Chemical Week • July 3/10 • Newsbriefs

Nova Chemicals (Calgary, Canada) and Plastic Energy (London) have entered into an agreement to explore development of a pyrolysis-driven advanced recycling facility in the Sarnia, Ontario, area with an initial capacity of 66,000 metric tons per year. Plastic Energy has two commercial recycling plants in Spain, as well as projects planned in Europe and Asia. Nova aims to increase the recycled content of its polyethylene sales to 30% by 2030.

LyondellBasell Industries (Houston) has invested in a new Carbon Neutrality Fund led by private investment firm Chrysalix Venture Capital (Vancouver, Canada) to support emerging companies developing new low-carbon technologies for hard-to-abate sectors. “Chrysalix Venture Capital has an established track record of investing in new climate technologies and a strong focus on developing innovative solutions for hard-to-abate sectors, including chemicals,” said Jim Seward, executive vice president and chief innovation officer at LyondellBasell.

3M Inc. (St. Paul, Minnesota) has entered into a “broad class” resolution to support per- and polyfluoroalkyl substance (PFAS) remediation for public water suppliers that detect PFAS at any level now or in the future. 3M has agreed to contribute up to $10.3 billion over 13 years under the settlement, which is subject to court approval. 3M expects to record a pretax charge of approximately $10.3 billion in the second quarter of 2023. 3M plans to exit PFAS manufacturing by the end of 2025.

North American chemical rail traffic finished the second quarter down from one year ago but strengthening, according to new data from the Association of American Railroads. During the week ended July 1, chemical railcar volume in North America totaled 47,233 carloads, up 7.5% sequentially and down 0.6% year over year. For the year to date, chemical railcar volume is down 2.9%, while total railcar volume is up 2.1%.

Solenis Technologies (Wilmington, Delaware) has completed the acquisition of Diversey Holdings (Fort Mill, South Carolina), a supplier of chemicals, materials and equipment for cleaning and hygiene, in an all-cash transaction with an enterprise value of approximately $4.6 billion. “This merger makes Solenis a more diversified company with significantly increased scale, broader global reach and the ability to offer a ‘one-stop shop’ suite of solutions that meet customer demand and address water management, cleaning and hygiene issues on a global basis,” said John Panichella, CEO, Solenis.

Unipar invited to begin due diligence for Braskem acquisition

Unipar Carbocloro’s (Unipar; São Paulo, Brazil) bid to acquire Braskem (São Paulo) is gaining momentum. According to a July 3 letter from Braskem to the Securities and Exchange Commission of Brazil (CVM), Novonor (São Paulo), which owns a controlling share of Braskem, has invited Unipar to begin due diligence “with a view to presenting a final binding offer.” However, a competing bid may be in the works, and there are signs that Petróleo Brasileiro (Petrobras; São Paulo), which has right of first refusal, may be inclined to make its own offer.

Braskem said separately that operations at its Grande ABC plant in São Paulo were unaffected by a June 22 explosion that occurred in a fuel tank that was out of service and being painted.

Unipar announced on June 10 that it had made a nonbinding offer to Novonor, which holds 50.1% of Braskem’s voting shares, and that it planned to negotiate a separate deal with Petrobras, which holds 47.0% of Braskem’s voting shares. Braskem sent the July 3 letter after CVM asked about a news report claiming that J&F Investimentos (J&F; São Paulo), a holding company with interests mainly in agriculture and energy, is developing an alternative offer. Braskem’s letter did not directly refer to J&F, only noting that Novonor had “not received any proposal from potential interested parties that implies material or binding evolution.”

Petrobras seems to be keeping its options open. On June 13, it responded to reports of Unipar’s offer by noting that “operation in the petrochemical sector is one of the strategic elements of the Strategic Plan 2024-2028” disclosed on June 1. Moreover, Petrobras is no longer focused on shedding assets. “Petrobras had a divestment program,” CFO Sergio Caetano Leite told Bloomberg News in an interview published on July 4. “The company has now changed sides of the table.”

Röhm GmbH (Darmstadt, Germany) will close its methyl methacrylate (MMA) facility in Westwego, Louisiana, in June 2025, with the loss of 70 jobs, in connection with the completion of its new 250,000 metric tons per year MMA facility in Bay City, Texas, which is expected to begin production in the first half of 2024.

BASF has officially opened its Biodegradation and Microplastics Center of Excellence in Wyandotte, Michigan. The center aims to provide “holistic, tailored” solutions directly for customers supported through scientific studies and consulting, to increase speed-to-market for circular economy products, and to advocate on sustainability topics, BASF said.

Epsilon Advanced Materials (Mumbai) plans to build a $650 million, 50,000 metric tons per year plant for manufacturing synthetic graphite anodes in the US, with startup expected by 2026. The announcement was included in a joint statement by US president Joe Biden and Indian prime minister Narendra Modi. Epsilon is evaluating multiple locations across the US, and it has already signed strategic supply agreements with local raw material suppliers and transport partners.

Origin Materials (West Sacramento, California) has begun startup of the world’s first commercial-scale facility for producing chloromethylfurfural (CMF) and hydrothermal carbon (HTC). The Sarnia, Ontario, plant will use forest biomass to make CMF, which can be converted to intermediates paraxylene and furandicarboxylic acid (FDCA), and HTC, which can be used to make carbon black, activated carbon and other products. A second plant in Geismar, Louisiana, is slated for startup in 2025.

