Page 23 - Plastics News April 2020

Ethanol Maker POET Energy delays opening of Unipetrol completes its new PE unit in Czech
New Hoosier facility Republic

biofuel 'plant scheduled to open in Shelby county nipetrol has completed and officially
Ucommissioned the principal part of the
Ahas been put on hold due to the economic fallout of
construction of the new polyethylene unit (PE3). The
the COVID-19 pandemic. South Dakota-based POET
so-called Natural Line producing natural polyethylene
Energy is delaying the startup of production of the new
was launched into full operation and will enable
plant in Shelbyville. As more Americans stay-at-home Unipetrol to use the entire production capacity to
during the pandemic, demand on the nation's gasoline manufacture advanced types of natural polyethylene.
supply has declined. “Across the board, biofuel The operational test and delivery of the Black Line
producers and our partners in the farm community face producing black polyethylene will take place once the
an unprecedented challenge,” said POET Founder and
CEO Jeff Broin. “From day one of this crisis, we have
placed the highest priority on protecting the health
and welfare of our workers, partners and farm
suppliers. At the same time, we are working hard to
ensure that every biorefinery remains well-positioned
to support a strong and swift recovery once daily life
returns to normal. That means responding dynamically
to shifting conditions and optimizing production,
market by market, as the situation evolves over the
next few months. “One implication of the virus-related
restrictions is that people are driving much less than
before, which means that gasoline and ethanol use are
declining. The Renewable Fuel Standard requires
gasoline to include 10% ethanol.“POET has faced
difficult times in the past and we have proven our
resiliency. We value the partnership and relationship
we have with all of our producers and look forward to
coronavirus-related restrictions are lifted. The new
getting back to normal operations,” said a company
polyethylene unit, PE3, will replace the existing unit,
statement. POET operates five plants in the Hoosier PE1. Operations of the PE2 unit with an annual
state. The company is also idling production at capacity of 200,000 tonnes will continue. The total
biorefinery plants in South Dakota and two in Iowa and production capacity of the petrochemical plant in
slowing production at other plants. Ethanol producers Litvínov will grow from 320,000 to 470,000 tonnes of
across the country are slashing production amid the polyethylene. The total capital expenditure is planned
ongoing crisis. at CZK 9.6 billion. Unipetrol believes the investment
will enable deeper integration of the petrochemical
and refinery production not only within the Unipetrol
Group but also within the PKN ORLEN Group. The new
technologies will allow Unipetrol to expand its
activities in the new market segments and increase its
competitiveness in the petrochemical industry both at
the national and international level. Tomasz Wiatrak,
Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Unipetrol
Group, said: “We are reinforcing our position in the
petrochemical industry that will be playing an
increasing role in the coming years. The new
polyethylene unit is the highest investment ever to the
chemical industry in the Czech Republic. It will
produce 270,000 tonnes of the modern high-density
polyethene granulate per year.”

APRIL 2020 20 Plastics News