Business Roundup

Solvay is in advanced negotiations to divest its 50% interest in the RusVinyl polyvinyl chloride joint venture in Russia to its partner, Sibur. Solvay suspended dividends from the complex—completed in 2014 at a cost of $1.6 billion—when Russia invaded Ukraine last year.

Lotte Ineos Chemical is building a third vinyl acetate plant in Ulsan, South Korea. The addition will increase the capacity of the complex by more than 50%, to 700,000 metric tons per year, when it is completed in 2025. Lotte Ineos says demand for the chemical has been strong in solar power generation applications.

Ineos has completed its purchase of a 50% interest in Shanghai Secco Petrochemical from Chinese petrochemical maker and refiner Sinopec for $1.6 billion. The two companies are forming additional partnerships in polyethylene and styrenic resins.

Chevron Phillips Chemical has signed a long-term supply agreement with Nexus Circular, which operates a pyrolysis plant in Atlanta that converts waste plastics into petrochemical feedstocks. The agreement covers a “significant volume” from a future facility.

Toray Industries is expanding capacity for polyphenylene sulfide (PPS) resins by 5,000 metric tons per year at its plant in Gunsan, South Korea, by the end of 2024. It is also boosting output of the PPS raw material sodium hydrogen sulfide.

Umicore has signed a long-term agreement to source nickel sulfate from Terrafame, which says its mine in Finland has a relatively low carbon footprint. Terrafame will supply Umicore’s cathode material plant in Poland.

Solenis has purchased Grand Invest Group, a Lima, Peru–based provider of water treatment products and services. The acquisition is Solenis’s fifth since Platinum Equity bought it in 2021.

Evonik Industries has completed a $25 million expansion of capacity for methylmercapto-propionaldehyde, a methionine raw material, in Wesseling, Germany. A new production process avoids the storage of intermediates such as acrolein at the site, the firm says.