Communicator

Dow Polyurethane Technologies

January 30, 2025 | Midland, Michigan (Dow Inc.)

Dow, a global chemical giant, has initiated a comprehensive review of its European assets, focusing primarily on its polyurethane business. This decision comes as the company navigates persistent economic challenges and a complex regulatory environment in the region.

The review will assess the competitiveness of key facilities producing methylene diphenyl diisocyanate (MDI), propylene oxide, and polyether polyols—assets that generated approximately $2.9 billion in annual sales in 2023. Dow aims to optimize value through its "best-owner" strategy, with plans to complete the evaluation by mid-2025.

Jim Fitterling, CEO of Dow, emphasized the importance of adapting to market conditions while maintaining a value-driven approach. He noted that selling assets rather than closing them could align better with the company's long-term objectives.

This move reflects broader industry trends as other chemical companies reevaluate their European operations due to high production costs and stringent regulations.

Despite these challenges, Dow remains committed to strengthening its global portfolio while addressing regional complexities, reporting stable performance globally with its third-quarter 2024 sales rising modestly by 1%.

#dow  #chemicals  #polyurethane  #polyols  #mdi  #europe  #assets 

Photo: On August 23, the 45,000 standard cubic meters/hour air separation unit of Jilin Petrochemical was started up

Jilin Petrochemical Refining and Chemical Transformation and Upgrading Project is accelerating

Petrochemical Industry Going Global Alliance | November 9, 2024

At present, the CNPC's Jilin Petrochemical Refining and Chemical Transformation and Upgrading Project with a total investment of 33.9 billion yuan is accelerating. It is expected that 18 main units and 142 small overall projects of the transformation and upgrading project will be delivered before November 30. Before the end of the year, all 21 units will be delivered, and the project will be fully put into production in 2025.

After it is put into production, it can achieve an increase of 2.8 million tons of chemical products per year. After the project is put into production, while maintaining the crude oil processing capacity unchanged, it can achieve a reduction of 2.63 million tons/year in oil product output and an increase of about 2.77 million tons/year in chemical products. The effect of "reducing oil and increasing chemicals" is significant; especially after the ABS production capacity reaches 1.8 million tons/year, it will rank first in China and third in the world, highlighting the advantages of the industrial chain; new high-value-added chemical products and new materials such as EVA, bisphenol A, and butadiene rubber will be added.
 
#jilin  #petrochemical   #china   #ethylene   #refining   #chemical 

Ludwigshafen BASF aerial view in 2017. Credit: Wikipedia.

14^th Dec 2024

Nearly 40% of German Companies Plan Job Cuts in 2025  
According to a survey conducted by the German Economic Institute (IW), approximately 40% of enterprises in Germany intend to reduce their workforce in 2025. Researcher Michael Grömling attributed this primarily to high energy prices.

Electricity Prices in Germany Hit a Record High  
The price of electricity in Germany reached an all-time high on Thursday, with the market cost of one megawatt-hour hitting €936. Even during the chaos of 2022, prices did not soar to such levels. "We are facing a systemic collapse," warned the German Chemical Industry Association in response to the current energy crisis.

For now, the crisis has not fully impacted consumers, as electricity contracts are locked in a year ahead. However, Germans are already paying €400 per megawatt-hour under existing agreements.

#germany  #chemicalindustry  #basf  #electricity  #electricityprices 

The picture shows the panoramic view of 4# atmospheric and vacuum distillation unit

April 2010: The first million-ton ethylene plant of Zhenhai Refining and Chemical was completed and put into operation. (Source)

2020: China's first 100,000 tons/year bio-jet fuel unit was completed in Zhenhai Refining and Chemical. (Source)

Jan 2022: Zhenhai Refining and Chemical's 1.2 million tons/year ethylene unit produced qualified products. (Source)

28^th June 2021: The first phase of Sinopec Zhenhai Base project was completed in Zhenhai, Ningbo, Zhejiang. The commissioning of this project will add 1.2 million tons of ethylene annual production capacity and 4 million tons of refining annual capacity to Zhenhai Refining and Chemical. (Source)

27^th Sep 2021: The 4# atmospheric and vacuum unit was put into operation. In 2022, the energy (steam) consumption of the unit dropped from 11.51 kg of standard oil/ton at the initial start-up to 9.45 kg of standard oil/ton, with significant energy-saving and consumption-reducing effects.

