Hydrochloric acid

MUSCAT (ICIS)–Thailand’s PTT Global Chemical (PTTGC) is expected to begin producing sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) at its refinery in Map Ta Phut early next year, the company’s CEO Narongsak Jivakanun said. “We are commissioning, although it is on a small scale, but it is an important step – SAF [production] in Q1 next year using our existing oil refinery but blended with non-fossil fuel based raw material,” Jivakanun told ICIS on the sidelines of the 18th Annual Gulf Petrochemicals and Chemicals (GPCA) Forum in Muscat, Oman. The company plans to produce 500,000 liters of SAF per month, using up to 1,700 tonnes of used cooking oil per month as feedstock. SAF is used as a direct replacement for traditional fossil-based jet fuel to power aircraft. Moreover, by leveraging the mass balance approach, the change in how the refinery accommodates use of alternative feedstock in the production of SAF enables it to claim a portion of its downstream aromatics, polymers, and olefins output as non-fossil chemical products, he said. PTTGC is the first Thai company to upgrade its refinery with advanced technology to accommodate used cooking oil as feedstock. The company’s biorefinery project is a component of the company's three-pronged growth strategy – “Step Change, Step Out and Step Up” – which, in part, prioritizes business sustainability through decarbonization efforts, according to Jivakanun. PTTGC is also on track to fully start up a new fully integrated polylactic acid (PLA) unit at the Nakhon Sawan Biocomplex (NBC) by the end of next year, he said. The PLA project is being carried out by NatureWorks, the equal joint venture firm between the US’ Cargill and PTTGC and will use sugarcane sourced locally as feedstock. THAI SPECIALTIES HUB AMBITIONS  Allnex, a global specialty chemicals subsidiary of PTTGC, is currently planning to expand its specialty resins production in Map Ta Phut with an aim to develop the site to become a hub for selected coating resins serving the southeast Asia region, according to Jivakanun. “The plan is to develop a hub in Map Ta Phut so that they can share the infrastructure that [PTT]GC already has, utilities, the engineering and operational support," he said. "Expertise sharing between GC and allnex will enhance potential of value engineering resulted in cost savings into the project." The project is in the stage of finalizing the scope with an aim to produce specialty resins that most fit customer demands and requirements Allnex specializes in the production of industrial coating resins and additives. “We will go through the feasibility study as usual and we aim to confirm the investment for allnex Map Ta Phut hub within next year," Jivakanun added. Interview article by Nurluqman Suratman

