CircularEconomy PETwaste Petrochemicals 25-05-2021 - Arhive

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CircularEconomy PETwaste Petrochemicals

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Mineral water evolution: evian on meeting changing consumer demands and hitting sustainability milestones in Asia

Premium mineral water giant evian has launched new product formats in response to changing consumer demands in Asia, whilst also launching its first label-free, 100% recyclable bottle in the region to hit sustainability milestones.

According to evian Global Brand Vice President Shweta Harit, the COVID-19 pandemic has brought with it several major changes to the F&B sector in Asia, hitting even the premium mineral water space which mostly deals with the one product, natural mineral water.

“[COVID-19 has led to a situation where, in the last few months with more or less encirclement, [it has] changed the way consumers consume,” she told FoodNavigator-Asia.

“[Consumers in Asia] are now at home more, increasing e-commerce and online shopping, and also not having to carry things around [such as bottled water].

“So, taking into account these trends in behavioural changes, evian launched a new format on e-commerce in 2021: The evian 1.5L (with a bottle made from 30% RPET) – this is the largest format available today [and more suited for consumers staying home and not requiring small bottles to bring around].”

In addition to this, evian is also stepping up its work on sustainability in Asia due to a ‘renewed impetus’ brought on by COVID-19 to tackle environmental issues – and one of its latest initiatives has been the launch of a label-free, 100% recyclable water bottle in the region.

Mineral water evolution: evian on meeting changing consumer demands and hitting sustainability milestones in Asia

-Is recycling a waste? Here’s the answer from a plastics expert before you ditch the effort

  • Terracycle and Loop founder and CEO Tom Szaky says the economics of the recycling business are broken in key ways, but consumer and corporate interest in building a circular economy continues to grow.
  • Low oil prices, bans on imported recyclables in countries like China, and the latest trends in packaging design make it harder to recycle.
  • Still, the recycling CEO says getting to a low-waste or even zero-waste economy is the way the world once was and can be again.

Recycling may make you feel better in a very small way about your role in helping to avert a global apocalypse, but even in “friendly” places, from John Oliver to NPR podcasts, recycling, especially of plastics, is being given a hard look. More people are wondering: Does it work?  CircularEconomy PETwaste Petrochemicals

The debate is not new. For years the economics of plastic recycling have been questioned. But the problem is not going away. The globe is already producing two trillion tons of solid waste a year and is on pace to add more than a trillion more on an annual basis in the coming decades, according to World Bank data. A recent study found that the 20 top petrochemical companies in the world, among the group Exxon Mobil and Dow, are responsible for 55% of the world’s single-use generating about 50 kilograms of throwaway plastic about 50 kilograms of throwaway plastic a year, per person.

CircularEconomy PETwaste Petrochemicals

-Total and Plastic Energy to Build First Chemical Recycling Plant in France

French energy giant Total and chemical recycling company Plastic Energy have entered into a strategic partnership and will develop the first chemical recycling project in France. With a capacity of 15,000 tonnes per year, the plant will be located on the new Total platform zero crude in Grandpuits, France. The project is expected to become operational in early 2023.

The project in France represents the start of a collaboration between Total and Plastic Energy, which is headquartered in London, to chemically process difficult-to-recycle plastic waste that otherwise would have been incinerated.

French energy giant Total and chemical recycling company Plastic Energy have entered into a strategic partnership and will develop the first chemical recycling project in France. With a capacity of 15,000 tonnes per year, the plant will be located on the new Total platform zero crude in Grandpuits, France. The project is expected to become operational in early 2023.CircularEconomy PETwaste Petrochemicals

The project in France represents the start of a collaboration between Total and Plastic Energy, which is headquartered in London, to chemically process difficult-to-recycle plastic waste that otherwise would have been incinerated.

Valerie Goff, Senior Vice President, Polymers, in Total’s Refining and Chemicals business segment, said, “This strategic partnership combined with the construction of the first chemical recycling plant in France is an important step in the development of the chemical recycling of plastic waste. It will contribute to achieve our goal of producing 30% of polymers from recycled materials by 2030.”

Total and Plastic Energy to Build First Chemical Recycling Plant in France

-What makes “Hai’an” so outstanding in nylon filament market?

Nylon 6 textile filament market had declined since mid-March 2021, and just ceased the downtrend in end-April. In the one-and-a half-month adjustment, nylon 6 filament producers who focused on producing semi-dull products were under comparatively higher pressure, as their inventory accumulated due to unbalanced sales/production conditions.  CircularEconomy PETwaste Petrochemicals

However, as a major production base of semi-dull nylon 6 textile filament, Hai’an Zhejiang market had performed well out of the bearish look. Most local POY producers were running at their full capacity, and the supply was still tight. Local DTY plants also kept operating at high rates, and their inventory was under control. Added to this phenomenon, Hai’an market was concentrated on low-end conventional filament varieties.

What makes Hai’an the exception?

  1. Cost advantage

The cost advantage of Hai’an’s textile filament is mainly in two aspects: production cost and raw material cost. The production cost advantage mainly lies in electricity fee, management, packaging, etc., but the cost saving in terms of air-conditioning electricity and paper tube recycling is limited, not enough to drive a significant shift in demand to the Hai’an market. In comparison, raw material cost advantage of has played a greater role in the past two months.

What makes “Hai’an” so outstanding in nylon filament market?

-Cupra deploys recycled marine plastic for sports seats

Seat’s Cupra brand says it is working with specialist firm Seaqual Initiative on the manufacture of the sports seats for its Born model, using upcycled plastic materials found in the Mediterranean Sea. CircularEconomy PETwaste Petrochemicals

The seats will be created from a recycled polymer fiber fabric called Seaqaul Yarn, which is produced from marine litter found on beaches and the ocean floor and surface, as well as rivers and estuaries. The material is collected by a clean-up program and sorted into different material types, with the plastics being cleaned, treated and recycled into yarn that is claimed to have almost identical physical properties to virgin polyester.

