Renewable Plastics Production 15-10-2021 - Arhive

This content has been archived. It may no longer be relevant

Renewable Plastics Production

Crude Oil Prices Trend 

Crude Oil Prices Trend  Polyestertime

-bp and LANXESS join forces on renewable raw materials for plastics production

Specialty chemicals company LANXESS and energy company bp are entering into a strategic partnership for the use of sustainable raw materials in high-tech plastics production. bp will supply sustainably produced cyclohexane to the LANXESS’ production site in Antwerp, Belgium, starting in the fourth quarter of 2021. The sustainable origin of the raw materials is certified according to ISCC Plus rules (“International Sustainability and Carbon Certification”). With this partnership, both companies, which already have a long-standing business relationship, want to significantly advance the production of sustainable plastics.

“The chemical industry plays an important role in the expansion of the circular economy and efficient sustainable management. To meet the global challenges of climate change, creative approaches to solutions and collaboration are needed in service of our customers. We are pleased to accompany LANXESS as a strong partner with a broad portfolio of raw materials from renewable sources,” says Wolfgang Stückle, Vice President Midstream Refining and Specialities Solutions Europe and Africa of bp. bp uses bio-based and bio-circular feedstocks for the production of “green” cyclohexane.

bp and LANXESS join forces on renewable raw materials for plastics production

-U.S. plastics industry trade improves in 2021 after 2020 pandemic slump, report says

The Plastics Industry Association report said that Mexico and Canada remained the U.S. plastics industry’s largest export markets.

During the 2020 COVID-19 recession, stimulated by federal relief dollars, U.S. plastics consumption held up at a time when employment was down and capacity was constrained, a new report from the Plastics Industry Associations says, with the result being higher imports and a trade deficit. Renewable Plastics Production

The U.S. plastics industry’s trade balance fell to a US$5.5 billion deficit in 2020, from a US$0.7 billion surplus in 2019, according to executive summary of the Plastics Industry Association’s Global Trends report, which was released Oct. 13.

Industry exports fell 8.2 per cent and imports rose 1.8 per cent, the summary said, with Mexico and Canada remaining the U.S. plastics industry’s largest export markets. In 2020, the industry exported US$13.7 billion to Mexico and US$11.7 billion to Canada.

U.S. plastics industry trade improves in 2021 after 2020 pandemic slump, report says

-Updated guidance for PE film from APR to help close the loop on packaging

The Association of Plastic Recyclers (APR) has updated and improved the APR Design Guide for Plastics Recyclability for PE Film Packaging. Developed over the past year by a working group of APR’s Film Reclamation Committee, the updated guidance reflects the consensus of a diverse group of stakeholders including film recyclers, converters and brands. Renewable Plastics Production

“These changes are consistent with our efforts to ensure that the APR Design Guide has impact as the essential reference document that brand owners can use to meet the demands and recycling standards for the global marketplace,” said Steve Alexander, President and CEO of APR. “With the surge of sustainability commitments by global brand owners, more detailed design guidance addresses an urgent need.”

The revised guidance includes:

– A rewrite of the Base Materials section to acknowledge the diversity of technologies that make up PE polymers and their impact on recycling compatibility. New guidance addresses EVA copolymers and ethylene copolymer ionomers. The APR Design® Guide also recommends a threshold for “Preferred” materials at a minimum of 90% PE and copolymers by weight of the total packaging structure for full compatibility with PE mechanical recycling processes, to maintain the quality and value of the final recyclate.

Renewable Plastics Production

Biobased PE Colorants and Compounds for Medical and Pharma Applications

Avient has expanded its line of medical-grade Mevopur materials for pharmaceutical packaging and medical devices.  Renewable Plastics Production

Two new additions to the Mevopur line of medical-grade materials from Avient Corp. are aimed at helping producers of pharmaceutical packaging and medical devices more easily reach sustainability goals. Mevopur medical-grade materials are produced according to ISO13485-2016 protocols and supported by testing to ISO 10993-1, USP, European Pharmacopeia and ICH Q3D guidelines.

▪  There are now new Mevopur color and additive masterbatches based on a PE carrier that is manufactured using non-fossil feedstocks. The resins have biobased content up to 95%, as calculated to ASTM D6866 standard. As drop-in replacements for fossil-based color concentrates, they can be processed the same way and recycled in the same recycling channels as conventional fossil-based polyolefins.

Renewable Plastics Production

-Evonik introduces new VESTAMID polyamide elastomer foam

Evonik has developed a new modification of the tried and tested polyamide elastomer VESTAMID PEBA.

The polyether block amide, which can look back on four decades of know-how, can now be foamed and has a density of 0.1g/cm cubed. The resulting foam has a rebound resilience of 73 percent and changes its properties neither in hot nor in cold.

VESTAMID PEBA was brought onto the market by Evonik more than 40 years ago. Right from the start, it was characterised by its cold impact strength, chemical resistance, high elasticity and resilience. These properties are valued by leading sporting goods manufacturers for use in footwear.

