personnel are included in the sale, ExxonMobil will continue to produce Vistanex LM for BASF until new products can be qualified.ExxonMobil is expected to discontinue manufacturing of the LM series thereafter.
The sale will not impact ExxonMobil’s Vistanex™ MM High Molecular Weight Polyisobutylene business, which they will continue to supply worldwide.
Comments: BASF currently manufactures medium and high MW polyisobutylene products under the trade name OPPANOL, and plans to move VISTANEX customers over to OPPANOL over time. Products are manufactured via a cationic vinyl polymerization process resulting in a polymer with unique gas permeation (or lack of), flexibility, ozone resistance, and biocompatibility. Major end uses for polyisobutylene include liners for tires, inner tubes, adhesives & sealants, and chewing gum.
Shell Chemical Starts Construction at Nanhai Petrochemicals Plant
Major construction has started at the Nanhai petrochemicals plant in Guangdong in which Shell has a 50 per cent shareholding. Shell is a partner with the CNOOC Petrochemicals Investment Limited (CPIL) in the USD 4.3 billion plant which is expected to be completed at the end of 2005.
The complex’s lower olefins plant will produce 800,000 MT/year ethylene and 430,000 MT/year propylene. The other major facilities include: (1) 550,000 MT styrene monomer and 250,000 MT propylene oxide plant, (2) 320,000 MT mono-ethylene glycol plant, (3) 60,000 MT propylene glycol plant, (4) 135,000 MT Polyols plant, (5) 240,000 MTpolypropylene plant, (6) 200,000 MT Linear low density polyethylene/high density polyethylene plant, (7) 250,000 MT Low density polyethylene plant, and (8) Integrated support facilities and utilities for the complex.
Comments: CMR has just completed a thorough analysis of the Chinese petrochemical and polyolefins industries in its latest issue of New Generation Polyolefins Bimonthly Review. China represents a significant market for polyolefins. Unlike many of the other regions, China’s demand for polyolefins outstrips domestic supply. A significant amount is currently imported from countries like Korea, Taiwan and Saudi Arabia. In an effort to become self-reliant, the Chinese government has been expanding the domestic polyolefins industry with the aid of foreign equity-based joint ventures. Such arrangements have allowed the industry to capitalize on foreign capital as well as state-of-the-art technologies.
Saint-Gobain to close plant
Saint-Gobain Performance Plastics Corp is set to close its New Haven, CT manufacturing facility. The firm will move its silicon sponge rubber and pressure sensitive adhesive tape to its two plants in Hoosick Falls, N.Y. by the end of 2003.The Hoosick Falls plant presentlymakes adhesives tapes and high performance films.
Sasol forms JV in Iran
Sasol Polymers and National Petrochemical Co. have signed an agreement to create a joint venture that will own and operate NPC’s Olefins 9 complex at Bandar Assaluyeh, Iran. The joint venture Arya Sasol Polymers will be owned 50-50 by Pars Petrochemical (a NPC subsidiary), and Sasol Polymers.
Olefins 9 was originally a joint venture between NPC and BP, but BP withdrew from the joint venture due to poor demand outlook. The olefins 9 project will comprise of 1 million metric tons per year of ethane cracker, and polyethylene capacity of 600,000 MT/year.
Comments: The polyolefins industry in the Middle East is being driven by low feedstock advantage. Iran development of the polyolefins industry has been somewhat slow, but methodical with developments initiated according to Five Year Plans. The industry is concentrated in Bandar Imam. The biggest polyolefin player in the region is SABIC located in Saudi Arabia. Not only has SABIC managed to develop the downstream industries in the region, but in a short time has become one of the leaders in the global polyolefins industry. The recent acquisition of DSM’s petrochemical businesses further strengthens SABIC position as a global player.
Basell Moves Headquarters in North America
Basell North America has moved its headquarters from Wilmington, DE to Elkton, MD where the company’s R&D center is located.
Comments: Basell continues to restructure its North America operations. In the past couple of years, Basell has mothballed its polyethylene facility in Lake Charles, sold its compounding operation in Gahanna, Ohio, shifted some R&D operations to Europe, and rationalized their polyolefins assets.
Basell’s presence in the North American polyethylene industry has significantly diminished with the Spherilene plant shutdown. However, Basell continues to strength its position in polypropylene and its copolymers. It is currently contemplating converting the Spherilene plant to produce polypropylene.
Basell’s primary R&D facility in Elkton, MD where all the offices are consolidated is a prize winning architectural building, specially designed and built for Montell.
PIC and Dow plan to construct ethylene and derivatives complex in Kuwait
The Dow Chemical Company and Petrochemical Industries Company (PIC) of Kuwait have planned to construct a new ethylene and derivatives complex in Shuaiba, Kuwait.
The new complex called Olefins II is anticipated to start in early 2007. Olefins II will have an 850,000 metric ton per annum ethane cracker and a new world-scale 600,000 metric ton per annum ethylene oxide/ethylene glycol plant using METEOR™ ethylene oxide technology. In addition to Olefins II, PIC and Dow expect to build an ethylbenzene/styrene unit of 300,000 metric tons per annum supplied with ethylene from Olefins II and benzene from the PIC Aromatics Project, to be built simultaneously on the site adjacent to EQUATE.
Petrochemical Industries Company (PIC) of Kuwait, a wholly owned subsidiary of Kuwait Petroleum Corporation. This project would build on the successful business relationship in EQUATE Petrochemical Company between PIC and Union Carbide Corporation, a wholly owned subsidiary of Dow.
KRATON® Polymers-Based EVOPRENE TPE Seals the Moisture Advantage
Packaging producer Ten Cate Plasticum has developed a unique thermoplastic elastomer (TPE) sealed container for storing Beiersdorf’s Nivea Visage facial cleansing tissues.
Beiersdorf’s previous packaging system used a foil pouch with a self-adhesive label for resealing the packaging. Ten Cate worked closely with AlphaGary’s Evoprene™ TPE compound distributor, Pebepol, to develop a polypropylene (PP) container with a seal made from a KRATON® G polymer-based Evoprene compound integrated into the lid. The excellent sealing benefits of KRATON G polymer prevent the moisture and alcohol in the tissues from evaporating quickly after the first opening, giving a long life to the cleansing tissues. It is the first time such a system has been used in the cosmetics market.
Comments: Shell Chemical Company (Kraton Polymers) was the first company to introduce SBCs to the industry in the early 1960s. In 1999 the Kraton business of the Shell Chemical Company was sold to U.S. investment company Ripplewood Holdings LLC. Ripplewood is currently one of the largest holding companies in North America.
Kraton Polymers has been a major global player in all types of SB Copolymers. Kraton Polymers has over 50% of the total SBS global capacity which is spread over all three continents, North America, Europe and Asia (Japan). Kraton Polymers is a major player inSIS market with over 50% of the market share in North America and Europe. In the SEBS market, Kraton Polymers dominates the market with over 75 % of the North American market and is the only producers of SEBS in Europe.
This year’s FlexPO conference TPE/Rubbers session will focus on SB copolymers Every major SB copolymer supplier in the world including: (1) Kraton, (2) Enichem, (3) Dynasol, (4) Asahi, (5) Kuraray, (6) Dexco and others will be participating. CMR Inc. will present an overview of the world SB Copolymers status and discuss Enichem’s SB Copolymers status. Polimeri Europa has put Enichem for sale – All takers welcome!
S.K. Folien Builds New Plant in Thuringia
S.K. Folien GmbH, is building a plant to produce packaging films. The plant is based in Eisfeld in the state of Thuringia, Germany. The plant will have a start up capacity of 20,000 t/y of packaging films made from PE-HD and PE-LD. The final production level is expected to reach 32,000 MT/year.
S.K Folien is a newly founded company costing EUR 15m. The company plans to collaborate with the nearby recycling plant of Schwarzataler Kunststoffe GmbH.
