World Chemical News, April 2020, by chemwinfo
30 April 2020
Linde today announced it has completed
the divestment of selected non-core assets
a Nordic gas sector and energy market expert.
Linde's Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG)
and biogas business in Scandinavia,
plus its marine bunkering business in Germany.
The businesses generate annual revenues
of approximately EUR 100m and employ 35 people.
As of May 1, 2020 all employees, customer
and supplier contracts will be transferred to Gasum..
29 April 2020
McDermott Awarded Multiple EPFC Contracts
for Storage Tanks in Saudi Arabia
McDermott International, Inc. today announced
has been awarded one large* and two sizeable*
contracts for the engineering, procurement,
fabrication and construction (EPFC) of
in multiple locations across Saudi Arabia..
>>STORAGE TANKS & PRESSURE VESSEL PRODUCTS
23 April 2020
Linde has leveraged its extensive technology portfolio
Indian Oil Corporation Limited (IOCL),
Praxair India Private Limited,
a wholly owned subsidiary of Linde,
to its incumbent customer, IOCL,
for its refinery at Paradip, Orissa.
the expansion of the existing refinery
into an integrated petrochemical complex.
Following planned completion of the ASU
in October 2021, the plant will have
a combined total gas capacity of 660 tons per day.
Praxair India currently supplies
hydrogen and nitrogen to the IOCL refinery
22 April 2020
Mitsui Chemicals, Inc. will establish a new plant
within Osaka Works, Takaishi, Osaka Prefecture,
to produce the APEL™ series of
Finding its major application in
APEL™ is meeting with surging demand
driven by a recent trend toward multi-lens cameras
Mitsui Chemicals is therefore looking to set up
Mitsui Chemicals is positioning
its Performance Polymers Division
– which includes APEL™
and is focused on ICT – as a growth sector.
22 April 2020
McDermott and Chiyoda Introduce Feed Gas
into Cameron LNG's Final Train
* Introducing feed gas marks transition
* Project continues to make strides toward
with initial LNG production from Train 3
expected in the second quarter
* Project team remains focused on
safety, quality and delivery excellence
McDermott and Chiyoda have delivered
engineering, procurement, construction
and commissioning for the project since it began.
The project includes three liquefaction trains
with a projected export capacity
of more than 12 million tonnes per annum of LNG,
or approximately 1.7 billion cubic feet per day.
Cameron LNG is jointly owned by affiliates of
Sempra LNG, Total, Mitsui & Co., Ltd.
and Japan LNG Investment, LLC.,
a company jointly owned by Mitsubishi Corporation
and Nippon Yusen Kabushiki Kaisha (NYK).
Cameron LNG Train 3 is on track to reach
initial LNG production in the second quarter of 2020.
21 April 2020
INEOS and PLASTIC ENERGY to collaborate
on new advanced plastic recycling facility.
Waste plastic will be diverted from
landll, incineration and the environment.
The project reafrms INEOS’ commitment to
Advanced recycling takes waste plastic
replacing raw materials derived
Production of the new facility would be targeted
Advanced recycling technology converts
waste plastic back to its basic molecules.
The resulting material is then used in
to replace traditional raw materials derived from oil.
PLASTIC ENERGY’s current advanced recycling process
The new raw material has been successfully
through the INEOS cracker at Köln, Germany.
The plastics made from this trial will now be used
by selected customers and brands
to demonstrate the benets of the process.
PLASTIC ENERGY’s patented technology called
Thermal Anaerobic Conversion (TAC)
transforms previously unrecyclable plastic waste
This new recycled raw material could be used
for use across medical products, food packaging,
and pipes for safe water transportation
21 April 2020
Linde announced today that it has started up
to supply industrial gases to Samsung
Electronics' world-class semiconductor facilities
The start-up completes the first phase of
Linde's largest single electronics investment
several air separation units and hydrogen plants
The project comprises two phases
and will incorporate largescale infrastructure
and an extensive pipeline system.
