September 2017 | Volume II | Issue IV | ₹200
Expert Viewpoint
Construction - Adhesives & Sealants
Feature
Soy-Based Solvents
International Focus Japan Petrochemicals
Logistics
Interview (Supply Chain)
SCIENCE OF
SMART CONSTRUCTION Chemical Today Magazine | September 2017
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Chemical Today Magazine | September 2017
Towards a ‘good’
construction
J
ust the other day, I was working in my office, when in the background the loud humming of cranes managed to reach my ears. The building behind our office was being demolished, to make way for a sprawling business park in the vicinity. Cranking up the area, smashing the cemented walls and spreading dust all over, the cranes kept at it for three consecutive days. The constant hum of the cranes eventually merged with my thoughts, sending me into a whirlwind.
CHEMICAL
TODAY
To escape all the dust and din, I decided to stay home and peacefully work wiith the article. Just when the thoughts were getting aligned, the sound of a drilling machine made itself heard in the room. The drilling was part of the maintenance, waterproofing activity on the terrace and the shrill drill went on until the wee hours of the evening. Both the situations might just sound as if they are part of our day to day life. The scene is all too familiar amidst the growing urbanization. Modern urbanization and infrastructure development, has also given an impetus to the raw material industry such as the construction chemicals market. It has become more than necessary to approach construction in a scientific manner, given its diverse set of applications across residential, non-residential as well as non-building infrastructural activities such as roads, highways and expressways. There is a science in everything - to make the structures sturdier than ever, to make them ecologically compliant, to make them economical and to make them last for centuries. To understand the nuances of the scientific approach, read up about our detailed coverage on the construction chemicals market. Added to this, we also explore the world of Solvents in the current issue. Among other changes, the Solvents market is looking to adopt bio alternatives. For this the industry is working with the potential of soy (a staple food item), to make the Solvents more environment friendly. Further, take a glance at our logistics interview, where we capture the trends, growth and development in the chemical logistics and supply chain landscape in India. To connect and to give us a bouquet or brickbats, write to editorial@worldofchemicals.com
Š 2017 worldofchemicals.com
Chemical Today Magazine | September 2017
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Chemical Today
is a monthly magazine focused on chemistry & the chemical industry.
CONTENTS SECTOR VIEW
QUOTES 04
CONSTRUCTION CHEMICALS
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NEWS NATIONAL 06 INTERNATIONAL 08 NEWS ANALYSIS HURRICANE HARVEY IMPACT 10 EVENTS 12 INFRASTRUCTURE 14 COATINGS 16 POLYMERS 20 LATEX BINDERS 22
INTERNATIONAL FOCUS
JAPAN
36
EXPERT VIEWPOINT CONSTRUCTION ADHESIVES & SEALANTS
24
GREEN CHEMISTRY
26
FEATURE SOY-BASED SOLVENTS
34
INTERNATIONAL FOCUS JAPAN PETROCHEMICALS
38
INSIGHTS OIL & GAS, PETROCHEMICALS 40
EQUIPMENT
REPORT CONSTRUCTION CHEMICALS FERTILIZER ADDITIVES INDUSTRIAL SOLVENTS LEATHER CHEMICALS
42 44 46 48
ACADEMIC R&D ACADEMIC SPEAK R&D YOUNG TURKS
50 54 58
LOGISTICS SUPPLY CHAIN
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JOBS 62 PRODUCTS 70 EQUIPMENT DISPERSION 70 SOIL MEASUREMENT 72 EQUIPMENT 74 Allen Antao,
Executive Vice President and Business Head (Process Equipment), Godrej & Boyce Mfg Co Pvt Ltd.
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A K Tyagi,
Managing Director at Nuberg Engineering Ltd.
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Anantha Padmanabhan, Managing Director, Alfa Laval (India) Limited.
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GLOSSARY 76 Published for September 2017.
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QUOTES
India being one of the fastest growing economies in the world, and steel finding its extensive application in areas like construction, infrastructure, power, aerospace, industrial machinery and consumer products, the sector is of strategic importance to the country. Owing to the significance of the sector and dynamic scenario in steel sector, the Government came up with National Steel Policy (NSP) 2017. With the roll out the New Steel Policy, it is envisaged that the industry will be steered with appropriate policy support in creating an environment for promoting domestic steel and thereby ensuring that production meets the anticipated pace of growth in demand
Among the government partnerships, we have inked a MoU between India and Australia on handloom, handicraft and fashion sector. Also there is a request from Australian firms to work on improving wool quality in India with Indian companies. India and Chinese government have signed a MoU so that Chinese researchers and National Silk Board can work in tandem in the field of silk research. Silk waste can be harnessed in pharmaceuticals and in beauty products and this MoU will explore opportunities in diversification and on sericulture. BGMEA University of Fashion and Technology or BUFT from Bangladesh and India’s National Institute of Fashion Technology (NIFT) will partner for an exchange of fashion research.
Chaudhary Birender Singh, Union Minister of Steel.
Smriti Irani, Union Minister of Textile.
We want to bring the various textile value chain and handicrafts sector into one umbrella for its collective growth. We expect that the export of both textiles and handicraft products will go up after organizing events unifying the various sectors. Another major focus is to establish India as a major global sourcing for textiles and investment destination Ajay Tamta, Minister of Gujarat State for Textiles.
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The bullish trend will continue as the demand in China, the largest consumer, is going up. The crude oil price is also looking up, lifting the synthetic rubber prices. This will reflect on the Indian natural rubber sector as well. C P Krishnan, Whole-time Director, Geofin Comtrade. The rise of e-commerce and access to new technologies has accelerated counterfeiting and other forms of illicit trade. That makes fighting counterfeit medical products an ever-more urgent priority for pharma companies – both in terms of patient safety and brand reputation. Yann Ischi, Director, New Channels and Partnerships, SICPA.
Within the Volkswagen Group, we have a clear strategy for how we want to put battery-electric vehicles into series production across our brands and in many different market segments. However, a major qualification for success in the volume market is more powerful battery concepts. In Volkswagen Group R&D we are focusing on close cooperation, not only with industrial partners but also with the smart minds of the scientific community. Dr Ulrich Eichhorn, Head, Group R&D, Volkswagen AG.
Using reverse osmosis for pre-treatment means we can reduce the consumption of specific chemicals for resin bed regeneration by around 60 percent. Ashraf Aly Mostafa, Project Manager, Alexandria Fertilizers Co (Alexfert).
India is a very important market for polyurethanes and has a wonderful potential for growth. When leaders of the industry from all over the world get together under one roof, it leads to better production and faster growth of the industry R C Bhargava, former CEO and current Chairman, Maruti Suzuki. India today process 565,000 mtpa of polyurethanes and this is expected to cross the 1 million mtpa mark in the next three to four years. Polyurethane is a designers polymer unparalleled by any of its kind when it comes to allowing technologists to chemically design and develop specific end products. Mukesh Bhuta, Chairman, IPUA and Promoter, Expanded Polymer Systems Pvt.
A host of forces are disrupting the chemical industry – geopolitical risks, changing customer desires, growth challenges, population changes, digital technology proliferation and pervasive volatility, to name a few. Rachael Bartels, Managing Director and Chemicals & Natural Resources Global Industry Lead, Accenture.
The European market for F&F ingredients is well known for its high standards particularly for use in personal care, food & beverage products. Philippe Faucher, Managing Director, FCI
Chemical Today Magazine | September 2017
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NEWS NATIONAL INDIAN OIL TO INVEST INR 32,000 CR IN PETROCHEMICALS SECTOR BY 2021
T
The government has set a target of doubling the 15,000-km gas pipeline to 30,000-km by then.
This investment is part of the overall Rs 1.8 trillion capex planned for the next five to seven years, IOC chairman Sanjiv Singh said.
In terms of natural gas distribution, where IOC is the second largest player, the company will be investing in gas infra to meet future needs of the nation by building terminals and pipelines and pursuing city gas distribution.
o meet the rising demand for petrochemicals, especially plastics and polymers, largest public-sector company Indian Oil Corporation will invest Rs 32,000 crore to ramp up its output by fiscal 2021.