04-Dec-2024

HOUSTON (ICIS)–The tariffs proposed by President-Elect Donald Trump on imports from Mexico, Canada and China would raise costs for the heavier grades of oil needed by US refineries as well as rare-earth elements used to make catalysts for downstream refining units. Trump said he intends to issue an executive order that would impose tariffs of 25% on imports from Mexico and Canada on January 20, his first day of office. He also announced intentions to impose a tariff of 10% on imports from China. This would be on top of the existing duties that the US already imposes on Chinese imports. Trump could decide to modify or even withdraw the proposals – especially if the US can reach a deal that addresses illegal immigration and drugs, the impetus behind the proposed tariffs. However, the tariffs as they are proposed by Trump would raise costs for key inputs used by US refiners. Outside of fuels, it could rise costs for fluoromaterials, since Mexico is the source of most of the imported feedstock. US REFINERIES DESIGNED FOR IMPORTS OF HEAVIER CRUDESUS refineries are generally designed to process grades of crude that are heavier than the oil it produces domestically from shale, said Michael Connolly, principal refining analyst for ICIS. As a result, the US exports its surplus of light oil and imports the heavier grades needed by its refineries. Those imports help fill out refining units that process heavier crude fractions, such as hydrocrackers, cokers, base oil units and fluid catalytic cracking (FCC) units, Connolly said. In 2023, the majority of those imports came from Canada and Mexico, as shown in the following table showing the top five sources of foreign crude. Figures are listed in thousands of barrels/day. COUNTRY IMPORTS % Canada 3,885 59.9 Mexico 733 11.3 Saudi Arabia 349 5.4 Iraq 213 3.3 Colombia 202 3.1 Total US imports 6,489 100 Source: Energy Information Administration (EIA) "If this tariff was to apply to crude, it would be damaging to the US refining industry and thus the US economy," Connolly said. The damage would stem from the nation's position as the world's largest exporter of refined products. In 2023, the US was the world's largest exporter of gasoline, with shipments of 900,000 bbl/day, according to the EIA. More than 500,000 bbl/day of those exports went to Mexico. The US is also a major exporter of distillate fuel oil, with shipments reaching 1.12 million bbl/day in 2023, according to the EIA. For petrochemicals, FCC units are important sources of propylene, so tariffs could have an effect on margins for propylene derivatives. FCC operations could receive another blow from the additional tariffs that the US could impose on imports of rare-earth materials from China. RARE EARTHS AND FCC CATALYSTSFCC catalysts are made with lanthanum and cerium. For most categories, China was the main source of these rare earths in 2023, as shown in the following table. Figures are in kilograms. HTS Code Product Imports from China Total imports  % 2846.10.0050 Cerium compounds other than cerium oxides 1,121,069 1,958,581 57.2 2846.90.2005 Rare-earth oxides except cerium oxides containing lanthanum as the predominant metal 52,045 479,885 10.8 2805.30.0005 Lanthanum, not intermixed or interalloyed 144,182 144,242 100.0 2846.90.8070 Mixtures of rare-earth carbonates containing lanthanum as the predominant metal 102,423 119,626 85.6 2805.30.0010 Cerium, not intermixed or interalloyed 3,262 3,466 94.1 Source: US International Trade Commission (ITC) Lanthanum and cerium are byproducts of the production of neodymium and dysprosium, two rare earth materials that are used to make magnets. TARIFFS ON MEXICAN HYDROFLUORIC ACIDIf the tariffs go through, they could raise costs for US producers of fluoromaterials. Hydrofluoric acid is the feedstock for almost all fluorochemicals and fluoropolymers, and Mexico accounted for nearly all of the 87 million kg of acid that the US imported in 2023, according to the ITC. Fluorochemicals are used to make refrigerants as well as blowing agents used to make polyurethane foams. Another fluorochemical, lithium hexafluorophosphate (LiPF6), is used as an electrolyte in lithium-ion batteries. For fluoropolymers, demand is growing because of their use in semiconductor fabrication plants (fabs), 5G telecommunication equipment and membranes used in fuel cells and green-hydrogen electrolysers. Hydrofluoric acid is also used as a catalyst in many alkylation units at refineries. Insight article by Al Greenwood Thumbnail shows a pump used to dispense fuel produced from refineries. Image by Shutterstock. (recast and adds "nearly", paragraph 17)

27-Nov-2024

LONDON (ICIS)–Europe adipic acid and downstream nylon 6,6 markets face bleak prospects for demand in December, followed by a broadly flat outlook in 2025, with overall weak consumption from key derivative markets. Over the past few months, very slow demand and ample supply have continued to dominate European markets alongside rising costs of production. In this latest podcast, ICIS editors Meeta Ramnani and Marta Fern share the latest developments and expectations for what lies ahead. Seasonal destocking to weaken buying interest further in December Demand could stay low in 2025; recovery depends on macroeconomic factors Q1 2025 could bring restocking; its magnitude unclear Asian adipic acid import volumes likely to increase in Q1

21-Nov-2024

SINGAPORE (ICIS)–Avantium has signed a multi-year collaboration agreement to pilot the production of polylactic-co-glycolic acid (PLGA) from carbon dioxide (CO2), with Thai producer SCG Chemicals (SCGC), the Netherlands-based circular polymer materials firm said on Wednesday. PLGA is a biodegradable, recyclable polyester which is an alternative for conventional fossil-based polyesters. "Under this agreement, SCGC will provide support for all stages of technology development," Avantium said in a statement. Financial details of the deal were not disclosed. "Additionally, SCGC will work with Avantium on developing various PLGA applications, aiming to bring these sustainable solutions to market." Avantium and SCGC have spent the past year exploring the properties of PLGA to perfect its formulation for large-scale polymer applications, with a focus on barrier properties, recyclability, and environmental impact. As part of the collaboration, Avantium grants SCGC an option to negotiate license deal to utilize its Volta technology, including PLGA production, within southeast Asia. Avantium’s Volta technology uses electrochemistry to convert CO2 to high-value products and chemical building blocks including glycolic acid. Glycolic acid, combined with lactic acid, can be used to produce PLGA polyester in existing manufacturing assets.

