Abu Dhabi Polymers Company (Borouge) has demonstrated its Borstar technology at the 4th Gulf Petrochemicals and Chemicals Association (GPCA) Research and Innovation Summit in Bahrain.

The technology enables the company to provide a broad range of polyethylene (PE) and polypropylene (PP) grades that contribute significantly to the quality of the plastics end products, said a Wam news agency report.

Ahmed Omar Abdulla, CEO of the company and Dr Thorsten Loehl, vice president innovation, attended the summit, held under the theme ‘Managing Technology for Growth and Profitability’. The company showcased its Research and Development (R&D) capabilities and the role that innovation plays in driving success and sustainability in the plastics industry.

Speaking at the summit, Abdulla said: "Innovation is synonymous to Borouge, and due to the state-of-the-art Innovation Centre in Abu Dhabi and our team of UAE national and international researchers and scientists, the company is able to provide the market with innovative and sustainable plastics solutions that create value to our customers benefiting from the many useful properties of our solutions produced using the most advanced proprietary technologies.

"With the current global changes and the challenges they impose on the petrochemicals and plastics industries, we shall continue to expand our investments in research and development activities to maintain our competitiveness, reinforce our technology and innovation leadership and strengthen our market positioning in the region as a leading provider of value added innovative solutions that contribute to addressing major global challenges," he added.

In his presentation, Dr Loehl highlighted the features of Borstar which Borouge has first introduced into the UAE and Middle East and became a central pillar to company's competitive edge over its competitors. He pointed out that the technology offers the possibility to produce broad range of the PE and the PP grades tailored for specific applications. The technology provides enhanced innovative polymers that combine excellent mechanical strength and product processability and allow material saving of 10 percent and more in selected applications.

Borouge successfully started-up in 2001 its first two polyethylene plants in Ruwais, Abu Dhabi, equipped with Borstar bimodal technology. Today, Borouge operates the world’s largest integrated polyolefin complex with 5 Borstar PE plants and 4 Borstar PP plants and supplies value added plastics solutions in Middle East, Africa, Europe and Asian regions.

"Key to success has been a seamless collaboration with the Borstar technology licensor, Borealis AG, which has evolved into an ongoing and mutual business and innovation partnership," said Dr Loehl.

He gave examples of two of Borouge’s innovative plastics grades that bring value to customers due to their outstanding properties. RA140E is one of company's PP grades that are used to make hot and cold water pipes. The grade ensures 20 percent higher productivity, lower carbon footprint, product safety and cost efficiency and competitiveness. BorPure MB5568 is another grade from Borouge that is recognised with its high stiffness, good processability and exceptional stress cracking resistance, as well as its weight reduction of up to 10 percent and lower carbon footprint. It’s used to make caps and closures.