The Catalyst Review September 2017 - 2

COMMERCIAL NEWS
Chinese Independent Refiners
Plan to Merge...

Nisshinbo's Platinum-Free Tech Could Mean Cheaper Fuel-Cell
Cars...

Shandong Economic and Information
Technology Committee, the local economy
planner of Shandong Province, China, has
officially approved proposals to create
a group named Shandong Refining and
Energy Group (SREG) by combining a
number of local refining corporations.
Reports say the size of the new group
could possibly compare with the stateowned energy and refining giants China
National Offshore Oil Corp., Sinopec,
and China National Petroleum Corp.
The proposal was initiated by Shandong
Dongming Petrochemical Group (Heze,
China) jointly with Qingyuan Group
(Zibo, China) and others among the 25
companies that are eligible to process
imported crude oil in the province. By
uniting the individual refineries, each of
which has a comparatively small refining
capacity, SREG would be more successful
in China's fiercely competitive refining
industry, where capacity is increasing
rapidly, reports say. By the end of 2018,
Zhejiang Petrochemical (Wenzhou, China),
a private group-holding company with
state capital participation; and Hengli
Petrochemical (Dalian, China) will have
each brought online a 20 million-metric
tons/year (MMt/y) integrated refining
and chemical complex. Sinopec will add
refining capacities totaling 40 MMt/y
by 2020, according to the group's 13th
five-year plan. The plan to create SREG
is still at an early stage. The participating
corporations and their shares in the new
group have not yet been decided, and
state capital and foreign investments may
join. Separately, 16 refining corporations,
of which 14 are based in Shandong,
founded China Petroleum Purchase
Federation of Independent Refineries in
February 2016. The purpose of forming
the association was to facilitate the
purchase of crude oil from overseas and
increase the companies' bargaining power.
Source: IHS Chemical Week, 9/6/2017.

Japanese company Nisshinbo Holdings has commercialized the world's first catalyst
for fuel cells that does not use platinum. Nisshinbo's catalyst uses a carbon alloy that
has been heated in a way that creates a structure which achieves the same effect. The
material works nearly as well as the conventional kind with platinum, and is thousands
of times cheaper. The company will initially supply the catalyst to Canada's Ballard
Power Systems, which will use it in a fuel cell for portable electronic devices, due to
be released in December. Nisshinbo hopes to use the same technology in automotive
fuel cells. According to the U.S. Department of Energy, a single fuel-cell vehicle requires
$3,650 in catalyst materials, accounting for 40-45% of the cost of the cell's internal
components. The main culprit is platinum, which goes for some 4,000 yen ($36.35) per
gram. Replacing it with a catalyst using Nisshinbo's carbon alloy, which costs less than 1
yen per gram, would bring costs down significantly. The material can also be procured
more reliably than platinum, which can be sourced from only a few countries, such as
South Africa. Source: Nikkei Asian Review, 9/13/2017.

Air Products and Lu'An Clean Energy Company to Form $1.3
Billion Joint Venture for Coal-to-Syngas Project in China's Shanxi
Province...
Air Products announced it has signed an agreement to form a $1.3 billion joint venture
(JV) with Lu'An Clean Energy Company, which will significantly expand Air Products'
scope of supply serving Lu'An Mining (Group) Co., Ltd.'s syngas-to-liquids production in
Changzhi City, Shanxi Province, China. Air Products has already invested $300 million
to build, own and operate four large air separation units (ASUs) to supply the Changzhi
City site. Under the new agreement, Air Products will contribute the ASUs and invest
a further $500 million for a 60% ownership in the new JV. With this majority position,
Air Products will fully consolidate the JV financial results. Lu'An will contribute the
gasification and syngas clean-up system, will receive $500 million of cash and will have
a 40% ownership in the new JV. The new joint venture, to be called Air Products Lu'�n
(Changzhi) Co., Ltd., will own and operate the ASUs and gasification and syngas clean-up
system. The JV will receive coal, steam and power from Lu'An and will supply syngas to
Lu'An under a long-term, onsite contract. Source: Air Products, 9/10/2017.

SABIC Inaugurates Novel PP Pilot Plant in the Netherlands...
SABIC recently inaugurated a new polypropylene (PP) pilot plant at Geleen,
Netherlands, and announced a new investment in a PP extrusion facility to be built
at the same site. The new PP pilot plant, located at SABIC's global technology center
for Europe, will design next-generation PP materials. The plant, based on gas-phase
polymerization technology, will produce materials for several industries, including
automotive, health and personal care, appliances, and advanced packaging. The pilot
plant will help develop grades with improved balance in stiffness and impact resistance,
flow properties, and other properties specific to target applications. SABIC plans to
concentrate on the development of impact grades of PP as well as random copolymers
and homopolymers. It will also carry out experiments on advanced catalysts. The new
PP extrusion line, meanwhile, is expected to be in operation in the fourth quarter of
2017. Source: IHS Chemical Week, 9/13/2017.

The Catalyst Review

September 2017

The Catalyst Review September 2017

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of The Catalyst Review September 2017