The petchem business contributes a quarter of the most profitable PSUs profit, which rose to the highest at Rs 19,106 crore in fiscal 2017. Indian Oil has already executed petchem projects worth Rs 20,800 crore and is close to commission a Rs 3,150-crore polypropelene plant at its 15-million tonne refinery at Paradip in Odisha. “In view of the growing demand for petrochemicals products, especially for plastics and polymers, the company will invest in capacity augmentation. The capex for this is planned at Rs 32,000 crore over the next few years,” said Singh. The new projects include MEG (mono ethylene glycol), PTA (purified terephtalic acid) and petcoke gasification plants at the Paradip refinery and value addition at C-4 and C-5 at Panipat and a polypropylene unit at Barauni Refinery, he added. Singh said the company reported its highest profit at Rs 19,106 crore in fiscal 2017 on the back of best ever sales, refinery production and became the most profitable PSU. During the year, company’s sales rose to Rs 4,38,710 crore. On the overall capex plan, he said, the PSU has lined up a capex of Rs 1.8 trillion over the next five to seven years. On the gas pipelines, he said, IOC will have over 20,000-km of natural gas and liquid fuel pipes by fiscal 2021. Currently, the oil and gas major has 13,000-km of the 15,000-km operational pipelines, making it the largest player in the country.
It has picked up 50 per cent in Petronet LNGs Kochi terminal already. “As part of this, we are acquiring equity in gas imports in the South, increasing capacity at our Ennore facility and also joining hands with others to have presence on the East Coast at Dharma and on the West Coast at Mundra,” Singh said. On city gas distribution, he said the company will be entering four more cities this year through JVs – Daman, Udhamsingh Nagar, Panipat and Dharwar, while it already has such pipelines in Kochi, Allahabad and Chandigarh in JV with Adani Gas and with GAIL in Agra and Lucknow, Singh said. He said the cooking gas coverage has risen from 56 per cent to 73 per cent in the past three years when 2.75 crore new connections were added, out of this 1.2 crore LPG customers are being served by IOC alone. On the world’s largest refinery being planned in Ratnagiri district of Maharashtra, land acquisition and other related work is underway and an optimal product plan will be worked out shortly. The proposed 60 million tonne per annum mega refinery with an investment of Rs 2.7 trillion will have IOC holding 50 per cent in the JV company formed in June while the rest of the equity will be equally held by the other two state-run refiners HPCL and BPCL. This refinery is part of government plans to almost double the national refining capacity to 450 million tonnes from 230 mt now. Source: PTI News
TATA CHEMICALS EYES RS 10,000-CRORE SODA ASH BUSINESS IN 5 YEARS
T
ata Chemicals said that it is aiming to clock Rs 10,000-crore business in its soda ash segment and Rs 5,000 crore in the pulses, spices and food category in the next five years. “In the commodity business we had soda ash, urea and phosphate. We will continue to maintain cost leadership and scale in soda ash. We see the business crossing Rs 10,000 crore in the next five years,” said R Mukundan, MD and CEO, Tata Chemicals, during its 78th annual general meeting. He said the company’s strategy is to maintain its strengths in chemicals business while growing the specialty and consumer food business. “We have exited the urea business which will happen during the course of the year and in phosphate our decision is to cap the business, maintain a flat rate of revenue and run it for cash,” Mukundan said. During the year, the company entered into an agreement with Yara Fertilisers India for the sale of the urea and customised fertiliser business, on a slump sale basis. “The specialty and consumer business are going to be our future growth catalysts. We are investing in manufacturing facilities
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in Gujarat and Andhra Pradesh to develop scale in specialty business and new materials like highly dispersible silica (HDS), nanomaterials and new nutrition and food such as oligosaccharides and polyols,” he added. “Tata Chemical continues to transform itself from an alkali manufacturer to a wellness solutions firm with focus on consumer, agri and specialty businesses while further strengthening its core,” said Bhaskar Bhat, the company’s non-executive director. Bhat said the nutritional solutions unit, operating as a start-up, will focus on building scale in specialty businesses. “The board of directors has approved the capital expenditure of Rs 270 crore to set up a greenfield bio- technology manufacturing unit for food ingredients and formulations developed by the company’s innovation centre. A memorandum of understanding was signed the with Andhra Pradesh government in this regard,” Bhat said. The board has also approved an investment of Rs 295 crore in a manufacturing facility for precipitated highly dispersible silica, he said.
Source: PTI News
PHILLIPS CARBON BLACK TO INVEST RS 300 CRORE IN CAPACITY EXPANSION
R
P Sanjiv Goenka group company, Phillips Carbon Black Ltd, announced its plans to invest Rs 300 crore to ramp up the capacity and was also evaluating a greenfield carbon black plant in south India. “PCBL carbon black capacity at Palej and Mundra (in Gujarat) is under expansion. Through an estimated investment of Rs 300 crore, this additional capacity of 80,000 tonnes per annum is expected to be ready by the end of FY’19,” said Sanjiv Goenka, chairman, PCBL. He also mentioned evaluating options in south India for a Greenfield project which will have capacity of 1,20000 tonnes per annum. “We have land in Tamil Nadu and second option is Andra Pradesh. Two factors will be key factors like location of new tyre capacity and state incentive schemes,” he said. Goenka said currently the project is in formative stage which would get ready in the next few months and then only quantum of investment can be estimated. Though, speciality black is gaining ground, the new capacity in Gujarat will be normal carbon black. Speciality carbon production can be carried out in the manufacturing facilities, the company said. Currently, PCBL produces some 20,000 tonne of speciality carbon but given the high realisation the company was planning to ramp the same to 50,000 tonne over the next few years. The company has plants located at Durgapur (West Bengal), Kochi (Kerala), Mundra (Gujarat) and Palej (Gujarat) and recorded the highestever carbon black production of 383,316 tonnes. The company exported carbon black to more than 30 countries and sold 294,066 tonnes within India.
RP-Sanjiv Goenka Group chairman Sanjiv Goenka.
AEMETIS COMPLETES CONSTRUCTION OF BIODIESEL UNIT IN INDIA
U
niversal Biofuels Private Limited, a wholly owned Indian subsidiary of Aemetis Inc has completed the construction of initial process equipment and has obtained regulatory approval for the production of enzymatic biodiesel at its biodiesel plant in Kakinada, India using a patent-pending process technology developed by Aemetis. These approvals allow the use of low-cost waste oil feedstocks for the production of biodiesel using Aemetis enzymatic production processes to supply customers, primarily in the US and Europe, through a supply contract with a major oil company. Following the EU’s issuance of anti-dumping duties against countries that subsidize biodiesel production, the US Department of Commerce recently announced a more than 50 percent anti-dumping duty against Argentina and Indonesia biodiesel imports. Aemetis’ India subsidiary is expected to provide biodiesel to the US market to
Chemical Today Magazine | September 2017
replace a portion of the more than 400 million gallons per year of Argentina and Indonesian biodiesel imported into the US annually. A patent was filed on this proprietary pretreatment process technology in April and enables the enzymatic processing of waste oil feedstock to biodiesel by solving the primary issue of enzymatic biodiesel production: the requirement that feedstock reach and maintain an optimal temperature that allows for maximum enzymatic activity. The Aemetis biorefinery in Kakinada, Andhra Pradesh has a capacity of 50 million gallons per year of biodiesel, along with the ability to produce and supply refined glycerin to pharmaceutical and industrial customers. The Aemetis plant is the first and only India biofuels producer approved under the Low Carbon Fuel Standard for delivery of tallow and waste oil biodiesel into California.
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NEWS INTERNATIONAL SHIN-ETSU TO EXPAND SILICONES PRODUCTION IN US
S
hin-Etsu Chemical Co Ltd said that it will expand the production capacity of silicones at its group company Shin-Etsu Silicones of America’s (SESA) Akron plant, in US. The amount of this facility investment is ¥2.4 billion, and the expansion work is aimed for completion in the middle of 2019. SESA is the North American base of Shin-Etsu Chemical’s silicones business.
SESA’s Akron plant is producing various silicone products that possess diversified forms and applications such as high consistency silicone rubber, liquid silicone rubber for adhesives and sealing materials, silicones for cosmetics and heat-dissipating silicones for applications in automobiles and electronics parts. This new investment is for the purpose of expanding its production capacity for these
silicone products and additionally to set up a new production facility for silicone emulsions.Since 2014 Shin-Etsu Chemical has been proactively carrying out facility investments in its silicones business. Including this new investment for expanding production capacity in US, the total investment amount Shin-Etsu has made in its silicones business over just the past four years now comes to ¥65 billion.
EASTMAN TO INCREASE CYCLOHEXANE DIMETHANOL CAPACITY IN US
E
astman Chemical Company announced multiple projects to increase cyclohexane dimethanol (CHDM) capacity at its Kingsport, Tennessee, manufacturing facility. The series of debottlenecks and expansion projects will occur over the next 18 months and will increase capacity by 15,000 metric tons. All projects are expected to be complete by early 2019. His series of investments positions Eastman to meet the increasing demand it is seeing for copolyesters, as well as other polyester supported markets and further demonstrates the company’s commitment to growing with its customers around the world. Speciality plastics is
a part of Eastman’s advanced materials business segment. CHDM is used in the production of Eastman Tritan, Eastman Spectar, Eastman Eastar and other copolyester materials. “Since its launch, we’ve seen tremendous growth in Tritan and continued strength across our copolyester product portfolio. This investment, along with the additional PETG capacity we recently announced that is coming online in 2018, further demonstrates our commitment to our entire copolyester business,” said Burt Capel, vice president and general manager of Eastman’s speciality plastics business.
