Page 166 - CW E-Magazine (21-11-2023)

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LICENSING & ENGINEERING LITHIUM ION BATTERIES

Lummus and Citroniq ink pacts for green poly- Transform Materials’ technology further lowers

propylene plants carbon footprint of acetylene black at Denka

Lummus Technology, a provider “Citroniq’s four-plant bio-poly- Transform Materials, a sustainable bon-based applications, and for spe- 100 years has successfully optimized
of process technologies and energy propylene licensing agreement with chemical company that uses microwave cialty carbon solids. One such specialty the process, achieving lowest-possible
solutions, and Citroniq Chemicals Lummus Technology is a testament plasma technology to convert hydro- carbon solid is acetylene black, which carbon intensity when using coal-based
have signed licensing and engineering of our commitment to bring sustai- carbons and natural gas into acetylene requires a pure form of acetylene as an feedstocks. By using Transform’s plasma
agreements for green polypropylene nable plastics at world-class scale to the and hydrogen, has made significant input. technology, Denka can obtain acetylene
(PP) plants in the US. The fi rst plant, marketplace,” said Mr. Mel Badheka, progress in its mission to establish itself with even lower carbon intensity.
scheduled for completion in 2027, President & Co-Founder of Citroniq as a key enabler of industrial electri- “Acetylene black is an essential
will produce 400-kpta of bio-PP and Chemicals. fi cation – specifi cally for battery energy component of lithium-ion batteries, and “Transform has helped us under-
will be fi rst in North America with storage systems. battery producers are looking for sources stand how microwave plasma tech-
this production capability. In April 2023, Lummus and Citroniq of low-carbon acetylene to boost pro- nology makes it possible to produce
carbon negative production capabilities formed a partnership to develop four To that end, in August of this year, duction,” said Mr. Kenn Flessner, acetylene gas with large volumes of
“This agreement demonstrates the will help us meet the growing demand green PP plants in North America using Transform Materials’ customer Denka, CEO, Transform Materials. “Transform hydrogen. The project with Transform
progress we continue to make with for bio-polypropylene and accelerate Lummus’ Verdene PP technology suite. a large Japanese chemical manufac- Materials offers the only solution for Materials is one of the most signifi cant
Citroniq in establishing the fi rst world- the decarbonisation of the downstream The licensing and engineering agree- turer , announced that a Japanese Gov- emission-free acetylene production. transformations in our company history
scale sustainable bio-polypropylene energy industry,” said Mr. Romain ments are for the fi rst of the four plants. ernment agency, the New Energy and Our process changes the carbon equa- since we started our business,” said
production process in North America. Lemoine, Chief Business Officer of The Verdene suite includes four Lum- Industrial Technology Development tion by fully utilizing the carbon in Mr. Toshio Imai, CEO, Denka.
Combining Lummus’ leadership in Polymers and Petrochemicals, Lummus mus technologies: ethanol to ethylene, Organization, will grant Denka a subsidy hydrocarbon streams, and ensuring no
polypropylene licensing with Citroniq’s Technology. dimer, olefi ns conversion and PP. of up to 3.3 billion yen to accelerate carbon is released into the atmosphere Denka has an agreement with
the development of mass-production in the form of CO . This enables the Transform Materials to install acety-
2
POOR PERFORMANCE technology for low-carbon acetylene. lowest possible carbon intensity acety- lene and hydrogen production facilities
lene black in the industry.” Until now, based on Transform’s plasma techno-
Bayer to cut management jobs after huge loss Acetylene can be used as a chemi- Denka has relied on calcium carbide logy at its plant in Omuta City, Fukuoka
cal feedstock for polymer and car- to produce acetylene, and over the past Prefecture.
German chemicals giant Bayer has The diversifi ed group – whose examined, but ruled out, it said. Fur-
it would cut management jobs and products include medicines, seeds and ther details will be disclosed in March. EVENT HIGHLIGHTS
was examining splitting off one of its crop chemicals – said it was looking at Splitting the company into at least two
divisions after reporting a massive splitting off either its consumer health parts – the agricultural and pharmaceu- Qatar to host Annual GPCA Forum in December
third-quarter loss. Bayer reported a net or crop science division. Splitting the tical businesses – to contain problems
loss of nearly €4.6-bn ($4.9-bn) from company into three businesses had been has been a key demand of investors. The 17th Annual GPCA Forum, the Al-Mulla, MD & CEO, QAPCO; and
July to September, compared to a profi t Gulf Petrochemicals and Chemicals Mr. Peter Vanacker, CEO, Lyondell-
of nearly €550-mn in the same period Fluor bags BHP’s potash project Association’s (GPCA’s) fl agship event, Basell.
last year, dragged down by massive hosted by QatarEnergy, will take place
write-downs at its agrochemicals divi- in Canada for the fi rst time in Qatar National The forum will feature a ‘Solutions
sion. This was linked to losses related Convention Centre, Doha from 4-6 Decem- Xchange’ – a knowledge-sharing plat-
to higher interest rates, and also refl ects American EPC fi rm, Fluor, has an- chewan, Canada. When completed, the ber 2023. Minister of State for Energy Affairs, form, providing practical solutions and
ongoing problems in the division due nounced that its Mining & Metals busi- Jansen site will be capable of producing and President & CEO, QatarEnergy, insights designed to shape the chemical
to falling sales and prices of its key ness has been selected by BHP Canada approximately 8.5-mtpa of potash, and Held under the theme ‘Mobilising will deliver a ministerial address on industry’s future. The ‘GPCA Sympo-
glyphosate-based herbicides. to develop stage 2 of its multi-billion will be one of the largest and most sus- chemistry for impactful transforma- December 4, while Mr. Abdulrahman sium’ will return for its second edition
dollar Jansen potash project in Saskat- tainable potash mines in the world. tion’, the forum will cover topics rang- Al-Fageeh, CEO, SABIC and Chairman, under the theme ‘The Future of Pro-
“We’re not happy with this year’s ing from the clean energy transition to GPCA, will present the welcome curement’ facilitated by Kearney. The
performance,” new Mr. Bill Anderson, the role of chemistry in sustainability, remarks. Other industry leaders speak- 5th GPCA Legacy Awards will also
CEO, said in a statement. The company industry consolidation, future of trade, ing include Ms. Karen McKee, Presi- take place on Day 1 to recognise one
said it plans to “remove multiple layers the global macroeconomic outlook, inno- dent, ExxonMobil Product Solutions; outstanding chemical industry pioneer
of management and coordination” by vation, and much more. Mr. Adriano Alfani, CEO, Versalis; for their contribution to the evolution
the end of the year, which will include “a Mr. Jean-Marc Gilson, President & CEO, of the chemical industry in the Gulf
signifi cant reduction in the workforce”. Mr. Saad Sherida Al-Kaabi, Qatar’s Mitsubishi Chemicals; Dr. Mohammed region.

166 Chemical Weekly November 21, 2023 Chemical Weekly November 21, 2023 167

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