18^th Nov 2021: The No. 2 coal-coke hydrogen production unit at the Zhenhai base was successfully put into operation. 
Over the past year (2022), the 2# coal-coke hydrogen production unit has supplied more than 100,000 tons of hydrogen and over 700,000 tons of fuel gas . It has successfully achieved 122 days of operation of the III series gasifier burner, more than 3 months of stable operation of the coal mill, and more than 80 days of wastewater stripping operation, creating the first domestic record of dual-unit operation of propylene compressors. (Source)

6^th Jan 2022; The No. 2 propylene oxide styrene (POSM) unit of Zhenhai Base was successfully put into trial operation. 
In the one year since the start of operation, the plant has achieved a stability rate of 99.42% and a product qualification rate of 100% . The plant achieved excellent results in annual PO production of 269,800 tons and SM production of 583,400 tons.  (Source)

2022: The tail oil products produced by the 3# hydrocracking unit are used as the raw materials for the 2# ethylene unit, and desulfurized dry gas is provided as the sulfur injection agent. 
As the largest single-series hydrocracking unit in China, the unit has now (6^th Jan 2023) processed a total of 2.2 million tons of wax oil, 1.64 million tons of diesel, and produced a total of 1.18 million tons of naphtha and 550,000 tons of jet fuel. (Source)

7^th Jan 2023: 
▪️ Today, on the first anniversary of the successful start-up of the ethylene unit, the unit's automatic control rate reached 97% and the stability rate reached 99.5%, the output of ethylene products was 997,500 tons, and the comprehensive energy consumption of the ethylene cracking furnace ranked first in Sinopec.
▪️ As an important downstream unit of ethylene, the 2# ethylene glycol (2# EOEG) unit actively explored the lower limit of the unit's operating load.
▪️ The National Four Units (2# butadiene extraction unit, 3# aromatics extraction unit, 2# MTBE/butene-1 unit, 2# pyrolysis gasoline hydrogenation unit) have made positive contributions to the company's optimization of ethylene production capacity structure, processing C4 to C9 cracking components and integrating them into high value-added economic value products.
(Source)

24^th Nov 2023: The 1.5 million tons/year ethylene and downstream high-end new materials industry cluster project of Zhenhai Refining and Chemical started. The project involves 2*200,000 tons/year of polyolefin elastomer (POE/α-olefin) combination, 400,000 tons/year of low-density polyethylene (LDPE)/ ethylene-vinyl acetate copolymer (EVA) (vinyl acetate (VA)), 200,000 tons/year of adiponitrile and other popular materials. (Source)

18^th Oct 2024: Sinopec Ningbo Project EPC General Contracting, Zhenhai Base Phase II Project Double Hydrogenation Unit Delivery! The 1.5 million tons/year jet fuel hydrogenation and 4 million tons/year wax oil hydrogenation units at Sinopec Zhenhai Base have passed the acceptance inspection. (Source)

21^st October 2024: The mechanical completion of the 11 million tons/year atmospheric and vacuum distillation unit of the second phase of the Zhenhai base was achieved. This project is the leading unit of the second phase of the base's refining project, and it is also the atmospheric and vacuum distillation unit with the largest crude oil processing capacity of Zhenhai Refining and Chemical. (Source)

30^th August 2024: The first batch of main and supporting projects of the Zhenhai Base Phase II - aromatics extraction, catalytic gasoline hydrogenation, and pressure tank area - achieved mechanical completion. So far, the overall schedule of the Zhenhai Base Phase II project has been completed by 95%, and the project construction is stable and orderly. (Source)

23^rd Nov 2024: The 1.5 million tons/year No. 2 aviation kerosene hydrogenation unit of the second phase of Zhenhai Base successfully introduced raw aviation kerosene, marking that the first unit of the second phase of the base has entered the feeding test run stage. (Source)