Guangzhou Petrochemical Company completes ethylene expansion
Guangzhou Petrochemical Company (GPC) has completed its ethylene expansion. The expansion will raise GPC’s capacity from 150,000 tons per annum to 200,000 tons per annum. The matching polyethylene capacity will increase from 100,000 tons per annum to 200,000 tons per annum and the polypropylene capacity will increase from 70,000 tons per annum to 100,000 tons per annum.
Comments: Many of the Chinese polyolefin players continue to expand their capacities and update their technologies. Along with technical and capital upgrades, companies are also increasing performance by enhancing the management styles. Guangzhou Petrochemical Co. (GPC) has recently been named as the top performing subsidiary in SINOPEC Corporation. GPC is located in the hub of the converting industry but was losing market share to fellow subsidiaries and foreign imports in the coastal regions. After examining its cost structure, GPC decided to first redesign its sales network by first stressing the importance of a legally binding sales contract to erring customers, requiring a down payment of 10-30%. Customers who have been “blacklisted” before were sued or simply dropped from the sales list. The problem of end-users not honoring sales contracts has been a headache to many local resin producers. Secondly, GPC also began to build up its technical service department. Many of the SINOPEC subsidiaries that have scorned any sort of strategic planning and were accustomed to just filling out invoices are now devising strategies to counter the flood of imports.
Please see the latest issue for NGP (Vol 8 Iss 4) for more details about the Chinese Polyolefins Industry.
Metallocene Isoprene Rubber
Scientists from the Institute of Physical and Chemical Research say that they have developed a metallocene catalyst for the production of isoprene rubber with improved properties compared to the products manufactured with existing technologies. Riken aims to license the technology and has formed a company, OM Chem-Tech to supply catalysts.
PVC duties imposed in Argentina
Argentina has imposed antidumping duty on polyvinyl chloride (PVC) from the U.S. and Mexico. Imports of PVC from the U.S. are subject to duties of 40.29%.Mexican producers Primex (Monterrey) and Policyd (Tialnepantla) will have to pay duties of 7.47% and 13.92%, respectively. Solvay Indupa is the only PVC producer in Argentina with a 240,000-MT/year plant.
Sasol’s LDPE Contract Awarded to Mitsui Engineering
Mitsui Engineering & Shipbuilding has been awarded a contract by Sasol to build a LDPE plant at Sasolburg, South Africa. The plant will have a capacity of 220,000 MT/year and will utilize ExxonMobil’s tubular reactor process. The project investment will be about $200 million and is scheduled for completion by third quarter 2005.
Expansions in PVC Continue
Solvay Indupa S.A.I.C. of Buenos Aires will invest US$45 million to expand capacity of its PVC and vinyl chloride monomer lines in Santo Andre, Brazil.The PVC production capacity will increase from 522 million pounds per year to 590 million pounds per year. The capacity for vinyl chloride will increase from 343 million pounds to 595 million pounds per year.
Indian Petrochemical Corp. Ltd. (IPCL), a subsidiary of Reliance Industries has also announced its plan to expand capacity for polyvinyl chloride (PVC) at Gandhar, India by 150,000 MT/year. The company has current capacity of 150,000 MT/year and another plant having a capacity of 55,000 MT/year in Baroda, India. Reliance also has a PVC plant with capacity of 300,000 MT/year at Hazira.
Comments: Despite its problems with many environmental groups and other agencies, PVC continues to grow in both rigid and flexible applications. Flexible PVC comprises over 50% of all flexible polymer material consumption on a global basis. Although polyolefins producers continue to strive to replace f-PVC with more environmentally friendly materials, they still face the problem of meeting the performance and cost advantages the f-PVC offers. This is the reason why penetration in traditional f-PVC markets has been slow and difficult.CMR has been extensively involved in the intermaterial competition issues and replacement opportunities, and sometimes hurdles, for f-PVC. A thorough analysis for the f-PVC and polyolefins elastomers industry is presented in CMR’s groundbreaking multiclient entitled Intermaterial Competition of f-PVC, TPEs and New Generation Polyolefins.