The agreement includes a long-term supply contract
for various ultra-high purity industrial gases,
21 April 2020
Air Liquide announces a major investment in Taiwan
to enter two of the world’s most advanced
Air Liquide will invest close to 200 million euros
to build production capacities
in the Science Parks of Tainan and Hsinchu,
the South and the North of Taiwan.
Under a long-term commitment with
a semiconductor market leader, this investment
in new production capacity will allow
the Group to supply three high volume
semiconductor fabrication plants
under construction in Tainan Science Park,
as well as some of the world’s most advanced R&D fabs
for logic IC chips in Hsinchu Science Park.
Air Liquide, through its majority owned joint-venture
Air Liquide Far Eastern, will build, own and operate
ultra-high purity hydrogen and oxygen plants
a total of 5,000 Nm3 of hydrogen per hour and
two large scale plants in Hsinchu
to produce high-purity nitrogen and argon,
for an additional capacity of 120,000 Nm3
of high purity nitrogen per hour.
It will also supply large volumes of Helium
The first plants are expected to start
during the second quarter of 2021
multi-billion-dollar wafer fabs expansion..
20 April 2020
BASF and Security Matters collaborate
to accelerate progress towards
a circular economy for plastics
BASF plastic additives business leverages
on its expertise as a global market leader
Proprietary technology from Security Matters
to improve the traceability and sorting
of plastics in the value chain
Create new value for plastics
About Security Matters Ltd
Security Matters Limited (ASX: SMX),
a company focused on digitizing physical objects
to enable a circular and closed loop economy.
Security Matters has commenced
the commercialization of its unique,
a hidden chemical-based ‘barcode’
to permanently and irrevocably ‘mark’ any object,
The barcode is read using the company’s unique
‘reader’ to access the corresponding
and protected using blockchain technology.
20 April 2020
Air Products Completes Acquisition of
Five Operating Hydrogen Plants
for $530 Million from PBF Energy Company
Company Commences Long-term Hydrogen Supply
California and Delaware Assets
Adding Nearly 300 Million Standard
Cubic Feet Per Day of Hydrogen Production Capacity..
>> Read more : PBF Energy Announces Planned $530 million
Hydrogen Plant Sales, Reduction in 2020 Cash Outlays
by Over $500 million
through Lowered Capital and Operating Expenses,
Dividend Suspension and Other Deferrals
17 April 2020
Shell Australia (Shell) has taken
a final investment decision to develop
the first phase of Arrow Energy’s Surat Gas Project
Royal Dutch Shell plc Arrow Energy
is an incorporated joint venture
between Shell (50%) and PetroChina (50%).
QCLNG (QGC) is a Shell-operated joint venture
between Shell (73.75%), CNOOC (25%)
In December 2017, Arrow announced it had agreed
a 27-year Gas Sales Agreement (GSA)
to underpin the Surat Gas Project
the Shell-operated QGC joint venture.
This agreement provides a path to market
for up to 5 trillion cubic feet of Arrow’s Surat gas.
Arrow currently produces 140 million standard
cubic feet per day (MMSCF/day), which is enough
to meet around 40% of Queensland domestic demand
or around 10% of Australian east coast domestic demand.
Shell’s QGC business supplied 16%
of east coast gas demand in 2019..
16 April 2020
Royal Dutch Shell plc (Shell) will today update investors
a net-zero emissions energy business by 2050
or sooner (covering scope one,
>>SHELL’S AMBITION TO BE A NET-ZERO EMISSIONS
15 April 2020
The world’s first commercial scale revamp
from a hydrogen fluoride (HF) based
a Canadian company that focuses on
green and clean technology development
and process licensing in the petroleum sector,
announced the commissioning of
a 300,000 metric tonnes per year (7,500 bbl/d)
Ionikylation unit at Sinopec’s Wuhan refinery,
which is the world’s first commercial scale revamp
from a hydrogen fluoride (HF) based alkylation process.