20-Nov-2024

HOUSTON (ICIS)–Celanese plans to cut its quarterly dividend by 95% in Q1 2025 and idle plants in every region after third-quarter adjusted earnings fell well below guidance, the US-based acetyls and engineered materials producer said on Monday. Q3 adjusted earnings/share were $2.44 versus an earlier guidance of $2.75-3.00. Celanese shares were down by more than 13% in afterhours trading. Celanese is taking the following steps to cut down debt: It will temporarily idle plants in every region to reduce manufacturing costs through the end of 2024 It expects to generate an expected $200 million inventory release in the fourth quarter. The idling includes 10 sites in the company's Engineered Materials segment. In the first half of the fourth quarter, Celanese has temporarily idled the company's Singapore production of acetic acid, vinyl acetate monomer (VAM), esters and vinyl acetate emulsions (VAE). In Frankfurt, Germany, the company is idling its VAM plant and plans to use it as swing capacity to meet demand. It will start a program to reduce costs by more than $75 million by the end of 2025. The cost cutting will target selling, general and administrative (SG&A) expenses. It will target $400 million in 2025 capital expenditures, a figure below 2024 levels. It will close on a 364-day delayed draw prepayable term loan for up to $1 billion. It will draw on the term loan in Q1 2025 towards $1.3 billion in maturing debt. TOUGH THIRD QUARTERThe plant shutdowns, dividend reduction and cost cutting follow a third quarter that saw demand degrade rapidly and acutely in automobiles and industrial end markets. "Auto in Europe and North America experienced a shock to the demand patterns that had been relatively steady for the previous several quarters, with swift sales declines in both regions that led to a pullback in auto builds," said Scott Richardson, chief operating officer. Demand remained slow in Asia but did not show the same trajectory as the Americas. The company noted that prices in China for undifferentiated nylon polymer reflects supply that is growing faster than demand. Demand remained weak in paints, coatings and construction. New capacity for VAM came online and outpaced demand, amplifying the weakness in construction as well as in solar panels. Excess inventories in solar panels is weakening demand for ethylene vinyl acetate (EVA). The weakness more than offset the gains that Celanese made from its synergy projects in its Mobility and Materials (M&M) acquisition and from its acetic acid expansion project in Clear Lake, Texas. WORSE FOURTH QUARTERQ4 destocking in the automotive and industrial end markets should be heavier than normal, and Celanese expects demand to worsen in the fourth quarter. The destocking should be temporary and contained in the quarter. In Engineered Materials, Celanese expects a $40 million hit from the destocking. Another $15 million hit will come from seasonal declines associated with product mix. A further $15 million will come from temporarily idling capacity in the segment. For acetyls, Celanese is not seeing any indications of demand growth in anticipation of the first quarter or as a result of stimulus from China. For the company, Q4 adjusted earnings/share should be $1.25. Q3 FINANCIAL PERFORMANCEThe following table shows the company's Q3 financial performance. Figures are in millions of dollars. Q3 24 Q3 23 % Change Sales 2,648 2,723 -2.8% Cost of sales 2,026 2,050 -1.2% Gross profit 622 673 -7.6% Net income 116 951 -87.8% Source: Celanese Earnings in Q3 2023 reflect a $503 million one-time gain from the sale of assets. Thumbnail shows adhesive, which is made with VAM. Image by Shutterstock.

