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Chemicals news The latest from the industry
NEWS
Rhodia and SIBUR joint venture in Russia and CIS
Rhodia and SIBUR have signed a letter of intent to create a joint venture in speciality surfactants. This strategic alliance will be focused on creating a leader in the CIS market where speciality surfactants are used particularly in home & personal care, and oil & gas industries, with the surfactants sector growing at more than 6 per cent per year.
Rhodia, as a worldwide leader in speciality surfactants, will provide its expertise in surfactant technologies, its knowledge of formulations and market applications and its customer network, including global key accounts with a strong presence in this region.
SIBUR, the leading petrochemical company in Russia, will contribute its raw materials, production and logistics capabilities. With its longstanding experience of the Russian petrochemicals market, SIBUR will also support the development of the surfactants business in oil & gas markets in Russia and the CIS.
It is expected that the new 50:50 joint venture will site a local production in Russia at Dzerzhinsk, near SIBUR’s petrochemicals operations, 400km east of Moscow, and is expected to be operational in 2013. Visit: www.sibur.ru
Novel polyimide film for solar cells
DuPont™ Kapton® colorless polyimide film, a new material currently in development for use as a flexible superstrate for cadmium telluride (CdTe) thin film photovoltaic (PV) modules, has enabled a new world record for energy conversion efficiency. A team at Empa, the Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Science and Technology, has demonstrated a conversion efficiency of 13.8 per cent using the new colourless film, leapfrogging their previous record of 12.6 per cent and nearing that of glass.
Because Kapton® film is over 100 times thinner and 200 times lighter than glass typically used for PV, there are inherent advantages in transitioning to flexible, film-based systems. “Rather than transporting heavy, fragile glass modules on large trucks and lifting them by crane onto rooftop PV installations, one could imagine lightweight, flexible film-based modules that could simply be rolled up for transport, and easily carried up stairs,” said Robert G. Schmidt, new business development manager, Photovoltaics – DuPont Circuit & Packaging Materials. Visit: www.empa.ch
Kerling Plc has agreed with Tessenderlo Group (Brussels) to acquire its chlorvinyls business and assets in Belgium, France and the Netherlands. The transaction will strengthen Kerling’s position as a leading manufacturer of PVC and caustic soda in Europe.
Kerling will acquire all of Tessenderlo Group’s PVC activities as well as the VCM, caustic soda, caustic potash and parts of its OCD (Organic Chlorine Derivatives) businesses including: n the chlor-alkali, vinyls OCD assets at the site in Tessenderlo Belgium. n the site in Maastricht (the Netherlands) with a benzyl alcohol plant n the sites in Beek (The Netherlands) and Mazingarbe (France) with PVC plants. n approximately 850 employees
Kerling CEO Chris Tane says: “We have previously announced our growth intentions to the market and our investors, and I am therefore delighted that we can now announce the next step in this strategy.” Visit: www.ineos.com
NEWS
New developments in the chemicals industry
Shell and Cosan biofuels JV
IN one of the biggest biofuels deals to date, Shell is combining its extensive retail experience, global network and research in advanced biofuels with the technical knowledge of producing biofuels on a large scale of Cosan, Brazil’s largest private group. Raízen will produce and sell over 2 billion litres a year of the lowestcarbon biofuel commercially available – ethanol made from Brazilian sugar cane.
Raízen will distribute biofuels and over 20 billion litres of other industrial and transport fuels annually through a combined network of nearly 4500 Shell-branded service stations. In Brazil it becomes the third largest fuels company.
The sugar-cane-to-ethanol process used by Raízen is the most efficient in turning biomass into fuel. Brazilian sugar cane yields 7000 litres of ethanol per hectare of cane compared to, for example, 3800 litres for a hectare of corn in the USA and 2500 litres for a hectare of wheat in Europe, according to Unica, the Brazilian sugarcane industry association. Visit: www.shell.com
Total Petrochemicals to manufacture a new range of polymers for the insulation market
IN 2013 Total Petrochemicals will start manufacturing a new generation of expandable polystyrene (EPS). The new polymer, whose formulation has been developed by Total Petrochemicals research teams, has technical and insulating properties that are significantly better than those of conventional white EPS.
Following the acquisition, in August 2010, of two polystyrene lines with a combined capacity of 160,000 tonnes per year located at the Total Petrochemicals Feluy production site (Belgium), it was decided to modify one of the two lines in order to manufacture this new expandable polystyrene. The new line is scheduled to start up in early 2013.