Cupra director of strategy, business development and operations Antonino Labate commented, “With the Cupra Born, our first 100% electric vehicle, we’re entering a new electric era. The partnership with Seaqual Initiative to create the seats for this new model demonstrates that sustainability, innovation and contemporary design are a perfect combination. Cupra is a brand that inspires the world from Barcelona, which is why we are committed to circular-economy projects and helping preserve a natural resource which is very close to us, the Mediterranean.”

CircularEconomy PETwaste Petrochemicals

-US Trinseo to sell synthetic rubber business to Synthos for $491m

Trinseo has agreed to sell its synthetic rubber business to the Polish company Synthos for $491m, the US-based styrenics producer said on Friday.

Out of the total, $449.4m is made up of cash and $41.6m represents pension liabilities, Trinseo said. It expects net cash proceeds will be $400m after factoring the costs and taxes associated with the sale.

The deal should close in 2022. It will include Trinseo’s plant in Schkopau, Germany, as well as the related research-and-development facilities.

The segment makes solution styrene butadiene rubber (SSBR) and emulsion styrene butadiene rubber (ESBR). It also makes nickel polybutadiene rubber (Ni-PBR) and neodynium PBR (Nd-PBR). CircularEconomy PETwaste Petrochemicals

Synthos did not immediately respond to a request for comment after hours in Poland.

Trinseo’s CEO, Frank Bozich, said the sale will strengthen the company’s balance sheet.

Earlier this year, Trinseo closed on the €1.14bn acquisition of Arkema’s polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA) business.

Trinseo is funding the acquisition with up to $250m of existing cash. The rest will come from new debt financing.

US Trinseo to sell synthetic rubber business to Synthos for $491m

-European Parliament stops talks with China on investment agreement

European Parliament has passed a resolution stating that ratification talks for the EU-China Comprehensive Agreement on Investment (CAI) are “justifiably frozen”. The resolution adopted Thursday condemns the sanctions recently imposed by Chinese authorities on several European individuals and entities, including five MEPs (Members of European Parliament).

The text was approved by 599 votes in favour, 30 against with 58 abstentions.

The resolution emphasises that any consideration by the European Parliament of the EU-China CAI, agreed in principle between the EU and China in December 2020, as well as any discussion on its mandatory ratification by MEPs, have “justifiably been frozen” because of the Chinese sanctions. CircularEconomy PETwaste Petrochemicals

MEPs have demanded that China lift the sanctions before they consider the agreement, “without prejudice to the final outcome of the CAI ratification process”.  They also reminded the European Commission that MEPs will take the human rights situation in China, including in Hong Kong, into account when deciding whether to endorse the agreement or not, according to a statement on the website of the European Parliament.

CircularEconomy PETwaste Petrochemicals

-EU 6GW electrolyser hydrogen target possible by 2024

The EU is on track to meet the European Commission’s target of 6GW of installed hydrogen electrolyser capacity by 2024, Constantine Levoyannis, head of policy at the Hydrogen Europe association, indicated at Reuters Events: Hydrogen 2021 on 20 May.

He was joined by panellists from the industry to outline the key regulatory steps needed ahead of 2024.

Levoyannis said that based on projects submitted to the European Clean Hydrogen Alliance, a body created to help reach the 6GW target, that Europe should be on track to achieve the 2024 target.

However, Levoyannis also noted several areas of policy and regulatory support that could aid the development of green hydrogen production capacity.

LEVEL THE PLAYING FIELD CircularEconomy PETwaste Petrochemicals

“Bring hydrogen onto a level playing field with other technologies,” Levoyannis said when asked how to achieve the 6GW target.

He outlined that legislation currently pre-dates the commission’s hydrogen strategy, which was launched on 8 July 2020, and that to support increasing electrolyser capacity could require policy changes.

EU 6GW electrolyser hydrogen target possible by 2024

-We need a global agreement that sets targets for reducing plastic waste

Click here to see the latest blog post on Asian Chemical Connections by John Richardson.

We need a global agreement that sets targets for reducing plastic rubbish in the oceans.

Whatever the developed world does on recycling will barely move the needle towards solving the plastic waste crisis. The reason is that some two billion people, most of whom live in the developing world, lack any access to rubbish collection systems. More than 90% of plastic waste in the oceans comes from just ten rivers, eight in Asia and two in Africa. CircularEconomy PETwaste Petrochemicals

The huge volume of future demand in the developing world for single-use plastics means we must address the problem at source.

As the developing world gets richer, the content of plastic in the oceans can only increase unless we take urgent action. Many of the goods made from single-use plastics are lifesaving and so essential.

CircularEconomy PETwaste Petrochemicals

-50 New Plastic-Eating Mushrooms Have Been Discovered in Past Two Years

Scientists around the world have continued to discover different types of fungus that can degrade specific types of plastic.

We now have 150 million tons of plastic in our oceans, according to estimates; by 2050, there could be more plastic than fish. And every new batch of trash compounds the issue: Plastic is notorious for its longevity and resistance to natural degradation.

The Lowdown

Enter the humble mushroom. In 2011, Yale students made headlines with the discovery of a fungus in Ecuador, Pestalotiopsis microspora, that has the ability to digest and break down polyurethane plastic, even in an air-free (anaerobic) environment—which might even make it effective at the bottom of landfills. Although the professor who led the research trip cautioned for moderate expectations, there’s an undeniable appeal to the idea of a speedier, cleaner, side effect-free, and natural method of disposing of plastic. CircularEconomy PETwaste Petrochemicals

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Biotechnology Plasticwaste Petrochemicals 24-05-2021