Good morning. I'm going to try to compile two databases for all of you: one with a list of all the start-ups in the industry, and one with all of the projects that The Column has covered in the last 2.5 years. I could use some help with the first one—if any start-ups come to mind, or you've found a partial list elsewhere, please fill out this form.

From the condenser:

· Bio-based ethylene for PET

· Less phthalic anhydride in Korea

· MOTD: sodium bicarbonate

Extra carbon negative PET is coming

Japanese trading company, Mitsui & Co, might build a bio-based ethylene plant in the US southeast with technology from Petron Scientech (PSI).

A little background:

The world produces roughly 200 million tons of ethylene each year for its later conversion into polyethylenes (HDPE, LDPE, LLDPE), other derivatives (EO, MEG, etc.), and those derivatives' derivatives (PET). Right now we get all of that ethylene by steam cracking either ethane or naphtha. And since both of those feedstocks trace their roots back to oil & gas, making sustainable ethylene-derivatives means you need to make ethylene sustainably. Since ethanol is produced via industrial fermentation it check marks the bio-based box, and since we don't have a better alternative, it's currently the top contender.

So, what's the deal here?

Back in August 2021, we saw PSI choose KBR as its exclusive licensing partner for its ethanol-to-ethylene process, with the hopes of offering an operating company a turnkey solution to make bio-based ethylene. Today's announcement is partially the product of that agreement—Mitsui is now considering spending $550 million on a 400,000 ton per year site that could start up as early as 2025.

Bigger picture:

Given Mitsui's partnership with Origin Materials, the mention of bio-based PET to Nikkei Asia, and the site's potential proximity to Origin's upcoming site in Louisiana, it feels safe to say that at least some of what is produced at this site will be converted into ethylene glycol (MEG) and combined with Origin's carbon negative PTA to make polyethylene terephthalate (PET). And since they both want to start-up in about 2 years, you should expect to hear more soon.

Shutting down some phthalic anhydride

South Korean conglomerate, Hanwha Solutions, is permanently closing its phthalic anhydride (PA) plant in Ulsan, South Korea.

The context you need:

The majority of the world's PA is made via the catalytic oxidation of o-xylene, which a xylene isomer derived from the BTX refineries produce by reforming naphtha. This phthalic anhydride stuff is probably most well know for the plasticizers we make (such as DEHP, DINP, and DEHCH) by reacting it with oxo-alcohols (such as 2-ethylhexanol). Those plasticizers are then blended with polymers, such as PVC, to do things like improve physical properties (like making it more flexible) or to make it easier to process.

So, why the shutdown?

Since plasticizer demand isn't waning, this probably boils down to a feedstock cost disadvantage. The 80,000 ton per year PA plant was built before China rapidly expanded its petrochemical sector, which has made it harder to compete with PA produced in China (because o-xylene is cheaper in China). It's the same reason why Mitsui had to shutdown its terephthalic acid (PTA) plant in Japan—while PTA is produced with a different xylene isomer, those isomers come from the same feedstock.

Zooming out:

Hanwha's site in Ulsan also produces plasticizers from the PA it used to produce, so if they plan to continue making those plasticizers they will need to import PA going forward. They probably wouldn't have invested in hydrogenated DEHCH production at this site (the phthalate-free version of DEHCH) had they known that a PA shut down was imminent.

Some more headlines

• LyondellBasell decided to include Scope 3 emissions in its sustainability goals

• Chevron just led the Series E round for a carbon capture start-up called Svante

• Clariant is expanding its ethoxylation plant in Daya Bay, China

• Aramco and TotalEnergies committed to building an $11B complex in Saudi Arabia

• Brenntag is building a new distribution site in Argentina

Molecule of The Day

Today's MOTD is a personal favorite…sodium bicarbonate.

Sodium bicarbonate, also known as baking soda, is primarily produced from sodium carbonate in the Solvay process but can also be made by other methods.

More than half of the 8 million tons of sodium bicarbonate made each year are made in Asia. It's companies like AGC Chemicals, Solvay, Novacap, Church & Dwight, and Tata Chemicals that produce most of that baking soda. Most of the sodium bicarbonate is used in animal feed and the food industry, but it is also notably used in flue gas treatment and detergents (check out this pie chart).

The reboiler

• Podcast: Check out this episode featuring Dr. Frank Slejko on water treatment in various industries, incumbent technologies, and innovations.

• Article: Oleochemicals are making a comeback because of the sustainability push. Give this a read if you want some context.

• Rerun: Today we talked about Mitsui and ethanol-to-ethylene and someone else's p-xylene value chain problems—here's an example of a recent case where Mitsui was having xylene value chain problems.

The bottoms

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