04-Nov-2024

HOUSTON (ICIS)–US LSB Industries said it was able to complete a successful turnaround of their Pryor, Oklahoma, fertilizer facility. The company said in a third quarter update that the investments at Pryor were focused not only on improving its reliability and daily ammonia production volume, but also included the debottlenecking of the facility's urea plant. LSB expects this effort will result in an incremental of 75,000 short tons annually of UAN output. At the El Dorado, Arkansas, facility the producer said it completed the construction of an additional 5,000 short tons of nitric acid storage which is providing the ability to capitalize on incremental sales opportunities not previously available. A turnaround at the Cherokee, Alabama, facility will take place this November and a turnaround at El Dorado is scheduled for the third quarter of 2025, with the primary goal being increased volumes. LSB said it continues to make progress on its two energy transition projects and is expecting to start producing low carbon products at El Dorado beginning in 2026 pending regulatory approval. Regarding the Houston Ship Channel project, the company said it has completed the pre-front end engineering design and is working through the results as well as engaging with potential customers and preparing to select an engineering contractor for the final study. It expects to start that effort during the first half of 2025 with completion by mid-2026. Looking at fertilizer market conditions the producer said the ammonia market is healthy, and pricing has been strong driven by many factors including tight US supply dynamics along with geopolitical concerns and extended turnarounds and outages reducing global inventories LSB also cited the delayed start-up of new production capacity in the US Gulf and an export terminal in Russia For UAN the producer said pricing remains solid due to low inventories in the distribution channel following both spring applications and summer fill program with there being historically low imports and strong exports As it looks ahead it feels there is potential pent-up demand at the retailer and producer level which could lead to favorable order volumes and pricing in the first half of 2025.

30-Oct-2024

HOUSTON (ICIS)–Australian Fertoz Limited said demand for direct application of rock phosphate and their fertilizer pellet product Fertify remained positive in Q3, with significant orders for Fertify starting in September. The company expects this uptick to continue through late 2024 with the phosphate producer saying this positive direction has come forth despite significant losses for farmers in the Alberta region of Canada due to pre-harvest hailstorms. In its quarterly activities report, Fertoz said there were delays in upgrades to granulation processing equipment by key customers, which slowed sales, but the expectations are for completion of these upgrades by year’s end. Fertoz managing director and CEO Daniel Gleeson said the bulk sample permit for 10,000 tonnes in Barnes is in the final stages with submission of a technical assessment review to the Ministry of Energy, Mines and Low Carbon Innovation. This permit is expected to be ready for the start of the 2025 mining season, with the next bulk sample permit at Pump Station, also for 10,000 tonnes, part of their overall advancement towards receiving an industrial minerals permit for up to 250,000 tonnes. The industrial permit is also expected to be completed early next year with Gleeson saying Fertoz continues to assess their Wapiti project for suitability of making phosphoric acid for the lithium iron phosphate (LFP) battery and liquid phosphate fertilizer markets. “Wapiti samples have been received by the testing party, with positive desktop results achieved, and will now process them in the laboratory for final reportable and definitive results. These final testing results are expected in December,” said Gleeson. “Concurrently we continue to engage with relevant parties of the LFP supply chain industry in North America who have expressed interest in our resources.” He said because of the significant direct government investments across North America and substantial future tax credits that overall interest remains elevated in their high quality, low impurity sedimentary rock phosphate deposits.

28-Oct-2024

Correction: In the ICIS news story headlined "Chlor-alkali demand benefited from hurricanes, new pulp plants – Olin" dated 25 October 2024, please read in paragraph 13 …  $135 million … instead of … billion. A corrected story follows. HOUSTON (ICIS)–Demand for chlorine derivatives and caustic soda benefited from US hurricanes and two new pulp and paper plants that opened in South America, which provided some bright spots in what has otherwise been a challenging market due to the slowdown in home building and durable goods, US-based Olin said on Friday. Bleach and hydrochloric acid are used in water treatment and cleaning. For caustic soda, demand continued to be strong because of demand from alumina and from the pulp and paper industry, said Ken Lane, CEO. He made his comments during an earnings conference call. Demand from South America has been the most robust, with two recent pulp and paper plant startups, he said. Lane did not specify the plants. However, Brazilian producer Suzano started up the largest single pulp production line in the world in Ribas do Rio Pardo, Mato Grosso do Sul state, Brazil. CHLORINE REMAINS IN TROUGHDespite the temporary boost from hurricanes, demand for chlorine remains in a trough, with demand below pre-COVID levels, according to Olin. Looking ahead, the uncertainty that the chemical industry experienced in the second half of 2024 should continue into 2025, Lane said. Such uncertainty will persist until interest rates fall further. Higher interest rates have weakened demand for PVC in several key end markets such as housing, automobiles and durables. In addition, chlorine is used to make titanium dioxide (TiO2), a white pigment that is used to make paints opaque. Demand will not spring back until lower interest rates lead to a recovery in activity in housing and other markets that are sensitive to rates, Lane said. BLOW FROM HURRICANE BERYLOlin expects to take a $135 million hit from damage that Hurricane Beryl caused to its operations in Freeport, Texas. During the third quarter, $77 million was connected to chlor-alkalis and $33 million was related to epoxy resins, the company said. During the fourth quarter, $25 million was related to chlor-alkalis. Olin had conducted an emergency shutdown, the company said. The shutdown caused problems that were not apparent until the company began to restart its operations. Olin completed those repairs about a week ago, it said. The company also built some temporary infrastructure, which it will continue to operate until the middle of next year. Thumbnail shows wood, which is used with caustic soda to make pulp. Photo by Global Warming 

