Eastman’s unique Carbon Renewal Technology makes use of waste plastic to produce new polyester-based polymers. The company plans to use up to 50 million pounds of waste plastic in its carbon renewal technology operations in 2020.

Honeywell’s C3 Oleflex technology which converts propane to propylene will be used by Zibo Qixiang Tengda Chemical Co. (QTXD) in order to meet the growing demand of plastic in China.

Total’s Synova aims to produce 40,000 tonnes of recycled polypropylene per year by 2021 to meet the growing demands for high-performance recycled materials from the automobile sector. The move is in line with the company’s ambition of becoming a responsible energy major.

Ceyhan Polipropilen Uretim intends to utilise Honeywell’s C3 Oleflex technology for producing 457,000 metric tonnes per year of polymer-grade propylene for its new petrochemicals complex in Ceyhan. The new facility is expected to reduce polypropylene imports by 25 % and offset approximately 13 billion dollars in imported petrochemicals in Turkey.

The strong growth of the lithium-ion battery market for electric vehicles has led Arkema to expand its production capacities for high-performance polymer PVDF by 50 % at its Changshu plant in China.

Neste opens a new office in Düsseldorf, Germany, to serve as the global hub for its Renewable Polymers and Chemicals business unit.

One of the polymerisation units of Sibur’s new petrochemical facility, Zap Sib Neftekhim in Siberia has come online. The unit is now producing polyethylene by using its own feedstock at its Tobolsk complex in Russia.

Solvay has brought the new Veradel Pesu line on-stream at its Panoli plant with an aim to increase the capacity of the thermoplastic material owing to its rising demand in the healthcare and water treatment industries.

Arkema has recently brought on stream a new 90,000-tonne acrylic acid reactor at its Texas site in the USA. The move aims to support the growth of the company’s customers in North America dealing in the superabsorbents, paints, adhesives and water treatment markets.

Archer Daniels Midland and LG Chem have signed a joint development agreement to develop biobased acrylic acid which is an important element for manufacturing superabsorbent polymers.