Phillips 66 announces major milestone in production of renewable diesel

Phillips 66 has announced a major milestone in its conversion of the San Francisco refinery into the Rodeo Renewable Energy Complex - expanding commercial scale production of renewable diesel.

The Rodeo Renewed project has progressed, with the facility now processing only renewable feedstocks and producing approximately 30,000 barrels per day of renewable diesel.

The Rodeo Renewable Energy Complex is on track to increase production rates to more than 800 million gallons per year (50,000 bpd) of renewable fuels by the end of the second quarter, positioning Phillips 66 as a leader in renewable fuels.

“We are proud to announce this significant achievement at our Rodeo facility,” said Rich Harbison, Phillips 66 executive vice president of Refining.

“The project advances Phillips 66’s long-held strategy to expand our renewable fuels production, lower our carbon footprint, and provide reliable, affordable energy while creating long-term value for our shareholders.”

Harbison added: “We’ve had strong execution to-date and are fully focused on finalizing the project in the second quarter.”

The Rodeo Renewed project design also provides the capability of producing renewable jet, a key component of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF), expected to start production in the second quarter of this year.

Phillips 66 made a final investment decision to move forward with the Rodeo Renewed project in 2022, transforming the San Francisco refinery into one of the world’s largest renewable fuels facilities.

As a world-class supplier of renewable fuels, the converted facility leverages a premium geographic location, unique processing infrastructure and flexible logistics to significantly reduce lifecycle carbon emissions.

source:biofuels-news.com

Today's KNOWLEDGE Share:Bacteria Strain to plastic Biodegradable

Today's KNOWLEDGE Share

New Bacteria Strain that Makes Plastic Highly Biodegradable and Fracture Resistant

Engineered bacteria can produce a plastic modifier that makes renewably sourced plastic more processable, more fracture resistant and highly biodegradable even in sea water. The Kobe University development provides a platform for the industrial-scale, tunable production of a material that holds great potential for turning the plastic industry green.

Bacterial Plastic Factory Produces LAHB Chains in High Amounts:

Plastic is a hallmark of our civilization. It is a family of highly formable (hence the name), versatile and durable materials, most of which are also persistent in nature and therefore a significant source of pollution. Moreover, many plastics are produced from crude oil, a non-renewable resource. Engineers and researchers worldwide are searching for alternatives, but none have been found that exhibit the same advantages as conventional plastics while avoiding their problems. One of the most promising alternatives is polylactic acid, which can be produced from plants, but it is brittle and does not degrade well.

To overcome these difficulties, Kobe University bioengineers around TAGUCHI Seiichi together with the biodegradable polymer manufacturing company Kaneka Corporation decided to mix polylactic acid with another bioplastic, called LAHB. LAHB has a range of desirable properties, but most of all it is biodegradable and mixes well with polylactic acid. However, in order to produce LAHB, they needed to engineer a strain of bacteria that naturally produces a precursor, by systematically manipulating the organism’s genome through the addition of new genes and the deletion of interfering ones.

In the scientific journal ACS Sustainable Chemistry & Engineering, they now report that they could thus create a bacterial plastic factory that produces chains of LAHB in high amounts, using just glucose as feedstock. In addition, they also show that by modifying the genome, they could control the length of the LAHB chain and thus the properties of the resulting plastic. They were thus able to produce LAHB chains up to ten times longer than with conventional methods, which they call “ultra-high molecular weight LAHB.”

Highly Transparent and Shock Resistant:

Most importantly, by adding LAHB of this unprecedented length to polylactic acid, they could create a material that exhibits all the properties the researchers had aimed for. The resulting highly transparent plastic is much better moldable. It is more shock resistant than pure polylactic acid, and also biodegrades in seawater within a week.

Taguchi comments on this achievement, saying “By blending polylactic acid with LAHB, the multiple problems of polylactic acid can be overcome in one fell swoop, and the so modified material is expected to become an environmentally sustainable bioplastic that satisfies the conflicting needs of physical robustness and biodegradability.”

