FOCUS ON
from an estimated $3.57 bn in 2017, at a
CAGR of 19.9%.
MarketsandMarkets, 2017. Found on PR
Newswire, 6 Dec 2017, (Website: http://www.
prnewswire.com).
US set to become PE powerhouse
Polyethylene (PE) capacity in the US is poised to
soar by 50% or 6.5 M tonnes/y through 2019, with
most of the capacity now under construction.
Including the planned capacity through early
2020s, the addition stands at 12.1 M tonnes/y or
74%. The growth is attributed to shale gas and its
competitive advantage through low-cost natural
gas liquids (NGLs) of butane, propane and
ethane. The shale gas revolution in the US began
to materialize around 2013, resulting in the
establishment of eight new ethane crackers,
seven of which are world-scale (at least 1 M
tonnes/y) and many have downstream PE lines.
Much of the fresh PE capacity is aimed for
export, primarily to Africa, Europe, Latin America
and Asia. Foreign companies are also investing in
the US including Borealis, Total, Shell Chemicals,
SABIC, Mexichem, Braskem, PTT Global
Chemical and Formosa Plastics. The industry has
witnessed the launching of new crackers through
Oct 2017. According to an economist from
Chemical Marketing & Economics Group (CME),
the US output of synthetic materials and basic
chemicals is forecast to rise by approximately
6.25% in 2018, 7.75% in 2019 and 7.25% in
2020. As per the American Chemistry Council
(ACC), planned spending in the US chemical
industry attributed to shale gas has reached
about $185 bn, with just around $35 bn
completed. By 2020, capital investment in the US
chemical industry is forecast to soar to $240-250
bn, with more than $20 bn stemming from new
ethylene projects. A table shows a number of PE
projects in North America including Dow
Chemical’s 400,000 tonnes/y LDPE plant in
Plaquemine, LA, US (start-up: 4Q 2017); and
Chevron Phillips Chemical’s 1 M tonnes/y
mLLDPE (500) and Bimodal HDPE (500) facility
in Old Ocean, TX, that will start up in 3Q 2017.
Also included is LyondellBasell’s 500,000 tonnes/
y HDPE plant in La Porte, TX, scheduled to open
in mid-2019.
ICIS Chemical Business, 1-7 Dec 2017, 292
(20 (ICIS Special Supplement)), 2-3 (Website:
http://www.icis.com) ã Reed Business
Information Limited 2017.
US chemical profile: ethylene
Ethylene supply in the US is anticipated to
shorten in late-2017 due to new downstream
polymerization capacity, which has started-up in
advance of projected new ethane cracking
capacity. In late-2017, one idled cracker along
with three new crackers had been scheduled to
come online. One cracker already started
operations in Sep 2017, with others projected to
be operational in early 2018. The hurricane that
struck Texas in Aug 2017 caused ethylene
outages from Texas to Louisiana. Other units
were back online, while others were still closed
until 4Q 2017. The hurricane also affected
downstream industries, which reduced pressure
to ethylene supply in 3Q 2017. Ethylene stocks
rose at end-3Q 2017, according to the American
Fuel & Petrochemical Manufacturers (AFPM).
During early-2017, outages and strong demand
caused ethylene supplies to be tightened. It was
replenished in mid-2017 as outages were
resolved and demand was reduced. Prices of
ethylene peaked during 1Q 2017 due to limited
supplies caused by turnarounds and strong
demand. In Feb 2017, spot and contract
prices were assessed at 36-38 cents/lb and
35.75 cents/lb, respectively. As outages were
2 February 2018
CATALYSTS
resolved during 2Q 2017, prices fell through mid-
2017. The hurricane on 3Q 2017 pushed prices
upward until late-Sep 2017 due to affected
ethylene productions. With the delay of many
crackers into early-2018, ethylene supply is
projected to be tight in early-2018. Three project
start-ups were rescheduled. These include the
1.5 M tonnes/y cracker of Chevron Phillips
Chemical at Cedar Bayou, TX; the 1.5 M tonnes/y
cracker of ExxonMobil at Baytown, TX; and the
370,000 tonnes/y unit of Indorama at Lake Charles,
LA. All three projects, supposedly to be launched in
end-2017, are now expected to come online on
early 2018. Dow recently launched its cracker at
Freeport, TX in Sep 2017. Upon the launch of the
delayed projects, ethylene stocks are anticipated to
increase by over 5 M tonnes/y by mid-2018 and
3 M tonnes/y by end-2018. Other projects to be
launched in 2018 include the 500,000 tonnes/y
cracker of Shintech at Plaquemine, LA, in early
2018, the 1.2 M tonnes/y cracker of Formosa
Plastics at Point Comfort, TX, in 2Q 2018 and the
1.5 M tonnes/y cracker of Sasol at Lake Charles,
LA, in 2H 2018. A table shows the US ethylene
producers with their plant locations and capacities.
ExxonMobil has a 2,200,000 tonnes/y cracker in
Baytown, TX. DowDuPont has a 1,507,000 tonnes/
y cracker in Plaquemine, LA. Shell has an 835,000
tonnes/y cracker in Deer Park, TX. A line graph
shows the US ethylene prices (cents/lb) in pipeline
spot DEL and contract DEL transactions from Dec
2016 to Nov 2017.
