Polyamide6 Petrochemicals Hydrogen 29-06-2021 - Arhive
Polyamide6 Petrochemicals Hydrogen
Crude Oil Prices Trend
-SK Chemicals partners with Huvis to produce polyester yarn using chemical recycling technology
Huvis, a manufacturer of chemicals and fiber materials in South Korea, teamed up with SK Chemicals to produce a high-quality polyester yarn using chemical recycling technology. The new product called “Ecoever CR” will be produced within the third quarter of 2021.
Unlike physical recycling that uses post-consumer recycled (PCR) materials by grinding collected polyethylene terephthalate (PET) bottles and other materials into little pieces, chemical recycling breaks down and returns plastic to its pure, raw material form. It is an attractive way to address the explosive growth of plastic waste and disposal problems.
Using SK Chemicals’ chemical cycle PET (CR PET), Huvis will make yarn products. Huvis has produced Ecoever, an eco-friendly fiber made from used PET bottles. In August 2020, the company opened a plant to produce a sheet-type PET foam material called “ECOPET,” which has excellent thermal insulation and heat-resisting properties. ECOPET can be used as food containers because it is free of endocrine-disrupting chemicals.
-The world has a plastics shortage, and PC-makers may be responding with a little greenwashing
Manufacturers’ marketing reflects good intentions and the realities of challenged supply chains and tightening laws
The world has a shortage of plastics, and the ensuing challenges — rather than a desire to protect the planet — may well be the reason you’ve recently heard about recycled plastic working its way into laptops and other gadgetry.
The Reg’s interest in recycled materials was piqued by a series of announcements that emerged around April 2021’s Earth Day. Acer, for example, touted the first of a new range of greener products that featured post-consumer recycled plastic. Lenovo reminded us that it uses millions of kilograms of recycled plastic each year.
Dell has a 2030 goal of reusing or recycling an equivalent product for every product a customer buys, while using 100 per cent recycled or renewable packaging materials and having more than half of product content made from recycled or renewable materials.
That news got us wondering if recycled material makes a difference that readers might notice in a product. We also wondered if the burst of enthusiasm for recycled materials was mere virtue signaling, or a signal of real change.
-Tosaf launches a line of BOPE additives
Tosaf, Alon Tavor, Israel has developed new additive masterbatches that are specially tailored to the orientation process of PE films, said the company.
This portfolio currently includes slip, antiblock, antistatic and antifog additives. The option of using them individually or in combination gives manufacturers a high degree of flexibility in meeting specific product requirements.
In close cooperation with Bruckner Maschinenbau, a manufacturer of film stretching systems based in Siegsdorf, Tosaf has validated the good processing properties of the BOPE masterbatches. As these pilot tests have shown, films made with them meet high optical and functional requirements without compromising mechanical properties.
In addition, the masterbatch manufacturer has demonstrated the good processing properties that result from using the new additives on a production line. The results also show the suitability of the BOPE additives for the production of inline monoaxially stretched films (Machine Direction Orientated, MDO), which are emerging as a further production trend.
As per MRC, Biaxplen company (part of SIBUR Holding) developed a metallized film of the HBV.M brand, which has high barrier properties. There are only a few companies all over the world capable of producing films with such characteristics. The new brand will be produced at the Kursk plant Biaksplena. The production capacity will be 500 tons per year. The launch of the film is scheduled for the second half of 2021.
-Versalis and Saipem to produce sustainable bioethanol
Versalis, Eni’s chemical company, and Saipem, an engineering and technological platform for sustainability, have signed an agreement to internationally promote PROESA, Versalis’ proprietary technology used to produce sustainable bioethanol and chemicals from lignocellulosic biomass, said the company.
Versalis and Saipem will provide integrated and technologically advanced solutions for the sustainable production of bioethanol. The PROESA process does not use crops intended for human consumption as a raw material, but rather produces second generation bioethanol (referred to as advanced biofuel by EU) through a process of hydrolysis and subsequent fermentation of agricultural biomasses available in abundance, such as agricultural waste, wood chips and energy crops.
Versalis will manage the commercial aspects relating to the granting of licence rights of the PROESA technology and will provide engineering, assistance, and training services. Saipem will be responsible for all the stages of production plants development, from design to construction. Furthermore, the two companies will collaborate with a dedicated joint team to further developments in the industrial process. The Versalis plant in Crescentino (Vercelli), where the PROESA technology was developed, will be the reference plant for international marketing by the two companies.
-Iran starts construction of mega petrochemical complex
According to Shana, Iran’s Persian Gulf Petrochemical Industries Company (PGPIC) initiated the construction of a mega petrochemical complex in the Mahshahr district, southwestern Iran.
Senior petrochemical officials including the PGPIC Managing Director Jafar Rabiei, and the project’s managing director Mehdi Gharouni were present at the ceremony.
Rabiei further declared that this complex is the biggest petrochemical complex in Mahshahr Petrochemical Special Economic Zone and when it implemented it is going to create job opportunities for 5,000 people.