PERSTORP TO UPGRADE CAPA PLANT IN UK
P
erstorp mentioned a significant investment to upgrade its original monomer plant in Warrington, UK, securing the future of its Caprolactone business. The project is expected to be complete in the second half of 2019. The new equipment will be constructed using state of the art materials and the investment will future proof the production and even further increase the security of supply. The project was initiated and kicked off in the beginning of 2017 and construction phase of the new parts of the plant will start in the new year. The upgrade consists of installing a new peracetic acid still and new reactors on stream 1, which was originally built in 1998. “The Capa business is one of our strategic areas and we do see a strong market demand for Capa products. Through this investment we are strengthening our position as a reliable leading partner,” said Marie Gronborg, executive vice president at Perstorp. Caprolactone market is strategic and important to Perstorp. This investment is one step further in the company’s long-term commitment to the industry. Perstorp stepping up commitment to Caprolactone market by upgrading its Capa plant in Warrington, UK.
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Chemical Today Magazine | September 2017
SHOWA DENKO TO ESTABLISH NEW LIQUEFIED CO2 GAS PLANT IN JAPAN
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howa Denko Gas Products Co Ltd (SGP), a consolidated subsidiary of Showa Denko K K (SDK) has decided to establish a new plant to produce liquefied carbon dioxide (CO2) gas in Showa Denko’s Oita petrochemical complex located in Oita City, Japan. SDK and SGP plan to make the new plant utilize stable CO2 gas sources in the chemical plant of the complex. The new plant is scheduled to be completed and start operation in August 2018 and will have annual production capacity of 15,000
tons. Foundation of the new plant will make SGP’s liquefied CO2 gas production system to have two production bases in Kyushu region.
reduction in sources of raw CO2 gas to produce liquefied CO2 gas. Thus, a tight supply-demand situation for liquefied CO2 gas and dry ice is chronic.
CO2 gas and dry ice (solidified CO2) are used in many fields including beverage, food, and other manufacturing industries. Liquefied CO2 gas is made of CO2 gas generated as a by-product of oil-refining, steel-making and ammonia production processes. However, the scaling back of oil-refining and ammonia production processes in Japan has been resulting in
Since further reduction in sources of raw CO2 gas is foreseen, the supply-demand situation for liquefied CO2 gas and dry ice is expected to be even tighter in the future. To cope with these problems and maintain stable supply of liquefied CO2 gas and dry ice for customers in Kyushu, Chugoku, and Shikoku regions, SDK and SGP decided to found the new gas plant.
NAGASE ACQUIRES US SPECIALITY CHEMICAL DISTRIBUTOR FITZ CHEM
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agase America, a member of the Nagase Group (NAGASE), a leader in innovative solutions for chemicals, has acquired US-based speciality chemicals distributor Fitz Chem Corporation. This acquisition advances the Nagase Group strategy for growth in the speciality chemicals market in US. Fitz Chem Corporation is a successful speciality chemical distributor, with over $60 million in revenue, focused on the coatings, adhesives, sealants, and elastomer (CASE) markets, as well as the plastics and personal care markets.
Chemical Today Magazine | September 2017
Fitz Chem, as a wholly owned subsidiary of Nagase America, will continue to conduct business under the “Fitz Chem” named as Fitz Chem LLC. This acquisition is expected to bring opportunities for suppliers from both companies to benefit from their combined network. This will build on Nagase’s presence in 22 countries with Fitz Chem’s strong reach in the Midwest region of US. Nagase also offers a variety of value-added services, such as a coatings and plastics application lab. The lab can be utilized for raw
material analysis as well as application and formulation development. “This acquisition allows Nagase to combine its technical expertise and existing supplier and customer relationships with those of Fitz Chem, creating opportunities for sustained growth in US market,” said Bradley Hilborn, director of sales & marketing at Nagase America. “Continuity was extremely important to our Fitz Chem management team. In teaming with Nagase, we strongly believe we will be able to achieve these objectives,” said Robert Becker, chairman of Fitz Chem.
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NEWS ANALYSIS HURRICANE HARVEY IMPACT
HURRICANE STORMS
THROUGH US GULF COAST
The tropical storm is expected to be the costliest natural disasters in US history having a major impact on the oil & gas industry.
©USA TODAY
H
urricane Harvey hit the coast of Texas last month and has left the US oil & gas industry crippled. Although it will take several months to work out the full impact of the storm on the economy, Harvey is expected to be the costliest natural disasters in US history. According to preliminary estimates, the economic cost can pile up to $190 billion - more than Hurricane Katrina in 2005 which resulted about $75 billion in insured losses and super-storm Sandy in 2012 which was estimated at about $71 billion. Many offshore oil & gas production in the Gulf of Mexico have been shut having a significant impact on energy supplies. Several companies in southern Texas, which has the heaviest concentration of refineries, pipelines and terminals in the US, and houses companies including Valero Energy, ExxonMobil, Motiva and Royal Dutch Shell, have shut down their operations. Harvey has washed off one-
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third of US’s oil refining capacity and it could be weeks before the refineries return to full operation. According to reports, 379,000 barrels per day of crude production remained offline in the Gulf of Mexico. This alone accounts for 22 percent of total Gulf production. This has not just jeopardised the fuel supplies, but prices for refined products like gasoline have soared.According to a report by The American Automobile Association (AAA), the current US gas price average of $2.45 (as on 4 Sept), is the highest recorded price for a gallon of unleaded gasoline so far, this year, due to the impact of Hurricane Harvey. “Consumers will see a short-term spike in the coming weeks with gas prices likely topping $2.50/gal, but quickly dropping by mid to late September,” said Jeanette Casselano, AAA spokesperson. “AAA does not expect refineries to be offline for months, as early reports indicate minimal
to no significant damage to Corpus Christi and Houston refineries.” The Department of Energy (DOE) has reported that 10 Gulf Coast refineries remain shut down. Six refineries have begun the process of assessing damage and restarting, while two refineries in the Gulf Coast region are operating at reduced rates. Additionally, DOE released 500,000 barrels of oil from the US Strategic Petroleum Reserve – the nation’s reserve of crude oil. The oil will be delivered via pipeline to the Phillips 66 refinery in Westlake. According to DOE, it will continue to review incoming requests for oil in the reserve, and could release more if deemed necessary. It is evident that the impact that Harvey has had on the industry is worse than expected. But the critical factor however is how quickly the US ports and refineries reopen and attain normalcy before it leads to a serious macro-economic problem.
Photo: National Hurricane Center
ExxonMobil Corporation cut production at its Beaumont, Texas, refinery northeast of Houston. There have been no reports of oil or gasoline leakage from the complex. The nearby Mont Belvieu plastics plant is also shut down. ExxonMobil’s Baton Rouge refining and chemical facilities are operating as normal. ExxonMobil’s Hoover and Galveston 209 platforms in the Gulf of Mexico also remain shut in, and the company is in the process of assessing the operations.
Huntsman Corporation said that all its manufacturing facilities in affected areas in Texas including Chocolate Bayou, Conroe, Dayton, Freeport, Houston and Port Neches have been shut down. Additionally, Huntsman’s global headquarters and Advanced Technology Center (HATC) in The Woodlands are closed. Their other Gulf Coast manufacturing sites – in Geismar, Louisiana, and Pensacola, Florida – are operating normally.
Royal Dutch Shell Plc has shut down its massive Deer Park refinery and chemical plant in southeastern Houston, among the largest in US with a crude oil capacity of 340,000 barrels per day.
Evonik Oil Additives USA Inc has temporarily shut down its production at the Deer Park, Texas plant. The company reported that there has been no damage to Evonik’s assets, utilities, supplies or production capabilities.
Ashland Global Holdings Inc had shut down both its manufacturing facilities in the Houston area and south Texas - one in Texas City and the other in Kenedy after the calamity. The Kenedy plant, which primarily produces N-Hance guar derivatives and Aquaflow rheology modifiers, restarted operations. The Texas City plant - which produces PVP linear and crosslinked homopolymers, PVP/VA copolymers and NMP - is currently conducting a comprehensive assessment of the entire facility.
Enterprise Products Partners LP (EPD) said that is evaluating the potential curtailment of natural gas liquid (NGL) fractionation and storage services at its Mont Belvieu complex, while the company sustained minor damage to its assets on the US Gulf Coast.
