FOCUS ON S U R FAC TA N T S
tonnes/y fatty alcohols and 150,000
tonnes/y methyl esters facilities in
Kuantan. Glycerin is currently
provided by P&G from the US and the
UK. Most of the glycerin from the
refinery will be exported to other parts
of Asia for use in personal care and
food products.
Chemical Week, 24 Sep 2003, 165 (33), 39
Southern Acids looks for more
Indonesian estates
Malaysia’s Southern Acids Bhd plans
to purchase more oil palm plantations
in Indonesia due to the low operating
costs there. Also oil palm plantations
in Indonesia are generally cultivated
on virgin lands resulting in higher
yield. Oil palm plantations contribute
about 10% of the revenues of
Southern Acids while the
oleochemicals division contributes
about 80%. The US, Europe, Taiwan,
and Japan are the bulk importers of
oleochemicals from Southern Acids.
The company recorded a pre-tax profit
of Ringgit 3 M from a turnover of
Ringgit 83.9 M for 1Q ended Jul 2003
as against pre-tax profit of Ringgit 8.1
M on revenue of Ringgit 70.6 M for 1Q
ended Jul 2002.
The Star, 29 Oct 2003 (Website:
http://www.thestar.com.my)
CPO players looking at windfall
The crude palm oil (CPO) producers
have said that the expected rise in
CPO prices to Ringgit 2000/tonne in
the first week of Nov 2003 is a
positive sign for plantation players.
However, the long-term industrialists
have said they would prefer stabilized
prices of around Ringgit 1400-
1600/tonne, claiming that the present
price of about Ringgit 1900/tonne is
not a good sign in the long run as it
could lead to oversupply and a
subsequent reduction in CPO prices
in 2005 or 2006. The average CPO
price for 2003 is likely to be between
Ringgit 1550-1600/tonne, higher than
2002’s Ringgit 1352/tonne.
In related news, IOI’s executive
chairman Tan Sri Lee Shin Cheng has
stated that the CPO yield should be
increased to 8 tonnes/hectare/y from
the current Malaysian national
average of 3.8 tonnes/hectare/y. IOI
had achieved yield of 7
tonnes/hectare/y from two of its
DECEMBER 2003
estates and 6.5 tonnes each from
another 13 estates. The company,
which has 45 estates in total, was
trying to achieve the targeted yield
from the remaining estates. In future,
IOI intends to increase the
contribution from its downstream
activities of manufacturing, refining
and specialty fats and oleochemicals
to 20%–25% of earnings.
The Star, 22 & 30 Oct 2003 (Website:
http://www.thestar.com.my)
Other
Price rise for BASF’s ethanolamines
With immediate effect, BASF is
increasing its price for all types of
ethanolamines (mono-, di-, and
triethanolamines) by €70/tonne as
existing contracts allow.
Unsatisfactory margins from this
product group due to higher raw
material and distribution costs are the
reason for this increase. Recently
BASF significantly improved the quality
of monoethanolamine. Ethanolamines
are used as intermediates for the
production of surfactants, wood
preservatives, herbicides, process
chemicals for gas treatment, lubricants
and additives for cement and concrete.
BASF operates two production sites
with a total capacity of 175,000
tonnes/y. With independent sites in
Ludwigshafen (Germany) and Antwerp
(Belgium), BASF can assure maximum
supply reliability.
Press release from: BASF AG, Germany. Website:
http://www.basf.de (15 Sep 2003)
PMD increases EO capacity
In Saudi Arabia, Project Management
and Development (PMD) has
increased ethylene oxide (EO)
capacity from 150,000 tonnes/y to
530,000 tonnes/y while cutting
propylene and PP capacities at its
integrated cracker project at Al-Jubail.
EO will be used in downstream
plants, including: 475,000 ethylene
glycol, 100,000 tonnes/y
ethanolamines, 50,000 tonnes/y
methylamine, 50,000 tonnes/y
dimethylformamide, 15,000 tonnes/y
choline chloride, 20,000 tonnes/y
methyl diethanolamine and dimethyl
ethanolamine, and 85,000 tonnes/y
ethoxylates.
Asian Chemical News, 20 Oct 2003, 9 (421), 2
ASSOCIATED
PRODUCTS
Astaris trims phosphates, increases
prices
Astaris, the phosphate chemicals joint
venture of Solutia and FMC, is
restructuring and will close plants in
Conda, IA; Green River, WY; and
Trenton, MI; in the next 9 months.
Production will be consolidated at St
Louis; Carteret, NJ; and Lawrence,
KS. FMC will take a pre-tax
restructuring charge of $40-45 M,
Solutia will take a charge of 55
cts/share. The step will improve the
company’s competitive position, partly
by trimming its role in the STP
market.
In related news, Astaris LLC has
hiked phosphates prices, by between
$2.50 and $4/cwt, in an effort to
improve margins. Sodium phosphate
is commanding lower prices than
aluminium phosphate and potassium
phosphate. The price increases have
been mostly accepted by the markets.
The phosphates market is over-
supplied, capacity utilization rates are
about 50% and end-use volumes are
falling. In addition domestic markets
are being eroded by low cost imports.
Chemical and Engineering News, 13 Oct 2003, 81
(41), 19-20 (Website: http://www.cen-online.org) &
Chemical Market Reporter, 13 Oct 2003 (Website:
http://www.chemicalmarketreporter.com)
Minerals boost Anglo-American profits
Anglo-American plc of the UK
achieved a 26% growth to 407,400
tonnes in overall production of
phosphates in 1H 2003. Headline
income grew by 2% at $856 M, partly
driven by the positive financial result
of the company’s industrial minerals
segment. Industrial Minerals
subsidiary Copebrás, a leading
Brazilian producer of phosphate
fertilizers, phosphoric acid and STPP,
grew by almost 50%. Anglo-American
holds a 73% stake in Copebrás.
Industrial Minerals, Oct 2003, (433), 12
A novel route to zeolites
A new approach to the synthesis of
zeolites using a structure-directing
agent (SDA) that can be removed
3