polymerguru

  LyondellBasell  (NYSE: LYB) announced that PetroChina Guangxi Petrochemical Company will license LyondellBasell’s  polyethylene  technology at their facility located in Qinzhou City, Guangxi, P.R. of China. Preferred Technology for EVA/LDPE Plant Operators: The newly licensed technology will comprise of LyondellBasell’s high-pressure Lupotech process technology which will be used for both a 100 kiloton per year (KTA) Autoclave and a 300 KTA Tubular line. Both production trains will produce mainly low-density polyethylene (LDPE) with ethylene vinyl acetate copolymers (EVA). Furthermore, an additional 300 KTA Hostalen “Advanced Cascade Process” (ACP) line for the production of high-density polyethylene (HDPE) will be built at the same site. “ This latest award from PetroChina Guangxi Petrochemical Company continues the long tradition of collaboration with LyondellBasell, as with this award almost 6,000 KTA of capacity has been licensed to the PetroChina group. With t...

  SunGas Renewables Inc. (“SunGas Renewables”) today announced the formation of Beaver Lake Renewable Energy, LLC (“ BLRE ”), which will construct a new green methanol production facility in Central Louisiana. A wholly-owned subsidiary of SunGas Renewables, BLRE is expected to generate from the facility nearly 400,000 metric tons of green methanol per year for marine fuel while creating more than 1,150 jobs during construction and more than 100 local jobs during operation. Green methanol produced by BLRE is expected to be used to fuel A.P. Moller – Maersk’s (“Maersk’s”) fleet of methanol-powered container vessels and will utilize wood fiber from local, sustainably-managed forests. The methanol will have a negative carbon intensity through sequestration of nearly a million tons per year of carbon dioxide produced by the project, which will be executed by Denbury Carbon Solutions. SunGas Renewables anticipates BLRE will invest approximately $2 billion to construct the project at the ...

The new device, which can be incorporated into a bra, could allow more frequent monitoring of patients at high risk for breast cancer. When breast cancer is diagnosed in the earliest stages, the survival rate is nearly 100 percent. However, for tumors detected in later stages, that rate drops to around 25 percent. In hopes of improving the overall survival rate for breast cancer patients, MIT researchers have designed a wearable ultrasound device that could allow people to detect tumors when they are still in early stages. In particular, it could be valuable for patients at high risk of developing breast cancer in between routine mammograms. The device is a flexible patch that can be attached to a bra, allowing the wearer to move an ultrasound tracker along the patch and image the breast tissue from different angles. In the new study, the researchers showed that they could obtain ultrasound images with resolution comparable to that of the ultrasound probes used in medical imaging cente...

Today's KNOWLEDGE Share: Hybrid tailored fiber placement!  Tailored Fiber Placement (TFP) is an embroidery-based tow-steering process that enables complete control over fiber placement and directionality in a composite preform. During the process, continuous tow is stitched to a backing material using numerical control. The result is highly engineered composite structures that take full advantage of the anisotropic nature of fiber reinforcement.  This cost effective process is driven by high stitching speed on one hand and multiple laying heads on a machine. In comparison to other textile technologies the expensive loss of materials is kept to a minimum because of the near net shape production of the product.  ZSK STICKMASCHINEN TFP machines are capable of manufacturing preforms from synthetic fibers as well as mineral, natural and hybrid fibers, using natural threads and support materials. This picture shows some hybrid natural and mineral fibers footplates with cop...

Until now, nylon has been produced from petroleum-based raw materials. However, this is quite harmful to the environment because non-renewable fossil resources are used, a great deal of energy is required, and climate-damaging nitrous oxide is emitted during production. A research team from the Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research (UFZ) and the Leipzig University has now developed a process that can produce adipic acid, one of two building blocks of nylon, from phenol through electrochemical synthesis and the use of microorganisms. The team also showed that phenol can be replaced by waste materials from the wood industry. This could then be used to produce bio-based nylon. The research work was published in Green Chemistry. Electrochemical Synthesis Replaces Hydrogen Gas with Electric Energy: In T-shirts, stockings, shirts, and ropes -or as a component of parachutes and car tires - polyamides are used everywhere as synthetic fibers. At the end of the 1930s, the name Nyl...

Today's KNOWLEDGE Share: Geometric lattice cores: When talking about geometric lattice cores, most people think about a core with hexagon shaped cells, which is the basic and most common cellular honeycomb configuration. However, we have other options currently available on the market, such as Flex-Core, Ox-Core and Double-Flex to name a few. But how to select between them? The Flex-Core cell configuration provides for exceptional formability in compound curvatures with reduced anticlastic curvature and without buckling the cell walls. Curvatures of very tight radii are easily formed. When formed into tight radii, Flex-Core provides higher shear strengths than comparable hexagonal core of equivalent density. The “OX” configuration is a hexagonal honeycomb that has been over-expanded in the “W” direction, providing a rectangular cell configuration that facilitates curving or forming in the “L” direction. The OX process increases “W” shear properties and decreases “L” shear properti...

LyondellBasell announced it has acquired a 50% stake in Stiphout Industries B.V. ("Stiphout"). Stiphout is involved in the sourcing and processing of post-consumer plastic packaging waste. The company operates a facility located in Montfort, the Netherlands, with an annual processing capacity equivalent to the amount of plastic packaging waste generated by over 500,000 Dutch citizens per year. Leverage Local Synergies with Quality Circular Polymers Business "Investing in Stiphout aligns with our strategy to invest in recycling and plastic waste processing companies that support our existing assets in the Netherlands and Germany and fits with our integrated hub model," says Yvonne van der Laan, LyondellBasell executive vice president, Circular and Low Carbon Solutions. "Through this collaboration, we can leverage local synergies with our Quality Circular Polymers business in terms of logistics and operations. It also unlocks possibilities to further expand our C...

Braskem announced on July 24 that the company concluded a 30% increase in the production capacity of its bio-based ethylene plant, located in the Petrochemical Complex of Triunfo, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil. The recent $87 million investment in the facility is intended to meet the growing global demand for sustainable products. The plant now operates at an higher capacity, increasing from 200,000 to 260,000 tons yearly. Braskem’s bio-based ethylene is made from sustainably sourced, sugarcane-based ethanol which removes carbon dioxide (CO2) from the atmosphere and stores it in products for daily use. The initiative is an important advance in the company's ambition to increase the production of biopolymers to one million tons by 2030, and to become carbon neutral by 2050. "The expansion of bio-based ethylene capacity reinforces Braskem’s commitment to sustainable development and innovation and proves the success of the strategy we engaged in thirteen years ago, when we launched t...