25-Oct-2024

BARCELONA (ICIS)–German specialty group Evonik plans to restructure two of its business units, putting non-core assets up for sale, closure or partnerships. The Coating & Adhesive Resins and Health Care businesses will be extensively reorganized, with operations generating sales of €350 million slated for strategic changes, the company said on Friday. In Health Care, production of keto acids for pharmaceutical applications in Hanau, Germany, is to be discontinued at the end of 2025, with the loss of around 260 jobs. For the sites in Ham (France) and Wuming (China) active in the same business, partnerships or divestments are being evaluated. The amino and keto acids business generates sales of around €100 million. In future, the Health Care business line will focus on what Evonik considers to be its growth areas: lipids for mRNA and gene therapies, drug delivery systems, and cell culture ingredients. Caspar Gammelin, head of the Nutrition & Care division, said: “Our amino and keto acids businesses in Ham and Wuming are strong and offer great potential. With investments in these sites, these businesses could reach their full potential and flourish. We are therefore examining options such as partnerships or divestments that would allow the businesses to prosper.” COATINGS RESTRUCTURE Evonik’s Coating & Adhesive Resins business line will focus on two core areas for growth: liquid polybutadienes as additives for adhesives and sealants or tires, and specialty acrylics for medical technology and the packaging industry. The business line’s existing polyolefins business, with sales of around €100 million, will be transferred to the C4 chain business at Evonik. In the future, the business will be sold as part of the C4 chain business. The €150 million turnover polyester business for coating and adhesive applications is to be sold. It has around 330 employees in Germany and China. The largest site, with around 250 employees, is in Witten (Germany). A smaller plant in Shanghai has around 30 employees. Lauren Kjeldsen, head of the responsible division Smart Materials, said: “To be successfully competing in the long term globally and to generate the necessary margins, investments are needed – and other companies for which polyester is a core business can realize these better than we can.” Evonik, like many of its peers in the European chemical sector, is under intense pressure from mainly China-driven global overcapacity, with companies under pressure to take radical action to focus on core assets and close or sell other operations. As well as the ramp-up in global production capacity, the region is being battered by a global slump in demand and a high cost base, which has led to collapsing margins and a wave of capacity closures across Europe. Thumbnail photo: Evonik's Essen, Germany, campus. Source: Evonik