#ZRCC  #zhejiang  #sinopec  #refining  #chemical  #downstream 

24 Sep 2024: The construction preparation of the project is progressing in an orderly manner, and the general layout of the construction, construction infrastructure planning, and standardized construction site construction have been completed. The site leveling of Changling North New District has been completed by about 75% , and it is planned to meet the conditions for handover by the end of October 2024. The site clearing and earthwork transportation of the refinery supporting renovation project site are currently being organized. The site leveling of Hunan Petrochemical District 2 has been started, and it is planned to meet the conditions for handover by the end of this year; the construction of three supporting first-class highways related to the project has started. Credit

Sinopec Hunan Petrochemical (Yueyang) ethylene refining and chemical integration project

12 Jul 2024, Sinopec Yueyang ethylene refining and chemical integration project starts trial operation

Recently, with the rise and fall of the 67-ton tamping hammer, Sinopec Yueyang Region (Hunan Petrochemical) 1 million tons/year ethylene refining and chemical integration project started the trial tamping in the Changling North main plant area.

Hunan Petrochemical's 1 million tons/year ethylene refining and chemical integration project is located in Yueyang Green Chemical High-tech Industrial Development Zone and started construction on January 3 this year.

19 Sep 2024, Total investment of 35.68 billion yuan! This million-ton ethylene refining and chemical integration project has made new progress

Hunan Petrochemical's 1 million tons/year ethylene refining project is being accelerated, with a total investment of 35.68 billion yuan and an estimated output value of over 100 billion yuan, which will drive downstream investment of over 150 billion yuan. The project is located in Yueyang Green Chemical High-tech Zone and has completed a number of construction preparations and safety management planning.

◾️ Project name: Sinopec Yueyang 1 million tons/year ethylene refining and chemical integration project

◾️ Project type: Greenfield Construction Project

◾️ Project location: Hunan Yueyang Green Chemical High-tech Industrial Development Zone. This project is distributed in the Changling and Baling areas of the park.
▪️ The Changling section is located in the northeast of the Changling area of the park, referred to as the Xinchang New District, with a land area of 201.05 hectares, all of which are newly acquired land.
▪️ The Baling section is located on the south side of the Baling's refining department, with a total land area of approximately 46.4 hectares, of which 27.26 hectares are newly acquired land; the expansion of the cogeneration unit is located in the thermal power department, with a land area of approximately 19.14 hectares, and does not involve additional land acquisition.

In addition, the off-site project covers an area of 90.57 hectares, involving the acquisition of 25.4 hectares of new land and the use of 65.17 hectares of existing land.

Construction content: This project will build:

◾️ a new 1 million tons/year ethylene unit

◾️ a total of 14 downstream units, including:
▪️ an ethylene unit,
▪️ an EVA unit,
▪️ an HDPE unit,
▪️ an LLDPE unit,
▪️ an aromatics-to-benzene unit,
▪️ a butadiene extraction unit,
▪️ an MTBE/butene-1 unit,
▪️ a pyrolysis gasoline hydrogenation unit,
▪️ an aromatics extraction unit,
▪️ a styrene extraction unit,
▪️ a C5 separation unit,
▪️ a CHPPO unit,
▪️ a phenol/acetone unit,
▪️ a bisphenol A unit.

At the same time, necessary storage and transportation projects, public works, auxiliary facilities and off-site projects will be constructed.

#sinopec  #hunanpetrochemical  #hunan  #yueyang  #ethylene  #refining  #chemicalintegration  #china  #steamcracker

Nov 2024, Hunan Petrochemical Company Profile

Sinopec Hunan Petrochemical Co., Ltd. was formed by the integration of the former Baling Petrochemical and Changling Refining and Chemical (the two companies were personally approved by Premier Zhou Enlai in the late 1960s). In the past two years, under the guidance and support of national ministries and commissions, the Hunan Provincial Party Committee and the Provincial Government, and the Sinopec Party Committee, the company has adhered to the idea of ​​"promoting reform through development and promoting development through reform" and actively promoted integrated development and reform. Hunan Petrochemical completed its industrial and commercial registration on June 6, 2023 and officially achieved integrated operations on January 1, 2024.

