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Chemical INDUSTRY JOURNAL www.chemicalindustryjournal.co.uk

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SPRING 2016

Why innovation

is so important to the chemical sector

UK and World News

Innovation

REACH

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Risks and Regulations

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OPERATION

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MAXIMISATION

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PROFITISATION

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TRANSFORMATION

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INSPECTION

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INFORMATION

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SOLUTION

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WELCOME z

Welcome

Why innovation is so important to the chemical sector Welcome to the latest edition of Chemistry Industry Journal, which examines the crucial role that innovation plays in the UK chemical industry.

The simple truth is that no industry can survive without innovation. Business relies on a constant flow of new ideas from creative people, those scientists who think ‘what if?’ then set out to answer the question.

However, the process will not work properly unless conditions are right for their creativity to flourish and that is the scenario increasingly being enacted in the UK by government, business and academia.

John Dean

Editor in chief

For a start, innovation needs investment, which is why the various recent Government funding announcements outlined in our main feature are so welcome.

Yes, industry has to make things happen, yes it has to dip into its pockets, yes it has a key role to play but support from government is important as well because it gives companies and research bodies the confidence to try out new things.

A company developing something groundbreaking can often feel isolated and vulnerable, but the knowledge that it has support from government can make things feel a lot less scary and encourage it to push the boundaries a little further. The most exciting discoveries happen on the borders of science.

That is why we applaud the commitment of the UK government, which is working to bring together scientists from different disciplines to make things happen and is promising to support them with funding.

As we have pointed out in previous editions, scientists cannot operate in silos; the best innovation comes when researchers from different backgrounds work together, cross-fertilising each other’s imaginations, challenging each other’s pereceptions, and much of the UK Government’s approach supports that idea by encouraging the involvement of a variety of fields.

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Our main feature also highlights the role being played by universities in fostering innovation in the field of chemistry.

The key thing about universities is that they can create the time and space required for innovation to occur and schools of chemistry across the UK are becoming increasingly influential in fostering new ideas.

Go back two or three decades and many universities were focused on research for research’s sake but today they have undergone a dramatic revolution. Now, many of the most innovative developments in chemistry start with university-based researchers, often those who are doing Phd work.

One of the huge advantages enjoyed by a university is the way that it can free up time, can give a researcher the space they need to test out ideas and, if they bears fruit, utilise connections within industry to take the concept onto the next stage.

The result of this approach is that many universities are working increasingly closely with industry to take their ideas forward, either in collaborations or through the creation of start-up businesses which can feed into larger scale projects.

Our main feature looks at several examples where bright ideas emerged from universities and are now promising to change the way we live and work, ideas that were born in universities and are now making their way in to the commercial arena.

And the result of all this? A chemical sector which can compete with, and often lead, the world, which is important because wherever you look on the planet there is innovation.

From Asia to the United States, Australia to Europe, the chemical sector is transforming the world of chemistry and the UK sector must be given every conceivable support in order to compete.

That means nurturing a culture of innovation because you cannot do things the way you always did them and expect to remain competitive on the world stage.

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Contents

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Introduction/Foreword

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Contents

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UK News

14-19

World News

22-27 Innovation 28-37 REACH

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38-39 Risk and Regulations

19 Editor

John Dean john.dean@distinctivepublishing.co.uk

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Design

Distinctive Publishing, Unit 6b, Floor B, Milburn House, Dean Street, Newcastle Upon Tyne NE1 1LE Tel: 0845 884 2385 www.distinctivepublishing.co.uk

Contributors

John Dean & Francis Griss john.dean@distinctivepublishing.co.uk

Advertising

Distinctive Publishing, Unit 6b, Floor B, Milburn House, Dean Street, Newcastle Upon Tyne NE1 1LE Tel: 07813 874970 email: john.neilson@distinctivegroup.co.uk www.distinctivepublishing.co.uk

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Distinctive Publishing or Chemical Industry Journal cannot be held responsible for any inaccuracies that may occur, individual products or services advertised or late entries. No part of this publication may be reproduced or scanned without prior written permission of the publishers and Chemical Industry Journal.

z NEWS

SPRING 2016

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Mystery solved by researchers Chemistry researchers have made a key discovery about how bacteria feed on an unusual sugar molecule found in leafy green vegetables, which reveals how sulphur is harnessed by living organisms.

The work may inform strategies to boost our ‘good’ gut bacteria and promote digestive health.

A team of researchers including scientists from the Department of Chemistry at the University of York identified a previously unknown enzyme used by bacteria, fungi and other organisms to feed on the unusual but abundant sugar sulfoquinovose – SQ for short – found in green vegetables.

Each year, leafy green vegetables – such as spinach – produce the sugar on an enormous scale globally, comparable to the world’s total annual iron ore production.

The research, supported by Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council and the European Research Council, was led by Professor Gideon Davies of the York Structural Biology Laboratory (YSBL), Dr. Ethan GoddardBorger from the Walter and Eliza Hall Institute and Professor Spencer Williams from the Bio21 Institute and University of Melbourne Professor Davies said: “Plants make about ten billion tons of SQ annually. We finally know the key chemical steps in the assimilation of the sulphur and we can now see that these pathways are far more widespread than originally thought.”

Dr Goddard-Borger said the discovery could be exploited to cultivate the growth of ‘good’

gut bacteria, adding; “Every time we eat leafy green vegetables we consume significant amounts of SQ sugars, which are used as an energy source by good gut bacteria.

“Bacteria in the gut, such as crucial protective strains of E. coli, use SQ as a source of energy. E. coli provides a protective barrier that prevents growth and colonisation by bad bacteria, because the good bugs are taking up all the habitable real estate.

“E. coli is a key bacterial coloniser needed by our gut. We speculate that consumption of this specific molecule within leafy greens will prove to be an important factor in improving and maintaining healthy gut bacteria and good digestive health.”

Professor Williams said: “We discovered the enzyme YihQ, which is used by bacteria to absorb and metabolise these sulphur-

containing sugars as food.

“Sulphur is critical for building proteins, the essential components of all living organisms. SQ is the only sugar molecule which contains sulphur, and ‘digestion’ of the molecule by bacteria releases sulphur into the environment, where it re-enters the global ‘sulphur cycle’ to be reused by other organisms.”

Professor Williams said that the pathway was unusual, but abundant in biological organisms, adding: “This work answers a 50-year mystery that has surrounded how sulphur – an element essential for life on Earth – was used and recycled by living organisms.

“What is remarkable is that the YihQ enzyme was hiding in plain sight and is produced by the humble bacterium E. coli, present in nearly every biologist’s laboratory.”

Confidence high in sector Businesses in the UK chemical and pharmaceutical industry, who are Britain’s leading manufacturing exporters, are looking forward to another year of growth in 2016, according to a survey.

The survey of business confidence for members of the Chemical Industries Association (CIA) shows that more than 90% of businesses expect sales volumes to remain or exceed 2015 levels when there was a record 5% growth. More than 40% expect sales volumes to grow in 2016.

Similar sentiment was expressed in terms of exports, investment in research & development, and investment in buildings and technology.

Steve Elliott, Chief Executive of the CIA, said: “What we are seeing across the sector is real confidence in growth.

“Of course, the economy is very challenging for all sectors but our companies throughout the UK are investing for the future and providing a quality and safe

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service to their customers.

“The export performance continues to be astonishing. Although the end of 2015 was difficult for all sectors, our growth between 2014 and 2015 in exports of goods to countries outside the EU was an extra £6 billion.

“As the European market continues to struggle, UK companies in our industry are successfully exporting to the world”.

The survey was carried out in January 2016

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NEWS z

Student clinches research funding to take her to Japan A Chemistry PhD student has been awarded a Royal Society of Chemistry Researcher Mobility Grant. Colette Whitfield, currently in her third year of her PhD, will travel to Hokkaido University, Japan, in May to work for eight weeks with Professor Ijiro and his research group.

Collaboration to develop new surfactant manufacturing techniques A project is under way to develop a novel method for the continuous production of a range of market-leading surfactants.

The Teesside-based Centre for Process Innovation (CPI) is working with speciality chemical manufacturer Croda Europe, NiTech Solutions and The University of Cambridge’s Institute for Manufacturing on the collaborative research and development project.

The two year Innovate UK project will design, build and trial a modular unit based on NiTech’s patented continuous oscillating baffled reactor (COBR) technology.

Its aim is to deliver a new process for the manufacturing of existing products that significantly improves operational and capital costs, as well as process sustainability, without impacting product quality.

The collaboration will establish technical and commercial viability of the NiTech technology in Croda’s proposed applications, thus reducing the risk attached to future investment into the technology by Croda.

The consortium’s members believes that the reduction in operational costs, combined with reduced capital requirements will position the UK as a global leader in the use of this technology.

The University of Cambridge’s Institute for Manufacturing will provide expertise in

analysing the business model for the full scale commercial adoption of these flexible manufacturing techniques. CPI will provide specialist capability and knowledge in the area of COBR technology.

James Birbeck, Lead Process Engineer at Croda Europe, said: “We are excited about the potential enhancements that the technology being developed could give to our products, ensuring that we continue to be flexible in order to deliver high quality products when our customers require them.

“The consortium partnership of ourselves with CPI, NiTech Solutions and the University of Cambridge’s Institute for Manufacturing combines exceptional expertise and knowledge to deliver a technically advanced solution for a more sustainable process of manufacturing our surfactants.”

Will Barton, a director at NiTech Solutions, said: “NiTech is delighted to be working together with the project partners with the objective of demonstrating further the commercial potential of its COBR technology applied specifically to meeting the business needs of Croda Europe, whilst also highlighting the ability of the technology to enable new business models including distributed manufacturing.”

Sarah Williams, Project Manager at CPI, said: “The project combines world class capability in the process scale up of COBR technology and is providing the environment for the consortium to scale up the technology.”

The Centre for Process Innovation is a UKbased technology innovation centre and part of the High Value Manufacturing Catapult.

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Focusing on chemical nanoscience, the visit will see Colette combine the scientific methods that synthesise a novel DNA block copolymer, which can undergo modifications to produce a semiconductor junction or conducting nanowire.

Honour for Paul

Professor Paul O’Brien FRS FRSC, of Manchester University’s School of Chemistry, has been awarded a CBE for services to science and engineering. As well as being a leading member of the Royal Society of Chemistry’s Council for many years, he was elected as a fellow of the Royal Society in 2013.

