October 2023 Newsletter
MLT Analytics
An expert team focusing on ML and AI-based forecasts with solid domain knowledge in commodities and specialty products
More green developments in the plastics sector headline our latest newsletter, while CT scanning is deployed to analyze 3D-printed metal components, and we take part in a panel discussion debating sustainability.
LG Chem, Eni Consider Biorefinery in South Korea
LG Chem and Eni Sustainable Mobility have announced that they are exploring the possibility to develop and operate a new biorefinery at LG Chem’s Daesan chemical complex, 80 km southwest of Seoul, South Korea.
Together, the companies are examining the technical and economic feasibilities for the proposed project. Final decision for the investment is scheduled by 2024 and the plant will be completed by 2026 at the existing integrated petrochemical complex in Daesan, Korea. The new biorefinery will leverage LG Chem’s integrated value chain as well as the existing utilities and facilities of the industrial site.
The potential biorefinery aims to meet the growing demand for more sustainable fuels and plastics produced by low-carbon processes, as well as to help progressively decarbonize the energy and mobility sector. It is designed to process approximately 400,000 tonnes of bio-feedstocks annually using Eni's Ecofining process, developed in collaboration with Honeywell UOP. It will also have the flexibility to process renewable bio-feedstocks and produce multiple products including Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF), Hydrotreated Vegetable Oil (HVO), and bio-naphtha.
T-Plas Hosts Inaugural Circularity and Sustainability Seminar
Renowned industry experts convened at T-Plas for the inaugural Circular Economy and Sustainable Challenges for Southeast Asian Markets seminar Wednesday 20th September to discuss the direction the plastics industry needs to take in order to achieve global sustainability and circularity goals.
Among the numerous topics of discussion and vigorous debate were emerging environmental, sustainability and governance (ESG) reporting requirements. According to Raimund Klein, CEO of the International Centre for Industrial Transformation (INCIT), fragmented feedback from the public sector is inhibiting uptake of ESG reporting in ASEAN. “The Finance Ministry may say something and the Industry Ministry another thing,” he notes. At the same time, multinational companies are increasingly asking potential suppliers whether they have ESG reporting. In fact, ESG reporting is fast becoming a prerequisite for doing business, in particular with European companies.
Lummus, RWDC to Accelerate and Scale PHA Production
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Technology licensor Lummus Technology, and biopolymer material solutions developer RWDC Industries have signed what’s called a binding joint development and commercial cooperation agreement (JDCCA) to rapidly expand manufacturing and global licensing of polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHA). In April, Lummus and RWDC signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) to cooperate on global PHA deployment initiatives.
RWDC uses plant-based oils, including post-consumer or waste cooking oils, to produce its proprietary Solon PHA, which can be organically recycled or composted in home and industrial composting facilities. Products or packaging made with PHA that find their way into the environment, therefore, will fully biodegrade in soil, fresh water, and marine settings, preventing persistent plastics and microplastics from accumulating in the environment. Articles produced with PHA also can be recycled, re-used or returned to the carbon cycle by way of organic recycling or composting systems.
Machine Learning Cuts 3D-printed Component Scanning Time by Ten-fold
A licensing agreement between the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) and research partner Zeiss will enable industrial X-ray computed tomography, or CT, to perform rapid evaluations of 3D-printed components using ORNL’s machine learning algorithm, Simurgh. Incorporating machine learning into CT scanning is expected to reduce the time and cost of inspections by more than ten times while improving quality.
The licensing is part of a five-year research collaboration between ORNL and Zeiss, supported by DOE’s Advanced Materials and Manufacturing Technologies Office and a Technology Commercialization Fund award. The research has focused on using CT scanners and other measuring devices to see inside 3D-printed parts to check for cracks and other defects during the manufacturing process.
Neste to Enable bio-based PET Bottles Production
Neste has entered into a partnership with beverage manufacturer Suntory, petrochemicals player ENEOS and and trading house Mitsubishi Corporation to enable the production of PET (polyethylene terephthalate) resin made with renewable Neste RE? on a commercial scale. Neste RE is Neste’s feedstock for polymers production, made 100% from bio-based raw materials such as waste and residues, e.g. used cooking oil, to replace fossil feedstock in the value chain. Japanese beverage company Suntory will utilize the renewable PET resin to produce bottles for its products in 2024.