11-Oct-2024

LONDON (ICIS)–Glycolysis-based chemical recycling technology company Ioniqa has filed for bankruptcy protection, the company announced in press release on Thursday. The company is headquartered in the Netherlands. It is concentrated on chemically recycling polyethylene terephthalate (R-PET). In the press release, the company stated that it has determined that “achieving a positive cash flow from its advanced polyester recycling technology will take too long.” Advanced recycling is a term that is often used as an alternative description for chemical recycling (although mechanical recyclers also use the term advanced recycling to refer to some mechanical recycling processes). It attributed this to the comparatively low price of traditional virgin PET and the supply chain for chemically recycled PET still being in development. It also attributed some of the blame to “the implementation of regulated mandatory standards for meaningful recycling levels… [being] too far out into the future.”  It stated that this meant that large-scale deployment of its technology was not economically feasible at this time. Ioniqa has a glycolysis-based chemical recycling demonstration plant in Geleen, The Netherlands, which has been operational since 2019 and has an estimated output of 8,000 tonnes/year according the ICIS Recycling Supply Tracker – Chemical. Investors in the site include The Coca Cola Company, Unilever, Indorama Ventures, Koch Technology Solutions, and Infinity Recycling’s Circular Plastics Fund. Chemical recycling is an umbrella term for a variety of methods that use different production routes and feedstocks to create new material from waste. This means that each process (and each technology and individual player) has vastly different cost-structures and the economics of each chemical recycling method vary substantially.  Coupled with this, achievable prices for chemically recycled products vary significantly between grade and polymer type. Common chemical recycling methods include pyrolysis, gasification, glycolysis, hydrolysis, methanolysis, and enzymatic hydrolysis. In chemical recycling, chemical processes are used to revert waste back to an earlier molecular state. Waste can be reverted back to monomer, building block chemicals, or all the way back to crude oil/energy. Chemical recycling alters the fundamental chemical properties of the material. In glycolysis, a transesterification catalyst is used to break the ester linkages. Typical catalysts include monoethylene glycol (MEG), diethylene glycol (DEG), propylene glycol (PG) or dipropylene glycol (DPG)..In glycolysis, a transesterification catalyst is used to break the ester linkages, which are replaced by hydroxyl terminals. This produces bisterephthalate (BHET) and PET glycozates. These can be reacted with aliphatic diacids to make: polyester polyols, which are in turn used in polyurethane (PU) foams; co-polyesters; unsaturated resins; and hydrophobic dyes. If combined with virgin BHET, the process produces chemically recycled PET via dimethyl terephthalate (DMT) or purified terephthalic acid (PTA) glycolysis. Typical catalysts include monoethylene glycol (MEG), diethylene glycol (DEG), propylene glycol (PG) or dipropylene glycol (DPG). Transesterification does not work on polymers such as polyolefins due to a lack of cutting points. As a result, glycolysis is predominantly focussed on PET, and this means that it typically uses sorted and separated monomaterial as a feedstock, which can add additional cost. The most common form of chemical recycling in Europe is pyrolysis-based. This is in large part being driven by demand from ambitious brand sustainability targets in the packaging sector. Many fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) brands see chemical recycling as the only viable way to reach large scale food-grade packaging suitable recycled polyolefins given current EFSA requirements that 95% of input waste must be former food-contact to gain food-contact approval. Most PET input waste is sourced from used plastic drinks bottles, making it easier for R-PET producers to meet this 95% requirement than other polymers, and there is a well established R-PET food-grade pellet sector – using traditional recycling methods – across Europe. R-PET is also the only mechanical recycling technology recognised as suitable for producing food-contact material under European Commission regulation (EU) 2022/1616 on ‘recycled plastic materials and articles intended to come into contact with foods’. Pyrolysis-based chemical recycling uses heat and pressure – typically in the absence of oxygen, although it is sometimes present in controlled volumes – to transform waste feedstocks (most commonly plastic waste or end-of-life tyres) into an earlier molecular state. Pyrolysis-based plants targeting mixed plastic waste as feedstock – with a focus on polyolefins – currently account for more than 60% of all operating chemical recycling capacity in Europe according to ICIS Recycling Supply Tracker – Chemical. PET, however, does not pyrolyse. Highlighting just how variable achievable prices for chemically recycled materials can be, pyrolysis oil prices in Europe are currently regularly trading on the spot market anywhere from €800-2,200/tonne ex-works Europe depending on grade. ICIS assesses more than 100 grades throughout the recycled plastic value chain globally – from waste bales through to pellets. This includes recycled polyethylene (R-PE), recycled PET (R-PET), R-PP, mixed plastic waste and pyrolysis oil. On 1 October ICIS launched a recycled polyolefins agglomerate price range as part of the Mixed Plastic Waste and Pyrolysis Oil (Europe) pricing service. For more information on ICIS’ recycled plastic products, please contact the ICIS recycling team at recycling@icis.com Clarification: recasts glycolysis process technology paragraph

10-Oct-2024