Chemical Today Magazine | September 2017
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EVENTS 31 October – 3 November
UPCOMING EVENTS
CeMat Asia
Location: Shanghai New International Expo Centre, Shanghai, China. Organised by: Hannover Milano Fairs Shanghai Ltd Website: http://www.cemat-asia.com/EN/ The event showcases products from plant, machinery & equipment Industry.
13 – 16 November ADIPEC
Location: Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates Organised by: dmg Global Energy Website: https://www.adipec.com/ The Abu Dhabi International Petroleum Exhibition and Conference (ADIPEC) is one of the world’s most influential events for the oil & gas industry. As a premium exhibition and conference platform, ADIPEC hosts hundreds of speakers, thousands of exhibiting companies and tens of thousands of trade professionals from around the world.
14 – 15 September 2017 6th Speciality Films & Flexible Packaging
Location: Grand Hyatt Mumbai, India. Organised by: Eliteplus Business Services Pvt Ltd Website: http://www.eliteplus.co.in/ The 6th Speciality films & flexible packaging global conference is a two day conference held at Mumbai. The conference will provide a knowledge platform to industry players, scientists, technologists & academicians in these segments from India and overseas.
18 – 20 September 2017 Industrial Gas Conference
Location: Jumeirah Beach Hotel, Dubai Organised by: Gasworld Conference Website: www.gasworld.com/conferences The Middle East & North Africa Industrial Gas Conference is a 3 day conference held at Dubai. The event brings together industry professionals to discuss, debate and network regarding the most current issues and innovations within the industrial gas market.
23 – 26 October 2017 KHIMIA
Location: Expocentre Fairgrounds, Moscow, Russia Organised by: Expocentre Moscow Website: http://www.chemistry-expo.ru/en/ KHIMIA 2017 International Exhibition for the Chemical Industry and Science showcases products from chemical technologies, research, new materials, commercial biotechnology in medical, pharmaceutical, food, paper, textile, agricultural and electric energy industries.
01 – 04 November 2017 Paperex
Location : Pragati Maidan, New Delhi, India Organised by: Indian Argo and Recycled Paper Mills Association. Website : http://india.paperex-expo.com/Home Paperex is an internationally renowned series of exhibitions and conferences focusing on Paper, Pulp and all Allied Industries. It is the only comprehensive business platform serving the paper industry over the years.
28 – 30 November 2017 Cphi
Location: Bombay Exhibition Centre, Goregaon East, Mumbai Organised by: UBM EMEA Website: http://www.cphi.com/india/ The event focuses on the future of pharmaceutical equipment and machinery. The event highlights latest knowledge and trends in the industry. It is the best place for you to source quality machinery and equipment at competitive prices and to make career changing connections.
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INFRASTRUCTURE CONSTRUCTION CHEMICALS
BUILDING CITIES OF THE FUTURE
KEY TO THE INDIA OF TOMORROW
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BY NILOTPOL KAR Philip Hammond, Chancellor of the Exchequer - Great Britain, famously said, “To those who say our country cannot afford to invest in infrastructure, I say we cannot afford not to invest in our future.” This statement holds true today, more than ever. According to the UN Global Health Observatory’s findings, cities across the world will witness a high population growth in the forthcoming years. By 2050, almost 70 percent of the global population2 will live in cities. A case in point is the megacity of Mumbai, where the population1 has crossed 1.8 crores, according to the 2011 census as against 1.2 crores2 in 2001. Assuming a similar population growth rate and migratory pattern, the city may house more than 4 crore3 people by 2050. India too is staring at rapid urbanization, as more and more people migrate from rural areas to megacities. Rapid urbanization also brings to the forefront, a unique set of challenges - one which needs the effective partnership of public as well as private players when it comes to investment in both - resources and time. Given this explosion, the need of the hour is to develop structures that support the demands of a growing population, and simultaneously withstand the test of time. After all, sustainable housing and infrastructure are the key requisites for a developing economy. When I say infrastructure, it encompasses residential and commercial facilities as well as assets such as metros and rails, highways, bridges, tunnels, ports and harbours, cold storage capacities etc. Development on these fronts will also have a direct impact on other industries such as agriculture, by providing storage facilities to feed the growing population; manufacturing, by enabling growth industries such as automobiles, FMCG, nutrition and pharma to expand their capacities sustainably and in an efficient fashion. Historically, many infrastructural projects in India were not built for the population explosion or differing climatic conditions that we are witnessing today. Extreme
weather conditions around rain and heat lead to multiple challenges like - uneven and pothole ridden roads, development of cracks in buildings resulting in waterproofing problems, water logging due to inadequate drainage facilities etc. These issues need to be addressed, now, before it’s too late.
and tailor made solutions for the country. Hence, in line with this, stakeholders need to come together and ideate and discuss solutions resulting in right specifications for the right applications. This will help everyone to support the emerging megatrends in the industry - productivity, economy, durability and sustainability.
Without making our current structures strong and durable, it is difficult for us to think of the future. Hence here, chemistry will play an important role. Solutions such as waterproofing systems, insulation systems, precision grouts, adhesives and injections, admixtures for concrete and cement additives, wall systems, flooring systems, mortars, coatings, pigments and dispersions etc. become pivotal. That’s not all, resource efficiency will also play a key role. Hence, the focus needs to be on rapid and cost-efficient construction, easy maintenance, high performance and quality materials, and infraredreflective coatings, which can all enabled by innovative chemistry. Chemistry largely depends on Research & Development (R&D), as it empowers companies with indepth knowledge of local market needs for specific construction challenges. It will help increase productivity, quicken progress, lower overall costs, reduce consumption of natural resources, improve energy efficiency and safety processes.
Through these actions, the resulting solutions will definitely support the ever dynamic market demands. For example: with the introduction of initiatives such as Make in India, Smart Cities and Amrut Cities the infrastructure industry has received a much required boost. The Smart Cities and Amrut Cities plan is to develop 500 cities, under the publicprivate partnership strategy. To put it into perspective, through Smart Cities alone, India will add 11.5 million homes every year.
Furthermore, infrastructure is completely dependent on government initiation and support. It is for this reason, that the infrastructure segment enjoys intense focus from the government for initiating policies that ensure time-bound creation of world class infrastructure in the country. For a long-term vision, it is important for them to give priority to value based solutions over pricing based tactical approach. Additionally, the government needs to constantly review our existing building and product codes to suit the evolving climatic conditions and population requirements while ensuring sustainability. In line with this, stakeholders need to study and adopt best practices from emerging global economies and try to replicate them in the country, further boosting customized
These initiatives bode well for the construction chemicals industry. According to a knowledge paper on construction chemicals by Tata Strategic Management and FICCI4, Smart Cities are expected to trigger a manifold increase in demand for construction chemicals with the industry reaching Rs. 7000 crore by 2018-19 from Rs. 3,500 crore in 2013-14. Thereby, the industry is expected to grow by 15 percent per annum over the next five years. This is exciting as well as challenging. Companies in the infrastructure business need to be ready to support this kind of volume as well as ensure a perfect blend quality, by providing durable and sustainable solutions. The Global Infrastructure report by World Bank indicates that India needs an infrastructure investment outlay of $4.5 trillion by 2040, making it the second-largest infrastructure market in Asia after China5! I would like to end this article, by again invoking Philip’s quote on investment in infrastructure, as it is the only path towards a sustainable future and continue our partnering role towards the advancement of the country. Authors: Nilotpol Kar is Business Director, Construction Chemicals, BASF, South Asia.