This investment, and the subsequent launch of the new EPS range, will ensure the longterm continuation of styrenics production at the Feluy site. Visit: www.totalpetrochemicals.com
WACKER commissions silicone rubber compounding plant in India
The Munich-based chemical group WACKER has commissioned a compounding plant at its joint venture site Wacker Metroark Chemicals Pvt. Ltd. near Kolkata, India, for the manufacture of ready-to-use silicone elastomers. The plant is designed for an annual production volume of several thousand metric tons and can be expanded in stages as demand requires. It is intended to supply India’s strongly growing economy with high-quality silicone compounds faster and more flexibly. Several million euros are planned for investment in this plant.
“India is one of our fastest-growing sales markets,” says Dr Bernd Pachaly, head of WACKER’s Engineering Silicones business unit. “The new SILMIX facility is constructed according to WACKER standards and will produce silicone compounds for the Indian electronics, automotive and medium- and high-voltage insulator market as well as for other industries.” Visit: www.wacker.com
SABIC and Mitsubishi Rayon announce new joint venture in Saudi Arabia
Saudi Basic Industries Corporation (SABIC) and Mitsubishi Rayon Company (MRC) have announced the formation of a 50/50 joint venture company to build and operate two plants – one for Methyl Methacrylate (MMA), and the other for Polymethylmethacrylate (PMMA) – at one of SABIC’s manufacturing affiliates in Jubail, Saudi Arabia.
The MMA plant will be the largest ever built, with a 250,000-metric-ton annual capacity. It will use Lucite International’s (LI) Alpha technology, which was first commercialised with its Alpha 1 plant which began operation in Singapore in November 2008. LI is a subsidiary of MRC acquired in 2009. The PMMA plant will be based on MRC technology and will have an annual capacity of 40,000 metric tons.
Commenting on the partnership deal, Koos Van Haasteren, SABIC executive vice-president, Performance Chemicals, said the joint venture operation will be the basis for a strategic entry into the acrylics business: “We will be building on a breakthrough technology, with a strong partnership and integrated feedstock.” Visit: www.sabic.com
CHEMICALSNEWS
BASF and INEOS Industries to combine their global styrenics businesses
BASF SE, Ludwigshafen, Germany, and INEOS Industries Holdings Limited, Lyndhurst, UK, now have EU clearance to combine in Styrolution their global business activities in styrene monomers (SM), polystyrene (PS), acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS), styrene-butadiene block copolymers (SBC) and other styrene-based copolymers (SAN, AMSAN, ASA, MABS) as well as copolymer blends. Pro forma sales of the combined businesses were €6.4 billion in 2010. Expandable polystyrene is not part of this transaction. BASF and INEOS will retain their respective businesses.
With Styrolution, BASF and INEOS will establish the leading company in the global styrenics market. Styrolution has an excellent global position with production sites in Europe, Asia and North America.
Styrenics are mainly used for household and office products, for electrical and communication devices and for packaging. Styrene-based copolymers are thermoplastic resins based on styrene and acrylonitrile. They are mainly used in automotive and technical applications as well as for many everyday products. Visit: www.basf.com
Innovative polyolefin solutions reduce weight
AT the 2011 Société Française des Ingénieurs des Plastiques’ (SFIP) Congress, Borealis and Borouge, leading providers of innovative, value creating plastics solutions, presented their latest innovations for the automotive industry aimed at reducing vehicle weight. Designed to aid Tier One suppliers and original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) meet the market’s current trends and challenges, Borealis and Borouge industry solutions can lower overall production costs through improved handling, reduced overall energy consumption and the elimination of manufacturing steps.
In under the bonnet applications, for example, VW became the first automotive OEM to switch from glass reinforced polyamides to Borealis’ high-performance PP for air intake manifolds (AIMs) thereby reducing weight up to 15 per cent. And in exterior applications DAIMLER selected Borealis’ innovative PP and PP high flow for body panels in their Smart Fortwo model (PC/PBT replacement) achieving a 15 per cent weight savings Visit: www.borealisgroup.com
AkzoNobel forms partnership in China
AkzoNobel has entered into a partnership in China with Guangxi CAVA Titanium Industry Co. Ltd for the production and supply of titanium dioxide (TiO2), one of the most important raw materials in the production of paints and coatings.
The collaboration – which includes the construction of a new TiO2 plant in Qinzhou – will help to secure AkzoNobel’s growing titanium dioxide raw material needs for the Asian market.
Rapid growth is expected within the global coatings and paints market and most of this demand growth will occur in Asia, especially China.
“By entering into this partnership with CAVA, we will be enhancing security of supply in Asia for this critical raw material,” explained Werner Fuhrmann, AkzoNobel’s executive committee member responsible for supply chain and sourcing. Visit: www.akzonobel.com