Specialist plant project

The Teesside-based Centre for Process Innovation and nine European partners are collaborating in the design, scale-up and build of a high energy ball-mill pilot plant for the production and validation of nanostructured powders.

The powders will be used in a number of manufacturing applications such as cutting tools, medical implants and a range of aerospace and automotive components.

The work is part of a four-year European research and development project titled PilotManu, which began in 2013 and is due for completion in September 2017.

Grant awarded to team

A team including researchers from the Universities of Glasgow, Edinburgh and Newcastle have been awarded a £1.6M EPSRC grant to study the effect of pressure on molecule-based magnets.

The five-year grant will support a team which has expertise in organic and inorganic synthesis, magnetism, crystallography, spectroscopy, physics and extreme-conditions engineering.

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SPRING 2016

Government minister underlines the importance of science Minister for Universities and Science Jo Johnson has outlined the Government’s plans to ensure that the UK remains a global leader in science and engineering.

Delivering the annual Campaign for Science and Engineering lecture, he emphasised the importance of the UK’s international research partnerships and the strength of ties with European research partners.

He also announced new funding to put the UK at the forefront of international research and inspire the next generation of scientists.

These include doubling the Newton Fund for international research from its current £75 million per year to £150 million per year by 2021, meaning a total investment of £735 million from 2014 to 2021. The fund will enable UK scientists to partner with academics and researchers in developing countries to support their economic development and the UK’s research base.

There will also be a new government partnership with the Wellcome Trust to deliver the £30 million Inspiring Science Capital Fund.

Science centres and attractions across the UK will be able to bid for funds to inspire young people from all backgrounds to engage with science and consider a STEM career.

Jo Johnson said: “Our global scientific impact far exceeds our size as a nation, and our scientists and engineers stand tall on the world’s stage.

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“We want Britain to be the best place in Europe to innovate, and by protecting the science budget we’re giving the clearest signal that science and innovation sit at the very heart of this government’s economic plan.”

The leaders of companies, who are members of the Chemistry Growth Partnership, said in a joint statement: “Jo Johnson has set out a clear commitment to the future of Britain’s science base. The Chemistry Growth Partnership has made excellent progress as the hub for government and industry to jointly develop a policy for growth in our key chemicals sciences.”

The Partnership will continue to work jointly with Government to support the science centres’ agenda, including through Catalyst on Merseyside and the Centre for Industry Education Collaboration (CIEC) at the University of York.

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z NEWS

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SPRING 2016

Chemists’ work leads to diagnostic device Work in a chemistry laboratory has allowed University of Bath spin-out biotechnology company Atlas Genetics to win approval from the EU to sell a device that detects the sexually transmitted disease chlamydia.

The Atlas io® system allows infectious diseases to be detected and identified in less than 30

minutes, meaning patients can be tested and treated within a single brief visit to the clinic.

The World Health Organization estimates that 499 million new sexually transmitted infections (STIs) occur each year.

The technology for the test is based on chemistry research led by Professor Chris Frost and Dr Toby Jenkins in the University’s Department of Chemistry.

Professor Frost, Head of the University’s Department of Chemistry, said: “To prevent the spread of infectious diseases, especially sexually transmitted infections, it’s very important to get a fast, easy diagnosis that can be given at the first appointment with a patient, allowing treatment to begin quickly before the patient leaves.”

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The system uses DNA probes with bespoke electrochemical tags attached to accurately detect for infectious diseases. This system has significant benefits over existing diagnostic tests, allowing for faster results.

Atlas Genetics was created in 2005 and has attracted more than £35 million in investment.

John Clarkson, CEO of Atlas Genetics, said: “STIs are on the rise and the faster a diagnosis can be made, the faster treatment can be given, not only benefiting the patient but also saving time and money. We believe that our io® platform will play a key role in the future of STI diagnosis.”

SPRING 2016

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NEWS z

Simulations seek disease answers Experts at Cardiff University are using computer simulations to study the chemistry underpinning the development of Alzheimer’s disease.

Dr Jamie Platts, from the School of Chemistry, has been awarded a research grant to investigate the build-up of ‘sticky’ plaques in the brain, which are believed to contribute to the degradation of nerve cells in the brain.

Report suggests Brexit could hit UK chemicals industry hard A hard-hitting report has suggested that the British chemicals sector could face a £7bn loss of exports in the worst case event of a Brexit without a replacement Free Trade Agreement (FTA) with the European Union.

Written by Euler Hermes, a major trade credit insurance business, the report says that UKbased companies in sectors highly dependent on the European market - such as chemicals, automotive, machinery and equipment would be hardest hit by an EU exit if new FTAs were not created.

The potential £7bn loss in sales in chemical companies would be followed by the machinery and equipment sectors (£3.5bn loss) and the automotive industry (£3bn loss).

Ana Boata, European economist at Euler Hermes, said: “The chemicals industry is one of the most important exporting sectors in the UK, with £55bn of goods sent abroad each year.

“British companies are already under immense pressure to become more competitive against high growth markets in the US and Asia, while also battling higher R&D costs and a strong pound in recent years.

“With over half of the chemical industry’s exports heading to the EU, any decision to break away from continental trading partners would have knock-on effects on the supply chain and put jobs at risk. The figures emphasise the importance of negotiations to secure an FTA in the event of Britain leaving the EU.” The Euler Hermes Economic Insight report,

called Brexit Me If You Can’, says that the most likely scenario is that UK is most likely to remain within the EU, minimizing disruption to trade.

However, it also highlights the impact on British companies under two scenarios: first with a new FTA in place and then without an FTA. It identifies direct export losses, falling margins due to higher import and financing costs, and international divestment as the three main factors that could lead to a contraction in exports.

Even with a new FTA in place, chemical companies could still see a drop of up to £2.5bn in exports, while machinery and equipment and automotive industries would each witness a £1.1bn contraction.

Euler Hermes estimates that in the ‘worstcase scenario’ of a Brexit without an FTA, the turnover of British companies would contract by -1% per year on average, compared to a current predicted growth rate of +4% on average after 2017 if the UK remained in the EU. The report suggests that this could result in losses of up to £30bn or 8% of UK total goods exports, a gap which, even when offset by trade with Commonwealth countries, would take at least 10 years to fill. Under this scenario, the trade balance deficit, already at a record high level, would widen by £35bn to £180bn within 12 months of the formalisation of a UK exit from the EU.

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The £350,000 awarded by the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council will be used to perform computer simulations to determine how the plaque builds up, with the aim of informing the design of new drugs and diagnostic agents.

Company helps young talent

Banner Chemicals has announced that 2015 was a successful year for its work to combat the UK skills shortage in Science and STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths) subjects.

During the year, the company helped 85 school pupils through a ‘chemistry in action’ day, recruited a number of Chemical Engineering apprentices from the North East through workplace training provision to be completed in 2016 and recruited three graduates of STEM subjects were recruited across the Banner Group.

Product approved

UK-based Eden Research, which provides natural microencapsulation technologies to the global agrochemicals, animal health and consumer products industries, has confirmed that its first agrochemical product, 3AEY, a fungicide that primarily targets botrytis on grapes, has been approved for commercial use in Bulgaria. Bulgaria is in the top 20 wine producing countries globally.

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Educational charity supports chemicals industry The Outward Bound Trust is working with Cogent Skills and the Science Industry Partnership (SIP) to develop apprenticeship training programmes based on the Life Sciences and Industrial Science (LS&IS) Trailblazer assessment plans.

communication levels, and with access to SIP funding chose to work with Cogent Skills and The Trust on their apprenticeship programme.

John McCarthy, a Client Relationship Manager from The Trust, said that the experiential learning courses for apprentices are an impactful and cost effective way to achieve accelerated learning.

This methodology aligned with Trailblazer frameworks makes the learning active and the analogy with work obvious. Change is then embedded quickly and transferred easily to the workplace.

He said: “Employers benefit from highly motivated apprentices who are implementing Trailblazer identified behaviours.

Stephen Stewart, Apprenticeship Programme Lead at GSK, said: “The Outward Bound Trust experience is now a core part of the behavioural journey for our apprentices. It has been instrumental in developing their understanding of the GSK values and our change framework.

“As well as personal development, apprentices also receive a strong message about the investment being made in them and their future careers. The results reverberate in the business through better staff retention, measurable cost and time saving efficiencies and improved risk reduction/awareness.”

GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) wanted their apprentices to improve their confidence and

The Trust use experiential learning (plan, do, review, apply) to develop and structure each course. They believe that the greater the personal challenge, the greater the apprentices’ reflections will be and the greater the intensity of the learning experience.

Their trainers facilitate learning both in the moment (perhaps at the top of an abseil, or in the middle of a lake) and in a group review phase by encouraging individuals to reflect, describe and communicate their learnings from the experience.

“We set out with clear objectives on what we wanted to achieve but our programme delivered much, much more. The confidence of our apprentices grew throughout the week as they built new networks and discovered

new skills. At GSK we now have an even more engaged and energetic set of apprentices working together to help people do more, feel better and live longer.”

In December 2015, The Trust worked with ten companies who are collaborating on the delivery of their apprenticeship training based on the LS&IS Trailblazer assessment. Working with Cogent and SIP, this alliance includes SABIC Petrochemicals, Lotte Chemical, Lucite International, Johnson Matthey, Huntsman PU, Team Valve, Chemoxy, CPI and Redcar Bulk Terminal.

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NEWS z

We set out with clear objectives on what we wanted to achieve but our programme delivered much, much more. The confidence of our apprentices grew throughout the week as they built new networks and discovered new skills.

Using LS&IS Trailblazer standards as a common benchmark the alliance have worked with industry training providers on technical skills and with The Trust on behavioural skills.

The Trust took 40 apprentices through a weeklong programme to engage them with LS&IS Trailblazer behaviours, taking responsibility for themselves and their challenges, and concluding with practical development plans and a presentation to key stakeholders where they were able to articulate their learning and the benefits it would offer to their individual organisations.