References: 1
: http://www.census2011.co.in/census/city/365-mumbai.html
2
: http://data.un.org/Data.aspx?d=POP&f=tableCode%3A240
3
: http://sites.uoit.ca/sustainabilitytoday/urban-and-energy-systems/Worlds-largest-cities/population-projections/city-
population-2050.php 4
: http://www.business-standard.com/content/b2b-chemicals/smart-cities-to-drive-construction-chemicals-market-to-reach-
rs-7000-cr-115052100671_1.html 5
: http://blogs.worldbank.org/ppps/forecasting-infrastructure-investment-needs-50-countries-7-sectors-through-2040
Chemical Today Magazine | September 2017
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COATINGS WOOD PRETREATMENTS
PRE-TREATMENT STUDY OF VARIED WOODS
WITH HIGH PERFORMANCE LIGHT STABILIZERS BY YUNG-CHI YANG, YU-SHU SUNG, MILES HSIEH, YIN-TING LAI, CHUNG-HAN LU, HSIAO-FANG CHIU, CHIH-HSIEN CHEIN AND DR YAO-HSING HUANG
Abstract Lignin, when exposed to the sunlight, can easily be degraded. To preserve the beauty of wood grain, UV absorber and light stabilizer containing waterborne clear coats are commonly applied to the surface for protection. However, the effectiveness of such application is limited. According to our studies, pre-treatment of varied wood surface prior to the application of clear top coat can effectively extend the protection of lignin from UV light degradation. Eversorb AQ-1, a blend of UV absorber and HALS, is developed by Everlight Chemical Industrial Corporation (ECIC) specifically for waterborne clear coats. Eversorb SB1, designed for wood pretreatments, can protect lignin from UV light degradation. This paper is a comparison study in accelerated weathering of varied wood with and without SB-1 pretreatment in different co-solvents. Design of Experiment (DOE) was used in this study. Our data confirmed that pre-treatment is better than not pre-treatment from UV light degradation. Lignin is a complex organic polymers. The functional group contains hydroxyl groups (-OH). Two types of co-solvents are tested in this system, the solubility parameter of isopropyl alcohol is 11.5 and butyl carbitol is 9.9. After weathering Test, SB-1 mixed with isopropyl alcohol is better than butyl carbitol. The softwoods contain 25–35 percent lignin and hardwoods contain 18–25 percent lignin. Theory, SB-1 pre-treatment is significant to protect softwoods. Data indicates that pre-treatment with SB-1 in softwoods (Southern Pine and Douglas fir) are significant effect than hardwoods (Cedar, Southern beech and African Teak).
data confirmed that by increasing the concentration of AQ-1 in the clear top coat can effectively protect Southern Pine from UV light degradation. However, when Southern Pine was pre-treated with SB-1 prior to the application of the same clear top coat, the weatherability is better than the one without SB1 pretreatment. Further more, data also suggested that by increasing the coating thickness, the light fastness of Southern Pine can also be improved to some degrees but not as effective as other methods such as increasing the use level of light stabilizers in the clear coat or having the pre-treatment of Southern Pine prior to the application of clear coat [9]. Lignin is a complex organic polymers. The functional group contains hydroxyl groups (-OH). The different solubility parameter of co-solvents mixed with SB-1 and then pretreated on wood surface. How performance with different solubility parameter? The softwoods contain 25–35 percent lignin and hardwoods contain 18–25 percent lignin [10]. Theory, SB-1 pretreatment is significant to protect softwoods. The subject of this paper is to demonstrate the use of 5 types of wood. Softwoods (Southern Pine and Douglas fir) and hardwoods (Cedar, Southern beech and African Teak) are tested in this model.
Introduction Waterborne clear coatings have been developed to meet those requirements and address the concerns of high VOC that are normally associated to conventional solvent-based coatings [1]. Most customer use waterborne clear wood coatings to protect wood materials. However, sunlight and UV radiation can penetrate coating into wood surface to cause yellowing. The yellowness is included coating and lignin. Wood is composed of lignin, cellulose and hemicelluloses. Lignin, when exposed to the sunlight, can easily be degraded [2-6]. The routed of photodegradation of lignin [7-8] is shown in Figure 1. Eversorb AQ-1 is waterborne light stabilizer. Eversorb SB1, designed for wood pretreatments. Test
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Fig. 1. Route d of photo degradation of lignin
Experiment The three model formulations used in this study were an acrylic based waterborne clear coating, wood pretreatments and cosolvents. Their detail compositions are shown in Table 1, Table 2 and Table 3. The 5 varied Woods were chosen in the region are shown in Figure 2. Design of Experiment (DOE) was used to design test runs as well as to analyze test data. DOE technique allows us to validate the data.
Hardwood
Hardwood
Hardwood
Softwood
Softwood
Fig.2 Different type of woods
Screening Design Screening design (Table 4) was used to identify factors that get the minimal color change after weathering test. Mathematical model derived from data indicates all factors –X1: 5 different type of woods (Cedar, Douglas fir, Southern beech, African Teak and Southern pine). X2-3 type of treatments X2-1: Top Coat: Waterborne Acrylic Resin, X2-2: Wood Pretreatment: Butyl Carbitol mixed with EV-SB1, Top Coat: EV-AQ1 mixed with Acrylic Resin and X2-3: Wood Pretreatment: IPA mixed with EV-SB1, Top Coat: EV-AQ1 mixed with Acrylic Resin). The Analysis of variance, parameter estimates and effect tests (as shown in table 5, table 6 and table 7)
Summary of Fit R2 = 0.99 R2 Adj =0.99, RMSE=0.2 Table 4 Details of Screening Design and Test Results
Table 5. Analysis of variance (ANOVA)
Chemical Today Magazine | September 2017
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COATINGS WOOD PRETREATMENTS
Table 6. Parameter estimates
Table 7. Effect tests
The Optimal Prediction Profiler The prediction profiler (for example, Southern pine) shows the effect of 3 type of treatments after weathering test for 300 hrs. Only using waterborne acrylic resin, the performance is not good. (Delta difference color ΔE=31.85) (as shown in Figure 3). The 10 percent EV-SB1 mixed with Butyl Carbitol in the pretreatment and 2 percent EV-AQ1 in top coat. The performance is better than Blank (Delta difference color ΔE=10.25) (as shown in Figure 4). The 10 percent EV-SB1 mixed with IPA in the pretreatment and 2 percent EV-AQ1 in top coat. The light fastness of Southern Pine can get the best performance (Delta difference colour ΔE=6.55) (as shown in Figure 5). The photos of different type woods after weathering test (as shown in Figure 6 to Figure 10).
Results Our data confirmed that the solubility parameter of isopropyl alcohol is 11.5 and butyl carbitol is 9.9. After weathering test, SB-1 mixed with isopropyl alcohol is better than butyl carbitol.
Conclusion Environmentally friendly coatings are the trend for future development. We have developed several unique products specifically for coatings. Eversorb AQ-1, a blend of UV absorber and HALS, is developed for waterborne clear coats. Eversorb SB1, designed for wood pretreatments, can protect lignin from UV light degradation.
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Fig. 3 The effect of Southern pine coated with acrylic resin after weathering for 300 hrs (Prediction Profiler)
Lignin is a complex organic polymers. The functional group contains hydroxyl groups (-OH). The solubility parameter of isopropyl alcohol is 11.5 and butyl carbitol is 9.9. After weathering test, SB-1 mixed with isopropyl alcohol is better than butyl carbitol. Our data confirmed that the higher solubility parameter can get better performance. The softwoods contain 25–35 percent lignin and hardwoods contain 18–25 percent lignin. Theory, SB-1 pre-treatment is significant to protect softwoods. Data indicates that pre-treatment with SB-1 in softwoods (Southern Pine and Douglas fir) have significant effect than hardwoods (Cedar, Southern beech and African Teak). Coating manufactures may still need to run the experiments to confirm its coating systems compatibility. Also, a tailor made UV absorber and light stabilizer package can be offering to fulfill your special needs. [1] YAO-HSING HUANG, YUNG-CHI YANG. Light stabilisers for clear coatings [J]. Polymers Paint Colour Journal, 2010, 2000(4544):38.
Fig.6 Photo of Douglas fir after weathering test for 300hrs
Fig.7 Photo of African teak after weathering test for 300hrs
[2] EVANS, P. D., A. F. A. WALLIS and N. L. OWEN. Weathering of chemically modified wood surfaces [J]. Wood Science and Technology, 2000, 34(2): 151-165 [3] CHANG, S. T., D. N. S. HON and W. C. Feist. Photodegradation and photoprotection of wood surface [J]. Wood and Fiber Science, 1982, 14(2): 104-117. [4] EVANS, P. D., A. F. A. WALLIS and N. L. OWEN. Weathering of chemically modified wood surfaces [J]. Wood Science and Technology, 2000, 34(2): 151-165. [5] Heitner, C. Light-induced yellowing of wood-containing papers. In” Photochemistry of Lignocellulosic Materials “ (C. Heitner and J.C. Scaiano Ed.) [A]. American Chemical Society. Washington D.C. 1993, pp.2-22. [6] SCHMIDT, J.A.; HEITNER, C. “Light-Induced Yellowing of Mechanical and Ultra-High Yield Pulps. Part3. Comparison of Softwood TMP, Softwood CTMP, and Aspen CTMP.” [J] Journal of Wood Chemistry and Technology, 1995, 15(2): 223-245. [7] Heitner, C. Light-induced yellowing of wood-containing papers. In” Photochemistry of Lignocellulosic Materials “ (C. Heitner and J.C. Scaiano Ed.) [A]. American Chemical Society. Washington D.C. 1993, pp.2-22. [8] SCHMIDT, J.A.; HEITNER, C. “Light-Induced Yellowing of Mechanical and Ultra-High Yield Pulps. Part3. Comparison of Softwood TMP, Softwood CTMP, and Aspen CTMP.” [J] Journal of WoodChemistry and Technology, 1995, 15(2): 223-245.