According to refinery personnel,
the unit was commissioned on January 21, 2020
and has been operating at reduced capacity
as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Traditional acid-based alkylation processes
use either HF or sulfuric acid (H2SO4)
to catalyze the reaction of C4 molecules
into high octane C8 molecules,
HF can form a toxic ground-hugging vapor cloud
if accidentally released into the atmosphere,
when handled in large quantities.
Acid-based alkylation technologies
require exotic metallurgies for process equipment
and also need costly safety systems
to protect refinery personnel and the public.
15 April 2020
15 April 2020
INEOS today announced that it has started
delivering one million of bottles of hand sanitiser
each month to hospitals across the Southern France.
INEOS announced that it would bring its production plant
at Lavéra in France online in just ten days
and that deliveries would start immediately afterwards.
It has repeated this in Herne Germany
and last week it announced a fourth facility
in North East France at Étain.
Working closely with hospitals, as of today,
INEOS hand sanitisers are being delivered to
25 hospitals across Southern France including
the supply of almost all Marseille hospitals
needs and half of Nice’s. Wider distribution
will follow as the plant reaches full capacity..
15 April 2020
Agilyx Corporation ("Agilyx"),
the leader in chemical recycling of
post-use plastics back into polymers, chemicals,
and low carbon fuels, announces
the licensing of its technology to
Toyo Styrene Co., LTD ("Toyo Styrene"),
an affiliate of Denka Company Limited.
The site technology license agreement enables
Toyo Styrene to deploy the Agilyx technology
in the Chiba Prefecture of Japan.
The facility will focus on recycling
post-use polystyrene back to styrene monomer..
14 April 2020
MEGlobal today announced that its
will be US$560/MT CFR Asian main ports
The May 2020 ACP reflects the short term
supply/demand situation in the Asian market.
About MEGlobal For more information
on the company, visit www.meglobal.biz.
14 April 2020
BASF donates over 100 million protective masks
Donations to the Federal Republic of Germany
and the State of RhinelandPalatinate
10 April 2020
Gazprom carrying on with major investment projects
The Gazprom Management Committee
took note of the information about the status of
the Company's major investment projects.
The Chayandinskoye field in Yakutia
The Power of Siberia gas pipeline
The Sakhalin – Khabarovsk – Vladivostok gas pipeline
and Ukhta – Torzhok 2 gas pipelines
The LNG production, storage and shipment complex
near the Portovaya compressor station
9 April 2020
LANXESS is donating ten metric tons
of its highly effective disinfectant
Rely+On Virkon to hospitals, authorities
in 13 countries around the world.
The powder disinfectant is diluted with water
for one million liters of disinfectant solution.
It can be used to disinfect hard surfaces
and equipment, for example in hospitals..
8 April 2020
YCFC launches its first
melt-blown non-woven production line
Sinomach’s China Hi-Tech Group Corporation
its first melt-blown non-woven production line
Sinopec Yizheng Chemical Fibre Co (YCFC)
successfully launched its first
melt-blown non-woven production line
on March 29 in Yizheng, Jiangsu province,
Shaoyang Textile Machinery Co,
affiliated to Sinomach’s subsidiary
China Hi-Tech Group Corporation (CHTC).
Shaoyang Textile Machinery succeeded in
reducing the lead time to a month
and delivered the production line 13 days
earlier than the date required
by the State-owned Assets Supervision
As the filter layer of a surgical mask,
the melt-blown non-woven material
is an essential raw component in mask production.
Mask production lines are expanding rapidly
across the country as an urgent part
of pandemic prevention and control,
and a large number of manufacturers
are facing a shortage of raw materials.
Shaoyang Textile Machinery rose to the challenge
YCFC’s 12 melt-blown non-woven production lines.
After the company signed the supply agreement
a series of effective measures
to push forward the work and successfully
ensured the YCFC’s first melt-blown non-woven
production line would start on March 29.
