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SDG • Technology • Coastal storms • Jul 2021
Due to climate change, storm surges are becoming more frequent • The coast in the seaside resort of Lubmin was exposed to several storm surges in a short time • In case of an additional storm surge, the existing coastal protection dune was in danger of breaking • A geotextile wall made of Secutex® Soft Rock sand containers gave the residents security again
In 2017 and 2019, a total of three storm surges hit the coast of Lubmin. As a result of the storm surges, the coastal protection dune was severely affected by erosion. The sand dune is also not designed according to its intended cross-section due to the limited space. An additional construction had to be created as the last barrier against a breakthrough in the event of another storm surge and the imminent complete erosion of the dune. This barrier, which must remain stable in the event of a storm surge, was built with Secutex® Soft Rock from NAUE.
Secutex® Soft Rock are geotextile sand-filled bags, containers, or tubes manufactured from needle-punched Secutex® filter nonwovens. Geotextile sand containers (GSC) encapsulate fill materials like sand and are used as construction elements. In addition to geotextile sand containers made of single-layered nonwovens for covered applications, GSCs made of double-layered nonwovens are also available. These provide an integrated surface protection layer of rough fibres for exposed designs and adapt perfectly to a sandy environment.
The Secutex® Soft Rock geotextile sand containers were placed at the coast of Lubmin after the sand had been removed. Stacked in an offset manner and inclined towards the land side, they form a so-called geotextile wall.
Geotextile walls for dune reinforcement are covered by sand for most of their service life and appear natural. Only after severe erosion caused by one or more storm surges, the geotextile wall becomes visible again. If that happens, the dune is restored in its overall geometry, and its appearance is harmoniously adapted to the landscape again.
Around 33,000 Secutex® Soft Rock GCSs were installed to reinforce 1.8 kilometres of the dune along the coast of Lubmin. Each container was filled with one cubic metre of sand directly on the beach. A filled sand container weighs approx. 1.2 tonnes.
The residents of Lubmin are delighted with the coastal protection solution and are happy about the improved safety. The mayor confirmed this with his statement that the geotextile wall made of sand containers is precisely the solution which the people of Lubmin have wanted for a long time. • 7/21
Research & development • Dec 2020
MOL has opened a new polyol research and development center, named after György Mosonyi, the late CEO of MOL, in Százhalombatta, Hungary to develop polyol products that meet the needs of customers • The experimental reactor system, which is the most modern in the world, was supplied and commissioned by thyssenkrupp Industrial Solutions • 90% of the other assets in the project were procured from Hungarian suppliers • In addition, MOL and thyssenkrupp have entered into a joint research and development agreement.
MOL Group's 2030 strategy sets the goal of increasing the share of contribution of the petrochemical business to the results of the entire group. The EUR 1.2 billion investment in the polyol complex in Tiszaújváros serves to achieve this. To underpin this investment and ensure that the plant meets the needs of the markets it serves,
MOL established the research and development center at the Danube Refinery. The EUR 10 million investment center will fund up to 12 engineers and 7 technicians and the most advanced experimental reactor system in the world, supplied and commissioned by thyssenkrupp Industrial Solutions with 90% of equipment procured from Hungarian suppliers.
MOL and thyssenkrupp have also entered into a joint research and development agreement to facilitate the entry of both companies into the polyol market: thyssenkrupp as a technology service provider and engineering-procurement-construction (EPC) contractor, and MOL as a manufacturer and seller of various polyol products.
Gabriel Szabó, EVP of MOL Group Downstream, said: "The research and development center bears the name of György Mosonyi, the late CEO of MOL, who was deeply committed to innovation throughout his work, so this a worthy tribute to his memory.
It is a state-of-the-art laboratory, equipped with all the necessary tools, instruments and most importantly it has great experts who will ensure that the R&D activities can serve the development of market-ready products, to be later produced by the polyol plant in Tiszaújváros. Centre is outstanding not only for MOL, but as the most advanced polyol research center in Central and Eastern Europe it has national significance and we hope that the scientific results of it will be of high value internationally as well."
"With our agreement on joint research and development, this R&D center is a big step forward to explore and win the new markets MOL is addressing with the polyols. We are excited for this new chapter in our joint journey and confident that this partnership will be an important success factor on our path to develop advanced and sustainable technology and products for a better future," Sami Pelkonen, CEO of thyssenkrupp's Chemical & Process Technologies business unit added.
The research and development center will conduct tests of the physicochemical properties of polyols, as well as laboratory tests and application experiments of polyurethane foams made from them. By July 2022, at least 10 polyol grades will be developed in the newly built facility. In order to compare and validate the results of the measurements, the company also plans to cooperate with the laboratories of several Hungarian universities and independent research institutions.
These collaborations will help to further develop the methodologies used in the polyol R&D center and increase the knowledge base of universities. As well as to the MOL Group, the center will offer outstanding value to the Hungarian and international scientific community for years to come.
MOL's project "Research and Development of Polyether Polyol Grades with Market Potential", which is supported by the National Office for Research, Development and Innovation with HUF 483,269,279, will also take place primarily in the newly opened research center. • 12/20
MOL Group is an integrated, international oil and gas company with its headquarters in Budapest, with an international and dynamic workforce of 25,000 in more than 30 countries and an industrial history of more than 100 years. MOL's exploration and production activities are supported by more than 80 years of experience in the hydrocarbon industry. It currently has extraction activities in 9 countries and has research assets in 14 countries. MOL Group operates three refineries and two petrochemical plants under integrated supply chain management in Hungary, Slovakia and Croatia, and its retail network includes 1,940 filling stations in 10 countries in Central and South-Eastern Europe.