Air Liquide Group SA has announced a restructuring of its home healthcare operations in France, including potentially cutting up to 430 jobs. The company has made a presentation to employee representatives for the transformation of its home healthcare activities in France, it said. The plan also involves a revamp of the company’s Pharma Dom entity, one of its main homecare entities, as well as a simplification of its brand portfolio, and a regrouping of its locations and technology investments to optimize processes, Air Liquide said. The transformation project aims to adapt the business model of the company’s home healthcare segment in France to challenges facing the healthcare system, it said.

Brenntag SE has announced a reduction in its number of management board members from five to four, effective August 1. CEO Christian Kohlpaintner will lead the new four-member management board and Kristin Neumann remains CFO. Ewout van Jarwaarde, current chief transformation officer (CTO), will become the new head of the Brenntag Essentials division as CEO/Brenntag Essentials, with the CTO role being discontinued at board level. Michael Friede will continue to lead the Brenntag Specialties division as CEO/Brenntag Specialties. The other current Brenntag management board member is Steven Terwindt, COO/Brenntag Essentials. Terwindt “has chosen to not extend his contract with Brenntag to pursue opportunities outside the company,” Brenntag said. Terwindt’s contract ends on July 31. Brenntag has been under pressure for months from activist investors who want the company to split Brenntag Specialties and Brenntag Essentials into separate independent firms. Brenntag said it plans to introduce a new governance and steering structure for the two divisions as of Jan. 1, 2024. This will include a partial and gradual shift of specific functions, responsibilities and activities from corporate level to the divisions, Brenntag said. The company plans to share more information on the financial details of the new governance and steering structure, and divisional operating model changes, as well as on the resulting modifications to Brenntag’s reporting structure, at a capital markets day in late fall 2023. “Our conclusions on strategic options and the future path for Brenntag and our divisions will be communicated at the capital markets day,” said CFO Neumann.

Petronas Chemicals Group Berhad (PCG) said that it is bolstering its specialty chemicals portfolio with the formation of a dedicated specialty chemicals division. To lead the new specialties division, PCG has appointed Debbie Chiu Yuen-Yuen as chief operating officer together with a management team “to manage and steer critical strategic priorities, toward supporting PCG’s long-term aspirations within specialty chemicals,” it added. PCG said it has identified diversification into specialty chemicals as a key anchor for the company’s growth and to cushion its main petrochemicals business against the cyclical nature and volatility of the industry.

Reports: Adnoc and OMV in Borealis-Borouge merger talks

Abu Dhabi National Oil Co. (Adnoc) and OMV AG (Vienna) are in talks over a potential combination of Borealis and Borouge into a single chemicals and polymers company, according to reports.

The companies are discussing the potential valuation and ownership structure of a combined entity and may reach the outlines for formal merger negotiations in the coming weeks, separate reports on July 5 by Bloomberg News and Reuters said, quoting people familiar with the matter. Talks have been on and off for several months and could still be delayed or fall apart, they said.

Borealis is 75% owned by OMV, with the remaining 25% held by Adnoc, and Borouge is a joint venture of Adnoc and Borealis. Borouge has an estimated market value of about $22 billion. OMV and Adnoc are discussing a possible valuation of about $10 billion for Borealis, including its stake in Borouge, the sources said. After taking into account potential synergies, the valuation of the combined entity could exceed $30 billion, they said.

Representatives for Adnoc and OMV declined to comment. OMV is majority owned by the Austrian government, with a 24.9% equity stake owned by Adnoc.

In June, Adnoc reportedly made a preliminary bid of almost $11 billion for Covestro AG, with Covestro later reported to have rejected the offer as too low.

Agricultural chemicals producer UPL Ltd. (Mumbai) said that its board has approved the transfer of the company’s specialty chemicals business to a separate entity, UPL Specialty Chemicals Ltd. (USCL), in a transaction valued at 35.72 billion rupees ($435.8 million). The deal is slated to be completed within 3-4 months of the date of shareholder approval. UPL’s specialties business makes ingredients used to produce crop protection, pharma, paints, textiles, mining, flavors and fragrance, lubricants, water treatment, personal care and petroleum/oilfield products. UPL said that the restructuring would enable it to scale up the specialty chemicals business at a faster pace. The specialty chemicals business generated 2022 revenue of 160.9 billion rupees.

Toyo Ink Co.’s (Tokyo) polymer and coatings affiliate Toyochem has completed a polymer pilot facility at its Kawagoe, Japan, site. The new facility is engaged in the prototyping and medium-scale production of advanced polymers and their composites. Toyochem plans to manufacture condensation polymers that exhibit high heat resistance and high flexibility, used for semiconductor components, at the plant.

Indo Rama Synthetics India Ltd. (Mumbai) has started commercial production of bottle-grade polyethylene terephthalate (PET) resins from its newly constructed solid-state polymerization plant at the company’s Butibori, India, site. Indo Rama Synthetics operates India’s largest dedicated polyester manufacturing unit at a single location. The company’s product portfolio includes polyester staple fiber, partially oriented yarn, fully drawn yarn, draw texturized yarn and polyester chips.