The company currently has a product chain of oil refining, caprolactam-polyamide, elastomers, epoxy resins, propylene oxide, asphalt-carbon materials, etc. Among them, the primary processing capacity of oil refining is 10 million tons/year, the production capacity of caprolactam is 1 million tons/year (including 400,000 tons of Hengyi in Zhejiang Baling), the production capacity of thermoplastic elastomer is 550,000 tons/year (including 170,000 tons in Hainan Baling), the production capacity of epoxy resin is 120,000 tons/year, and the production capacity of propylene oxide is 100,000 tons/year. There are more than 100 main products. There are 10,804 registered employees and 9,153 employees on the job. In 2023, a total of 9.5 million tons of crude oil will be processed, with an operating income of 75.6 billion yuan and taxes and fees of 11.1 billion yuan.

The company attaches great importance to scientific and technological innovation, and has won 27 national awards in total, including 1 first prize in the National Technological Invention Award, 5 first prizes in the National Science and Technology Progress Award, and 1 China Industrial Award. It has more than 640 authorized patents and has been rated as an innovative enterprise of Sinopec. Its production technologies for caprolactam, thermoplastic elastomers, epoxy resins, propylene oxide, etc. are all world-leading, and all have independent intellectual property rights.

The company has successively won the honorary titles of the first batch of national first-class enterprises, national civilized units, national May 1st Labor Medal, national advanced grassroots party organization, and national outstanding enterprise for ideological and political work.

In the next step, the company will focus on building the development positioning of Hunan Petrochemical as "characteristic, green and outstanding", implement the development strategy of "innovation-driven, value-oriented, green and intelligent, and talent-driven", adhere to the development path with the construction of "1 million tons/year ethylene refining and chemical integration project" as the core, promote the formation of an industrial structure of "clean oil products + modern chemical industry + high-end chemical new materials", and strive to realize the development vision of "building a world-leading green petrochemical new materials innovation base".

#hunan  #petrochemical  #sinopec  #balingpetrochemical  #changlingrefining  #hunanpetrochemical  #refining  #chemical  #china 

Datails about SINOPEC Hainan Refining and Chemical Co., Ltd. and Danzhou complex have been updated.

#sinopec #danzhou  #refining  #chemicals  #steamcracker  #ethylene  #china  

Bluestar (China National Bluestar (Group) Co., Ltd.), a subsidiary of Sinochem, has been added.

#sinochem #bluestar  #chinanationalbluestar  #china  #chemicalcorporation 

PT Lotte Chemical Titan Indonesia, TBK (LCTTBK) has been  added.

#lotte #chemical  #titan  #indonesia  #lcttbk 

Picture: Indian subcontinent refineries, via ppPLUS

India’s dependence on imports to meet its requirements of basic petrochemicals, including polymers, is only expected to rise, despite projects – under implementation and on the drawing boards. This is partly because the historical baggage of poor capacity builds will take time to catch up with rising demand.

In the last few years, however, India’s public sector refiners have climbed on the petrochemicals bandwagon, seeking value-added outlets for refinery streams. They have invested in aromatics (for feeding the polyester value chain), propylene (for polypropylene, PP, and some other chemicals notably, oxo-alcohols and acrylate monomers), linear alkyl benzene (LAB), a key detergent raw material, and a few other projects. And more are to come in the near-term.

There are several commonalities amongst the firm projects. For one, the emphasis seems to be on building the C3 (propylene) value chain. This is not surprising as FCC propylene offers a simple, low-cost route to the olefin and one that can be conveniently retrofitted into existing refinery operations. There is also an overwhelming emphasis on PP production, which may not be wise, as it runs the risk of overbuild should demand growth not pan out as anticipated.

There are other propylene derivatives that can be considered, and these merit attention if not by the refiners themselves then by third party investors for whom it will be more worthwhile. Much will hinge on the commercials of the olefin supply arrangement, but such business models are widely followed, including here in India, let alone in other countries.