When all 12 melt-blown non-woven production lines
are operational YCFC will have a daily output
of 12 tons of N95 melt-blown non-woven
or 18 tons of surgical mask materials,
and be able to increase production
of disposable surgical masks by 18 million pieces a day.
Shaoyang Textile Machinery is a leading enterprise
in developing and manufacturing
melt-blown and spunbonded non-woven equipment
which have been exported to more than
a dozen countries and regions,
with great market effect in the industry.
At present, the company has received 37 orders
for non-woven equipment from enterprises
China National Petroleum Corporation and
China Petrochemical Corporation
including India and Uzbekistan..
8 April 2020
the U.S. Department of Health and
Human Services (HHS) and FedEx
to provide expedited shipping of
The operation aims to accelerate delivery
of Tyvek® PPE, moving them via air
the Tyvek® manufacturing plant
our garment manufacturer in Vietnam.
They will then return to the U.S.
with finished Tyvek® garments.
This will enable additional Tyvek® garments
to support the COVID-19 relief efforts in the U.S...
Tyvek® is a 100% synthetic material
high-density spunbound polyethylene fibers.
Lightweight, durable and breathable,
yet resistant to water, abrasion,
bacterial penetration and aging.
8 April 2020
Clariant has started monthly production
of 2 million liters of disinfectant
at its facilities in Gendorf, Germany.
This disinfectant is then directly
provided to regional hospitals
and other vital institutions in Bavaria,
who are currently facing limited availability
Production conducted in cooperation with
7 April 2020
Total signed a pioneering agreement
to charter its first two LNG-powered VLCCs
The two vessels, which are able
to carry about 300,000 tons of crude oil each,
will be delivered in 2022 and will join
the time-chartered fleet of Total.
These VLCCs will be chartered from
The vessels have been designed with
to benefit from reduced Greenhouse Gas emissions
and with the latest technologies
to further lower their consumption.
The supply of LNG for these
two LNG-powered VLCCs will be provided by
Total Marine Fuels Global Solutions,
Total’s dedicated business unit
in charge of worldwide bunkering activities.
Read more
7 April 2020
and ready-to-use hand sanitizers
to help health care workers combat COVID-19..
Solvay has undertaken similar donations
in other parts of the world hit by the crisis
Donations of hydrogen peroxide
were first made in February in China
and were followed by donations
to local communities and authorities
in Spain, Italy, France, Belgium,
the Netherlands, Germany, Brazil, the U.S.,
7 April 2020
BASF Personal Care donates hand sanitizers
◼ European sites modify production processes
◼ Products are being donated to
medical institutions in the vicinity
of European production sites..
4 April 2020
the principal part of the construction
of the new polyethylene unit (PE3).
The new polyethylene unit, PE3,
will replace the existing unit, PE1.
with an annual capacity of 200,000 tonnes
of the petrochemical plant in Litvínov
will grow from 320,000 to 470,000 tonnes
is planned at CZK 9.6 billion..
3 April 2020
ExxonMobil will help provide about 1 million meals
impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic
through $250,000 in contributions to local food banks.
The Houston Food Bank will receive $200,000,
including $50,000 worth of gasoline gift cards
for use at Exxon- and Mobil-branded retail stations
to help deliver food to those in need.
The Montgomery County Food Bank
will receive $50,000 from the company,
which has a long history of support
for the community organizations.
3 April 2020
Covestro provides aid in Coronavirus crisis
• In-kind and money donations in many countries
• Focusing on the health and safety of the workforce
Donations in cooperation with aid organization
Donation of protective eyewear, thermometers
and pillows to public health facilities in Hubei
Donations of medical supplies to health care facilities
Donation of material for the production
of protective eyewear for University Hospital of Erlangen
Donation of face masks to the city of Leverkusen
Donation to hospital in Bergamo Spain
Donations to several hospitals
to purchase urgently needed equipment
Donation of material for the production
Donation of protective eyewear
Donations of hand sanitizer and face masks
to local responders and public service organizations
for a national nonprofit and support
for employees who want to personally contribute
2 April 2020
Honeywell UOP announced today that
Shenghong Petrochemical Group will use
pressure swing adsorption (PSA) units
to supply high-purity hydrogen
in Lianyuangang, Jiangsu Province in China..