The project’s managing director stated that the mentioned petrochemical complex, is included of one olefin unit with a production capacity of 1.26 tons of ethylene and 420,000 tons of propylene, in addition to five polymer units including two units of high-density polyethylene (HDP), one unit of linear low-density polyethylene (LLDPE), one unit of polypropylene, one monoethylene glycol (MEG) unit and a butadiene unit.
-Andritz to demonstrate latest developments at ANEX
International technology Group Andritz will be presenting its latest nonwovens production and textile solutions at ANEX/SINCE 2021 in Shanghai, China, from July 22 to 24, 2021.
Located at booth 1L10, the broad Andritz product portfolio covers a wide range of nonwovens and textile production technologies such as air-through bonding, needlepunch, spunlace, spunbond, wetlaid/Wetlace, converting, textile finishing, airlay, recycling, and bast fibre processing.
The company’s presence in China is strengthened by its Andritz (China) Ltd.’s Wuxi Branch, which has an experienced platform for production and service specially geared to the Asian nonwovens industry. It designs and manufactures cutting-edge lines for the Andritz aXcess product range, which includes complete lines and individual machines for air-through bonding, needlepunch and spunlace processes. Through this expertise, nonwovens producers have access to a full range of technologies for the production of high-quality nonwoven roll goods.
-Far East sea freight rates to increase again shortly
Ocean freight rates on the Far East-Middle East sector will increase again by the end of the month in anticipation of a surge in year-end cargo volumes.
Ocean freight rates on the Far East-Middle East sector will increase again by the end of the month in anticipation of a surge in year-end cargo volumes.
Industry sources said the main shipping lines, which are members of the informal rate agreement (IRA) governing the Far East-Middle East trade, are expected to meet shortly to discuss the general rate increase.
The increase will follow the August peak season surcharge of $150 per 20-foot unit (TEU) and $300 per 40-foot container levied by the IRA and the increase in the fuel adjustment factor in July (from $82 per TEU to $117).
These rates are applied over and above the prevailing freight rates, which are $1,000 to $1,200 a TEU from Chinese ports.
The IRA also attempted to implement a general rate increase of up to $300 per TEU in July but implementation was less than 100 per cent due to lower than expected cargo volumes, said sources.
A distribution agreement with Germany-based Axia Plastics (Cologne; www.axiaplastics.com) seeks to increase sales in Austria, Germany and Switzerland for Turkish compounder Epsan (Bursa; www.epsan.com.tr).
Axia, a subsidiary of US chemical and plastics supplier Vinmar International (Houston, Texas; www.vinmar.com), was founded in 2019 to sell polymers by ExxonMobil Chemical (see Plasteurope.com of 28.05.2019) and plans to offer the entire Epsan portfolio of compounds, which are based on numerous engineering thermoplastics.
-Teknor Apex adds warehousing in Japan for auto compounds
Teknor Apex Company has established a warehouse and distribution facility in Kyoto for its PVC automotive compounds and has appointed a sales agent responsible for serving auto-industry companies in Japan.
The new sales agent is Nishinihon Shoko Co., Ltd., an Osaka-based company specialising in supplying the automotive industry. Kozo Okamoto is President/CEO. The manager of automotive accounts will be Hirofumi Okamoto, and Kazuo Yamada will provide technical support.
“We already supply PVC compounds to Japanese OEMs in other regions of the world, and now we have strengthened our capability to serve OEMs and Tier 1 suppliers in Japan directly,” said Steve McCormack, automotive industry manager for the Vinyl Division. “This is critical for meeting the just-in-time requirements of our customers in Japan.”
-HYDROGEN: BOOMING INTEREST (THANKS TO THE FIGHT AGAINST CLIMATE CHANGE) AND MANY UNCERTAINTIES
Hydrogen is the object of renewed and momentous interest around the world as a way to contribute to the decarbonisation of the global economy. Indeed, while hydrogen has multiple applications across (heavily polluting) industrial sectors and potential for new uses in transport, heating and power generation, it does not emit any CO2 and it leads to almost no air pollution when used. It enters in industrial processes as a feedstock, can be burned as a fuel, serve as an energy carrier, or for energy storage. However, today, its share in the global energy mix stays very limited, mainly because of cost considerations. While it is used in many public initiatives around the world, technological, financial and regulation risks (among others) will remain.
DIVERSE PRODUCTION SOURCES AND (FUTURE) USES
Hydrogen can be produced through multiple technologies classified by colour. There are three main types of hydrogen. ‘Grey’ hydrogen is produced from fossil fuels, typically with natural gas reforming or coal gasification. ‘Blue’ (or low-carbon) hydrogen is produced from fossil fuels, like the ‘grey’ one, but during the reforming process, carbon emissions are captured by a Carbon Dioxide Capture and Storage (CCS) plant, and stored in underground sites. ‘Green’ (or renewable or clean) hydrogen is produced from renewable power by electrolysis (i.e. the process of separating water molecules into their constituents, hydrogen and oxygen) or from biomass with limited emissions.
Polyamide6 Petrochemicals Hydrogen