AFPM: supplying armour in the battle against COVID-19

Right now, those critical supplies are depleted due to the scale of the crisis. Designated as critical infrastructure by the Department of Homeland Security, US fuel and petrochemical manufacturers are uniquely suited to maintain supply chains that create everything from hand sanitiser and face masks to protective suits, and the fuels required to transport them. In recent weeks, these industries have proven integral to keeping critical products moving.

“We’re seeing increasing demand for certain petrochemicals from manufacturers of PPE and sanitation products, like polypropylene used to make N95 masks,” said Rob Benedict, Senior Director, Petrochemicals, Transportation and Infrastructure for the American Fuel & Petrochemical Manufacturers (AFPM). “Our members have been adjusting quickly so they can continue operating safely in spite of the coronavirus and deliver the building-blocks for PPE and other equipment that’s so in need right now.”

The central role of petrochemicals in health care underscores why the US government classifies the petrochemical industry as critical infrastructure.

This agility comes from decades of emergency response preparation, which have conditioned petrochemical and fuel manufacturers to safely stay the course through disruptions.

“Robust safety plans and emergency protocols are engrained in these complex operations designed to run 24/7 with hundreds of employees and contractors onsite,” said Chet Thompson, President and CEO of AFPM. “Refiners and petrochemical makers are unwavering on maintaining safe operations. They’ll run facilities safely or not at all.”

Amid the threat of hurricanes and other disruptions in recent years, planning and simulation exercises have enabled fuel and petrochemical manufacturers to quickly establish crisis response management centres, determine minimum employee headcounts needed for safe operations and seamlessly share vital updates with government agencies.

Similar plans were activated across the industries as COVID-19 began to proliferate, and companies are implementing new practices and protocols to safeguard essential workers. Many have a portion of employees working from home, communicating with onsite colleagues increasingly through video technology and smartphone photos. Facilities are stocking up on PPE, enforcing 6 ft distancing requirements and adding extra protections like plexiglass screens between operation room stations. Pre-screening surveys and temperature checks (sometimes aided by repurposed infrared scanners to gauge body temperature) are helping worksites limit the spread of the virus.

As essential employees of critical industries work behind the scenes, the coronavirus death toll in the US is rising, ratcheting up pressure to rapidly produce and deliver PPE for frontline workers. How the petrochemical industry is responding is a combination of know-how, collaboration and ingenuity.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) have determined the virus is most easily contracted by touching one’s nose or mouth after exposure to an infected surface or person. That makes face shields essential armour for health care workers. As is the case with N95 face masks, only specific materials can guard people from the virus. Eastman Chemical’s glycol-modified polyethylene terephthalate sheet is one of them. The company has partnered with Tennessee’s Higher Education Commission and Austin Peay State University to use these sheets to make 10 000 face shields for medical personnel in Nashville using 3D printers.

Dow has also developed a simplified design for face shields to help protect health care professionals and is sharing its design through an open-source file to help accelerate production of this critically needed PPE. Dow is producing 100 000 of these new face shields and donating them to support Michigan hospitals.

ExxonMobil is taking its experience with polymer-based technologies and partnering with the Global Center for Medical Innovation to redesign and manufacture reusable PPE such as face shields and N95 masks. The multi-sector initiative, which is pending approvals from the Food and Drug Administration and the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, will facilitate development and third-party production of a PPE gamechanger: safety equipment that can be sterilised and worn multiple times.

Hand sanitiser, once a convenience, is now a necessity in mitigating exposure. When the US marked its first coronavirus death at the end of February, the product saw a 300% spike in sales, creating an immediate shortage. Many petrochemical and fuel producers took immediate action to respond to this need. Dow employees, for example, are converting five manufacturing facilities across North America, Europe and Latin America to produce hand sanitiser. These facilities do not typically make hand sanitiser, but they are using the raw materials and operational capabilities readily available to enable the new production. Dow estimates their collective facilities will produce more than 880 000 eight-ounce bottles of hand sanitiser to be donated to local health care systems and government agencies.

The key ingredient in hand sanitiser is isopropyl alcohol (IPA). The CDC recommends products with a 70% IPA concentration to inactivate viruses that are genetically related to, and with similar physical properties as, the coronavirus.

LyondellBasell, a major player in the global chemical industry, makes that essential raw ingredient and donated enough of it to Huntsman Corp. to facilitate a 5 t shipment of hand sanitiser for delivery to Huntsman Cancer Institute and the associated medical facilities at the University of Utah.

“Now more than ever, our industry is stepping up to help safeguard our frontline workers,” said Bob Patel, CEO of LyondellBasell. “It is in critical times like these where we have the ability to showcase our resilience, flexibility and commitment to do what we can to help our communities and position them to win the battle against the virus.”

Flint Hills Resources (FHR) is producing polypropylene used to make components of the COVID-19 testing kits. Polypropylene is used extensively in the health care industry because of its clarity, low extractables and suitability for the various sterilisation methods. Flint Hills Resources medical polypropylene can withstand many sterilisation methods such as ethylene oxide, steam and irradiation sterilisation that most every-day use plastics cannot.

Petrochemicals are the lynchpin to PPE production, but fuel manufacturers are literally driving the response efforts. While gasoline demand has dropped nearly 50% because of the rise in state stay-at-home orders, diesel demand has not seen the same decline, and refineries are shifting to maximise production of this essential fuel to ensure adequate supplies.

“Diesel in particular continues to be relied upon to fuel emergency vehicles, keep tractor trailers that are maintaining supply chains of feedstocks and products on the road, and make all kinds of deliveries possible,” said Susan Grissom, Chief Industry Analyst for AFPM. “Think about field hospitals and transporting all of the parts and equipment for those—we’re really relying on vehicles powered by liquid fuels during this crisis.”

Motiva is one of several refiners helping address the ongoing need for fuel. The company is donating US$50 000 worth of gas cards to medical and emergency response organisations in Texas, Maryland and Florida as part of a broader effort by Motiva to strengthen pandemic response and recovery in the communities in which it operates. Navigating a disaster of this magnitude has no roadmap, but the preparedness plans and incident training experience core to refining and petrochemical operations positioned these facilities well to stay operational and keep supply chains of vital products moving.

“The preparedness, safety culture and dedication of our workforce have enabled our industries to weather unprecedented challenges before, and these same qualities are seeing us through this current crisis,” said AFPM’s Thompson. “We are resilient.”

Read the article online at: https://www.hydrocarbonengineering.com/special-reports/06052020/afpm-supplying-armour-in-the-battle-against-covid-19/