Plant Watch
EuroChem launches phosphate-fertilizer manufacturing complex in Brazil
March 14, 2024 — EuroChem Group (Zug, Switzerland; www.eurochemgroup.com) opened a new fertilizer-production facility in Serra do Salitre, Brazil. With a total project investment of nearly $1 billion, the new phosphate mine and plant complex will have a production capacity of 1 million metric tons per year (m.t./yr) of advanced phosphate fertilizers.
Linde Engineering to supply ASU and NWU to Australia’s largest urea plant
March 13, 2024 — Linde Engineering (Pullach, Germany; www.linde-engineering.com) will supply an air separation unit (ASU) and a nitrogen wash unit (NWU) for a urea plant operated by Perdaman Industries in Karratha, Western Australia. Upon completion, the urea plant will be the largest in Australia. The single-train ASU will have a capacity of 63,000 Nm3/h of gaseous oxygen. The single-train NWU, with a capacity of 392,000 Nm3/h of synthesis gas to supply the downstream ammonia plant, will be the world’s largest single-train NWU.
Shin-Etsu to double production capacity for hypromellose acetate succinate
March 8, 2024 — Shin-Etsu Chemical Co. (Tokyo; www.shinetsu.co.jp) plans to double the manufacturing capacity of hypromellose acetate succinate, a pharmaceutical excipient product, at the company’s Naoetsu plant in Japan. With completion expected in 2026, the estimated investment for the expansion project is ¥10 billion (around $67.5 million).
Zeon completes construction of new recycling plant for cyclo-olefin polymers
March 8, 2024 — Zeon Corp. (Tokyo; www.zeon.co.jp) has completed construction of a recycling plant for cyclo-olefin polymers (COP) at its Takaoka plant in Japan. The new plant will recycle waste resin that is generated when processing COP into film, using it to manufacture optical films. The plant has a processing capacity of 6,000 m.t./yr.
Mitsubishi Chemical expands production capacity for sugar-ester emulsifier
March 4, 2024 — Mitsubishi Chemical Group (MCG; Tokyo; www.mcgc.com) will expand its sugar-ester production capacity by adding a new line with a capacity of 1,100 m.t./yr at its Kyushu plant in Japan. Operation of the new production line is scheduled to start in March 2026. Sugar ester is an emulsifier used to maintain quality in food processing and storage applications. It is made primarily from sucrose and fatty acids derived from vegetable oils and fats.
Mitsui Chemicals to expand XDI production plant
February 28, 2024 — Mitsui Chemicals, Inc. (Tokyo; www.mitsuichemicals.com) will increase production capacity for meta-xylylene diisocyanate (XDI) plant at its Omuta plant in Japan. This expansion will raise domestic XDI production capacity by 20%. Construction on the project is slated for completion in July 2025, with startup tentatively scheduled for September 2025. XDI is a special isocyanate that Mitsui Chemicals was the first in the world to produce on a commercial scale.
AkzoNobel completes powder-coatings capacity expansion in Vietnam
March 4, 2024 — AkzoNobel N.V. (Amsterdam, the Netherlands; www.akzonobel.com) announced that a major investment project has been completed at the company’s production plant in Bac Ninh, Vietnam. Five new powder-coating lines have been added at the site, along with a line for producing water-based products for the consumer electronics market. The total investment amounts to €18.5 million.
UBE to build integrated DMC/EMC plant in Louisiana
March 1, 2024 — UBE Corp. (Tokyo; www.ube.com) plans to construct a dimethyl carbonate (DMC) and ethyl methyl carbonate (EMC) plant in Louisiana capable of producing 100,000 m.t./yr of DMC and 40,000 m.t./yr of EMC. The total capital investment will be approximately $500 million, with the completion of construction scheduled for July 2026. Operations are expected to begin in November 2026. DMC and EMC are key components in electrolyte solvents for lithium-ion batteries.
Arlanxeo to construct a new HNBR plant in China
March 1, 2024 — Arlanxeo (Maastricht, the Netherlands; www.arlanxeo.com) plans to construct a new plant to produce hydrogenated nitrile butadiene rubber (HNBR) in Changzhou, China. With a nameplate production capacity of 5,000 m.t./yr, the first phase of construction will enable the production of 2,500 m.t./yr of rubber. The plant is expected to begin operations in the third quarter of 2025.
AkzoNobel opens new paints and coatings plant in Pakistan
March 1, 2024 — AkzoNobel has opened a new €26-million manufacturing plant in Faisalabad — the company’s largest investment in Pakistan to date. The new site has facilities for making decorative paint, wood finishes, automotive and specialty coatings, coil coatings and protective coatings to help meet increasing demand across a variety of markets.
Cepsa and Bio-Oils to construct world-scale biofuels plant in Spain
February 28, 2024 — Cepsa (Madrid, Spain; www.cepsa.com) and Bio-Oils are beginning construction of the largest second-generation biofuels plant in southern Europe. This facility will produce 500,000 m.t./yr of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) and renewable diesel. The new plant, along with the existing facilities operated by Cepsa and Bio-Oils in Huelva, Spain, will form the second-largest renewable-fuels complex in Europe, with a total production capacity of 1 million m.t./yr. The new facility’s startup is planned for 2026, following a €1.2-billion investment.
Röhm commissions expanded Plexiglas plant in Germany
February 22, 2024 — Röhm GmbH (Darmstadt, Germany; www.roehm.com) has expanded production capacity for polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA; tradename Plexiglas) molding compounds at its site in Worms. Work began on the expansion in 2022, and commissioning was completed in early 2024.
Mergers & Acquisitions
Trinseo commences plans to sell 50% stake in AmSty joint venture
March 14, 2024 — Trinseo (Berwyn, Pa.; www.trinseo.com) has commenced a sale process for its 50% ownership in Americas Styrenics LLC (AmSty), a joint venture (JV) with Chevron Phillips Chemical Co. LP (CPChem; The Woodlands, Tex.; www.cpchem.com). Trinseo expects the exit process to lead to a definitive arrangement no later than early 2025.
Solvay and Carester enter MOU related to rare-earth magnets
March 11, 2024 — Solvay S.A. (Brussels, Belgium; www.solvay.com) and Carester (Lyon, France; www.carester.fr) signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) to form a strategic partnership related to the value chain for rare-earth magnets. In the partnership, Solvay is contributing its industrial assets and operational experience, and Carester is bringing expertise in recycling end-of-life equipment, upstream market knowledge and related activities.
Evonik sells superabsorbents business to ICIG
March 4, 2024 — Evonik Industries AG (Essen, Germany; www.evonik.com) is selling its superabsorbents business to the International Chemical Investors Group (ICIG; Frankfurt am Main, Germany). The final transfer of the business is planned for mid-2024 following approval by the relevant competition authorities.
LyondellBasell acquires plastics-recycling assets in California
February 20, 2024 — LyondellBasell Industries N.V. (LYB; Rotterdam, the Netherlands; www.lyondellbasell.com) acquired plastics-recycling assets from PreZero. The transaction includes leasing the PreZero processing facility in Jurupa Valley, Calif., which has a production capacity of 23,000 m.t./yr for recycled materials. LYB plans to use this mechanical recycling plant to manufacture post-consumer recycled resins using plastic-waste feedstock. LYB expects to commence operations at the facility in 2025. ■
Mary Page Bailey