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- China – Polyethylene Terephthalate
- PET and its chain continue to be weak .
- Crude oil is on high price,but steady .
- Polyamide 6 and its chain are steady,but weak.
PET Bottle grade export 1,050/1,080 $/ton – PET Bottle grade domestic market 8,250/8,350 yuan/ton – PET Filament grade SD domestic market 7,600/7,700 yuan/ton – PET Filament grade BR domestic market 7,750/7,850 yuan/ton
- PTA Taiwan 835/845 $/ton – PTA domestic market 6,500/6,600 yuan/ton – MEG 590/600 $/ton – MEG domestic market 4,500/4,600 yuan/ton – PX Korea 945/955 $/ton
- Polyester POY 150D/48F domestic market 8,650/8,800 yuan/ton – Polyester DTY 150D/48F domestic market 10,200/10,300 yuan/ton – Polyester Staple PSF domestic market 8,800/9,000 yuan/ton
-Recycled plastic mandate advances in California
A bill that would require 100 percent post-consumer recycled plastic to be used in beverage containers by 2035 is gaining traction in America’s most populous state.
Under Assembly Bill 792, beverage containers would be subject to phased-in recycled plastic mandates, ultimately leading to 100 percent recycled plastic required in each container. The legislation was introduced in late February by Philip Ting, a Democrat in the California Assembly who represents a district that includes much of San Francisco.
By 2021, beverage containers would be made with at least 25 percent post-consumer recycled plastic. That would increase to 50 percent in 2025, 75 percent in 2030 and 100 percent by 2035.
The requirement would only cover bottles included in the California Redemption Value (CRV) system and would assign a single percentage for a company that takes into account usage across the business’s entire portfolio of covered products.
Crude Oil Prices Trend
-Q&A: Asia polymers show incredible growth potential
Petrochemicals firm Borouge, a joint venture between Abu Dhabi’s state-owned oil company Adnoc and Borealis of Austria, aims to increase its polymer production capacity to 10mn t/yr by 2030 from 4.5mn t/yr now. Argus spoke with chief executive Wim Roels about his plans for the company and opportunities in Asia.
Borouge has embarked on an expansion drive to boost capacity. Can you tell us more? Are there plans to move beyond polymers and into downstream chemicals?
Borouge has ambitious expansion plans. We have grown our capacity by tenfold since our company was established in 1998, and we have a vision to expand our production capacity from 4.5mn t/yr today to 10mn t/yr by 2030.
-Alexium receives US EPA approval for Alexiflam® NF
Alexium International Group Ltd (ASX:AJX, NASDAQ:AXXIY) has received US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) approval under TSCA (Toxic Substance Control Act) for the manufacture and sale of Alexiflam® NF in the US.
The EPA approval provides Alexium with access to the largest market region for flame retardant cotton and follows the recently negotiated Memorandum of Understanding with ICL (TASE/NYSE: ICL) for the future manufacture, marketing and sales of Alexiflam® NF.
Alexiflam® NF is a patent pending flame retardant developed by Alexium for the treatment of cotton and cellulose-based textiles.
-Scientists develop low-cost energy-efficient materials
An international team of scientists from the National University of Science and Technology “MISIS” (NUST MISIS), Tianjin University (China), as well as from Japan and the United States has developed new energy-efficient iron-based alloys which combine high mechanical and magnetic properties with low cost and open up new opportunities for industry. The research results are published in the Journal of Alloys and Compounds.
Today, scientists from different countries are facing the task of creating new materials which would help to reduce losses in electricity transmission and transformation. This would lead to energy savings and help to reduce emissions of hazardous gases during production (including CO2 – one of the key factors for the greenhouse effect). Electronic devices could be reduced in size by increasing efficiency.
-Finland presents eye-opener in black plastics sorting
More than one million tonnes of black plastic scrap are wasted worldwide every year due to the lack of ‘suitable’ sorting equipment, says Finnish tech company Specim. Since the material has a value of EUR 600 per tonne, it sought a solution to recycle this tricky waste stream.
Even the most modern sorting technology struggles to detect the pigment in black plastics, says Specim ceo Tapio Kallonen. He proudly presented his company’s ‘breakthrough’, the FX50, at the annual expo organised by Plastics Recyclers Europe in Amsterdam earlier this month. Kallonen was referring to Specim’s custom-made mid-wavelength infra-red (MWIR) camera.
-Agr launches division to help self-manufacturers
A new division has been created by Agr International that focuses on assisting PET bottle self-manufacturers to optimise their production operations.
The Agr Process Performance Optimization Group offers technical assistance to maximise the productivity and efficiency of PET blowing and beverage production lines.
The self-manufacture of PET bottles by beverage producers has grown in popularity, with advantages including cost containment, reduced warehousing and transportation costs, improved inventory control and increased production flexibility.
-India faces challenge to replace Iran oil: Report
India depends on Iran for nearly 10 per cent of its oil requirements, with the US sanction drying this source by May 2, the country’s macroeconomic situation may go for a tailspin if an alternative is not found immediately.
India will have to increase its dependence on oil imports from OPEC nations such as Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE). In addition, India may also have to look at US shale gas to stabilize its high oil demand, a Care rating report said on Tuesday.
“India’s dependence on Iran to the extent of almost 10 per cent of total oil imports means that the immediate challenge is to find alternative suppliers which will provide crude oil at the same competitive terms,” the report said.
-The next phase of the plant-based trend
The LEGO Group, introduced a range of sustainable LEGO elements made from plant-based plastic that’s sourced from sugarcane
Consumers are more knowledgeable than ever about the interconnectivity between the products they consume and use every day, bringing sustainable plant-based products to the forefront of the next wave of consumer demand.
According to Daymon, a research company, the next wave of progressive plant-powered solutions will go beyond simple plant-based alternatives for traditional offerings to include products that harness the power of plants to actively improve health.
According to the Daymon report, called What’s Next in Innovation, examples of trending plant-based products are Adaptogens, Ayurveda, vegan collagen, activated charcoal and pre- and probiotics nurturing the brain-gut axis are emerging as key drivers of product innovation to address growing interest in this integrative approach to everyday consumption.
-Newly Discovered Bacteria Make Plastics Rot Much Faster
Around 5 to 10 years from now a tiny organism with an unusual appetite made a home in an industrial site near a bottle-recycling plant in Sakai, Japan.
Soil and water were contaminated with polyethene terephthalate, also known as PET. This is one of the most common plastics in the world, used to make from soda bottles to space blankets. It is cheap, durable, and flexible, but it can also linger for years.
In this plastic wasteland a new bacterium species, Ideonella sakaiensis, figured out how to do something that humans have struggled to do for decades. It could break PET down and use the plastic for energy.
-Digimarc Supports International Recycling Initiatives, Explores Plastic Waste Sorting Challenges
Company signs Ellen MacArthur Foundation’s New Plastics Economy Global Commitment to tackle plastics waste at the source
Digimarc Corporation , inventor of the Intuitive Computing Platform (ICP™) featuring Digimarc Barcode, has announced its commitment to improve the reliability and efficiency of sorting plastic waste, most notably signing the Ellen MacArthur Foundation’s New Plastics Economy Global Commitment, which is focused on building a circular economy.
-Magna investing $11.3M in Morocco
Expansions Magna International Inc. Africa Automotive
Magna International Inc. A rendering of the planned Magna International Inc. mirror plant in Kenitra, Morocco.
Canadian auto parts supplier Magna International Inc. has broken ground on a new greenfield production plant in Kenitra, Morocco, to manufacture exterior and interior automotive mirror systems.
Magna, based in Aurora, Ontario, will invest $11.3 million in the 61,400-square-foot facility, which is set to begin operations in spring 2020, the company announced April 23.
-Bühler UK achieves seventh Queen’s Award with its sorting technology
Development teams within Bühler UK have been in celebratory mood after the business claimed a Queen’s Award for Enterprise, recognising its pioneering research into camera technology used within industry sorting machines.
This year’s key accolade for the Swiss-headquartered food solutions and equipment group, is in recognition of its latest systems that are reportedly capable of recognising the subtlest of colour and shading contrasts in materials and foods and so significantly increasing detection rates for foreign materials, potential choke hazards or contaminated foods.
-Feiplastic ’19: Plastics touted as key for lighter cars, cleaner transportation
Automobiles will change more in the next 10 years than in the last 50 years, an industry participant said on Tuesday, adding that vehicles among other things will have to become much lighter to meet stricter emissions standards.
Automakers will also have to look at new aerodynamics and powertrain solutions to meet these new regulations in addition to cutting the weight of automobiles, said Rodrigo Berardine, a business development manager for Owens Corning.
Berardine spoke at a panel about plastics innovation for transportation at Feiplastic.
The panel touted plastics and composite materials as the way for the auto industry to make lighter and more fuel-efficient vehicles that will meet the new standards.
-Feiplastic ’19: Brazil’s Braskem faces competition from PE,PP imports
Brazil’s Braskem is facing heavy competition from polyethylene (PE) and polypropylene (PP) imports, while trying to keep good results for its sale discussions with LyondellBasell, market participants in Brazil said on the sidelines of this year’s Feiplastic.
At a time when feedstock prices are down inbenchmark US Gulf markets, currency exchange pressures are pushing Braskem to increase domestic PE and PP prices, at the risk of losing market share.
In PE markets, aggressive offers from an over supplied US Gulf and from Argentina are putting pressure on local prices. Long PE inventories in the US Gulf have generated intense competition among existing and new suppliers to place volumes in Latin America.
-Heineken Russia launches new bottle shapes with PET engineering
Heineken Russia has launched two new PET bottles with PET Engineering’s ITM solution- interchangeable inserts with a single mold.
The new shapes for Heineken Russia, 3 Medvedya, one of the most well-known Russian brands, Okhota & Okckoe, are simple and equally eye catching and, at the same time, offer a great flexibility, thanks to the fact that the aesthetics and format can now be easily modified using interchangeable inserts: this means it is always possible to apply new decorations, to move and resize the label area and, last but not least, to alter the capacity of the bottle, a very important aspect for future possible down-sizing to 1.3l and 1.25l formats.