Fig.8 Photo of Southern beech after weathering test for 300hrs
[9] Yung-Chi Yang, Shih-Chen Huang, Chih-Hsien Chein, Dr. Yao-Hsing Huang. Light stabilisers for woodpre-treatment applications[J]. Polymers Paint Colour Journal, 2011, 201(4565):21-22 [10] Himmel, M. E., J. O. Baker, and R. P. Overend(1994). “Enzymatic Conversion of Biomass for Fuels Production”, ed. By M.J. Comstock, American Chemical Society, Washington, DC.
Fig.9 Photo of Southern Pine after weathering test for 300hrs
Fig. 4 The effect of Southern pine and pretreatments with butyl carbitol after weathering for 300 hrs (Prediction Profiler) Fig.10 Photo of Luanta-fir after wearthing test for 300hrs
Fig. 5 The effect of Southern pine and pretreatments with IPA after weathering for 300 hrs (Prediction Profiler)
Chemical Today Magazine | September 2017
Authors:
Yung-Chi Yang, Yu-Shu Sung, Miles Hsieh, Yin-Ting Lai, Chung-Han Lu, Hsiao-Fang Chiu, Chih-Hsien Chein and Dr Yao-Hsing Huang are from Everlight Chemical Industrial Corporation.
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POLYMERS COMPOSITES
INNOVATIVE STYRENIC
SPECIALTY SOLUTIONS BY CHRISTOPHE GINSS, ARTUR SOKOLOWSKI, ALEXANDER SILVESTRE
I
NEOS Styrolution was established in 2011 as a joint venture of INEOS and BASF. Three years later, in 2014, the company became a wholly owned company of INEOS. This move resulted in a number of benefits for the organization, which included for example an easy access to upstream supplies. Today, INEOS Styrolution is determined to support the success of their customers in their respective markets, to give them a competitive edge. Based on a strong R&D network together with leading universities and research institutions, INEOS Styrolution strives to develop innovative solutions – in many cases in direct cooperation with the customers, bringing together industry expertise and detailed knowledge of chemical engineering.
Pic. 1: Peugeot, model 208
The company’s roots go back more than 85 years resulting in a wealth of skills and expertise related to styrenic solutions. Today, INEOS Styrolution successfully focuses on styrenic specialty solutions for a number of focus industries including automotive, healthcare, packaging, electronics, household and construction. The following customer applications demonstrate the focus on innovative specialty solutions.
Pic. 2: Hyundai, model Kia K5
In the automotive industry, INEOS Styrolution has been closely aligning with the development departments of several premium brand car manufacturers in Europe and in Asia to introduce solutions based on the hot stamping technology. The technology provides a finish similar to chrome plating and can be applied regardless of the surface color, reducing mounting complexity as well as costs on decoration processes and tooling. “The new hot stamping technology has been adopted by many OEMs worldwide to create high quality and aesthetic front grills. The technology does not only allow new designs, but also reduces manufacturing cost. Luran S is the material of choice since it offers an excellent surface quality that cannot be achieved by other materials,” commented Christophe Ginss, sales director, automotive EMEA with global coordination role. – Luran® S is INEOS Styrolution’s acrylonitrile styrene acrylate (ASA) copolymer brand of choice for unpainted exterior applications. It offers outstanding properties for long-term use and for a high quality surface appearance. In particular, it offers weathering stability for outdoor applications even when unpainted.
Pic. 3: ASA and ABS grades at the new Citroen C3
In 2017, the technology is also pioneered by a leading global car manufacturer producing in Brazil and by two more Brazilian OEMs. In other words, the technology has now been embraced in all global regions. Another very recent application demonstrates the use of styrenics in the automotive sector. Groupe PSA is taking advantage of Luran® S 778T and Novodur® HH-106 G2 for several window embellisher applications on the new Citroen C3. Pic. 3: ASA and ABS grades at the new Citroen C3
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Chemical Today Magazine | September 2017
Pic. 4: StyLight demonstrator (door module)
The styrenic materials from INEOS Styrolution convince with excellent product properties (UV performance, color and surface aesthetics) combined with easy processing. While the hot stamping technology is already implemented in many commercial applications, different styrenic materials are currently under investigation by automotive manufacturers worldwide for future applications. Thanks to outstanding aesthetics and dimensional stability, styrenics-based materials are being used more than ever in automotive design parts. Here is a small selection of current “hot” new materials: - A solution particularly developed for the needs in the automotive industry is INEOS Styrolution’s first composite called StyLight®. StyLight combines properties needed for structural, non-visible applications with aesthetics needed for visible parts. The creative Austrian engineering office KTM developed a set of innovative design concepts for several automotive applications – from interior applications like a central console or a door module to exterior applications like a body panel for trucks or tractors. (For more details, see Chemical Today Magazine, June 2017 Edition, pages 28-31.) Pic. 4: StyLight demonstrator (door module) - The new Novodur® Ultra 4255 was only launched at the K Show in 2016. The material offers high heat resistance, low temperature ductility and enhanced flowability. Novodur Ultra 4255 features high impact strength at room temperature as well as at low temperatures, 100 percent ductility at -30°C, high heat resistance and best-in-class flowability. It is expected to become a material of choice for car interiors, especially for applications like door panels, lower seat trims, center and overhead consoles or glove box doors and frames.
engineering. The combined expertise resulted in a solution that sets new standards. “We have developed these new solutions in close cooperation with our customers”, explained Alexander Silvestre, global director – healthcare. “To my knowledge, the new Novodur HD M203FC G3 grade is the first glass fiber filled polymer grade to be offered with the full complement of healthcare compliance documents. We are providing medical device designers the option to choose a superior product that meets both the technical and regulatory demands that are indicative of the healthcare industry.” Novodur HD M203FC G3 meets the requirements of the European and Japanese pharmacopoeia and it has been tested according to the USP Class Biological Reactivity Tests Class VI and relevant 10993 standards. Pic. 6: Fleima medical spikes The company Fleima, introduced a first healthcare application soon after the introduction of the new Novodur HD M203FC G3 grade. The spike Fleima introduced was indeed a trendsetter for new applications such as generic insertion aids, drip chamber or transfer spikes. As Ismail Dogru, key account consultant, FleimaPlastics, said in an interview in early 2017: “As there is currently no other fiber-glass-reinforced ABS with corresponding approvals available across the world, we expect the new material to develop as a standard for applications in the field of medical technology and especially in the development of spikes.”
- Novodur® H701 is an attractive solution for automotive interior applications like door modules. The material is an injection molding grade of ABS with heat resistance and high impact strength. In the household sector, a recent new application was developed by Haier, a world-leading brand in household appliances. Based on INEOS Styrolution’s Novodur® 595CP, Haier developed new fridge liner applications offering a 25 percent reduction in fridge liner cracking due to the new material’s high ESCR (“environmental stress crack resistance”) property. The new solution resulted in higher cost savings for Haier. Novodur 595CP offers the properties needed for a household application in terms of food contact safety, aesthetics and functionality. In addition to the high ESCR value, the material is also suitable for food contact and it is resistant to cyclopentane blowing agent. Pic. 5: High quality material for new fridge liner The successful cooperation with Haier won INEOS Styrolution the Haier Golden Cube Award in 2017 at the company’s annual Global Supplier Conference in Shanghai.
Pic. 5: High quality material for new fridge liner
For the healthcare industry, INEOS Styrolution brought a breakthrough product to market in 2017. Novodur® HD M203FC G3 is a fiber filled medical polymer grade, which is certified against the relevant parts of the biocompatibility standard ISO 10993. The new material does not only impress with its mechanical properties such as stiffness, impact strength and dimensional stability, but also with its high flowability (melt volume rate, 220 oC/10 kg, ISO 1133: 18cm3/10 min) allowing for an excellent processability. The glass fiber filled Novodur ABS was developed in close cooperation with Fleima-Plastics, a member of the Masterflex Group and leading manufacturer of spikes and caps made of ABS. This close cooperation ensured that detailed knowledge of the healthcare industry’s needs met detailed knowledge of chemical
Pic. 6: Fleima medical spikes Authors:
Christophe Ginss, Artur Sokolowski, Alexander Silvestre are from INEOS Styrolution.
