Braskem, a polyolefins producer and a leader of biopolymers on an industrial scale, and Repauno, have announced that the parties successfully completed the first propylene import in more than a decade to the United States East Coast. Repauno Port & Rail Terminal is located on a 1,600-acre site along the Delaware River in Greenwich Township, New Jersey.

The vessel arrived at Repauno’s new multi-use port terminal facility for energy products in Gibbstown, New Jersey. Today's announcement follows a strategic initiative by Braskem to further enhance its feedstock optionality to supply propylene to its polypropylene (PP) manufacturing facility located in Marcus Hook, Pa. and allow the business to capture arbitrage opportunities for competitive propylene abroad, Braskem said in a media statement.

Braskem’s Marcus Hook facility produces 415 kilotons of polypropylene each year, which are used in medical, automotive, food packaging, and appliance applications. Since Braskem acquired the plant in 2010, it has expanded the production capacity of the plant by 25 percent through multiple improvement projects. In early 2020 during the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, Braskem’s Marcus Hook based manufacturing team members lived on site at the production facility for 28 days to ensure the continuous supply of raw material to produce medical personal protective equipment (PPE) such as N-95 respirator masks, medical gowns, as well as other healthcare packaging caps and closures.

“Our new partnership with Repauno provides Braskem with increased flexibility and optionality to import propylene particularly when international prices are competitive.  Additionally, it provides the flexibility to import in the event of supply disruptions to the asset.  I am extremely proud of our team for bringing this opportunity to fruition, and successfully completing the import delivery,” Alexandre Elias, VP Polypropylene, Braskem America said in a statement.

To support the sustainable use of polypropylene through the development of, and investment in, the circular economy, Braskem America is a founding member and funding partner of the Polypropylene Recycling Coalition, with a primary focus on increasing US polypropylene recovery and reuse.