🏭 Motor Oil 2.0

Good morning. If the first story on PAOs is interesting to you head back up here and give Jeff Plotkin's breakdown on LAOs a read.

From the condenser:

· CP Chem's LAO plans

· Repsol's new UHMW-PE plans

· MOTD: ethyl tert-butyl ether

CP Chem wants to cool batteries

US-based Chevron and Phillips 66 joint venture, Chevron Phillips Chemical (CP Chem), has announced plans to build a 60,000 ton per year polyalphaolefin (PAO) unit at its site in Beringen, Belgium.

What are they making?

CP Chem is talking about making PAOs, which are just polymerized linear alpha olefins (LAOs), which are just pseudo-polymerized olefins, which we make by steam cracking ethane and naphtha. PAOs are most well-known as the base oil used to make synthetic motor oil, but they also find themselves in various other fluids, lubricants, and greases.

Why build the plant?

The company mentioned growing demand from high-temperature applications and new applications in the electric vehicle (EV) market. That second one may sound weird—EVs don't use synthetic motor oil—but they do use other lubricants and fluids. Plus, perhaps most interestingly, there's a growing interest in using LAOs to manage heat generation in battery packs.

Looking forward:

Batteries that have more power and charge faster also generate more heat (shoutout to Joule heating). So, as you might imagine, managing that heat is becoming increasingly important. Existing battery cooling systems (air or glycol-water) aren't going to work forever, so companies like CP Chem are pushing for immersion cooling systems that use LAOs as the dielectric fluid. For what it's worth, McKinsey expects to see a lot of growth here, but not nearly enough to offset the other demand loss from EV adoption.

Repsol wants to make long polymers

Spanish petroleum company, Repsol, is getting closer to building an ultra-high molecular weight polyethylene (UHMW-PE) plant in Puertollano, Spain.

Catching you up:

Back in October 2020, Repsol announced that it was interested in building a UHMWPE plant with Royal DSM's process technology (which is probably owned by Avient or Lanxess now). Then, about 9 months later, the company knocked out the conceptual design for a 15,000 ton per year plant. Now, a little less than two years since the first announcement, Repsol has made their final investment decision. They are planning to spend $112 million building the plant and are shooting for start-up in 2024.

Wait, what are they making?

We make UHMW-PE by polymerizing ethylene (just like with HDPE and LDPE), the key difference is the resulting average chain length of the polyethylene. UHMW-PE's super long chains create a very tough material with a high mechanical strength. That strength is what makes it useful as body armor (that should be intuitive) and as a separator in lithium-ion batteries (they are apparently safer than the competition).

Zooming out:

UHMW-PE has some "cool" applications relative to other polyethylenes, such as HDPE, which probably reminds you of milk jugs and plastic bags. Instead of getting lost in the sauce it's helpful to remember that while 15,000 tons per year may sound like a lot, it's hardly a drop in the bucket compared to the 200+ million tons of ethylene we make each year.

Some more headlines:

• Malaysia Airlines flew using sustainable aviation fuel for the first time

• Technip Energies is going to to the feasibility study for a lithium refinery in France

• Worley landed a front end engineering design contract for a low-carbon-fuels project

• The American Chemistry Council just dropped their mid-year report

• Borealis finally locked in the sale of its $850 million nitrogen business

Molecule of The Day:

Today's MOTD is worth your attention, it's ethyl tert-butyl ether.

Formed by the acidic etherification of isobutylene with ethanol, ethyl tert-butyl ether (ETBE) is one of the few different gasoline oxygenates used today. Despite an annual production globally of over 3 million tons, this stuff is used almost exclusively in Western Europe and Japan.

In the US (and more recently in China) refineries are required to produce gasoline that contains 10% ethanol. That makes it the most popular octane booster, but that's not because it's the best for the job (check out this helpful chart). ETBE, which is made from ethanol, can be blended to much higher levels than ethanol (over 20%) and has other air quality benefits.

The main companies producing the world's ETBE are LyondellBasell, Total, Braskem, and quite a few more.

In case you're interested:

• Article: If you’ve ever wondered how plastic gets in the ocean this is a good start.

• Book: The Alchemy of Air is a must-read for anyone interested in the chemical industry. It's the story behind the Haber-Bosch process that lead to fertilizer—and explosives.*

• Safety Moment: With winter coming, freezes at chemical plants are inevitable. Learn about how improper winterization can lead to process safety events.

The bottoms: