Petrochemicals Enzymes Automotive Brexit 04-06-2020 - Arhive
Petrochemicals Enzymes Automotive Brexit
Crude Oil Prices Trend
-German coalition parties wrestle over car incentives
Germany’s Social Democrats expect difficult talks with their coalition partners, Chancellor Angela Merkel’s conservatives, on a stimulus package because they want incentives to buy a new car to exclude combustion engine vehicles.
“It will take a long time and probably will not end today,” the SPD’s co-leader, Norbert Walter-Borjans, said on Tuesday.
“There are packages that can be agreed on but there are also things the CDU and CSU have problems with,” Walter-Borjans said. “There is a big topic that we need to talk about, namely that from our point of view, there cannot be a purchase premium for cars with combustion engines,” he said.
-Avantium to deliver several Flowrence® systems to KAUST Catalysis Center
Avantium N.V, a leading technology company in renewable chemistry, announces that Avantium Catalysis has received orders for several Flowrence® testing systems worth more than € 3 million from King Abdullah University of Science and Technology – KAUST Catalysis Center (KCC) in Saudi Arabia. Petrochemicals Enzymes Automotive Brexit
KCC has selected the Flowrence® Technology to further expand its R&D capacity for heterogeneous catalyst testing.
Avantium will deliver the Flowrence® units in combination with its solutions for efficient workflow, extensive online analytical equipment, its advanced proprietary data handling and analysis software, as well as its expertise in experimental validation. KCC focuses on developing new catalysts, new catalytic reactions and new catalytic technologies, covering heterogeneous, homogeneous, photo- and electro-catalytic processes.
-US May ethylene contracts settle up after six-month decline
US May ethylene contracts settled for the majority of participants at an increase of 3.5 cents/lb on higher spot prices and cash costs.
The settlement puts May contracts at 24.0 cents/lb ($529/tonne), up from 20.5 cents/lb in April. Petrochemicals Enzymes Automotive Brexit
The settlement marks the first increase since October, when cracker outages and delayed start-ups prompted ethylene prices to rise.
-Easing lockdown measures revs up Asia petrochemical markets
Petrochemical markets in Asia are coming back to life after about two months of general weakness as pandemic-induced lockdowns in most countries in the region are being lifted, boding well for demand from June onward.
Market sentiment is upbeat, providing room for prices of selected petrochemicals to post strong increases, aided by gains in upstream crude markets.
A strong recovery in demand, however, is still out of the question amid the coronavirus pandemic. Petrochemicals Enzymes Automotive Brexit
Spot prices of naphtha, the main feedstock for petrochemical production in Asia, rose to a near three-month high on Wednesday at $349/tonne CFR (cost & freight) Japan, buoyed by healthy prompt-month demand, tracking movements in global crude futures.
-Spain planning to raise €724 million with new plastic-packaging tax
The Cabinet approves draft legislation that also bans single-use items and encourages the circular economy
The Spanish Cabinet on Tuesday approved a draft law that introduces a new tax on plastic waste, among other environmental measures. The indirect levy will tax the manufacture, import or acquisition of non-reusable plastic packaging from other European Union countries for use in the Spanish market, according to the Spanish Ministry for Ecological Transition. Petrochemicals Enzymes Automotive Brexit
The ministry said that the proposed tax is similar to what other countries such as the United Kingdom and Italy are planning to introduce. It would require payment of €0.45 for every kilogram of plastic packaging, and is expected to bring in annual revenue of close to €724 million, based on 2017 figures.
Ecological Transition Minister Teresa Ribera warned Tuesday about “the absolutely disproportionate, irrational and irresponsible” use of plastic packaging. Spain’s initiative falls within the EU’s strategy of waste reduction.
-Arkema finalizes divestment of functional polyolefins business
Arkema said today that it has finalized the divestment of its functional polyolefins business to SK Global Chemical, reported Chemweek.
The divestment was announced last year. Arkema says the sale forms part of its strategy to refocus the group’s activities on specialty materials. Petrochemicals Enzymes Automotive Brexit
With sales of around EUR250 million (USD279.2 million), the functional polyolefins business, which is part of the polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA) activity, comprises ethylene copolymers and terpolymers for the food packaging, cable, electronics and coatings markets. The business employs around 100 people in France and has an international sales network of 30 people who will be joining SK Global Chemical, a subsidiary of South-Korean group SK.
Based on an enterprise value of €335 million, this divestment is in line with the group’s strategy to become a pure specialty materials player by 2024, centered around three segments: adhesive solutions, advanced materials and coating solutions.
Introduction
The recycling industry plays an important role in the transition to a more circular economy by turning polymeric waste into new value-added materials.
The sustainable management of waste and use of resources is at the heart of the European Green Deal1. Petrochemicals Enzymes Automotive Brexit
While the new Circular Economy Action Plan2 aims at accelerating transformational change required by the EU Green Deal, in order to meet its ambitions and to reach EU recycling targets laid down in the EU Plastics Strategy3, there is an urgent need to develop and implement new technologies for the recycling of polymeric waste, going beyond the limitations of traditional mechanical recycling.
Chemical Recycling complements the current recycling approaches and has the potential to be an environmental game-changer by processing polymeric wastes which are currently difficult to recycle. Investment in developing chemical recycling technologies and infrastructure will lead to the creation of new jobs and the protection of our environment by curbing CO2 emissions and increasing EU recycling capacity.
-Why China PX imports decline in April
According to China customs statistics, China imported about 1.03 million tons of PX in April 2020, down 220kt from the average monthly amount in the first quarter, hitting new low since Jul 2019. China PX imports reduced in Apr, however, local PTA output increased in Apr and May reflecting larger demand for feedstock PX. Petrochemicals Enzymes Automotive Brexit
It is true that customs statistics could lag behind and thus mismatch with the actual PX consumption, the import data could not fully reflect the downstream appetite, and also the manufacturing and logistics were affected by the epidemic. However, the decline in Apr PX imports could reflect some changes in the structure of PX market.
From the figure below we can see that the decline concentrated in Zhejiang Province. Other provinces and municipalities such as Fujian, Shanghai and Beijing, as PX imports receivers, also saw falls in the amount.
-Business cannot prepare for a no-deal Brexit in the middle of a pandemic
Many firms are clinging on during the coronavirus crisis and have no capacity to contemplate failure in talks with EU
Away from this unparalleled health and economic crisis, Brexit talks continue from a distance. Petrochemicals Enzymes Automotive Brexit
For many firms facing unrelenting stress from COVID-19, these talks have been out of sight, though not quite out of mind. Their total focus is on immediate survival and recovery. But as more businesses take tentative steps to reopen slowly and safely, every decimal point of economic growth is being fought for. They expect that same spirit to be replicated when Brexit talks resume Tuesday.
The signals so far are not encouraging. Both the U.K. and the EU negotiating teams have rigid mandates and are following them to the letter. Negotiation by videoconference doesn’t allow for the kind of side-line conversations that normally help smooth differences in trade talks.
With many US and China factories closed or focused solely on plastic for disinfectants and other cleaning products, many domestic beauty brands, specifically boutique brands, are having a hard time finding bottles and containers for their skin and hair products.
According to Allison Ullo of the public relations firm With Sara, which caters to health and beauty product companies, many of the brands she represents have had multiple issues as they frantically search for bottles so they can continue to fill orders.
“Self-care products, as well as natural hair products, in particular, have seen a spike in sales as people look to care for their bodies and minds during this difficult time,” said Ullo.
Petrochemicals Enzymes Automotive Brexit
Petrochemicals Enzymes Automotive Brexit