Chemical Engineering October 2020 - 11

Business News
LINEUP
AIR LIQUIDE
AKZONOBEL
AMYRIS
ASCEND PERFORMANCE
MATERIALS
BRASKEM
CHANDRA ASRI
DUPONT
EASTMAN CHEMICAL
EVONIK
HUNTSMAN
JOHNSON MATTHEY
KBR
LG CHEM
LYONDELLBASELL
MOMENTIVE
PERFORMANCE
MATERIALS
PETRONAS CHEMICAL
REPSOL
VENATOR
Plant Watch
Braskem begins commercial
production at La Porte PP plant
September 11, 2020 - Braskem America
(Philadelphia, Pa.; www.braskem.com) launched
commercial production at its new polypropylene
(PP) production line in La Porte, Tex., which has
a production capacity of over 450,000 metric
tons per year (m.t./yr) and has the capability to
produce homopolymer, impact copolymer and
random copolymers. Construction began in 2017,
with the final phase of mechanical construction
completed in June 2020.
Amyris scales up production of
fermentation-based cannabinoid
September 10, 2020 - Amyris, Inc. (Emeryville,
Calif.; www.amyris.com) has successfully scaled
up production of the cannabinoid compound
cannabigerol (CBG) using an industrial fermentation
process. Amyris expects to deliver about 1 ton of
high-purity CBG through fermentation, which is
an alternative to the traditional production method
of extraction from the Cannabis sativa L. plant.
Momentive to expand silicone production
capacity for electronics applications
September 9, 2020 - Momentive Performance
Materials Inc. (Waterford, N.Y.; www.momentive.
com) is investing $15 million in expanded electronic
materials production in its Waterford, N.Y., facility.
This immediate investment will drive enhanced
assets and silicone-production capabilities that
will be operational in 2021.
LyondellBasell starts up
molecular-recycling plant in Italy
September 8, 2020 - LyondellBasell Industries
N.V. (Rotterdam, the Netherlands; www.
lyondellbasell.com) started up a molecularrecycling
facility in Ferrara, Italy. LyondellBasell's
proprietary recycling technology aims to return
post-consumer plastic waste to its molecular form
for use as a feedstock for new plastic materials.
Chandra Asri starts up
MTBE and B1 plants in Indonesia
September 8, 2020 - PT Chandra Asri
Petrochemical Tbk (Jakarta, Indonesia; www.
chandra-asri.com) has commenced operation
of its new methyl tert-butyl ether (MTBE) and
1-butene (B1) plants. These facilities are the first
of their kind in Indonesia. Construction on the
plants began in 2018, with Toyo Engineering
Corp. and PT Inti Karya Persada Tehnik (IKPT)
providing services.
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11
Air Liquide announces new investment
serving Eastman Chemical in Texas
September 3, 2020 - Air Liquide S.A. (Paris,
France; www.airlqiuide.com) announced a
longterm supply agreement with Eastman Chemical
Co. (Kingsport, Tenn.; www.eastman.com) to
provide additional gaseous oxygen, nitrogen and
synthesis gas supporting Eastman's production
facilities in Longview, Tex. Air Liquide will invest
more than $160 million to modernize existing
assets and build a new air-separation unit and
partial oxidation unit.
Bora LyondellBasell JV starts up
polyolefins plant in China
September 1, 2020 - LyondellBasell and China's
Liaoning Bora Enterprise Group started up their new
joint-venture (JV) polyolefin complex in Liaoning,
China. The 50-50 JV will operate under the name
Bora LyondellBasell Petrochemical Co. Ltd. (BLYB).
The BLYB facility includes a 1.1-million-m.t./yr
flexible cracker and associated polyethylene
production capacity of 800,000 m.t./yr, as well as
600,000 m.t./yr of polypropylene capacity.
Repsol to upgrade Tarragona plant to
produce new impact-resistant polymers
August 28, 2020 - Repsol S.A.'s (Madrid,
Spain; www.repsol.com) industrial complex
in Tarragona, Spain will adapt one of its units
to manufacture advanced polymers with high
resistance to impact. The project has a budget
of approximately €32 million. When operational
in 2021, the plant will be the first of its kind in the
Iberian Peninsula. In order to manufacture this
new range of polymers, the company will install
a second reactor at one of its PP production
units in Tarragona.
Evonik to invest in Marl
C4-production network
August 27, 2020 - Evonik Industries AG (Essen,
Germany; www.evonik.com) is investing around
€15 million in its C4-production network in Marl,
Germany. Targeted debottlenecking measures
will increase the local production capacity for
isobutene derivatives, such as trimethylhexanal
(TMH), tert-butyl alcohol (TBA) and diisobutylene
(DiB), by more than 50% by December 2021.
In addition, logistics will be further expanded in
order to increase the flexibility of supply.
Petronas Chemical and LG Chem to build
new NBL plant in Malaysia
August 24, 2020 - Petronas Chemicals Group
Berhad (PCG; Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia; www.
petronas.com/pcg) and LG Chem Ltd. (Seoul,
South Korea; www.lgchem.com) agreed to build
a nitrile butadiene latex (NBL) manufacturing
plant at the Pengerang Integrated Complex (PIC)
in Johor, Indonesia, to target the growing nitrile
glove market. Construction of the plant will begin
in 2021, while production is scheduled to start
in 2023. When completed, the plant will have a
production capacity of 200,000 m.t./yr of NBL.
http://www.eastman.com http://www.braskem.com http://www.amyris.com http://www.repsol.com http://www.momentive http://www.evonik.com http://www.lyondellbasell.com http://www.chandra-asri.com http://www.petronas.com/pcg http://www.lgchem.com http://www.airlqiuide.com http://www.chemengonline.com http://WWW.CHEMENGONLINE.COM
Chemical Engineering October 2020

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