2 April 2020
Nouryon has entered into an agreement
triethyl aluminum (TEAL) business of Sasol,
including its specialty fleet of returnable cylinders.
TEAL is a metal alkyl essential in the production
The acquisition is the latest in a series of moves
Nouryon has made to significantly increase
its footprint in the metal alkyls market,
an expansion of production capacity
the acquisition of metal alkyls producer
The transaction is expected to be finalized
during the second quarter, after which
2 April 2020
Givaudan joins global efforts to provide
hand sanitizer for medical, community
* New, dedicated production line established
in its Vernier (Geneva) site will donate
the equivalent of almost 700,000 bottles
* Further production lines in the US and Europe
to be established in the coming weeks
2 April 2020
>>DOWNLOAD ARKEMA 2020 STRATEGY UPDATE
Arkema is preparing the future
Thus, the Group has decided to
align its organization and reporting with this vision,
• Three divisions that will be reported separately
and will include all Arkema Specialty Materials:
• An "Intermediates" division consisting of
MMA/PMMA, Fluorogases and Asia Acrylics,
consolidating activities with more volatile results
and for which the Group will implement
differentiated strategies. In particular,
* a review of its strategic options for MMA/PMMA,
* explore possible alternatives to minimize
its exposure to the most emissive applications
* rebalance its Asia Acrylics business
between upstream and downstream.
1 April 2020
with over 18.8 million barrels of oil..
1 April 2020
approximately $500 million of previously announced
capital spending on its Geismar 3 methanol project
In light of the significant uncertainty
in the global economy from the COVID-19 pandemic,
resulting in a challenging commodity price
and project execution environment,..
Methanex Corporation is
the world's largest producer and supplier of methanol
to major international markets
in North America, Asia Pacific, Europe
and South America.
1 April 2020
Celanese Corporation today announced
it has completed the acquisition of
Nouryon’s redispersible polymer powders business
With the completion of the acquisition
– having cleared all necessary closing conditions,
regulatory and works council requirements
Nouryon’s global production facilities for
all productsunder the Elotex® portfolio,
and all customer agreements, technology
and commercial facilities globally.
1 April 2020
a number of air ambulance services
All these services are charitable organisations
that BP already supplies with jet fuel.
Those included in this initiative,
in place from today, 1 April 2020,
until at least the end of April 2020, are:
• Great Western Air Ambulance Charity,
based at Almondsbury, Gloucestershire
• Midlands Air Ambulance Charity
and Nostell Priory, West Yorkshire.
CREDITS :
WEBSITES OF LEADING CHEMICAL,
PETROCHEMICAL, OIL AND GAS COMPANIES
and
WWW.SET.OR.TH,
WWW.BOI.GO.TH
APRIL 2020
WWW.CHEMWINFO.COM BY KHUN PHICHAI
INEOS and PLASTIC ENERGY have today announced a collaboration on the construction of a new plant to convert waste plastic into the raw material to make new plastic. Production of the new facility would be targeted for the end of 2023.
Advanced recycling technology converts waste plastic back to its basic molecules. The resulting material is then used in INEOS crackers to replace traditional raw materials derived from oil.
By establishing the new plant, Mitsui Chemicals’ production capacity for APEL™ will rise by approximately 50 percent. Construction on the new plant is starting this month and is slated to wrap up in March 2022.
Plans going forward are to further grow Mitsui Chemicals’ APEL™ business by capturing new demand in applications such as automotive cameras, head-mounted displays and the medical sector.