Taiwan Nanya Plastics constructs PVC plant in Zhengzhou.
Taiwan Nanya Plastics is set to put up a PVC rigid pipe plant in Zhengzhou, Henan Province.
Nanya is planning to establish Nanya Plastics (Zhengzhou) Co., Ltd. to expand its market in Chinese mainland. The plant’s annual output of PVC rigid pipes will be 30,000 tons. Nanya Plastics (Hong Kong) Co., Ltd. will hold 50% stakes and the balance 4.0 million U.S. dollars will be raised by other Taiwan companies.
Nanya Plastics has already established 24 production bases with a total investment of 460 million U.S. dollars in Chinese mainland. Nanya Plastics has constructed in Chinese mainland include copper foil, glass-fiber fabric, glass-fiber yarn and epoxy resin.
Comments: PVC is the material of choice for pipe applications in China. HDPE pipes account for a mere 14% of the natural gas pipe market while PVC pipes make up the remainder. This is mainly due to preset design regulations and application technology. On the contrary, 90% of the natural gas pipes in the United States are HDPE and in Europe, close to 65%. HDPE pipes are expected to capture more market share as more converters and the Ministry of Construction(China) are educated on HDPE piping technology.
Sabic Reviews Bids for Butene-1 Complex
Sabic is examining commercial bids from contractors to construct a butene-1-complex for Sabic’s subsidiary Petrokemya at Al Jubail, Saudi Arabia. The company plans to build a 125,000 MT/year at an estimated investment of $50 million. Bidders for this project include: Toyo Engineering, Mitsui Engineering & Shipbuilding, and Samsung Engineering. Petrokemya uses butene-1 as comonomer in the manufacture of polyethylene.
Thai Petrochemical Industry Restructuring Intervened by Government
Thailand’s Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra has interfered in a dispute between creditors of Thai Petrochemical industry (TPI) and the company’s founder and former CEO, Prachai Leophairatana. The dispute is over the appointment of a new administrator for TPI’s debt restructuring plan. TPI’s previous plan administrator was recently dismissed by Central Bankruptcy Court for failing to meet its announced restructuring targets. Thaksin reached an agreement with Prachai and the creditors on a plan to appoint members of a committee to administrate TPI’s debt plan.
Comments: This is an on-going five-year battle for Mr. Prachai the president and CEO of TPI who has been in constant battle with the creditor appointed group to control the day to day operations.
BASF purchases Sunoco’s plasticizer business
BASF announced the signing of a letter of intent to purchase Sunoco’s plasticizer business. The acquisition will include Sunoco’s site in Pasadena,TX, including the land, the phthalic anhydride and oxo manufacturing plants, as well as the plasticizer esters, 2-ethylhexanol and phthalic anhydride businesses. Sunoco’s Neville Island, PA, site is not included in the deal but will produce plasticizers for BASF under a tolling agreement. Sunoco’s annual sales related to the agreement total approximately $150 million. The companies expect to complete the sale by the end of third quarter.
Another Propylene Oxide Direct Oxidation Route
Researchers at Nippon Shokubai, and University of Tokyo claim to have developed a silicon-tungsten catalyst that converts olefins including propylene into its equivalent oxide using hydrogen peroxide as the oxidizing agent.
Several companies have been working on developing a direct oxidation process for propylene oxide (PO) to replace the traditional processes which generate by-products such as styrene, hydrochloric acid, and methyl tertiary butyl ether. Sumitomo Chemical recently started the first commercial scale oxidation using titanium based catalyst and cumene hydroperoxide as the oxidizing agent. Dow, BASF and Degussa are separately working on developing PO process using hydrogen peroxide as the oxidizing agent.
Comments: The polypropylene market is viewed by many as a sink for propylene, and tends to pullpropylene from other alternate value markets due to higher associated manufacturing costs.A more efficient and cost effective method for the direct oxidation of propylene would allow for further diversification of the propylene stream into more value-added products. This may in turn, prompt producers to shift propylene to other markets rather than polypropylene, causing a shortage.
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