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Connersville, Indiana plant. Image courtesy of NOVA Chemicals

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NOVA Chemicals expands participation in recycling 

NOVA Chemicals said on July 18, 2023 that it has developed its first mechanical recycling facility and that it is located in Connersville, Indiana with plans that by 2025 it will start to process at commercial scales post-consumer plastic films into recycled polyethylene.

The facility could be delivering over 100 million pounds of rPE (recycled polyethylene) to the market by 2026, according to the press release from NOVA Chemicals, a company based in Calgary, Alberta and owned by the Mubadala Investment Company of the Emirate of Abu Dhabi.

NOVA Chemicals plans to expand its recycling activities over the next several years to reach its 2030 goal of "30% recycled content-source material" as a share of total polyethylene sales, the company added.

NOVA had recently announced its 2030 roadmap, or strategy, that includes “anticipated investment of between $2 to $4 billion by 2030 to expand its sustainable product offerings, de-carbonize its assets, and build a state-of-the-art mechanical recycling business while exploring new advanced recycling technologies.”  

The facility will employ 125 people and become one of the largest private employers of Connersville, selected as it is near several metropolitan areas and has already rail access for distributing the recycled polyethylene.

“The new plant will build on our experience of operating both our North Vernon plastics recycling facility in Indiana and our recycling plant in Wisconsin as well as accelerate our commitment to support recycling,” it said. 

NOVA Chemicals reported on June 28 the joint investment along with Plastic Energy, a company that includes a UK-based team of specialists and has two operating plants in Spain. It said that it had “entered into an agreement to explore the feasibility" of a pyrolysis-driven recycling plant in the Sarnia, Ontario, region in Canada.

“If constructed, the facility would be the largest of its kind in Canada with a potential initial capacity of 66kt per annum,” it added.

Recycled polyethylene using the company process can have identical properties to virgin polyethylene, the company said.

NOVA completed within the last year a polyethylene and cracker expansion in Ontario, Canada.

N-Butanol market to see steady expansion until 2028

The N-Butanol market will see “significant expansion in coming years with a steady growth rate projected until 2028,” according to market research shared on July 19 by ResearchandMarkets.

N-Butanol, also known as 1 butanol or butyl alcohol, is mainly used as a raw material for paint and coatings, as well as for butyl carboxylates such as butyl acrylate, butyl acetate, and glycol ethers, the research group said in a press release.

 N-Butanol will get pull demand from various end-user industries, including agriculture, paint, coatings, chemical, textile, building and construction, pharmaceutical, and personal care, it added.

“Butyl alcohol finds extensive application in pharmaceutical grade products such as artificial eyes, dentures, and surgical prostheses,” it added. It´s also used in paraffin embedding materials, and veterinary medicine as a bactericide.

“As efforts to improve healthcare access and quality intensify, the demand for medical and surgical products is expected to surge, thereby boosting the demand for N-Butanol,” according to the release from ResearchandMarkets.

N-Butanol is also an important intermediate in the production of dyes, lacquers, resins, and varnishes. N-Butanol in agriculture is used for the production of herbicides and other agrochemicals.

Moreover, its application in the food industry as a dehydrating or flavoring agent, or as a fragrance component, also adds to its industry demand.

N-Butanol  recently “gained prominence as a cleaner-burning alternative fuel,” the release added.

N-Butanol ”can be used in diesel engines without modification and can reduce greenhouse gas emissions by up to 86%. This eco-friendly attribute positions N-Butanol as a desirable fuel option, fostering its market growth,” ResearchandMarkets said.

Some companies that participate in the market include BASF, Dow, INEOS, Mitsubishi and Sasol, according to the statement.

N-butanol can be obtained from propylene. Propylene can be obtained as a by-product of petroleum refining and of ethylene production by cracking of hydrocarbons.  Alternatively, in a propane de-hydrogenator (PDH) propylene can also be produced from propane as the main product.

U.S. chemical exports see small rise in May from April

U.S. chemical exports, at $14.1 billion in May, increased 2.1% compared with April but fell 12% year-over-year, according to information released on July 14 by the American Chemistry Council (ACC), an organization that groups petrochemical companies with operations in the U.S.

 The May on-month gain was driven by higher inorganic chemicals exports, the ACC said.

 U.S. chemical imports fell by 1.6% in May from the previous month and were down 14% year over year, it added.

The trade surplus in chemicals expanded by $479 million during the month of May and currently stands at $10 billion, year-to-date, through May, the ACC said in a release.

By Reuters Events Downstream