Importantly, the government needs to recognise that the chemical industry as a key enabler of modern living, and not a nuisance to be constrained through regulation and red-tape. The priority must be on developing well-developed clusters where not just the petrochemical industry, but also the broad chemical industry – including the fine and specialty chemical industries, wherein India’s competitiveness is well recognised – can locate and start operations in double-quick time. Clusters are efficient and safe locales where the industry can thrive, as several countries have amply shown.
 
India needs a much larger and more diversified chemical industry than it has now. The former it seems is happening. Not so sure of the latter. The herd mentality to investments needs to change. Those who have dared to do so – and there are a few examples – have been amply rewarded. More need to emulate, not imitate, them!

Ravi Raghavan, 12 Nov 2024, Linkedin post.

#india  #petrochemicals  #chemicals  #valuechains  #propylene  #fcc  #refinery  #polyester  #aromatics  #olefins  #polypropylene  #acrylics  #lab  #chemicalindustry  #indianchemicals  #IOCL  #BPCL  #HPCL  #RelianceIndustries  #investment  #specialitychemicals  #finechemicals  #oilrefining  #polymers  #ethylene  #competitiveness 

Binhua Chemical Industry Branch (Chinese company name: 滨化股份化工分公司) has been added.


#binhua  #chemical  #befargroup  #binzhou  #shandong  #china #binhuagroup 

Binhua Group Dongroui Chemical Co., Ltd. (Chinese company name: 滨化集团东瑞化工有限责任公司) has been added.

#binhua #binuagroup  #dongroui #chemical  #befargroup  #binzhou  #shandong  #china 

Xinjiang Chemicals information details and site's location have been updated.

Simandjoentak, LanceSimandjoentak, Lance

Benzene alkylation with crude ethylene technology from Changzou Ruihua Chemical Engineering has been added.

#alkylation #ethylbenzene  #ethylene  #benzene  #changzou  #china  #ruihua  #chemicalengineering #cumene  #propylene 

Benzene alkylation with pure ethylene technology from Changzou Ruihua Chemical Engineering has been added.

#alkylation #ethylbenzene  #ethylene  #benzene  #changzou  #china  #ruihua  #chemicalengineering 

Alterra closes investment round with the expectation to accelerate the commercialisation of its plastics pyrolysis technology

Investors Infinity Recycling, Chevron Phillips Chemical, LyondellBasell, and Neste, along with long-term support from Potenza Capital, have successfully closed their latest round of equity funding in Alterra Energy (formerly Vadxx Energy). This investment round is expected to accelerate the commercialization of Alterra’s plastics pyrolysis technology, designed to transform discarded plastic into valuable raw materials.

Alterra's advanced recycling technology has been modeled on ppPLUS and the mass balance of the company's demo plant in Akron has been created. One main product the technology is producing is plastics pyoil, which may be fractionnated to separate naphtha, which can be used as a feedstock returned to the cracker to produce ethylene among other products. The feedstock the technology is accepting is mostly clean polyolefin waste.

Source: Alterra, 22^nd Oct 2024 & portfolio planning PLUS.

#alterra  #lyondellbasell  #neste  #cpchem  #pyrolysis  #plasticwaste  #advancedrecycling  #molecularrecycling  #chemicalrecycling  #pyoil  #steamcracking  #naphtha  #ethylene  #polyethylene  

Changzhou Ruihua Chemical Engineering Technology Co., Ltd. has been added.

#processtechnologies  #chemicalengineering  #changzhou  #ruihua  #changzhouruihua 

The spinoff from the Eindhoven University of Technology in the Netherlands said in a statement that ‘achieving a positive cash flow from its advanced polyester recycling technology will take too long’, sustainable Plastics reports.

Ioniqa has been operating a demonstration facility at Brightlands Chemelot Campus in Geleen, the Netherlands , since summer 2019. The demo plant, with a capacity of 10,000 tonnes a year, produces recycled PET for food-contact applications.

This January, the company received funding from Infinity Recycling’s Circular Plastics Fund to help scale up and bring its technology to market, including broadening its feedstock to include polyester fibres.