Craig Hargreaves, SABIC UK Petrochemicals Limited and Chair, Life Sciences & Industrial Science Trailblazer, said: “Whatever the nature of the organisation, the competence of its people is key to achieving business aims. This is why our apprenticeship programmes must produce people who are able to work to the industry standard and contribute to their business from day one. The assessment plan will ensure that all science industry apprentices have demonstrated that they have the skills, knowledge understanding and behaviours needed to work in this exciting industry.�

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The Outward Bound Trust is an educational charity that uses the outdoors to help develop young people. For more information, please contact john.mccarthy@outwardbound.org.uk or visit www.outwardbound.org.uk/corporate

z WORLD NEWS

SPRING 2016

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Global chemical industry mergers and acquisitions outlook remains buoyant Global chemical mergers and acquisitions (M&A) activity is expected to remain buoyant in 2016, according to a report.

The report by Deloitte said that key chemical segments of fertilisers and agriculture chemicals, diversified, and industrial gases are all likely to experience strong M&A transactions.

In the Americas region, the United States is expected to continue to be a prime M&A market in 2016.

Within the European, Middle East, and African region, M&A activity will likely

be centred in Western Europe as portfolio restructuring continues.

In the UK, investor sentiment is expected to remain strong, driving both inbound and outbound M&A activity and in Africa, consolidation will continue, underscored by shortage of water, population growth and an expanding middle class.

Agricultural chemicals, specialty chemicals, and fine chemicals will remain top segments to watch in the Asia Pacific region, especially in China, says the report.

Meanwhile, the Indian chemical industry M&A outlook for 2016 will likely be driven by commodity chemicals and significant transaction volumes expected in the specialty and agricultural chemicals segments.

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WORLD NEWS z

Chemistry prize is jointly awarded

anti-HIV

The 2016 Wolf Prize in Chemistry has unanimously been awarded in equal parts to two scientists working in the United States.

Professor Kyriacos C. Nicolaou, of the Department of Chemistry, Rice University, Houston, Texas, was honoured for advancing the field of chemical synthesis.

Professor Stuart L. Schreiber, of the Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, was awarded the prize for pioneering chemical insights into the logic of signal transduction and gene regulation that led to important new therapeutics and for advancing chemical biology and medicine through the discovery of small-molecule probes.

Wolf prizes are awarded by the Wolf Foundation, which began its activities in 1976, with an initial endowment fund of $10 million donated by the Wolf family.

The foundation said that Prof. Kyriacos C. Nicolaou propelled natural product synthesis into the modern era ‘with a level of ambition that has been and continues to be breathtaking.’

They said: “He is undoubtedly the world leader of the present generation in the field of total synthesis and biological activity. He has shown, like nobody else, how to strategically

disconnect complex molecules into fragments leading to realisable chemical pathways.

“This strategy represents a conceptual leap that has been emulated by many others and has broken a ‘glass ceiling’ in the art of synthesis.

“He has made manifold contributions to the development of new methodologies, many now widely used by others, to surmount challenges encountered en route to the target. His syntheses are executed with a beauty and flair that has become legendary and inspired a new generation of chemists to follow his footsteps.”

They highlighted work including the synthesis of endiandric acids (plant metabolites), efrotomycin (antibiotic), amphotericin B (antifungal drug) calicheamicin g1I (anticancer drug), rapamycin (anticancer and immunosuppressive drug), Taxol® (top-selling anti-cancer drug), sanglifehrin A (immunosuppressant), apoptolidin (antitumor agent), hybocarpone (cytotoxic agent) coleophomones, uncialamycin (antitumor antibiotics), biyouyanagin A (anti-HIV agent,), hirsutellone B (antituberculosis agent).

synthesized in Professor Schreiber’s laboratory.

The resulting insights identified the signaling pathway that links calcium, calcineurin, and NFAT. “Both the biology underlying this pathway, as well as the chemical approach used to illuminate it, have served as a foundation for many other investigations in hundreds of laboratories and has led to the use of FK506 and rapamycin as immunosuppressive and antiproliferative drugs.

“Professor Schreiber’s subsequent work in elucidating biological pathways using small molecules has led to major discoveries in understanding the biology of nutrient sensing and immunosuppression, including the discovery of the protein kinase mTOR, which regulates cell proliferation, cell survival, transcription, and translation, as well as the discovery that small-molecule drugs can target protein kinases such as mTOR.”

Prof. Stuart L. Schreiber contributions to chemistry, said the foundation, are ‘of a oncein-a-generation magnitude’ by the panel.

They said: “As one of the earliest chemical biologists, Professor Schreiber’s research led to multiple major discoveries that continue to define and drive the field forward.

“He discovered the FKBPs, proteins that bind FK506, a highly complex small molecule

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z Professor. Kyriacos.C.

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z Professor Stuart

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SPRING 2016

Company announces hydrogen technology breakthrough

HyperSolar, Inc. the American developer of a technology to produce renewable hydrogen using sunlight and water, has developed an inexpensive photocatalyst that will improve overall performance.

According to the company, test results indicate that this low cost catalyst will reduce overall voltage requirements, significantly increase photocurrents, improve hydrogen production efficiency and further reduce the cost of the Company’s hydrogen production process.

Having recently surpassed the 1.5 Volt threshold needed to produce hydrogen in commercially viable real world applications, the company turned its attention to increasing photocurrent and production efficiency that it believes will drive down overall system costs.

A University of Iowa team led by Dr. Syed Mubeen Hussaini identified a sulfide-based photocatalyst comprised of an abundant, nontoxic cheap material that it believed would rival platinum, a well-known catalyst material.

HyperSolar says that the ramifications of the breakthrough are significant, particularly the solar-to-hydrogen conversion efficiency.

Historically, the key commercial barrier to renewable-produced (solar and wind) hydrogen fuel has been the expense of various system components.

HyperSolar believes the initial successes of utilizing this abundant photocatalyst clearly demonstrates its potential to compete with platinum, therefore significant reducing overall system cost.

CEO Tim Young said: “The challenge facing widespread hydrogen fuel adoption has always surrounded both cost and scalability.

While we have achieved high voltage, and now high current, we must improve the long-term stability of bonding the photocatalyst to our novel high voltage solar cell.

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“We are confident this progress has us positioned to do so in a manner that will have large scale ramifications as we continue to advance the technology.”

HyperSolar’s research is centered on developing a low-cost and submersible hydrogen production particle that can split water molecules under the sun, emulating the functions of photosynthesis.

Each particle is a complete hydrogen generator that contains a novel high voltage solar cell bonded to chemical catalysts by a encapsulation coating.

The company’s main aim is to develop breakthrough, low cost technology to make renewable hydrogen using sunlight and any source of water, including seawater and wastewater.

Unlike hydrocarbon fuels, such as oil, coal and natural gas, where carbon dioxide and other contaminants are released into the atmosphere when used, hydrogen fuel usage produces pure water as the only byproduct.

SPRING 2016

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Units go onstream

WORLD NEWS z

Joining forces

BASF and the French biotechnology company CYTOO have joined forces to develop and test ingredients that contribute to increase skin firmness in skin care applications.

Recent research results indicate that there are some ingredients that can stimulate the contractility of human fibroblasts, connective tissue cells, and improve skin appearance and firmness.

Drone ruling welcomed

The US. House Transportation & Infrastructure Committee has approved an amendment to the Aviation Innovation, Reform and Reauthorization Act that will restrict the unauthorised use of drones near chemical facilities and oil refineries.

Industrial gases company Air Products has brought onstream its four air separation unit (ASU) trains built for Shaanxi Future Energy Chemical Co., Ltd. in Yulin City, Shaanxi Province, China.

The project, capable of producing 12,000 tons per day of oxygen and significant tonnage volumes of nitrogen and compressed dry air for the customer’s coal chemical plant, represents one of the largest single on-site ASU orders ever committed to an industrial gas company.

Phil Sproger, Air Products vice president, Asia On-Site Business Development, Industrial Gases, said: “The successful execution of this world-scale project is another testimonial of our leading position in large air separation and excellence in safety, reliability and technology.

“We will continue to pursue opportunities where we can leverage on our application solutions and expertise to support China’s sustainable development under its 13th Fiveyear Plan.”

The industrial gases produced by Air Products’ ASUs and supplied to Shaanxi Future Energy Chemical at Yulin are used to help produce one million tons of high quality oil products annually.

The four ASU trains are equipped with air compressors as well as design and technology advancements to enhance energy efficiency

and minimize operational costs for the customer.

Established in 2011, Shaanxi Future Energy Chemical is jointly-owned by the state-backed Yankuang Coal Group, Yanzhou Coal Co., Ltd. and Shaanxi Yanchang Petroleum Group.

The American Chemistry Council welcomed the decision, saying: “The vote will help address a mounting security concern and help safeguard chemical facilities, which play a critical role in manufacturing products that are important to the everyday health and well-being of our nation.”

Its Yulin coal-to-liquid demonstration project has been awarded ‘China’s Top 10 Project’ for the efforts on innovation and sustainability

by China Petroleum & Chemical Industrial Federation, a non-profit organization covering more than 300 major companies, institutions and associations in China’s petrochemical industry, and China Chemical Industry News, the country’s leading trade publication.

Dr. Sun Qiwen, general manager of Shaanxi Future Energy Chemical, said: “We are pleased to have partnered with Air Products on this important project and impressed with their technological and safety expertise demonstrated throughout the execution.”

Air Products has been operating in China since 1987 and has built several world-scale ASU facilities in the country, supplying large tonnage quantities of industrial gases to significant energy projects for customers including Weihe Clean Energy Co. and Pucheng Clean Energy Co. in Shaanxi Province.

It is building another multi-train ASU project in Shanxi Province to support Shanxi Lu’an Mining Group’s coal-to-liquid business.

Outside China, the company is now building the world’s largest industrial gas complex, capable of supplying 75,000 metric tons per day (20,000 oxygen and 55,000 nitrogen) to Saudi Aramco’s refinery being built in Jazan, Saudi Arabia. Key process equipment is designed by Air Products’ engineering and manufacturing team in Shanghai and will be manufactured in China.

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Fighting the wrinkles

Scientists have devised a method for making wrinkle-resistant cotton fabrics that are more environmentally-friendly and cost-effective than current versions.

According to an American Chemical Society Journal, Yiqi Yang and his colleagues investigated chemicals that had resistant properties but did not require formaldehyde, a hazardous chemical used in existing processes.

The best results were obtained by citric acid and xylitol. Citric acid is a mediocre anti-wrinkling agent and yellows fabrics but when linked with xylitol, discolouration is mitigated and antiwrinkling improved.

The researchers received funding from the Chinese National High Technology Research and Development Program and US Department of Agriculture.

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Centre aims to excite would-be scientists The Cooper Standard Foundation and The Dow Chemical Company have announced the opening of an interactive science center called Science in the DEEP at the S.A.Y. Detroit Play Center, in the United States.

“This is where students will be encouraged to make education a priority in their lives.

The contribution from Dow and The Cooper Standard Foundation to create the state-ofthe-art Science in the DEEP centre will make science come to life through computers provided by the companies and STEM programs facilitated by their employees. This will help these young people understand and be better prepared for valuable career paths.”

S.A.Y. Detroit is a charity founded by Detroit journalist and author Mitch Albom and is aimed at improving the lives of the city’s neediest citizens through shelter, food, medical care, volunteer efforts and education.

Dow launched its Dow STEM Ambassadors programme in 2014 and Cooper Standard launched its STEM Accelerator program in 2015.

Mitch said: “The 8,000 sq. ft. learning and tutoring center is the heart of the S.A.Y. Detroit facility.

Cooper Standard and Dow will staff the centre with employees who will offer tutoring, science demonstrations and career information.

The programmes provide the basis for volunteer training and educational STEM materials, while inspiring students with real life innovations, making challenging concepts easier to understand and sharing job opportunities.

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Keith Stephenson, chief operating officer, Cooper Standard, said: “Cooper Standard is pleased to again join Mitch Albom in his latest effort to improve the lives of Detroit area youth. We are also very happy to continue collaborating with our business partner Dow to introduce science and technology to this group of students.”

Greg Jozwiak, business president, Dow’s Elastomers and Electrical and Telecommunications, said: “Educating and empowering our youth is fundamental to the long-term success and sustainability of our communities.

“This centre will engage students with handson STEM activities that foster a continued passion for the sciences and the pursuit of these promising career fields. We are proud to continue to work with Cooper Standard and Mitch Albom to deliver lasting impact in Detroit and throughout the state of Michigan.”

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New division created

US company Sun Chemical has formed a new Advanced Materials division which features an expanded portfolio of technologies from both Sun Chemical and DIC, its parent company.

Sun Chemical Advanced Materials will deliver to markets including automotive, inkjet, electronics, architectural and industrial coatings, aerospace, printed circuits, photovoltaics, printed electronics, plastic cards, water degassing and plastics.

Public Health researchers map world’s ‘Chemical Landscape’ Researchers from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health in the United States have created a map of the world’s chemical landscape, showing 10,000 chemicals for which there is available safety data.

The map is designed to help regulators, manufacturers and scientists obtain a good idea about whether chemicals for which there is little research are harmful or not.

The research was done by creating a database of the 816,000 research studies conducted on 10,000 chemicals registered in Europe.

Study leader Thomas Hartung, MD, PhD, the Doerenkamp-Zbinden Professor and Chair for Evidence-based Toxicology at the Bloomberg School, said: “There are 100,000 chemicals in products we use every day and we are missing 90 per cent of the safety information we need.

“It would take billions of dollars to test every one of them, which is very cost-prohibitive. To address this, we have come up with a computer model that can tell us which chemicals are similar to untested ones to give us an idea of what types of hazards they are likely to pose.”

The map produced by Thomas Hartung’s team grouped chemicals by their known toxicities. The most prevalent hazards are that a chemical may cause an allergic skin reaction (20 percent) or cause serious eye damage (17 per cent) but hazards also include toxicity when inhaled or swallowed, flammability, organ damage and many more.

Thomas said: “This is an extremely pragmatic system. You’re never sure there’s not going to be a surprise but this enormous database makes surprises much less likely.”

He said that just because a chemical is deemed unsafe in certain ways doesn’t mean it can’t be used, adding: “If a tiger is in a cage, it’s not harmful to you. It’s the same with a chemical.

If you’re not exposed, it’s not a problem for you. So if you know something is corrosive to the skin, you need to take care not to use too much and to protect the skin. Knowledge can help you protect yourself.”

The team is creating a spin-off company, to be called ToxTrack, which will make the analysis available as a web-based service.

Award for company

Mitsui Chemicals, Inc, of Toyko, has been selected by the Catalysis Society of Japan to receive the 2015 Award for Education.

The selection committee praised the company’s youth education programmes, including its ‘Laboratory Class in the Wonders of Chemistry’ which aims to promote interest and a deeper understanding of chemistry among children by supporting their participation in experiments under the supervision of company staff.

Anniversary celebrated

German company BASF is celebrating the 125th anniversary of its leather chemicals business, which has included products to help tanneries lower their carbon footprint, water and energy usage.

BASF’s history with the natural material leather started in 1891, and the first leather laboratory was established in 1895 in Ludwigshafen, Germany.

Plastics recycling surges

If a tiger is in a cage, it’s not harmful to you. It’s the same with a chemical. If you’re not exposed, it’s not a problem for you.

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The recycling of post-consumer rigid plastics surged 27 per cent, in 2014 to reach a new high, according to a report.

The report by Moore Recycling Associates Inc also indicated that the reported volume of recycled rigid plastics—tracked separately from bottles or film—is now four times greater than the volume reported in 2007.

ONE STOP SOLUTION FOR GHS COMPLIANCE LABELLING AND INCREASE IN PRODUCTIVITY MP Logistics has the solution MP Logistics Ltd is a privately owned company with its head office based in Leyland, Lancashire, and has unsurpassed experience in the Auto ID industry, providing everything needed to apply labels to boxes, cases or products, in diverse and challenging environments.

MPL works closely with the key manufacturers of thermal transfer equipment, which includes label printing, scanning and stacking systems, as well as consumables, in the UK and overseas, offering top quality products at competitive prices.

We work alongside customers to achieve a common goal, and have a versatile management team available to plan, develop and apply new and innovative solutions to labelling problems.

MPL can assist in the development of quality systems and procedures that will actively reduce errors and non-conformances; these include new standards in the retail sector, as well as the introduction of GHS label compliance in the chemical industry.

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z INNOVATION

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Funding aims to drive innovation

Innovation is key to the development of all sciences and the UK is witnessing an increasing emphasis on helping researchers to make their breakthroughs.

Key to progress is the ability of the public and private sectors and academia to work together to channel funding to the right areas required for progress to be made.

Among those backing innovation is the UK Government, which is providing funding to bring together different scientific disciplines, including chemistry.

Science Minister Jo Johnson recently set out the Government’s commitment to put the UK at the forefront of research. Announcing a record £26.3 billion budget for science for the next five years, the Minister confirmed that the Government will continue to protect the science budget of £4.7 billion in real-terms.

It will also continue to invest in scientific infrastructure on a record scale with £5.8 billion capital committed between now and 2021.

The budget includes the introduction of the £1.5 billion Global Challenges Research Fund, which will be used to invest in British science projects and businesses looking to tackle some of the planet’s life-threatening issues, bringing together scientists from the various disciplines.

Jo Johnson said: “From the invention of the lightbulb to the creation of the worldwide web, UK scientists have been instrumental in many of the world’s most significant discoveries, and we are determined to continue this legacy on a global scale.

“In a time of tight control over public spending, we have guaranteed record investment for UK scientists so they can help us tackle climate change, produce disease-resistant crops and cure rare diseases.

“The Government is delivering a decade of sustained investment in science, and as long as scientists continue to discover, innovate, and drive economic growth we will continue to stand right behind them.”

Jo Johnson also confirmed that the system providing two streams of research funding grants - some awarded competitively, some as block grants for universities to invest according to their own priorities – will be protected. These allocations see the balance shift in favour of university block grants – by 2020, 65p is due to be allocated directly for every £1 allocated to Research Councils, up from the current level of 63p.

The Government has also pledged that funding for higher education will include £400 million to foster and strengthen university collaboration with the private sector through the UK Research Partnership Investment Fund from 2018 until 2021. This builds on the earlier success of the partnership, which provided more than £500 million to help higher education institutions across the UK secure over £1.4 billion of co-investment from business and charity partners.

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From the invention of the lightbulb to the creation of the worldwide web, UK scientists have been instrumental in many of the world’s most significant discoveries, and we are determined to continue this legacy on a global scale.

Jo Johnson Science Minister

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The power of ‘what if?’

Another classic example of university-led innovation is two spin-out companies which have come out of the University of Teesside, both involving chemist Dr Meez Islam.

Anasyst, which specialises in novel analytical systems , has been working to help tackle an illness that has killed millions of people down the centuries.

Although diagnosis and treatment of sepsis, the life-threatening illness caused by the body’s overreaction to infection, is continually improving, many millions of people still die from it.

The team including scientists from Teesside University has been exploring a way of improving early diagnosis which, even if it does not eradicate sepsis, offers hope of a world in which it is much less of a problem.

Current methods of diagnosing sepsis involve analysing blood culture and can take up to 72 hours. In cases of severe sepsis, a diagnosis which brings forward the start of antibiotic treatment by just one hour could lead to a 6-10 per cent reduction in mortality rates.

The CE-microArray technique could improve the sensitivity of blood tests and, taken in conjunction with the development of a more reliable biomarker for the diagnosis of risk, which will be undertaken by academic partners at the University of Freiburg and the University of Ulm in Germany, this could lead to a test which could be up to 100 times more sensitive than conventional ones.

The project is being carried out under the EU Seventh Framework programme and is being coordinated by Dr Islam, a Reader in Physical Chemistry in the School of Science & Engineering at Teesside University.

Dr Islam said: “Anything that can speed up the diagnosis times and start treatment earlier, even by a small amount, could potentially save thousands of lives each year.

“The idea came about because we had developed the technology but did not really have an application for it, but through the consortium it became clear that it could be used for more sensitive diagnosis for sepsis.

“I did not know much about sepsis but this is how science develops, with scientists from different disciplines working together. It is all about choosing the right partners.

“I know colleagues in the physical sciences working on exciting ideas for which there is no application that they know of but take it to someone else and they can find the right application.

“In this case, we knew how to develop the technology but it needed someone else to identify an application. We could not have done it on our own, but working with the bioscientists and the engineers we have taken major steps on the road towards something that can save lives and provided a basis for others to take the work on.”

Another example in which he has been involved is Chemicam, which has developed a hand-held device that uses hyperspectral imaging to analyse blood stains at crime scenes using light rather that the traditional chemical test.

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z Dr Meez Islam

Dr Islam said: “As with the work on sepsis, it was a ‘what if?’ moment. I wondered if the technology could be used on bloodstains and asked our forensic investigation department and the result was we had a Phd student, Bo Li, who worked on it.

“Using light reduces the chances of blood stains being contaminated in testing and also eradicates false positive tests, which can happen when chemicals are used on the likes of rust.

“We now have a prototype hand-held device which can analyse and accurately date, within an hour either way in the case of fresh blood, which we are trying to commercialise and it all started with blue sky thinking.

“Both pieces of work came out of the way that universities can pursue innovation.

Scientists have the opportunity to have ideas then develop them. “

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Universities play their part in innovation rush

That is why the UK Government also recently announced funding of more than £200 million for PhD students in engineering and physical sciences and to boost the UK’s research into quantum technologies.

Many of those leaders are hard at work in universities. Professor Gregory G. Wildgoose, Director of Enterprise at the School of Chemistry, University of East Anglia in Norwich, said: “Things have changed in the past ten or twenty years. If you go back two decades, academics often did research without thinking of a commercial application but that has changed.

“Also, previously, if companies approached a university it was one of the big names but now they are more prepared to approach other universities as well.

“I think they realise that if they have a problem, universities have access to specialist equipment and expertise that can help them.

“We are definitely seeing universities driving innovation in the chemical sector and increasingly seeing universities and companies working together on solving problems for projects that bring economic and societal benefits.”

One example at UEA is work done by a spinout company to develop a portable device which analyses fingerprint sweat and which is revolutionising drug screening.

Developed by UEA’s Prof David Russell, with research funding from the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council, Intelligent Fingerprinting enables non-invasive and cost effective drug testing in less than ten minutes.

Applications include drug rehabilitation

Innovation on the up More UK businesses than ever before are coming up with new ideas and products, according to new official Government statistics released.

The Government support for universities shows that ministers acknowledge the crucially important role that they play in supporting innovation.

Universities Minister Jo Johnson said the investment will support cutting-edge research across the UK and help top students into a PhD, adding: “We are committed to securing the UK’s position as a world leader in science and innovation. The Government is ensuring major new discoveries happen here. This new funding builds on our protection for science spending by supporting research in our worldleading universities and helping to train the science leaders of tomorrow.”

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services, offender management and criminal justice.

Existing drug screening methods require the collection of fluids like urine, saliva or blood and rely on specialist staff and specially prepared collection areas. Thanks to Intelligent Fingerprinting’s technology, fast and accurate tests can be performed in any location, with benefits for police and prisons, healthcare workers, drug rehabilitation clinics, and workplaces with drug screening policies.

Prof Russell, from UEA’s School of Chemistry, said: “The device works by analysing the tiny traces of sweat left behind by a fingerprint.

When the chemicals contained in drugs are processed by the body, secondary chemicals called metabolites are produced as a result.

“Our device can detect tiny amounts of these metabolites in a person’s sweat and determine whether particular drugs have been taken.”

The device will initially test for amphetamines, benzodiazepines, cannabis, cocaine and opiates but has the potential to detect even more drug groups. The amount of each drug that constitutes a pass or fail can also be calibrated, providing further flexibility for potential users.

An additional benefit is the potential for the device to combine verification of identity with drug screening.

Prof Russell said: “Since the test results are linked to a unique fingerprint, the risk of attributing a positive result to the wrong person is minimised and identity checks can be carried out by security personnel at the same time as drug screening.”

In 2014, Intelligent Fingerprinting secured almost £3 million in new funding from private UK and US-based investors and company, a spin-out from the University of East Anglia, is generating worldwide interest.

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The statistics, based on a survey of almost 30,000 employers between 2012 to 2014, show more than half (53%) of UK businesses are actively engaging in developing and introducing new products and ways of making them, as well as new services and ways of doing business, up 8% in two years alone.

Business Secretary Sajid Javid said: “From new disruptive business models to driverless cars, innovation can not only revolutionise the way we live our lives, it can bring real opportunities for businesses to tap into and grow. That is why we are determined to make the UK the best place in Europe to innovate and start a company.

“And these figures show that businesses throughout the UK are already leading the way, delivering exciting opportunities across the nation. The number of companies innovating and coming up with new, dynamic ideas is on the rise – up 8 percentage points between 2012 and 2014, with more than half of businesses now developing new products and services, some with the potential to revolutionise their industries.”

Yorkshire and the Humber leads the UK for innovative businesses, with almost two-thirds of businesses engaged in innovation in the region. The East Midlands is also well above the UK average at 57%, and the West Midlands has seen one of the largest increases in business led innovation, up 12 percentage points over two years.

The figures also show how important innovation is to global business success. 28% of innovative businesses were exporting abroad; bringing new British products like advanced medical scanners chargers to an international market. That compares to only 10% of non-innovating businesses.

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Working together reaps dividends Central to encouraging innovation is partnership, as illustrated by the recent work of a UK based consortium, including CPI, that has developed unique techniques for the continuous production of high value pharmaceuticals.

The new reactor technologies developed will enable high value chemicals, including pharmaceuticals that have traditionally been made in batches, to be produced in a continuous manner, together with an increased level of automated control leading to products that are of a higher quality, greater consistency and are produced at lower cost. According to the consortium, the developments have the potential to transform many formulating sectors.

The two year Innovate UK project, which also involved AstraZeneca, Perceptive Engineering Limited and CMAC at The University of Strathclyde, developed three demonstration scale systems; a flow reactor system at CPI and two continuous crystallisers at the University of Strathclyde.

In addition to the reactors, the project has also established novel control design and analytical techniques to complement the reactors.

The software produced enables the reactors to reach optimum performance quickly and efficiently as the manufacturer switches between products.

Neville Slack, Project Manager at CPI, said:

“The project has demonstrated very good performance and cost benefits across a number of continuous reactors. Technically it has shown that model predictive control can be used to deliver true operational benefits through improving the flexibility of production.

“Going forward, the systems will allow the pharmaceutical industry to move away from the traditional batch processing of high value/ low volume products and move towards more cost effective and environmentally sustainable continuous manufacturing systems.

“The achievements will not only benefit SMEs by allowing them to exploit advanced control and modelling technologies without the need for in-house expertise but also multinational pharmaceutical companies who wish to speed up and optimise their new product development. ” Another example of what can be achieved with the right support is the success of specialist UK engineering firm Whitefox Technologies, which has made a major breakthrough in the US market with its energy and water-efficient membrane solution for ethanol production.

The London-based business has signed a technology licence and purchase agreement for an industrial scale system with Californiabased Pacific Ethanol and an agreement on a Whitefox solution for Iowa-based Pine Lake Corn Processors.

The deals came after successful trials of a demonstration plant last year at Pacific Ethanol, which opened up potential markets for energy and water-efficient ethanol production and similar applications with a market value running into billions of dollars.

Whitefox delivers membrane solutions for a variety of solvent applications and chemical reactions to improve productivity and reduce

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water and energy use and Operating Officer Trond Heggenhougen said: “It’s extremely difficult to get into the US market. When you first do it, it is very significant. That’s why this is so exciting.

“We are also addressing global problems of an increasing population with limited supplies of water and energy. The Whitefox bolt-on solution is attractive to a US ethanol industry that needs to improve its productivity to remain competitive and is increasingly required to meet exacting environmental standards being introduced by state legislators.”

Whitefox has taken part in two ‘clean and cool’ missions to San Francisco and Brazil, events run by Innovate UK and UK Trade and Investment to help ambitious entrepreneurs with innovative products to meet new project partners, customers, suppliers and investors in other countries.

Trond said: “I went on the Clean and Cool Mission to San Francisco in 2012. I was able to speak to key stakeholders, industry players and potential customers and get advice and support from mission sponsors.

“It’s important. It helps you to get a foothold in the market. Since then we have had help with getting customers from the UKTI in San Francisco and particularly from the UKTI in Chicago.

Whitefox says it has also benefited from maintaining the contacts among fellow participants in the missions and from building on its networking through industry events and conferences.

The company has grown from 12 to 18 employees over the past year and expects to be 25-to-30 strong by the end of this year. It expects to grow further as it exploits market opportunities in North America and Europe.

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Food company and university team link up A leading British food manufacturer is harnessing the expertise of scientists at the University of Leicester to bring innovation to its production process to help boost yields and quality.

Fresh-Pak Chilled Foods Ltd has established a partnership with the Department of Chemistry at the University of Leicester which will include academic consultancy, student projects and a two-year Knowledge Transfer Partnership (KTP) worth in the region of £200,000 across the project duration.

The partnership includes the recruitment of an Analytical Chemist to the Fresh-Pak team, mentored by an academic and with access to the specialist expertise and facilities available at the University.

The academic input from the University of Leicester will be led by Professor Andy Abbot and Dr Alex Goddard from the Department of Chemistry with support from Professor Jeremy Levesley from the Department of Mathematics.

Based in South Yorkshire, Fresh-Pak is a leading supplier of food products to the major supermarkets, food service providers and business-to-business and is also the UK’s largest producer of boiled eggs with more than five million cooked every week. Products made at the site include chilled sandwich fillers and accompaniments and the company’s success is built on a 20-year history of specialist food manufacturing experience.

One of Fresh-Pak’s strategic priorities for the next five years and beyond is to develop innovative new production processes and ways of working in order to increase productivity and quality. They sought the support of a university to help accelerate and grow a strong science base, focusing on the application of materials science and chemistry.

The ultimate aim of the partnership is to firmly establish Fresh-Pak as a centre of excellence in food technology, that aims to revolutionise the way food is processed at Fresh-Pak, resulting in improved yields and quality performance.

Professor Abbott said: “The benefit to the University of collaborating with Fresh-Pak will be in demonstrating the impact of excellent academic research on a market sector, food processing. In addition, the new knowledge and best practice gained as result of the

collaboration will feed back into the University in terms of teaching, new research themes and publication.”

Keith Foreman, Managing Director of FreshPak, said : “We are delighted to partner with the University of Leicester as innovation forms one of the major strategic elements of our company’s growth strategy.

“We already have great relationships with our customers and provide category leadership in the areas in which we operate and we see this as a further way of strengthening our position.

“In today’s highly competitive landscape we firmly believe that companies who innovate and constantly challenge all aspects of their operation will succeed and the creation of a new Centre of Excellence will be instrumental in this.”

The University’s academic team has extensive knowledge of material science and, in particular, the behaviour of biomaterials and in-depth knowledge of analytical techniques and of developing bespoke analytical solutions for novel systems. The team also has experience of process development, pilot scale testing and installation and testing of production scale processes.

Entries sought for chemistry innovation competition Elsevier R&D Solutions has been named as the new lead sponsor for the 13th annual global ICIS Innovation Awards designed to recognise outstanding technological and business innovation in the chemical industry.

The ICIS Innovation Awards enable companies to celebrate their success in the vital activity of innovation and the increasingly important areas of sustainability and environmental performance.

There are four categories for companies to enter:

Together, ICIS and the new sponsor are launching the Alpha Innovator of the Year Award, to recognise individual excellence in chemical industry innovation in the Awards for the first time.

• Best Product Innovation • Best Process Innovation

Distribution company U.S. Chemicals continues as a category sponsor, supporting the Innovation with Best Benefit for Environment and Sustainability category. ExxonMobil Chemical also stays on board, sponsoring the category for Best Innovation by a Small or Medium-sized Enterprise.

• Best Innovation by a Small or Medium-sized Enterprise (SME) - sponsored by ExxonMobil Chemical • Innovation with Best Benefit for Environment and Sustainability - sponsored by U.S. Chemicals

John Baker, ICIS Innovation Awards manager at ICIS, said: “The awards continue to grow and gain industry support and last year attracted a record level of entries. We once again look forward to highlighting the very best of innovation in the chemical industry.”

Plus, the new individual Alpha Innovator of the Year Award which will honour two industrial researchers for their outstanding contributions in two areas: New product development/process optimisation and Environment and sustainability.

Christina Valimaki, senior director for chemical industry marketing at Elsevier R&D Solutions, and also a member of the ICIS Innovation Awards judging panel, said: “We’re in a difficult market with unyielding cost pressures, product proliferation and regulatory scrutiny.

The ICIS Innovation Awards and the Alpha Innovator of the Year Award are open to entry from today, with a deadline for entries of 30 June 2016. The winners will be announced in October 2016. More information is available at www.icis.com/awards

27

z REACH FEATURE

www.chemicalindustryjournal.co.uk

SPRING 2016

REACH

continues to prove its worth

There is now a new, easier way to find out about 120,000 chemicals used on a daily basis as work continues on developing the REACH regulations.

The beginning of REACH (Registration, Evaluation and Authorisation of Chemicals) can be traced back to 13th February, 2001, when the European Commission adopted a White Paper setting out the strategy for a future Community Policy for Chemicals.

Having come into force in 2007, REACH aims to improve the protection of human health and the environment through the better and earlier identification of the intrinsic properties of chemical substances.

Manufacturers and importers are required to gather information on the properties of their chemical substances, which will allow their safe handling, and to register the information in a central database in the European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) in Helsinki.

The Agency is the central point in the REACH system: it manages the databases necessary to operate the system, co-ordinates the in-depth evaluation of suspicious chemicals and is building up a public database in which consumers and professionals can find hazard information.

The infocard gives a summary of the key information on a chemical substance in plain English. Users can read about the chemicals they are exposed to, where they are commonly used, whether they are hazardous and the precautions that they might need to take.

In the latest move, the information has been made available by ECHA in three layers of complexity: the simple infocard, the more detailed brief profile and the full source data.

The brief profile goes deeper into the environmental, human health and physicochemical properties of the chemical. It provides a user-friendly overview of the

Our compliance check strategy targets the substances with the greatest impact on people and the environment. The checks have shown that crucial data is missing in many of the registrations we targeted.

Geert Dancet

ECHA’s Executive Director

28

SPRING 2016

www.chemicalindustryjournal.co.uk

information collected for each substance under the different chemical regulations.

This will be most useful for employers, workers, academics and regulators.

safer chemicals by 2020 and a great contribution from the EU to the goals of the United Nations’ World Summit on Sustainable Development set in 2002.”

The third level, source data, includes the raw data submitted by companies to ECHA in REACH registration dossiers and notifications to the classification and labelling inventory.

ECHA is using a new compliance check strategy to prioritise and select substances that raise potential concern.

The ECHA database offers information on the classification and labelling of 120 000 chemicals; • The hazards and safe use of 14 000 chemicals registered under the REACH Regulation; • 2 million study summaries on properties and effects of chemicals; • 168 chemicals listed as being of very high concern; and • 64 chemicals for which their use has been restricted in the EU. ECHA’s Executive Director Geert Dancet said: “ECHA is moving from collecting information to making much better use of it for the general public as well as for regulators throughout the world.

“This launch is an important step towards

Its focus during the process in 2015 was on checking high-tonnage registration dossiers with human health and environmental data gaps and with a high potential for worker, consumer or environmental exposure.

Dossiers of 107 such substances were assessed, covering 853 (eco)toxicology endpoints. In 88 cases, relevant data was missing mostly due to poorly justified waiving of standard tests. For these, ECHA issued draft decisions requesting the registrants to provide the standard information or an adaptation complying with the requirements.

Altogether, ECHA concluded 183 compliance check evaluations and took 144 compliance check decisions. To encourage registrants to update their dossiers in advance, the Agency started publishing a list of substances potentially subject to compliance check.

Geert Dancet said: “Our compliance check strategy targets the substances with

29

REACH FEATURE z

the greatest impact on people and the environment. The checks have shown that crucial data is missing in many of the registrations we targeted. I encourage industry associations to motivate their members to fill the knowledge gaps in order not to delay the conclusion on whether their substances are of concern or not.”

Regarding testing proposals, ECHA concluded the examination of 184 cases and took 194 decisions.

To promote the use of alternative methods, ECHA started requesting and publishing the registrant’s considerations on alternatives to their proposed vertebrate testing. This information is published as part of the public consultation on testing proposals.

A large majority of registrants comply with ECHA’s decisions on compliance checks and testing proposals. The Agency conducted 300 follow-up evaluations in 2015, examining whether the registrants had provided the information requested in ECHA’s decisions.

In 86% of the cases, the registrant had complied. In 44 cases, ECHA informed the Member State authorities to enable national enforcement actions.

z REACH ADVERTORIAL

SPRING 2016

www.chemicalindustryjournal.co.uk

Time to assign your Only Representative in Turkey When implementing REACH in 2008 – 2010, EU manufacturers either registered their substances via their in-house expert departments, or outsourced these services from a EU-based consultancy company. In parallel, non-EU manufacturers exporting to Europe had to assign an Only Representative, a legal entity based in the EU. Now it is time for all chemical manufactures of the world exporting to Turkey to implement the same practice by assigning a trustworthy local Only Representative, unless they own a Turkish legal branch able to coop locally with REACH-like administrative and technical legislation.

Indeed, Turkish REACH (KKDIK) legislation is expected to be adopted very soon within the coming months, since the Ministry of Environment and Urbanisation (MoEU) is currently busy to wrap up the final implementation details regarding the compliance of the substances, mixtures and articles put on the Turkish market by foreign manufacturers.

In comparison with other similar legislations around the world (i.e. Korea), Turkish REACH bears a characteristic of a regulatory approximation within the on-going accession negotiations process with the EU. This is the reason why KKDIK is nearly a copypaste in Turkish language of the Regulation (EC) No 1907/2006, only with some minor changes that are necessary for Turkish manufacturers to fully comply with this costly, time consuming and sophisticated piece of legislation. Therefore, non-Turkish manufacturers exporting to Turkey will find themselves within a familiar regulatory environment, but would also need to adapt to some national specifications to be closely followed through the MoEU declarations and publications… in Turkish language!

Nevertheless, the spirit of Article 8 of the EU REACH remains identical in the Turkish KKDIK version, and the draft “Guidance on Registration” of the MoEU shows similar obligations with regard to the Only Representative (OR) definition.

This means also that similar lack of information and insufficient definition of the roles and duties of an OR in the EU regulation will likely be reflected in the KKDIK as well.

The shortcoming of the OR role and definition within REACH had motivated the leading ORs in the EU to gather in Brussels and to establish the Only Representative Organisation (ORO) in 2008. Since then ORO worked very hard to solve and implement the “OR Best Practices Guide” for the implementation issues faced by over 30 ORs. Within this experience

background ORO members represent today more than 2,325 Non-EU manufacturers over the world, handling over 14,000 substances and covering directly or indirectly about 50,000 importers/Downstream Users in the EU/EEA.

be a long term business relationship within KKDIK and therefore it is an important decision for a manufacturer located outside of Turkey to assign the right OR. Not every OR is able to contribute actively in the scientific communication or in dossier preparation.

REACH Global Services S.A. (RGS) is a founding member of ORO since 2008. Based in Brussels, RGS had already pre-registered in 2008 substances of over 225 Turkish manufacturers, representing 75% of all Turkish chemicals exportations to the EU when EU REACH was launched. As of today, RGS had registered hundreds of substances for more than 200 manufacturers mainly from Turkey, but also from USA, India, Indonesia and Japan. Therefore, RGS is currently the most experienced REACH-related consultancy company being able to tackle with the Turkish KKDIK legislation through its Turkish branch company (RGS Turkey) based in Istanbul.

It is evident that working with qualified Turkish speaking technical experts who are fluent in English, French and German, with very good communication and experienced consultancy skills is the key for KKDIK compliance when exporting chemicals to Turkey.

Through its experienced multilingual expert team of chemical engineers and environmentalists, RGS is able to offer a wellestablished professional IT-system, tracking substance volumes and establishing the link between volumes and downstream user (DU) information, achieving the information under strictly confidential systems, defining the responsibilities regarding SDSs, and representing the manufacturers not only at SIEF’s and consortia’s, but also vis-à-vis the public authorities during likely inspections.

Besides these technical infrastructure and human resources proficiencies, an OR also needs good communication skills and a thorough professional integrity to accomplish such mission on behalf of its customers.

Likewise the EU REACH process, it will also

30

Likewise in KEK (By Law on Inventory and Control of Chemicals-CICR) and SEA (Turkish CLP) regulations in Turkey, the online system does not resemble to ECHA REACH-IT by which an OR can open new accounts for each client of their own. The MoEU system does not support opening several accounts and the procedures for changing an Only Representative is not clear for the time being. MoEU has not announced any changes or construction to the online system either. This makes the decision even more critical for companies as OR change procedures remains as a grey area. RGS recommends manufacturers to take a judicious decision when assigning their Turkish OR. Please contact RGS if you are not compliant with Turkish Chemicals Laws or need more details on our services and the status of your substances.

Dr.Yaprak Yüzak Küçükvar RGS Turkey Branch Manager www.reach-gs.eu

DO YOU EXPORT CHEMICALS TO TURKEY? DO YOU COMPLY WITH THE CURRENT TURKISH BY-LAW ON CHEMICALS? DO YOU KNOW ABOUT THE NEW TURKISH REACH REGULATION (KKDIK)?

Have you appointed a representative to comply with the Turkish: • By-Law on Inventory and Control of Chemicals (CICR)?

• By-Law on Classification, Packaging and Labelling of Dangerous Substances and Mixtures (SEA)?

• Has your representative done your substance notification with the local authorities?

• Do you follow the updates to the notifications?

THE NEW TURKISH REACH REGULATION AS OF 2016 • Did you assign your local Only Representative?

• Do you know which substances to (pre)register?

• Are you aware of the deadlines?

If your answer is NO, RGS will assist you to: • Assess the chemicals you put into the Turkish market

• Determine your company’s regulatory obligations • • • • •

vis-a-vis Turkish Chemicals Regulations Act as your Turkish representative for CICR and SEA Complete Submission of notifications in Turkish with the required data set Be your Only Representative in Turkey, for Turkish REACH Pre(register) your substances in compliance with the Turkish REACH (KKDIK) obligations Liaise with the Turkish Authorities when required

Your regulatory compliance partner

RGS - Belgium Head Office + 32 (2) 234 77 78

RGS - Turkey Office + 90 (212) 454 09 93

info@reach-gs.eu

www.reach-gs.eu

z REACH ADVERTORIAL

SPRING 2016

www.chemicalindustryjournal.co.uk

Achieve successful Global Compliance through digitalization Ankur Saxena, VP of Product Development of EUPHOR, the only software solution specifically designed for the chemical industry to manage complex compliance programs, discusses the importance of implementing robust IT systems to turn regulatory challenges into opportunities for streamlined compliance processes.

Ankur Saxena,

VP of Sales & Product Development At EUPHOR, we are strong believers that appropriate IT solutions make the difference when dealing with strategic business processes. This is why we find it surprising that many chemical organizations lack the digital tools to efficiently manage and track their global compliance program.

Most compliance departments still use multiple applications such as Excel spreadsheets, worksheets, different document sharing platforms and email-based tools leading to disparate processes throughout the supply chain and resulting in high margins of errors.

As Global Compliance becomes more complex and widespread, we wonder why Compliance isn’t yet digitalized. Shouldn’t companies level the field between Product Stewardship and other strategic departments such as Sales, R&D or Finance which often benefit from state-ofthe-art systems?

REGULATORY COMPLIANCE ENVIRONMENT: EVER-CHANGING GLOBAL DYNAMICS

Whether we refer to chemicals in our mattress or shampoo, some questions require answers: how clean and safe is it? are there safer alternatives? This is what governments are trying to find out by implementing Compliance Regulations.

Controls imposed on the chemical industry are countless. Most countries have now implemented legal frameworks affecting chemical-based products (EU-REACH, K-REACH, China REACH, etc.). Although these regulations share the same goal, protecting users and the environment, they are everchanging living documents that differ with regards to their specific roadmaps and requirements. This is where lies the biggest challenge for globally-active organizations: it creates an unstable business environment where they must track numerous laws while managing all the activities involved within each program.

These regulations also share a common consequence for organizations failing to register: “NO DATA, NO MARKET”. Failure to

meet requirements may result in companies facing non-compliance issues and ultimately having to withdraw from regulated markets. It is therefore vital to consider Compliance as a strategic aspect of globally-active organizations.

HOW EUPHOR TURNS COMPLIANCE CHALLENGES INTO SOLUTIONS

• Collaboration: Functionalities such as document sharing and task alert system allow greater communication and collaboration among registration teams.

• Data Traceability: Data is stored via EUPHOR throughout the registration process facilitating future audits and business programs.

IT is increasingly called upon to provide organizations a set of tools to gain a greater situational awareness and control over Global Compliance. With the objective to digitalize compliance, EUPHOR was designed to manage an organization’s entire compliance program using a single platform. EUPHOR harmonizes disparate and complex processes by providing 4 key traits necessary for successful compliance:

EUPHOR allows our clients to transform the challenge of compliance programs like REACH 2018 into an opportunity for improved productivity and business processes. It has helped Product Stewardship add value to the organization by providing the digital tool to create a robust compliance foundation for business growth and innovation.

• Automation: By automatically generating workflow based on governmental guidelines and the organization’s own data, EUPHOR permits to plan ahead and have a global picture of compliance processes from start to finish.

www.euphoreach.com

• Tracking: Thanks to a customizable dashboard platform, it is easy to track each registration’s status at any point of time.

Users know if registrations are falling behind schedule and how much budget is being spent.

32

info@euphoreach.com +1 (732) 322 7220

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IT’S IT’STIME TIMETO TOJOIN JOINTHE THEDIGITAL DIGITALWORLD! WORLD! IT’S JOINTHE THEDIGITAL DIGITAL WORLD! IT’STIME TIME TO TO JOIN WORLD!

With WithEUPHOR, EUPHOR,you youcan cannow nowmanage manageand andtrack trackall al WithEUPHOR, EUPHOR, you can now manage andand track all all With you can now manage track of your compliance activities from start totofinish of your compliance activities from start finish ofyour your compliance compliance activities from start to finish of activities from start to finish using platform. using singleplatform. platform. usingaaasingle single using a single platform.

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z REACH ADVERTORIAL

SPRING 2016

www.chemicalindustryjournal.co.uk

Requirements for a Global Emergency Telephone Service

By Ulrich Mann

GBK GmbH Global Regulatory Compliance, Ingelheim, Germany If you are responsible even for the transport of adhesives in small tubes you need an emergency phone number, not only for airfreight shipping documents but also for the safety data sheet.

Having an emergency telephone number is a legal requirement for:

• US-Transport: DOT § 49 CFR 172.604 (Docket HM-126 C)

• Air freight: IATA-Dangerous goods regulations - Deviations of the Governments and Airlines • Sea freight: IMDG-Code

• Safety data sheets: REACH Annex II Requirements for SDS - EU-Regulation 1907/2006 (Registration, Evaluation, Authorization and Restriction of Chemicals)

If you do not comply with these requirements there can be several consequences, such as the refusal of transport by airlines and shipping companies. It can also lead to a breakdown of transportation flow due to official bans including the risk of fines of up to $10,000. The end result can also lead to product liability risks.

In order to avoid these risks, there is a simple solution. GBK GmbH Global Regulatory Compliance can take care of these responsibilities on your behalf. You supply us with the necessary data and we can take care of everything else. We will provide you with the following support services: • Access to our emergency call center (24 hours / 7 days)

• Emergency call service in 170 languages • Fulfillment of your legal obligations

• Transposition of the airline and shipping company requirements • Medical advice in case of poisoning

• Additional in the USA: Disposal service

US-DOT DEFINITION OF “EMERGENCY RESPONSE INFORMATION”

The US-DOT definition of “emergency response information’’ means information that can be used in the mitigation of an incident involving hazardous materials and, as a minimum, must contain the following information:

• The basic description and technical name of the hazardous material as required by Sec. Sec. 172.202 and 172.203(k), the ICAO Technical Instructions, the IMDG Code, or the TDG Regulations, as appropriate (see Sec. 171.7 of this subchapter);

• Immediate information regarding hazards to health; • Risks of fire or explosion;

• Immediate precautions to be taken in the event of an accident or incident; • Immediate procedures for handling fires;

• Initial procedures for handling spills or leaks in the absence of fire; and • Preliminary first aid measures

• Further requirements regarding Emergency response (DOT): a) A person who offers a hazardous material for transportation must provide an emergency response telephone number, including the area code or international access code, for use in the event of an emergency involving the hazardous material.

The telephone number must be monitored at all times that the hazardous material is in transportation, including storage incidental to transportation. b) The telephone number of a person who is either knowledgeable of the hazardous material being shipped and has comprehensive emergency response and incident mitigation information for that material, or has immediate access to a person who possesses such knowledge and information.

and c) entered on a shipping paper in a clearly visible location. This provision may be used only if the telephone number applies to each hazardous material entered on the shipping paper, and if it is indicated that the telephone number is for emergency response information (for example: ``EMERGENCY CONTACT: * * *).

The telephone number required by paragraph (a) of this section must be the number of the person offering the hazardous material for transportation or the number of a competent agency or organization accepting responsibility for transportation and capable of providing detailed information concerning the hazardous material.

REQUIREMENT FOR AN EMERGENCY TELEPHONE NUMBER ON SAFETY DATA SHEETS Annex II of the REACh Regulation stated that under Chapter 1.4 of every Safety Data Sheet references to emergency information services shall be provided. If an official advisory body exists in the Member State where the substance or mixture is placed on the market (this may be the body responsible for receiving information relating to health referred to in Article 45 of Regulation (EC) No 1272/2008) its telephone number shall be

34

given and can suffice. If availability of such services is limited for any reasons, such as hours of operation, or if there are limits on specific types of information provided, this shall be clearly stated. In addition to the above mentioned specifications, an Emergency Telephone Number of the company and/or an appropriate public information service as well as a commercial private support service provider of an emergency center can be given.

DON’T FORGET PRODUCT SAFETY ASPECTS

For compliance in other areas like detergents, the integration of the emergency response system into the companies is needed. It is also necessary that a toxicologist can be called in on demand.

Last but not least, there are special national requirements for countries like China and Australia. In these countries, a national emergency response telephone number is required. The regulatory basis for the emergency telephone number on Chinese product labels, is “GB15258-2009 General rules for preparation of precautionary label for chemicals” and in “GBT 17519 2013 Guidance on the compilation of safety data sheet for chemical products.”

GBK – EMTEL® HOW IT WORKS IN DIFFERENT MODULES

Module 1 – Providing the emergency telephone number for the transport documents (worldwide) Module 2 – Providing the emergency telephone number for all MSDS (according EC-Guideline)

Module 3 – Providing the emergency telephone number for product labels (consumer product; just in combination with module SDS/MSDS) Module 4 – Providing the emergency telephone number for China on the product label and in the MSDS Module 5 – Providing the emergency telephone number for detergents

CONCLUSION

In order to be fully compliant, you have to fulfil the regulatory requirements regarding emergency response. The benefits of using the services of a professional provider include • Capable solution for additional services concerning hazardous materials/goods • Legal compliance

• Limitation of liability

• Reduction of internal costs and effort www.gbk-ingelheim.de

Supporting enterprises in the field of Environment, Health & Safety

Our services: > GBK – EMTEL® 24/7 Emergency Response

> Management Systems

> Regulatory Compliance

> Product registration

> Contract Support

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> Chemicals Law and Hazardous Substances Ordinance

> Dangerous Goods Safety Advisor

> Dangerous Goods regulations

> IT-Consulting services

> Workplace Safety > Company responsible officer

GBK GmbH Global Regulatory Compliance Königsberger Str. 29 55218 Ingelheim/Germany Managing Director: Bjoern Noll

> USA-Service > Logistics Consulting

Tel: +49 61 32 / 9 82 90 - 0 Fax: +49 61 32 / 8 46 85 gbk@gbk-ingelheim.de www.gbk-ingelheim.de

REACH & CLP Compliance Specialists LOA Valuations

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z RISK AND REGULATIONS

www.chemicalindustryjournal.co.uk

SPRING 2016

Achieving Innovation Business development within the major hazard industries in the UK is both essential and risky.

The current economic climate has been detrimental to the resources of both the operator and the regulator, and innovation might seem like a fantasy, but by appreciating the goal setting principles of the regulations here in the UK, there is a way forward.

Plunging oil prices and the current economic climate is having different impacts on sectors within the industry in the UK. For now, oil and gas firms are seeing mass job losses while downstream manufacturers are thriving on reduced feedstock costs. The present, though, has no bearing on what lies ahead. All sectors within the industry have one thing in common when it comes to the future – uncertainty.

Innovation is a measure that could improve the chances of operators coming out the other side. Creating more effective processes, products and, ultimately, prospects provides a better chance of ongoing success.

There would appear to be a creeping change towards more prescriptive regulation, in part because it is not just operators that have fewer resources to invest in innovation, but the regulator too. There is a feeling that this is leading to the compromise of the principles on which regulations in the UK are built.

UK regulations take a goal setting approach, reporting what must be accomplished, but not how it should be achieved. This is intended to provide the latitude for operators to demonstrate how they manage risk proportionately and according to their individual circumstances and risk. This should provide operators with the confidence that they can make changes without compromising risk management or disturbing their relationship with the regulator.

In reality though, with less manpower to investigate and support operations which might be looking towards more innovative and unfamiliar ways of working, an easy solution is to default to ‘good practise’. For the regulator it is likely to require fewer resources to apply a more prescriptive approach to monitoring compliance; ticking boxes can reduce the time and effort required to consider the unique requirements of each site. It is possibly the same for the operator, following the well trodden path ensures that requirements are continually met, and removes the need for the resource and intelligence needed for improvement.

This not only stifles the potential for innovation, it also limits the relationship between the operator and the regulator, removing the potential for the proactive and collaborative development that we would argue is intended within the scope of UK regulation.

Perhaps we should start looking at the regulations in a more positive light by interpreting them with their principles in mind. If we could think of them as a framework for improvement, the finer details of which are adaptable, allowing the stipulations to be met whilst still catering for unique circumstances of the project, then innovation and improvement become more likely. For example, including the regulator from the start of a project gives them the chance to get involved. A better understanding and relationship from the outset results in constructive input and fewer constraints whilst achieving the common goal of the entire industry – better risk management.

38

Figure 1 Is finding the right balance between prescriptive regulation and innovation a way to optimise major hazard risk management?

RAS RISK & HAZARD MANAGEMENT

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Our expertise covers the full range of risk assessment and management services across:

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Only when the risk facing an organisation is well understood can it be effectively managed.

Key to the successful identification, assessment and management of risk is engagement with the right

people, using the right processes at the right time. We believe we are different to many of our competitors and our approach is distinctive, we don’t always walk the well-trodden path but look at each client’s particular risk context and develop a tailored solution, working in partnership with our client.

We work across all aspects of risk, from Quantitative Risk Assessments and Predictive &

Consequence modelling, through to the ‘softer’ risks which may affect an organisation’s reputation.

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2 8 18 30 8 2

69

Tm

100

Fm (257)

2 8 18 32 18 4

Fermium

101

Md (258)

Se

52

Te

83

Bi

2 8 18 32 32 18 4

115

Uup (288)

70

Po

116

Lv (293)

36

2 8 18 8

83.798

53

Krypton

2 8 18 18 7

I

54

Xe

85

(210)

86

Rn

Uus (294)

2 8 18 32 18 8

ionic

(222)

Astatine 117

liquid

Xenon

2 8 18 32 18 7

At

2 8 18 18 8

131.293

Iodine

2 8 18 32 32 18 6

anode

Br Kr gallium lump 126.90447

2 8 18 32 18 6

cermet iron

39.948

Argon

79.904

2 8 18 18 6

2 8 8

Ar

Bromine

Livermorium

Radon 2 8 18 32 32 18 7

Ununseptium

118

Uuo (294)

2 8 18 32 32 18 8

es

Ununoctium

neodymium foil Yb

2 8 18 32 8 2

173.054

71

Lu

102

No (259)

Nobelium

2 8 18 32 9 2

174.9668

Ytterbium 2 8 18 32 31 8 2

35

(209)

2 8 18 32 32 18 5

Neon

2 8 18 7

Polonium

Ununpentium

2 8 18 31 8 2

2 8 18 6

127.6

84

20.1797

Cl

Tellurium 2 8 18 32 18 5

18

35.453

78.96

2 8 18 18 5

2 8 7

2 8

Ne

Chlorine

Selenium

208.9804

Mendelevium

titanium robotic parts

34

Bismuth

Thulium

2 8 18 32 30 8 2

2 8 18 5

10

Fluorine

32.065

121.76

168.93421

nickel foam

biosynthetics

Fl (289)

Erbium 2 8 18 32 29 8 2

Sb

17

2 7

18.9984032

S

Antimony

Flerovium

167.259

Holmium

51

2 8 6

F

Sulfur

74.9216

2 8 18 18 4

9

15.9994

Arsenic

207.2

Ununtrium

68

As

2 6

Oxygen

P

Lead

quantum dots 66

33

Tin

Thallium 2 8 18 32 32 18 2

2 8 18 4

118.71

2 8 18 32 18 3

16

30.973762

72.64

2 8 18 18 3

2 8 5

O

Phosphorus

Germanium

204.3833

Mercury 2 8 18 32 32 18 1

2 8 18 3

8

14.0067

28.0855

114.818

81

15

N

2 5

Nitrogen

Si

Indium 2 8 18 32 18 2

2 8 4

Silicon

69.723

2 8 18 18 2

7

Carbon

Gallium

112.411

Dysprosium 2 8 18 32 27 8 2

Ga

Cadmium

Gold

Terbium

97

2 8 18 18 1

196.966569

2 8 18 32 32 17 1

31

Zinc

Silver

158.92535

2 8 18 32 25 9 2

Zn

2 8 18 2

2 4

12.0107

Boron 13

65.38

107.8682

Darmstadtium

Gadolinium 2 8 18 32 25 8 2

2 8 18 18

195.084

rare earth metals laser crystals

Pt

30

63.546

Platinum

Am Cm Americium

78

2 8 18 1

Copper

106.42

Meitnerium

Europium 2 8 18 32 24 8 2

Pd

192.217

151.964

Samarium

46

Iridium 2 8 18 32 32 14 2

Cu

Palladium 2 8 18 32 15 2

Ir

29

Nickel

102.9055

Hassium

2 8 18 24 8 2

Ni

2 8 16 2

58.6934

Rhodium

190.23

108

28

Cobalt

Osmium 2 8 18 32 32 13 2

2 8 15 2

58.933195

101.07

186.207

107

Co

Ruthenium

Rhenium 2 8 18 32 32 11 2

27

Iron

(98.0)

75

2 8 14 2

55.845

Technetium

Tungsten 2 8 18 32 32 12 2

Fe

54.938045

95.96

2 8 18 32 11 2

26

Manganese

Molybdenum

Dubnium

Protactinium

platinum ink

Nd:YAG

2 8 18 12 1

Mn

2 8 13 2

europium phosphors

2 8 18 21 8 2

Praseodymium 2 8 18 32 18 10 2

25

51.9961

180.9488

nanofabrics

optoelectronics

Ta

Cr

Tantalum

140.90765

Cerium 90

104

24

2 8 13 1

Chromium

92.90638

Rutherfordium

photovoltaics spintronics

Nb

178.48

2 8 18 32 18 9 2

2 8 11 2

Niobium 2 8 18 32 10 2

2 8 3

C

26.9815386

V

Hafnium

Actinium

58

41

6

Aluminum

50.9415

2 8 18 10 2

palladium shot

B

He Helium

2 3

tanta

2

4.002602

99.999% ruthenium spheres

Vanadium

Zirconium

Lanthanum 2 8 18 32 18 8 2

23

47.867

Yttrium

Barium 2 8 18 32 18 8 1

Ti

2 8 10 2

Titanium

88.90585

137.327

Cesium

22

44.955912

87.62

2 8 18 18 8 1

Sc

2 8 9 2

Scandium

Strontium

132.9054

rod

21

Calcium

Rubidium 55

2 8 8 2

Ca

Rb Sr dielectrics

CIGS

nuclear

Magnesium

Potassium

37

2 8 2

24.305

Sodium

19

semiconductors

9.012182

Lithium 11

2

5

2 2

Be

high purity silicon rods

vanadium

surface functionalized nanoparticles

refractory metals 1.00794

Hydrogen

crystal growth

atomic layer deposition

solid

yttrium

cerium polishing powder

Lutetium 2 8 18 32 32 8 2

103

Lr (262)

2 8 18 32 32 8 3

Lawrencium

solar energy nano gels

LED lighting tungsten carbide

nanoparticles

Now Invent.

TM

optoelectron mischmetal

superconductors

macromolecules

dysprosium pellets

sputtering targets

gadolinium wire

ultra high pur

neodymium foil erbium doped fiber optics cerium polishing powder macromolecules thin film

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