NPE REVIEW | NEWS Standing out at NPE 2018


We pick out some high- lights from the recent NPE 2018 show, which are of relevance to pipe and profile extruders


Exhibitors at the recent NPE show in the USA were a mix of large and small, offering both new materials and machinery to the gathered visitors.


Some of the largest polymer producers were out in force, with one in particular marking its ‘return’ to the North American market: Shell Polymers, which has not produced polyolefins on the continent since 2005, has been tempted back by the attractive economics of shale gas. The company has begun construction of a 1.6m tonnes/year polyethylene (PE) plant in Pennsylvania in the USA. Located in Beaver County, 45km north-west of Pittsburgh, it includes an ethane cracker and three PE polymerisation units that will produce HDPE and LLDPE grades. Construction began in the fourth quarter of 2017, with the first products set to reach the market in the early 2020s.


Shell Polymers business


integration lead Michael Marr explained that building the site in Pennsylvania -- rather than on the Gulf Coast – puts it close to the huge Marcellus and Utica shale fields, to maximise the benefits of the new resource. “Our thought was to put the plant closer to the shale fields and to the market – as 70% of the North American


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Show organiser Plastics Industry Association said this was the largest NPE in history


PE market is within 700 miles,” he said.


US growth target Underlining the importance of the US market for its long- term growth, SABIC executive vice president for petrochemicals Abdulrah- man Al-Fageeh said the company planned to double its manufacturing footprint in the country over the next five years and expand sales from 2.7m to 5.4m tonnes by 2022. A key element in this


growth is the planned 1.8m tonnes/year ethane cracking joint venture with Exxon Mobil, which will include two new PE polymerisation units. However, Al-Fageeh said the company’s move to more differentiated prod- ucts and a sectorial ap- proach to the market will also play a major part: he cited the formation earlier this year of three new business segments target- ing caps and closures, industrial hygiene and thin wall packaging as examples of this more application- focused approach.


Stable technology Baerlocher promoted its recently introduced Bae- ropol RST resin stabilisation technology – with a new focus on polyolefin com- pounders and recyclers – and introducing an addi- tional grade of the material called Baeropol DRS 6812. The trend in polyolefin polymer production is to one-pass stabilisation, meaning that the resin is stabilised with one process- ing step in mind said Greg Andersen, Baerlocher USA director of Baeropol products. “We have a couple of ongoing projects with major compounders. Their focus is on replacing phosphite in formulations as it presents a number of challenges. Solubility is limited to 800ppm, for instance: if you want higher, it comes out of solution as white powder,” he said.


Based on metal stearate technology, RST stabilisers can be used as a direct 1:1 replacement for phosphite antioxidants or as a syner- gist to reduce phosphite


Shell is capitalising on the economics of shale gas to restart polyolefin production in North America


loadings or allow the use of less costly grades. Aside from oxidation protection, the additives also act as a lubricant and provide antacid properties, which is particularly useful where users are dealing with recycled content or catalysis products. Future RST developments will include an extension to other metal stearates (current products are based on zinc stearates). RST stabilisers are also suitable for applications beyond polyolefins, with some customers already said to be using them in PS and PA formulations.


Taking the heat PSI-Polymer Systems introduced two late-stage developments for proces- sors of rigid PVC – a high


June 2018 | PIPE & PROFILE EXTRUSION 13


PHOTO: NPE2018


PHOTO: AMI


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