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CompAny news

Sibur secures high margins in INEOS Styrolution and Polystyvert

challenging market establish joint development
agreement
ussian petrochemicals company Sibur Holding has
Rdelivered 2020 revenues of RUB 523 billion ($7.1bn) NEOS St yrolu t ion a n d
and an adjusted net profit of RUB 93bn ($1.2bn), as the IPolystyvert are collaborating
company maintained high margins despite a challenging to convert post-consumer
macroeconomic environment. EBITDA was RUB 179bn polystyrene plastic into a new,
($2.4bn), an increase of 5.4 per cent year-on-year. high quality, polystyrene raw
Detailing its growth projects, Sibur confirmed that material resin. Styrofoam
ZabSibNeftekhim had reached full design capacity, recycling symbol PS 06, recycle
with an average utilisation rate of 82 per cent in 2020. arrow triangle, six type logo,
Sibur’s PE sales increased fivefold year-on-year to 1.3 Resin identification code,
million tonnes and PP sales by 51.7 per cent to 1.1m/t. polystyrene. Ecology emblem,
Construction began on the Amur Gas Chemical Complex environment protection
with a capacity of 2.7m/t of polymers per year, and the Polystyvert uses a patented
site is expected to use renewable energy sources. A joint dissolution technology to process polystyrene waste
venture was established between Sibur and Sinopec for into high quality recycled polystyrene. The dissolution
this, with the former holding 60 per cent. New production method of advanced recycling takes plastic waste in its
of thermoplastic elastomers was launched in Voronezh solid form and dissolves it in a solvent. Once dissolved,
with a total capacity of 50,000 tonnes a year, equivalent the process can mechanically and chemically separate
to 5 per cent of global TPE production capacity. Project contaminants and additives, before finally separating
implementation has started at Polief for green PET the original polymer from the solvent. The end-product
granules, with the project set to use 30,000 tonnes of PET- is then a cleaned polymer that may be used as new raw
flex anually. Dmitry Konov, chairman of the management material resin again. Polystyvert’s in-depth purification
board at Sibur Holding, said: “In 2020, Sibur delivered technology offers the ability to treat all types of feedstock,
an increase in key financial and operating results and from industrial waste to post-consumer streams. The
maintained high margins. This was possible above all due
technology can eliminate a wide range of hard-to-remove
contaminants such as pigments and brominated flame-
retardants. Recycled polystyrene pellets can then be
used to manufacture various categories of polystyrene
products, including food-grade applications.INEOS
Styrolution has strong sustainability goals to improve
and increase the recovery of post-consumer polystyrene
waste. This joint development agreement reinforces their
commitment to explore continued research into advanced
recycling technologies. Ricardo Cuetos, Vice President,
INEOS Styrolution Americas, Standard Products, said: “The
purification capacity of Polystyvert’s technology is unique.
The high quality of the final recycled polystyrene resin
to the launch of ZapSibNeftekhim and cost optimisation is essential to achieving a truly circular economy in key
measures. “Despite partial optimisation of our investment markets like food service packaging.” Solenne Brouard,
programme, we maintained our focus on expanding our CEO of Polystyvert, added: “Dissolution is an efficient,
petrochemical business and continued implementing our low-energy technology which offers a cost effective
key projects. We made the final investment decision on solution to recycle polystyrene in a closed loop. Recycled
our next key growth project – the Amur Gas Chemical polystyrene is produced at a competitive price.
Complex – and started the construction.

25 Februar y 2021 Plastics News