Chemical Today Magazine | September 2017
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LATEX BINDERS FOR ADHESIVES & CONSTRUCTION
RE-BRANDING FOR ‘STRONG BONDS’ INTRODUCING NEW TRADE NAME FOR LATEX BINDERS: LIGOS™ BINDER
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O
nce applied, latex binders render themselves invisible, yet their connective power works all around us: in footwear, carpets, cementing and magazines, to name a few. Trinseo has been producing latex binder solutions for over 60 years, while supplying the paper and board, textiles and carpets, and the adhesives and construction industries. Continuing with its long standing dedication to the market, Trinseo has introduced LIGOS™ as the new trade name for its family of latex binders products. The word ligos means “to bind” in the international language of Esperanto. With the introduction of LIGOS™, Trinseo is strengthening its connection with its customers by offering a more focused portfolio with all the innovation and commitment its customers have come to count on. LIGOS™ and its tagline ‘Strong Bonds. Stronger Commitment.’ are easy to recognize and set Trinseo apart. “We have changed the name but not the performance or reliability that customers expect from us,” said Rainer Knappich, business director, latex binders at Trinseo. “The LIGOS™ trade name speaks to the performance and strength of the technology behind the products and underscores Trinseo’s commitment to delivering solutions to meet customer and industry needs.” Trinseo provides customers with the broadest range of binders products in the market through cutting-edge innovations,
an unparalleled global reach, security of supply, a collaborative business model, and advanced development labs. The LIGOS™ Binders product offerings are based on styrene acrylic and styrene butadiene latex chemistries. Trinseo is the leading supplier of styrene butadiene latex, a material that demonstrates superior mechanical and binding strength as well as great water, chemical, abrasion, and oil resistance. The great advantage of latex binders is their utility and versatility. Typical end-use products are magazines, carpet and textile backing, liquid applied membranes, tile adhesives and mortars, roofing and glass reinforced mesh fabrics. Trinseo’s product portfolio continues to evolve with, and anticipate, market demand. The company also offers solutions for packaging, labels, wood assembly, and caulks and sealants. With over 20 years of experience in the building and construction and the adhesives industry, Trinseo aims at strengthening its market position in Asian markets like India. “We recognize the incredible potential in India,” said Andre Hugentobler, global industry development leader, adhesives & construction Binders. “Now, with LIGOS™, we offer binders that address evolving needs in adhesive and construction applications. Take for example the proven technology of Trinseo’s latex binders for liquid applied membranes. LIGOS™ based waterproof and EIFS (exterior insulation and finishing system) membranes enable
moisture management through excellent water resistance and vapour transmission properties, which reduces water damage, increases a structure’s lifespan and conserves its aesthetic appeal cost-effectively.” Trinseo benefits from global scale, strong customer relationships and a robust innovation pipeline. By having a strong global network, the company is able to use its full capabilities and vast know-how to address local needs. “We work closely with our customers, and our solutions are tailored to their specific project and application needs,” said Hugentobler. “We are convinced that innovation is the product of collaboration. This is why we want to create better solutions together.” Trinseo is dedicated to find the right solutions for their customers, which is why it invests in innovative technologies – it is the only latex supplier with world-class pilot coating facilities in both the US and Europe. Key locations for R&D include the US, Germany, Switzerland and China. Trinseo is also committed to meeting the highest global Environment, Health and Safety standards and regulations. It boasts a world class safety record across all their sites. “Customers have come to rely on the innovation, collaboration and dedication that sets Trinseo’s Latex Binders apart from the competition,” said Knappich, “and LIGOS™ will further strengthen this connection we have with our customers. Source: Trinseo LLC
Chemical Today Magazine | September 2017
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EXPERT VIEWPOINT CONSTRUCTION ADHESIVES & SEALANTS
Roland Albers, Senior Vice President, Construction & Consumer Global Business Unit, Bostik, opens up about why this is the best time for the construction industry to grow.
BUILDING ON
A SUSTAINABLE FOUNDATION BY SHIVANI MODY Growth trends in construction adhesives & sealants segment. The global construction market is the strong growth trajectory, which is evident on a global scale – And this, of course, has a direct impact on the market for construction adhesives & sealants. More specifically in the Bostik-relevant market for construction adhesives & sealants, we estimate that the current global market value is approximately €17 billion with an additional €4 billion in the adjacent consumer/Do It Yourself (DIY) market. The construction adhesives & sealants market is growing at approximately 3-4 percent per annum – So the positive momentum in the wider construction market is also evident within the adhesives & sealants category.
Construction megatrends. Some of the megatrends in the construction market can be summarised as: Sustainable building practices: There is a general shift towards more sustainable construction practices around the world. Construction sector accounts for anywhere between 25-40 percent of world carbon emissions. As a result, building practices are changing and every link in the construction value chain is examining how
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their methods can contribute to energy efficiency, waste reduction and the safety and wellbeing of both construction workers and building occupants. Methodologies such as building Life Cycle Analysis (LCA) are now commonplace where every stage of the construction and use of a building is carefully examined with a view to reducing or removing any negative impact it may have on the environment. Changing building methods: A related trend is that of changing building methods. Prompted by the demand as a result of macro trends such as urbanization, there is increasing pressure to complete construction projects quickly and safely. This desire for speed is driving new and more efficient construction practices both in terms of how buildings are designed and constructed but also in terms of the materials and products used. For example, in terms of design, methods such as digitisation and 3D printing are now routinely used to reduce the time taken to design and scope buildings. Building methods are also changing as evidenced by the increasing use of prefabrication and modular construction as well as more automation in off-site construction. At Bostik, we are increasingly combining our construction expertise with
the know-how from our industrial adhesives activities to apply efficient manufacturing principles to the construction arena. The final area where methods are changing is with respect to the materials used where there is increasing demand for more advanced products. With an estimated 1/3 of construction costs directly attributable to materials, it is no surprise to see new kinds of products increasingly being evaluated and used. For example, products, which demonstrate advantages in terms of longevity and resistance, being lightweight or ease and speed of application are increasingly favoured. In these cases, adhesives & sealants manufacturers like Bostik can play an active role either directly with contractors or indirectly with manufacturers of building components such as doors, windows and other systems. Greater emphasis on building comfort & wellbeing: The comfort and general wellbeing of building occupants is another clear trend that is evident within the construction market. Rather than just stopping at the delivery of a new building, the construction sector is now giving increased thought to the ongoing performance of the building and its impact on building residents in terms of indoor air quality, thermal insulation,
acoustic performance and aesthetics. These are trends which Bostik has been monitoring closely and we have developed many systems including adhesives & sealants which have zero or reduced volatile organic compounds (VOC), enhanced insulation properties or which reduce noise transfer between different floors. Increasing levels of building regulation and standards Legislators and standards bodies are driving change in these areas through the publication of building regulations and codes which are designed to improve the quality and performance of buildings and safeguard the health and wellbeing of those who use them. We closely monitor the market environment for the trends and actively collaborate with Arkema, our parent company, on its six R&D and innovation platforms of lightweight materials & design, new energies, water management, home efficiency & insulation, biobased products and electronic solutions, to develop next generation solutions for the construction sector.
Market potential for biobased adhesives. Although strong expressed interest in biobased adhesives is yet to emerge, we expect it to increase in time and follow the global shift to more sustainable building practices. While green building topics such as Indoor Air Quality (IAQ) and building Life Cycle Analysis (LCA) are more prominent and are increasingly specified in construction plans, it is clear that demand for biobased adhesives will mature over time.
Areas of demand for construction adhesives & sealants in India. It is anticipated that India will be one of the powerhouses of the global construction market by 2030 when it will be the world’s third largest market and will account for 9 percent of the global market value. We estimate the current market demand for construction sealants in India at approximately 6,500 metric tonnes so would expect this to follow a similar growth trend to the overall construction market. In truth, every aspect of the construction market in India is showing strong signs of growth. Drivers such as increased demand for residential building and supporting infrastructure, often as a result of government flagship programmes, are heavily influencing this growth. This is then translating into increased demand for a range of construction adhesives & sealants systems. We are currently seeing strong demand for flooring systems including cementitious
Chemical Today Magazine | September 2017
self-levelling underlays, floor covering adhesives, floor coatings and hardeners. Tiling systems are also in demand as we see strong sales growth in products including tile fixing adhesives and grouts. Waterproofing is showing strong performance with systems including polyurethane (PU) membranes, torch on membranes, crystalline and cementitious systems all in high demand. And of course products and systems used in the finishing stages of new build and refurbishment projects are also in demand, explaining the growth in sales of products including sealants and grab adhesives.
