Petrochemical PETPackaging ReusablePlastic 18-12-2020 - Arhive
Petrochemical PETPackaging ReusablePlastic
Crude Oil Prices Trend
Avantium N.V, a leading technology company in renewable chemistry, announces that the Netherlands Enterprise Agency (RVO – Rijksdienst voor Ondernemend Nederland) has awarded the company a €5.4 million grant as part of the Demonstration Energy and Climate Innovation (DEI+) scheme, to be paid out in 16 tranches over a period of 4 years.
This grant is solely designated for the expansion of Avantium’s FDCA (furandicarboxylic acid) pilot plant in Geleen (The Netherlands) and will therefore not be used for the potential construction of the FDCA flagship plant in Delfzijl.
FDCA is the key building block for the high-quality, fully recyclable, plant-based polymer PEF (polyethylene furanoate) to be used in a wide range of applications such as bottles, packaging, film and textiles.
-LOW DENSITY POLYETHYLENE (LDPE) PRICES BOLSTER HIGHER IN SEA AND SA
This week, LDPE prices bolstered higher in the South East and South Asian regions. The sharp price gain was triggered by bullish import offers from the overseas producers, stronger regional demand trends and persistent tight product availability.
In South-East Asia, LDPE prices were assessed at the USD 1430-1500/mt CFR levels, a week on week surge of USD 30-50/mt.
A trader based in Vietnam while in conversation with a Polymerupdate team member said, “LDPE prices in Vietnam continue to remain firm owing to persistent tight product availability and bullish import offers.”
When asked to comment on LDPE lamination grade current import offers, the trader added, “A South Korean producer has offered its LDPE lamination LDC801YY at the USD 1770/mt CFR levels in Vietnam. The producer also offered the same grade in Indonesia and Philippines at the USD 1720/mt and USD 1750/mt CFR levels respectively, for January 2021 shipment.”
In India, LDPE prices were at the USD 1350-1430/mt CFR levels, a spike of USD 40-90/mt from previous week.
In India, a Middle Eastern producer has offered its LDPE film grade at the USD 1430-1450/mt CFR levels, for January 2021 shipment. LDPE lamination grade prices are heard to have been offered by a major Thai producer at the USD 1690/mt CFR levels, for January 2021 shipment.
Domestic producers in India are expected to raise their LDPE prices on the back of persistent tight product availability, robust regional demand trends and bullish import offers from overseas suppliers.
In Pakistan, LDPE prices were assessed at the USD 1400-1470/mt levels, a week on week rise of USD 20/mt. In Bangladesh, prices were assessed at the USD 1400-1450/mt CFR levels, both up by USD 10-20/mt from last week.
-Is Reusable the Future of Sustainable Packaging?
The food and beverage industry has a plastic problem. According to new research from PreScouter, 35% of plastic waste stems from the industry.
While one solution is to make it easier for consumers to recycle, PreScouter’s report explores why reusable packaging could be a more promising solution.
Why choose to reuse?
Even when plastic packaging is fully recyclable, consumers are more likely to throw it away. Only 14% of plastic packaging makes it into recycling collections, and PreScouter estimates that 95% of packaging material value is lost to the economy because of this rapid disposable. On the other hand, packaging that can be reused several times would result in cost savings. Petrochemical PETPackaging ReusablePlastic
And consumers have made it clear that they prefer sustainable packaging. More than half have specifically noted that they’d like to see more reusable materials.
Overcoming challenges
Reusable packaging, however, has a few downsides that make it difficult for brands to get on board. Materials must be more durable than plastic, and thus they’re more expensive.
To make reusable packaging a cost-effective alternative, it would have to be strong enough to withstand five to 10 uses, depending on the comparable material. This should no longer be a problem, as companies are currently producing packaging that can last for up to 20 uses.
-Braskem, Encina to collaborate on circular propylene feedstock supply from new recycling plant
Braskem and Encina Development Group (Encina; The Woodlands, Texas) have agreed to develop a long-term relationship aimed at establishing a supply of circular propylene feedstock from Encina’s planned new post-consumer plastics recycling plant in the US, reported Chemweek. Petrochemical PETPackaging ReusablePlastic
Encina plans to break ground on the facility in the second half of 2021, although the location has not yet been given. Once completed, the plant will process 175,000 metric tons/year of waste plastic into over 90,000 metric tons/year of recycled chemicals, the companies say in a joint statement. The facility will be designed to have its capacity expanded to 350,000 metric tons/year of waste plastic in future phases, they say. It will leverage Encina’s proprietary technology that converts mixed plastics to chemicals via catalytic pyrolysis.
Braskem will work with Encina to develop the necessary logistics, product quality, and certifications for the recycled propylene feedstock that Braskem will then use in the production of recycled polypropylene (PP) materials in applications such as food packaging, consumer, and hygiene products, according to the companies. Braskem and Encina intend to develop a formal supply agreement prior to the project’s financing approval in 2021, they say.
-Aker Biomarine launches plastic recycling subsidiary
A new company that aims to recycle marine plastics has been launched by Aker Biomarine today.
