US-based Chevron and Phillips 66 joint venture, Chevron Phillips Chemical (CP Chem), has signed a long-term agreement to receive plastic-waste-based pyrolysis oil produced by Braven Environmental.

Bringing you up to speed:

We saw CP Chem sign a similar agreement back in January, but with another supplier called Nexus Fuels. Both of these supply agreements follow CP Chem's announcement from last October—that's when the company produced polyethylene from a waste-based feedstock for the first time.

Bigger picture:

CP Chem is a major producer of ethylene, propylene, and the polymers that they become. In the US, that starts with the steam cracking of ethane (cracking naphtha is more common in Europe). CP Chem, and many other petrochemical companies, are looking to use their existing equipment to crack pyrolysis oil from plastic waste instead of just ethane as a means to achieve product circularity.

Read the press release here.

Thailand-based chemical company, Indorama Ventures, has announced the start-up of a new purified 2,6-naphthalene dicarboxylic acid (PNDA) unit at its site in Decatur, Alabama.

What are they making?

PNDA is a difunctional aromatic ester that is typically used to produce naphthalate polymers such as PEN and PBN. Those polymers have properties that make them great for electronics and high-temperature applications (usually as a less expensive alternative to polyimides).

So, why make more?

Indorama cited a desire to help their customers "capture the growth in 5G and related end-use markets". This capacity expansion alone is expected to "produce enough PNDA to fulfill current and forecast global demand for the next 10 years" and has made Indorama the world's largest producer of PDNA.

Read the press release here.

Canadian renewable fuels company, Covenant Energy, has selected Danish chemical technology company, Haldor Topsoe, to provide hydrotreating and hydrogen process technologies to its proposed $500 million site in southern Saskatchewan.

What are the technologies?

Haldor Topsoe's hydrotreating process, called HydroFlex, reacts the renewable feedstock (lipids) with hydrogen (at high temperatures and pressures) in the presence of a catalyst. The hydrogen technology, called H2Bridge, provides on-site production of hydrogen from feedstocks like renewable LPG or naphtha (instead of consuming natural gas to produce hydrogen).

Zooming out:

We've seen renewable fuels plants popping up a lot recently, as major refiners like Phillips 66 and Marathon Petroleum look to convert their old refineries. Just last week that we saw one of Haldor Topsoe's competitors have their technology chosen for a different plant. Remember, this renewable diesel isn't the same thing as the biodiesel you're probably more familiar with (check out this video if you need a refresher).

Read the press release here.