Polymers Petrochemicals Renewable Packaging 21-03-2019 - Arhive
Bottle Grade PET Resin Quotation in NorthEast Asia Market FOB CMP $
- China – Polyethylene Terephthalate
PET and its chain are in healt, with exception of PX that continues to be weak.
- Polyamide 6 and its chain are always steady.
PET Bottle grade export 1,050/1,090 $/ton – PET Bottle grade domestic market 8,350/8,500 yuan/ton – PET Filament grade SD domestic market 7,700/7,800 yuan/ton – PET Filament grade BR domestic market 7,750/7,850 yuan/ton
PTA Taiwan 840/850 $/ton – PTA domestic market 6,400/6,550 yuan/ton – MEG $ 6,40/650 $/ton – MEG domestic market 5,100/5,250 yuan/ton – PX Korea 1,040/1,050 $/ton
POY 150D/48F domestic market 8,950/9,050 yuan/ton – DTY 150D/48F domestic market 10,500/10,600 yuan/ton – PSF domestic market 8,700/8,850 yuan/ton
Crude Oil Prices Trend
Oil rose above $60 a barrel in New York for the first time in more than four months after the biggest withdrawal of crude in U.S. storage tanks since July signaled tightening supplies.
Futures advanced as much as 1.7 percent on Wednesday. A 9.59 million-barrel decline in American oil stockpiles reported by the government confounded all 10 forecasts from analysts in a Bloomberg survey. U.S. crude exports jumped while domestic inventories of gasoline and diesel shrank.
“Exports continue to be pretty strong,” said Brian Kessens, portfolio manager and managing director at Tortoise Capital Advisors LLC in Leawood, Kansas.
The chemical industry is heading for a slowdown as society turns against disposable plastics and the rise of recycling weakens demand, IHS Markit predicted at its annual World Petrochemical Conference.
After climbing to multi-year highs, chemical earnings will drop this year and won’t recover until 2023 as environmental issues add to the drag from a downturn in the global economy, according to the global research firm.
“Plastic waste I believe is going to be the sustainability issue of our time,” Jim Fitterling, chief executive officer of Dow Inc. and chief operating officer at DowDuPont, said Wednesday at the conference. “It represents not only the biggest risk to our industry,” he said, but also “one of the biggest opportunities.”
The plastics packaging industry and the entire value chain should join efforts to protect the environment and make the circular economy a reality, according to Manfred Stanek, CEO of Austria-based Greiner Packaging.
“We only talk about the waste that has made its way to the ocean. That is of course very important but the problem is bigger. We are talking about emission, climate change and CO2 footprint. While we need to work on reducing plastic waste, we also need to ensure that the final solution is better than what we have today,” said Stanek opening the company’s 2019 innovation day on March 14.
Reviewing the environmental developments over the past 14 months, Stanek said the European Union Strategy for Plastics, introduced in January 2018, was a positive development.
TINTEX, driven by its strong DNA toward responsible innovation, introduces a brand new project born in Germany and is now flying at international level thanks to a group of pioneers key players who are implementing it.
A unique initiative called THE BLUE LAB, created by the NGO Drip by Drip aimed at developing alternative textile solutions with the lowest possible water footprint, in collaboration with a network of participants.
Although the recycling relationship between the U.S. and China was hampered by scrap material restrictions, an expert says companies in both countries can help each other.
Recycling companies in China have long played the role of outsourced recycling processors for countries such as the U.S., said Chris Cui, director of China Programs for Closed Loop Partners, an investment firm providing capital to recycling-related enterprises.
Chinese companies have the capability to process material at relatively low cost, she said. The U.S., on the other hand, is far more advanced in collection and transportation of recyclables.
New ways to recycle plastics, technologies to improve recycling processes and new applications for recycled plastics are among the many innovations on show at the Plastics Recycling Show Europe 2019, taking place at the RAI Amsterdam on 10 and 11 April 2019.
The annual exhibition and conference, which first opened its doors in 2017 has this year moved to the larger Hall 7 at the RAI in order to accommodate over 120 exhibitors and growing visitor numbers.
Well-known industry names featuring prominently on the exhibition floor include Borealis, EREMA, Ettlinger, Gneuss, KraussMaffei Berstorff, Tomra Sorting Recycling, RPC-bpi Recycled Products, Suez, Veolia/Multiport and WIPA.
On February 7, 2019 the House Judiciary Committee passed H.R. 948, the No Oil Producing and Exporting Cartels Act, also known as the NOPEC bill.
A companion bill is under review in the Senate Finance Committee. The bill has broad support among both Democrats and Republicans.
The proposed legislation would allow the United States government to pursue Sherman Antitrust Act lawsuits against any oil producing country, or their agents, that engage in cooperative agreements with other oil producers to limit oil production.
OPEC is attempting to buoy prices just as US production appears to be slowing. In March the EIA released its Short-Term Energy Outlook which forecasts that crude oil prices will be slightly higher in 2019 due to tighter inventories. Crude oil inventory levels remain above the 5-year average range in the US. Demand is slightly higher than normal for this time of year. The rising in crude oil prices is driving the price action in most commodities.
EIA Short Term Energy Outlook
The Energy Information Administration recently revised its crude oil forecast pushing it up slightly due to a forecast of tighter inventories. The EIA now sees WTI prices increasing in tandem with Brent with a spread of approximately $9 per barrel
Sukano has announced the launch of a new mobility aid additive masterbatch for Injection Stretch Blow Molded (ISBM) PET bottles. This new additive masterbatch allows bottle makers and brand owners to run their conveyor-belt systems and production robots without the need for a spray coating.
Bottles must rotate freely as they pass through the production conveyor, as forced rotation caused by friction can lead to a blockage on the line. The new SUKANO® Mobility Aid solution, believed to be the first commercially available for this application, is provided as a solid PET masterbatch that is blended with virgin PET or RPET material during molding or processing. Even at low concentrations, the masterbatch disperses consistently through the PET material, reducing its coefficient of friction (COF), and modifying the surface texture with a microstructure.
Plastics recycling is as much of a challenge as an opportunity for the circular economy. Michael Laermann looks at chemical recycling and whether it can make the plastics value chain more circular whilst providing a profitable new industry branch.
Michael Laermann is a sustainability consultant, freelance editor and founder of Reason & Rhyme, a strategic consulting and communications firm.
Around 25.8 million tonnes of plastic waste are generated in the EU every year. Less than 30% of it is getting collected for recycling. This is a significant loss of valuable resources to the economy, and with a huge cost to the environment.