Called AION (from the Greek for eternity), it will offer products and services to companies with a desire to recycle waste and re-use materials and stems from circular initiatives focused on plastic waste and production residues from within Aker BioMarine.
The new company will initially use Aker BioMarine’s own streams of plastic and biological production residues will be recycled into new products, allowing the company to reach its zero-waste vision. Petrochemical PETPackaging ReusablePlastic
It will also work through Aker BioMarine’s network to receive other companies’ plastic and biowaste streams. In the long run, AION aims to manage production residues globally and will work to scale its business model with an ambition for listing.
SABIC has announced a strategic partnership with KraussMaffei HighPerformance AG, KraussMaffei’s Swiss subsidiary and manufacturer of high-performance injection moulding systems known under the NETSTAL brand.
Besides the exchange of mutual know-how in the fields of polymer technology and processing, the aim of the partnership is the joint use and further advancement of the existing application centre for thin-wall packaging at the NETSTAL plant in Näfels, Switzerland. Petrochemical PETPackaging ReusablePlastic
The official launch of the cooperation, which will focus on application, material and processing innovations in the thin-wall packaging industry through collaboration across the segment’s entire value chain, is scheduled for the first quarter of 2021.
“This is a major investment in synergy for us,” states Sergi Monros, SABIC Vice President of Performance Polymers & Industry Solutions, Petrochemicals.
-PP powder market under pressure
PP powder market moves lower last week, till last Friday (Dec 11), mainstream offers are at 8,520-8,550yuan/mt in Shandong province, and 8,650-8,700yuan/mt in East China.
First, profit has been narrowed by the high cost.
It can be seen that the propylene price moves higher, and its increase is obviously faster than that of PP powder. For powder enterprises who need merchant propylene, they are suffering around 200yuan/mt of deficit. From about 550yuan/mt in late November to about -200yuan/mt at present, the cash flow changes rapidly. As of last Thursday (Dec 10), only Dongming Dongfang Chemical, Shandong Luqing and Hengyuan lower their operating rate, and the operating rates of other plants maintains stable. Some enterprises said that they may shut their plants in the late market if the powder and propylene price spread has not narrowed, while enterprises in Jiangsu and Zhejiang are mostly equipped with upstream plants and the impact is limited. Petrochemical PETPackaging ReusablePlastic
Second, market transaction of PP powder has been suppressed by the low price spread between homo PP raffia and powder.
-ITM ideal springboard for Turkey growth
Istanbul – Next year’s ITM exhibition is expected to act as a major springboard for further investment in the Turkey’s knitting sector.
Exhibition organisers have stressed that the Turkish knitting and wider textile industry, which has continued to increase its exports levels and its investments throughout the coronavirus pandemic, is once again showcasing its resilience – a factor that will continue in the build up and beyond ITM 2021. Petrochemical PETPackaging ReusablePlastic
“The exhibition will provide a great advantage to companies that desire to expand their investments and introduce their brand new technologies,” organisers said, highlighting how despite the slowdowns in the textile industry in 2020, Turkey succeeded a big breakthrough with the removal of restrictions in June, thanks to both its textile production infrastructure and international exports capacity.
“The exports of the textile and raw materials sector increased and the companies turned to new investments,” organisers said. “While many local companies enlarged their facilities, some of them made new investment decisions.
-Plastics Pact set direction for European circular economy
An attempt to harmonise and accelerate the Europe-wide development of a circular economy for plastics is the goal of a new ‘European Plastics Pact Roadmap’.
The strategy has been published by the European Plastics Pact, which was launched in March by the Netherlands, France and Denmark. It comprises 15 national governments, 82 businesses, three regional governments and 43 other organisations, including business/trade associations and NGOs. The European Plastics Pact is part of the Ellen MacArthur Foundation’s global Plastics Pact network. Petrochemical PETPackaging ReusablePlastic
The roadmap has four targets:
Design for reusability and recyclability – Design all plastic packaging and single-use plastic products placed on the market to be reusable where possible and in any case recyclable by 2025.
-Plastic Alternatives Made From Industrial Waste
In Brazil, researchers at São Paulo State University (UNESP) in Ilha Solteira have developed a film that can replace plastic in food packaging. The film is made from hydroxypropyl methylcellulose (HPMC) and bacterial cellulose scraps leftover from industrial processing. Both raw materials are sustainable. They are combined to produce a biodegradable film of bacterial cellulose nanocrystals and HPMC.
The product outperforms film made of HPMC alone. An article on the research project, which was supported by FAPESP, is published in the journal Applied Material & Interfaces.
“We set out to fill the HMPC matrix with bacterial cellulose nanocrystals in order to enhance its properties. We also wanted to create greener protocols for the development of novel composites, from the material itself to its origin, so we included the reuse of industrial waste in the project,” said Márcia Regina de Moura Aouada, a co-author of the article. Petrochemical PETPackaging ReusablePlastic
Petrochemical PETPackaging ReusablePlastic
Petrochemical PETPackaging PlasticRecycling 17-12-2020