The development of the foam now allows even greater cushioning in sports shoe soles, while all other properties of the compact material are retained. The rebound of VESTAMID foam exceeds that of all soft foams used in shoes to date. In doing so, it returns most of the energy it has absorbed. Its stiffness can be adjusted as required, and its low weight ensures a high level of comfort.  Renewable Plastics Production

Evonik introduces new VESTAMID polyamide elastomer foam

-LANXESS and bp collaborate on renewable raw materials for plastics production

LANXESS and bp are entering into a strategic partnership for the use of sustainable raw materials in high-tech plastics production. bp will supply sustainably produced cyclohexane to the LANXESS’ production site in Antwerp, Belgium, starting in Q4 2021.

With this partnership, both companies aim to significantly advance the production of sustainable plastics.  Renewable Plastics Production

Wolfgang Stückle, Vice President Midstream Refining and Specialities Solutions Europe and Africa of bp, said: “The chemical industry plays an important role in the expansion of the circular economy and efficient sustainable management. To meet the global challenges of climate change, creative approaches to solutions and collaboration are needed in service of our customers. We are pleased to accompany LANXESS as a strong partner with a broad portfolio of raw materials from renewable sources.”

LANXESS and bp collaborate on renewable raw materials for plastics production

-Agility required to do business in new era of constant volatility – panel

The companies that evolve into more agile operations with a combination of planning and reaction will be the ones to thrive through the energy transition, according to panellists on the opening day of the Reuters USA Downstream conference.

Danny Meyer, global head of CIO practice at planning software company Anaplan, and Jim Leavitt, CEO of professional services firm Cervello, said companies need to rethink how they are going to execute their businesses in a future of constant volatility.

“It seems like we have lived 20 years’ worth of experiences in just the last two,” Meyer said, noting the energy industry is seeing crude oil prices above $80.00/bbl after being negative for a day in April 2020, and natural gas prices hitting record highs, as well as weather events from hurricanes to the winter storm.

Leavitt talked about the complexities of the energy segment and especially downstream production, “and how you manage those complexities in a way that is agile is a requirement going forward”.   Renewable Plastics Production

Renewable Plastics Production

-Meltblown nonwoven soar double to $1.68 billion, report

The global market for meltblown nonwovens has been fundamentally reshaped by the experience of Covid-19 with demand for vital products like face masks and medical PPE prompting an increase in meltblown sales from US$809 million in 2019 to $1.68 billion in 2020.  Renewable Plastics Production

As this process has become a primary concern for nonwovens producers and converters it is profiled in depth in a new dedicated Smithers study – The Future of Meltblown Nonwovens to 2026 – published today. It gives provides detailed market data for meltblowns (by tonnage, surface area, raw material cost, and sales value) charting the radical changes that have characterised the market since the beginning of 2020.

In the first days of the pandemic professional and medical-grade PPE – especially N95 medical face masks – became a vital commodity. Smithers’ data show how demand increased nearly 10-fold from 14,400 tonnes in 2019 to 121,800 tonnes in 2020, while other medical meltblown applications rose 5-fold. This led to meltblown production sites running at near or overcapacity; and other production facilities, like SMS, being switchover to meltblown manufacture. A host of new lines have been commissioned worldwide to raise capacity and ensure domestic availability.

Meltblown nonwoven soar double to $1.68 billion, report

-Seller’s market for plastic scrap in Europe, says analyst

Baled PET and HDPE scrap is in short supply on the continent as sustainability targets accumulate, says ICIS.

European plastic scrap bale supplies are tight across all major recycled polymer chains as growing demand from the packaging sector continues to expose shortfalls in collection and sorting capacities.  Renewable Plastics Production

There are now major supply shortages across the recycled polyethylene terephthalate (PET and rPET), recycled high density polyethylene (HDPE), recycled polypropylene (PP) and recycled polyvinyl chloride (PVC) chains.

Multiple players across these markets expect current shortages to last throughout 2021, and potentially across 2022.

Scrap bales – either from postconsumer or post-industrial origin – are the feedstock for the recycling industry, and low availability is adding pressure throughout the recycling supply chain.

For recycled-content PP, for example, flake and pellet players have had to limit operating rates by as much as 40 percent in recent months due to a lack of bale availability.

Renewable Plastics Production

-Petrochemicals to capture more than 50% of crude demand by 2050 – IEA

Electrification of transport, industry and residential heating will leave the petrochemicals sector as the main consumer of crude oil by 2050, capturing 55% of demand for the fossil fuel, the International Energy Agency (IEA) said on Wednesday.

The Paris-based body said in its World Energy Outlook (WEO) 2021 that the use of crude oil as a feedstock for the petrochemicals sector is to grow under all its potential scenarios for the global energy mix.  Renewable Plastics Production

The rise would come from “large increases” in crude consumption in the petrochemicals industry in the Middle East, China and India.

The IEA’s three scenarios includes the Net Zero Emissions (NZE) scenario by 2050, the most desirable as the world tries to contain global warming to a 1.5°C increase by 2100, compared with pre-industrial levels.

Renewable Plastics Production

Renewable Plastics Production

Automotive PET Bottles Recycling 14-10-2021