Source: Kobe University/Omnexus.specialchem

China’s first hydrogen-powered city train conducts high-speed tests

Developed by Changchun Railway Vehicles, a subsidiary of Chinese state-owned rolling stock manufacturer CRRC, China’s first hydrogen energy urban train ran a trial run in Changchun, Jilin province, reaching a full load operating speed of 160 kilometers per hour. The hydrogen energy train uses 35 MPa – 165 L hydrogen storage cylinder sets produced by Sinoma Suzhou, a subsidiary of Sinoma Technology.

This train adopts a distributed hybrid power supply solution with multiple energy storage and multiple hydrogen energy systems, and applies the hydrogen-electric hybrid energy management strategy and control system.

 “Each hydrogen energy urban train is equipped with 4 systems. Each system is composed of two 165 L hydrogen storage cylinders. The hydrogen storage capacity of 8 cylinders of 165 L reaches 31 kilograms“, Li Shihong, senior engineer of Sinoma Suzhou, said.

Hydrogen energy urban trains use an energy supply method that combines hydrogen fuel cells and supercapacitors to replace the original power supply solution. The energy is generated by the electrochemical reaction of hydrogen and oxygen in the hydrogen fuel cell. The reaction product is only water, making it environmentally friendly and zero-carbon, according to the company.

Sinoma Suzhou is mainly engaged in fuel cell hydrogen cylinders, hydrogen energy storage and transportation containers, compressed natural gas cylinders, high-end industrial gas storage and transportation equipment. Its products and services are widely used in various fields such as automobile manufacturing, gas storage and transportation, and drones. It has five production bases in Chengdu, Suzhou, Jiujiang, Shenyang and Jining, with an annual production capacity of more than 700,000 types of gas cylinders (Type III hydrogen cylinders have a production capacity of 100,000 units/year and Type IV hydrogen cylinders have a production capacity of 30,000 units/year), providing products and services to many domestic vehicle and energy manufacturing companies.

Type IV pressure vessels use fiberglass / carbon fibre composites winded over a plastic liner. They are the most popular type in hydrogen vehicles due to lightweight, volume capacity and resistance, according to JEC Observer, Overview of the global composites market 2019-2024, a report published by JEC Group.

source: Sinoma Suzhou/jeccomposites

Today's KNOWLEDGE Share:Tiger Stripes

Today's KNOWLEDGE Share

Any surface particle on a molded part used to belong to the Fountain Flow free surface.

Free surfaces for a visco-elastic material typically suffer from flow instabilities, and these end-up creating surface defects on your molded part. High front velocity and especially flow front acceleration/deceleration will trigger flow instabilities and defects.

This is why the gate area and the end of flow (see picture) are so prone to surface defects. We do have the highest velocity at the gate and a potential extreme velocity at the end of flow (or slowdown due to switchover).

"Tiger Stripes" are a well known defect due to Fountain Flow instabilities triggered by a change of flowfront speed.

source:Vito leo

Today's KNOWLEDGE Share: A fully recycled composite bicycle bottle cage

Today's KNOWLEDGE Share

A fully recycled composite bicycle bottle cage!

Swancor and the Taiwanese brand Massload have jointly developed bicycle parts, a bicycle bottle cage highlighted in particular, crafted entirely from recycled composite materials."

"The low-carbon bottle cage, which weighs only 17 grams, has undergone a year of rigorous testing and validation. It blends 50% of Swancor’s recycled carbon fiber with 50% recycled polyamide 6 (PA6) pellets, manufactured through an injection process. The companies anticipate commencing mass production of this environmentally friendly solution in the first quarter of 2024, with help from Massload, which has extensive know-how in supplying components to global bicycle brands."

"Swancor’s own expertise has contributed to the bicycle bottle cage’s development. The company has been actively promoting the use of recycled materials, alongside the development of its recyclable thermosetting resin EzCiclo and CleaVER degradation liquid, which has enabled Swancor to repurpose carbon fiber plates from the wind industry and factory scraps."

"Using CleaVER, Swancor is able to separate and processes recycled carbon fiber for reuse. Notably, Swancor’s materials achieved GRS certification for 100% recycled carbon fiber in 2023. Moreover, in February 2024, it obtained ISO 14067 certification, showcasing low carbon emission of only 1.689kgCO₂e/KG, a 97% emissions reduction compared to virgin carbon fiber, (55.181.689kgCO₂e/KG)."

Source: CompositesWorld/ #managingcomposites #thenativelab

Toyo Ink India to Boost Solvent-based Adhesives Production in Gujarat

Toyo Ink India, a member of the Japan-based chemicals manufacturer artience group (formerly Toyo Ink Group), announces plans to expand its production capacity for solvent-based adhesives at its manufacturing site in Gujarat, India.

Meet Market Demands:

A new production facility will be built on-site at the Gujarat plant as part of the expansion to meet rising local demand. The plant is slated to begin operations in April 2026 and will help to boost the Gujarat site’s adhesive capacity by 3.5 times its current output.

In 2014, Toyo Ink India began importing adhesives from Japan and selling them to the local market for automotive interiors and has over the years expanded applications to home appliances and labels.

In December 2021, a production operation was established in India, Gujarat, enabling the company to more promptly respond to customer needs and to further grow its business. As demand from these markets grew, the capacity for adhesive production became tight, leading to the decision to further invest in production to support current and future growth.

Expansion Strategy in Growing Indian Market:

India ranks fifth in the world’s GDP rankings in 2024 and is expected to jump to the second spot in 20 years’ time. Accordingly, industrial adhesive demand in the country is projected to rise due to growing sales of new automobiles as a result of urbanization and a shift to nuclear families, as well as the rapid growth of consumer electronics market.

"Toyo Ink India is on track to become the top solvent-based adhesive manufacturer in India, with a targeted market share of 30% in 2026,” said Naotoshi Nakamura, chairman of Toyo Ink India. “In line with the artience group’s global strategy, we are working on expanding adhesives applications to the healthcare and other fields, while positioning India as an export hub to the Middle East and Africa, regions where economic growth is expected in the future.”

Source: Toyo Ink/specialchem

Orion Set to Produce Conductive Additives for Batteries at Texas Plant

Orion broke ground on a plant in Texas that will be the only facility in the U.S. producing acetylene-based conductive additives.

These additives will be for lithium-ion batteries and other applications vital for the global shift to electrification.

Producing Additives having One-tenth of Carbon Footprint:

The site in the city of La Porte, southeast of Houston, will create many high-skilled jobs, both in construction and technical fields and bring innovative technology to the American economy. The battery additives produced by Orion’s plant will be super clean, with only one-tenth of the carbon footprint of other commonly used materials.

“Orion is already the sole producer of acetylene-based conductive additives in Europe,” Orion CEO Corning Painter said at the groundbreaking ceremony. “Our plant in La Porte will be a pivotal step toward strengthening the regional supply of conductive additives in the rapidly growing U.S. battery market.”

Every battery requires conductive additives. They enable a more efficient flow of electricity and extend the lifetime of lithium-ion batteries, the most valuable components of electric vehicles. The material also plays an essential role in high-voltage cables used for wind and solar farms.

Reducing Carbon Emissions Across Industries

The additives produced at the La Porte plant will be made from acetylene, a colorless gas that Orion’s production process turns into powder with exceptional purity demanded by leading battery manufacturers. The acetylene will be supplied by a neighboring site owned by Equistar Chemicals LP, a subsidiary of LyondellBasell.

At Tuesday’s groundbreaking ceremony, Kim Foley, LyondellBasell executive vice president of Global Olefins and Polyolefins, Refining and Supply Chain, said “At LYB, we see electrification as a crucial part of our plan to reduce carbon emissions across our industries. By supporting the production of key battery components, we're contributing to solutions for a better tomorrow.”

Orion’s plant in La Porte is similar to one the company has in the city of Berre-l'Étang in southern France. The facility also uses acetylene from LyondellBasell. With the LaPorte project, key equipment procurement and off-site fabrication are already at an advanced stage. Field construction activities are ramping up, with the facility start-up expected in the second quarter of 2025.

Source: Orion/www.polymer-additives.specialchem.com