ICIS Chemical Business, 8-14 Dec 2017, 292
(21), 34 (Website: http://www.icis.com)
ã Reed Business Information Limited 2017.
Trend report: polypropylene (PP)
Polyolefins, mainly polypropylene (PP) and
polyethylene (PE), are versatile polymers that
consistently exhibit high growth rate. PP
particularly exhibits consistently higher growth
rate in Europe relative to other polymers,
especially PE. PP increases at 4%/y globally. PP
has a wider range of applications than PE and
PP products continue to evolve due to product
and application development initiatives. Although
biopolymer growth rates are high at as much as
30%/y, the absolute market for these sustainable
polymers remains significantly low at under 1%.
The continuous improvements in PP products and
applications cannot be associated with catalysts
alone, but also with the understanding and new
knowledge of structure/property relationships. The
reinforcement provided by glass or thermoplastic
fibres gradually approaches physical restrictions
making carbon fibre a centre of focus. Borealis
and Magna Industries, for instance, have
combined the benefits of PP-carbon fibre and
class A surface using Fibremod L102SY. The
material reduced weight by 20%. Recycling
efforts are also becoming more rampant as the
European Commission aims to have 55% of
reusable and recyclable plastic packaging waste
by 2025. A pie chart shows the proportion of
different polymer types out of the overall
European consumption.
Kunststoffe International, Oct 2017, 2017 (10),
14-19 (Website: http://www.kunststoffe-
international.com) ã Carl Hanser Verlag 2017.
Trend report: polyamide 6 and 66
Polyamide 6 (PA6) and polyamide 66 (PA66)
sales are being driven by major trends in front
running application sectors. PA6 and PA66
production worldwide exceeded 7.5 M tonnes in
2016 compared with 7.3 M tonnes in 2015, with
PA6 constituting over 70%. Compounds
represented about 25% of the world’s PA6
polymer consumption in 2016. About 50% of
PA66 base resins are converted into engineering
plastics, with the remaining processed mainly into
fibres. About half of the compounded PA6 and
PA66 are consumed by the automobile industry,
followed by the electrical and electronics segment
(around 33%). Approximately 31% of PA6 and
PA66 compounds demand in 2016 came from
China, followed by Europe (around 30%) and
NAFTA and South America (21%). The remaining
Asian countries have an 18% share. The biggest
PA6 compounds producers include BASF, DSM
and Lanxess, while top PA66 compounds
companies are Solvay, DuPont and Asahi Kasei.
China has emerged as the leading PA6 and
PA66 compound market in recent years. The
country’s dependence on caprolactam supplies
from Europe and North America have also
steadily declined as domestic raw material
production facilities were built. In 2015, Invista
and BASF launched their respective facilities in
Shanghai with capacities of 150,000 tonnes/y and
100,000 tonnes/y, respectively. Outside of Asia,
capacities are also being expanded. Ube intends
to expand its PA6 production in Castellon, Spain
by 40,000 tonnes/y to 70,000 tonnes/y in 2018.
Meanwhile, PA6 prices have drastically increased
in the first few months of 2017 due mainly to the
extreme hikes in caprolactam raw material
benzene. As of end-of 2017, benzene prices are
declining but they remain higher than those
recorded in end-2016.
Kunststoffe International, Oct 2017, 2017 (10),
20-24 (Website: http://www.
kunststoffe-international.com) ã Carl Hanser
Verlag 2017.
Trend report: polyurethanes
Global polyurethane (PU) consumption
continues to grow constantly across all
application sectors. PU consumption worldwide
in 2016 increased by nearly 1 M tonnes year-on-
year to more than 18.5 M tonnes and is
expected to increase by around 4%/y in the
medium term. This will be driven by China’s
economic performance as it is by far PU’s
largest single market representing around 40%
of global PU sales. This is followed by Europe,
Middle East and African region (almost 33%)
and NAFTA and Latin America (almost 20%). In
terms of processing industries, the furniture and
timber industry remains the market leader in
2016 with 30% share, followed by the
construction sector (25%), automotive/transport
sector (15%), electrical and electronics (9%)
and shoe sector (6%). Flexible foams led all
application segments with around 36% of
market share in 2016, followed by rigid foams
(30%), coatings, adhesives and sealants (13%)
and elastomers (9%). China’s PU consumption
continues to increase that keep investments
coming. Wanhua is currently building a 300,000
tonnes/y toluene diisocyanate (TDI) facility in the
country. Along with industry partners, Huntsman is
also expanding its existing methylene diphenyl
diisocyanate (MDI) plant in Caojing by 240,000
tonnes/y. New PU capacities are also being
constructed in other regions worldwide. By late-
2018, Covestro will double its MDI capacity in
Brunsbuttel, Germany to 400,000 tonnes/y. BASF
also plans to operate at 100% capacity its new
300,000 tonnes/y TDI unit in Ludwigshafen,
Germany, which began operations in 2015. Sadara
also announced the recent launch of its new MDI
and TDI production plants in Al-Jubail, Saudi Arabia
with 400,000 tonnes/y and 200,000 tonnes/y
capacities, respectively. Meanwhile, biomass-based
aniline is now being developed as a raw material
for MDI. Global aniline production is currently at
about 5 M tonnes.
Kunststoffe International, Oct 2017, 2017 (10),
46-51 (Website: http://www.
kunststoffe-international.com) ã Carl Hanser
Verlag 2017.