Page 20 - Plastics News June - 2020

Braskem selects Charleston as new Global Exxon Mobil collaborates on sustainability
Export Hub location
olyolefins and biopolymers producer Braskem has
Pannounced plans for a new Global Export Hub
facility in Charleston, South Carolina, US.
The new Global Export Hub facility will be used for
activities such as packaging, warehousing and export
shipping services. Specifically, it will support the
company's US polypropylene (PP) production facilities.
Design and development phase of the Hub underway is
expected to be completed by the third quarter of this
year. The new facility will be capable of supporting
export shipments of up to 450 million pounds of
polypropylene and specialty polymers a year to
Braskem global customers. Braskem America CEO Mark
Nikolich said: “As the largest polyolefins producer in
the Americas and the leading producer of
polypropylene in the United States, Braskem is focused
on reinvesting in its business and leadership positions
to support our clients worldwide. “The build out of our
new Global Export Hub in South Carolina allows us to
leverage our feedstock advantaged, polymer
production assets in the US Gulf Goast, Pennsylvania
and West Virginia, to best meet our international
clients' needs. “With excellent access to national rail
and highway networks this important new logistics and
distribution facility in the South Carolina port region
significantly enhances Braskem America's international
export capability.” In connection with the
announcement, Braskem has formed a five-year
partnership with the Port of Charleston and warehouse
provider Frontier Logistics. The new South Carolina
facility will complement the company's existing
network of Global Export Hubs located in North
America, South America and Europe. In December last
year, Braskem established a partnership with two
companies to develop new packaging from bio-based
plastics and post-consumer resin (PCR).
June 2020 20
initiatives for India
xxon Mobil has developed a solution for full
Epolyethylene laminates that overcomes the
traditional issue of significantly slower packing line
speeds. The company has collaborated with local
partners in India to devise replacement PE solutions
for multilayer plastics (MLPs), which the Indian
government intends to phase out as part of its Plastic
Waste Management Rules (PWMR). Exxon Mobil has
developed multiple full PE laminated formulations
that were specifically designed to address the above
issues, teaming up with the Shrinath Group, a film
converter in India with strong infrastructure and high
production capacity in blown film, printing and
lamination. Using Exxon Mobil's performance PE
polymers ― including Exceed XP 8784, Exceed 2012,
Enable 4009, and Exceed 1327 ― as well as Exxon Mobil
HDPE HTA 108, solutions for the PE substrate/top film
and the PE sealant film were successfully produced at
Shrinath on its Reifenhauser 3-layer blown film line.
They were then converted into laminates after
printing on rotogravure (Bobst Rotomec) as well as
Central Impression (Bobst F&K) flexographic printing
machines. Lamination was carried out on Nord
Meccanica Simplex machines. For the form-fill-seal
(FFS) packaging trial, ExxonMobil collaborated with
Syntegon Technology India Private Limited (formerly
known as Bosch Packaging Technology), a supplier of
packaging machines. The trials took place at the
company's Goa plant, with Exxon Mobil and Shrinath's
participation. Trials were conducted on an SVZ 1803AR
high-speed intermittent-motion vertical-form-fill-
seal (VFFS) machine with jaw draw-off technology and
servo cross sealing system. Line speeds of a maximum
65 bags/min for 500g and 1kg packs could be easily
achieved.
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