Dutch-based oil major, Shell, and specialty metals company, AMG, have announced that their joint venture will be exploring the feasibility of constructing a catalyst recycling facility in Yantai, China.

What do they do exactly?

Nearly all crude oils contain at least trace amounts of rare earth metals (vanadium, nickel, molybdenum), which are removed throughout the refining process and left behind on catalysts (like this residue upgrading catalyst). This joint venture wants to build a plant that takes those spent catalysts, removes the rare metals from the surrounding residue (and sell them to steel producers), and then returns the now "fresh" catalyst back to the refiner.

Zooming out:

Since the IMO 2020 fuel sulfur regulation has been implemented refiners can't tolerate quite as much fouling on their catalysts. As a result, refiners will need to dispose of and purchase new catalysts more frequently. This joint venture expects to provide an alternative (the recycling of the catalyst) and capture some of that growing market.

Read the press release here.

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has announced that it will provide a total of $27 million in funding for 12 projects focused on developing advanced plastics and recycling technologies.

What are the projects?

The projects fall into a few different buckets: novel bio-based plastics, novel plastics, or novel ways to breakdown plastic waste. Nearly every project chosen (see the list of everything here) is based out of a university that has partnered with private companies (including but not limited to chemical companies—even Lululemon is in on this).

What are they saying?

The U.S. is facing a plastic waste problem, and it's really difficult to solve problems without money. The Deputy Secretary of Energy, Mark Menezes, noted that "The Trump Administration is committed to advancing innovation to position the U.S. as a global leader in advanced plastics recycling and upcycling technologies.".

Read the press release here.

Irving-based chemical company, Celanese, has announced that it will be adding an ultra-high molecular weight polyethylene (UHMW-PE) line to its Bishop, Texas facility.

What's UHMW-PE?

The polymer is known for its extremely long chains that create a very tough material (it has the highest impact strength of any thermoplastic). Because of that property, it can be used as a fiber for personal body armor, but it also performs well as a separator in lithium-ion batteries.

So why are they building a new line?

Celanese cites electric vehicle demand as having a "compounded annual growth rate of greater than 25 percent through 2025". The company knows this means an increased demand for lithium-ion battery separators, and hopes to supply even more of the critical material in the new few years.

Read the press release here.