However, ten months in, Ioniqa said large-scale deployment of its PET depolymerisation technology has proven ‘economically unfeasible’ under current market conditions and the company’s current set-up.

It cited low cost of virgin plastics, a plastics recycling chain still in development, and too-far-out-into-the future implementation of recycling quotas mandates as factors for its poor financial position.

With its strategic licencing partner Koch Technology Solutions, a UK-based  technology licensing business with roots in DuPont, the partners expected to sell licences will on an estimated 50,000-plus tonnes scale...

The company’s Denua technology is a proprietary glycolysis process that depolymerises all types and colours of PET waste into its original monomers. Its feedstock is mostly based on low-end PET.

As an investor, if you had asked portfolio planning PLUS, we would have told you about the financial risk by developing an integrated economic model on our PAAS system.

#chemicalrecycling  #plasticrecycling  #pet  #depolymerisation 

Nova Chemicals Joffre site has been created.

#canada #joffre  #nova  #chemicals  #cracker  #steamcracking  #polyethylene  #ethylene 

In its 2023 sustainability report, published in March, Shell is stating that:

“In 2023 we concluded that the scale of our ambition to turn 1m tonnes of plastic waste a year into pyrolysis oil by 2025 is unfeasible.”

The report justifies this step back from the previous commitment due to changing market conditions:
 
“While Shell sees customer demand for circular chemicals, the pace of growth globally is less than expected due to lack of available feedstock, slow technology development and regulatory uncertainty.”

On its website, Shell advocates for chemical recycling (photo) with the following statement:

“Chemical recycling through pyrolysis, where hard-to-recycle plastic waste like snack bags, ready meals, or plastic film, that are not suitable for mechanical recycling, are turned into pyrolysis oil, a liquid that replaces hydrocarbons to produce circular chemicals.”

Shell has started its strategy to build up chemical recycling capaciities by signing a strategic supply agreement with Nexus Fuels (now Nexus Circular) back in 2019. Nexus operates a 'pilot' Nexus Pyrolysis plant with a rated capacity of 50 tonnes per day at its production site in Atlanta .

Since that date, Shell has successively invested in Dutch  company BlueAlp, signed pyrolysis oil supply agreements with Pryme, another Dutch  company, and with Finnish  company Lamor in Europe, with Environmental Solutions Asia in Singapore , and with Freepoint Eco-Systems in the U.S.A. , invested in two pyrolysis oil upgraders at its Mordijk site in The Netherlands   and signed a LOU with Dialog Group Berhad in Malaysia  and a MOU with the European branch of Agilyx in Norway  for the development of chemical recycling plants.

This step back from the pledge to develop chemical recycling follows on the previous announcement that Shell is pulling out of planned e-SAF project in Sweden.

#chemicalrecycling  #advancedrecycling  #molecularrecycling  #mechanicalrecycling  #plasticwaste  #pyoil  #pyrolysisoil  #plasticspyoil 

Viridor has assumed full ownership of Quantafuel as the Oslo Stock Exchange delisted Quantafuel AS’ shares from Euronext Growth on 7th February.

Viridor, 8th Feb 2024.

#pyrolysis  #plasticwaste  #recycling  #chemicalrecycling 

Circular Polymer Resources and AmSpec Group to develop a process to test and certify the composition and quality of plastic waste used in chemical recycling, Beatriz Santos from Sustainable Plastics reports on Feb 7^th.

Notable, the article mentions that:

"Pyrolysis oil must be diluted with fossil-derived oils or treated to improve its quality to bring it ‘on-specification’ for steam cracking. This diminishes the yield of recycled plastic from pyrolysis or requires energy intensive processes, respectively..."

#chemicalrecycling  #molecularrecycling  #advancedrecycling  #massbalance  #circularpolymer  #pyrolysis 

The description of the Plastic Pyrolysis Process has been significantly augmented with a lot of practical information details.
#chemicalrecycling  #advancedrecycling  #circularity  #circulareconomy  #plasticwaste  #recycling