Requirements of developed vs the emerging markets. In market terms, the relative economic importance of the construction sector is different in both market groups as it correlates with economic drivers including GDP growth and population growth. These, of course, generally differ between developed and emerging markets and in our opinion, construction activity represents approximately 3 percent of GDP in developed countries, while it is closer to 8 percent in emerging markets. From a market requirement perspective, the overwhelming difference is the pace of construction in emerging regions where speed is the absolute priority. While developers must meet all regulations and deliver fully functional and reliable end products, there is also significant pressure to complete and commission these buildings to meet the high level of demand. Against this backdrop, it is easy to see why speed is a key requirement. As a result, developers and contractors in emerging regions are more open to new building methodologies and adhesive innovations. They favour products which are easy-touse and fast so we are seeing increased demand for adhesive and sealant products which require less preparation time, no mixing, are fast setting or which remove certain application steps altogether. At the same time, with increased pressure on contractors, we also consider ergonomics in our product and tool design to enable applicators to quickly and safely apply our products.
Company strategy for growth in India. India is clearly high on our list of geographic priorities such is the market potential across all sectors, particularly in construction. We have had a physical presence in India since 2001 and have invested significant amounts in our manufacturing facilities and distribution centres in recent years. After our next plant opening, we will employ approximately 230 people there.
Compared with the market potential, it is clear that we have considerable scope to grow. Bostik is recognised as the leader in a number of construction market niches such as one component PU sealants and grab adhesives so we will continue to expand our ranges by transferring the expertise and technologies we have already developed and customising them to meet the unique needs of the Indian market.
Smart innovations for India market. We seek new opportunities to develop and introduce multi-functional adhesives & sealants. In India, we have been actively introducing advanced construction products, many of which have been developed and manufactured locally. For example, our latest PU construction sealants are highly regarded in the marketplace with Bostik Seal N Flex 1, a one component PU sealant, now viewed as the only specialist solution for sealing expansion joints of 60 mm and over. Another recent innovation is the Bostik Seal N Flex 2K two component pourable PU sealant. This has been attracting significant interest and large orders have recently been placed by the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) for road infrastructure projects. Other innovations recently introduced include proprietary PU stud adhesives Bostik DS 9069 and Bostik DS 9070 for raised floor applications, Bostik Bond PU 1K, a one component PU bonding foam for fixing metal and fibre-reinforced plastic (FRP) panels and Bostik Block Adhesive, a block fixing adhesive.
Sustainable and eco-friendly solutions. In the field of construction, it is important to be able to provide our customers with products, which meet the requirements of the main green building certifications such as Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) and the Building Research Establishment Environmental Assessment Method (BREEAM). We must also provide guarantees with respect to Indoor Air Quality (IAQ), solventfree formulations and low VOC-certified solutions. Our internal processes have also changed in light of the industry’s focus on sustainability. For example, demand is increasing for construction products, which can contribute to the recyclability of materials so this requires the development of adhesives & sealants, which meet certain criteria such as Cradle to Cradle (C2C) certification. And we now systematically use Life Cycle Analysis (LCA) not only in the development and improvement of products but also to improve manufacturing processes and optimise our supply chain. To read the full interview, log on to http://www.worldofchemicals.com/media/ interviews/management
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GREEN CHEMISTRY UNIVERSITY, AUSTRALIAN FIRM COLLABORATE FOR SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH
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niversity of Huddersfield scientist Dr Jason Camp is investigating the potential of a non-toxic, environmentally sustainable solvent produced from waste cellulose that promises to be a greener way to produce a wide range of medicines and other products. The project has also offered an exceptional opportunity for some of his most talented students to take part in cutting edge, published research. Camp – a senior lecturer in the University’s department of chemical sciences – has been collaborating with Australian-based firm Circa Group, which produces the solvent that it has named Cyrene (tm). Production of Cyrene is a joint venture between Circa and Norske Skog, the Norwegian pulp and paper manufacturer. Many of the solvents currently used in chemical processes are problematic because they are toxic or pose environmental risks. In the search for more sustainable, safer processes, cellulose-based Cyrene has emerged as a strong candidate and is proving to be a viable replacement
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for the more toxic polar aprotic solvents (NMP, DCM, DMAC). The recent work undertaken by Camp and his team has shown it can be used as a solvent in the synthesis of ureas – chemical compounds that are highly important in fields such as pharmaceuticals and agrochemicals. “The work Camp and his team are doing is an important step towards further “greening” the chemicals supply chain.” commented Circa CEO, Tony Duncan, “These are important markets, and with the ongoing demand from society for safer products and processes, work like this from talented researchers is practical and highly valued. These initial results have shown very promising results and we will now work with the team to take the research to a developmental stage” The article describes the experiments conducted by Camp and his team, and the results obtained. It concludes that “a green, mild and efficient approach towards the synthesis of ureas from aryl isocyanates and secondary amines in the bio-alternative solvent Cyrene was
developed.” The method eliminated the need for the use of toxic solvents or any nonbioderived organic solvent. Also, traces of Cyrene can be removed from the product by simple water treatment. This phase of the Cyrene research was part-funded by the University of Huddersfield’s Collaborative Ventures Fund. Camp is currently planning to take the work further with a Knowledge Transfer Partnership in conjunction with Circa’s UK subsidiary and is currently seeking backing from Innovate UK. Co-authors of the Green Chemistry article are Tom Bousfield (pictured above left), a PhD researcher supervised by Camp, plus Liam Mistry (pictured left) and Kopano Mapesa, who were chemistry undergraduates offered the opportunity to take part in the project, during which they carried out a large proportion of the lab work. Both now aim to move on to doctoral research. Kopano presented the work at a Posters In Parliament event and the 2017 British Conference of Undergraduate Research.
NEW ADDITIVE ENHANCES CO2
CONVERSION TO MULTICARBON FUELS
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hemists have figured out a new, more efficient way to create carbon-based fuels from carbon dioxide (CO2). In chemical reactions performed in the lab, a Caltech team has identified a new additive that helps selectively convert CO2 into fuels containing multiple carbon atoms-a step toward ultimately making renewable liquid fuels that are not derived from coal or oil. “The results were quite shocking,” said Jonas Peters, Bren professor of chemistry at Caltech and director of the Resnick Sustainability Institute, who jointly led the research in collaboration with Theodor Agapie, professor of chemistry at Caltech. “Usually, in these types of reactions with CO2, you see a lot of by-products like methane and hydrogen. In this case, the reaction was highly selective for the more desirable fuels that contain multiple carbons—such as ethylene, ethanol, and propanol. We saw an 80 percent conversion to these multi-carbon fuel products, with only 20 percent or so going into hydrogen and methane.” Fuels with multiple carbon atoms are more desirable because they tend to be liquid—and liquid fuels store more energy per volume than gaseous ones. For instance, propanol, which is liquid and contains three carbon atoms, stores more energy than methane, which is a gas and only has one carbon atom. The goal of chemists like Peters, Agapie and their colleagues working at the Joint Center for Artificial Photosynthesis (JCAP), a US Department of Energy (DOE) Energy Innovation Hub, is to artificially create multi-carbon liquid transportation fuels using the widely available ingredients of sunlight, water and CO2 . The new research, published in the ACS Central Science, and funded by JCAP, is a step toward that goal.
Illustration of “artificial photosynthesis,” a process by which sunlight, CO2, and water are converted in labs to useful fuels. This is the main goal of the Joint Center for Artificial Photosynthesis (JCAP), a U. S. Department of Energy (DOE) Energy Innovation Hub, which seeks to “secure energy supplies for future generations.”
as well as a class of organic molecules called N-substituted arylpyridiniums, which formed a very thin deposit on the electrode. This film, for reasons that are not understood yet, dramatically improved the fuel-making reaction, selectively producing the desirable chemicals ethanol, ethylene, and propanol. “It’s easy to make hydrogen under these conditions, so usually we see a lot of it,” said Agapie. “But we want to disfavour the hydrogen production and favour high-
energy density liquid fuels with carboncarbon bonds, which is exactly what we get in our experiments.” One next step is to figure out how the additives are enhancing the reaction. The information may help lead to alternate fuels made efficiently from sunlight, CO2, and water—instead of oil. “Nature has stored solar energy in the form of oil over a long period of earth history via a process that takes millions of years,” said Peters. “Chemists would like to figure out how to do this much faster.”
The study’s research was conducted by Caltech postdoctoral scholars Ruud Kortlever and Hsiang-Yun Chen and former postdoc Zhiji Han. To find the ideal combination for making the multi-carbon fuels, the team experimented with a mix of different chemicals in the lab. They used an aqueous solution and a copper electrode, which served as both a catalyst and source of energy in place of the sun. The group added CO2 to the solution,
Chemical Today Magazine | September 2017
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GREEN CHEMISTRY CONCRETE FROM WOOD
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esearchers from the National Research Programme “Resource Wood” have developed a type of concrete that largely consists of wood. The building material offers the construction industry new possibilities and is based in large part on renewable resources.
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ouses can be made of wood, as they were in the past – or of concrete, as they are today. To build for tomorrow, the two building methods are being combined: these hybrid structures, which contain both wood and concrete elements, are becoming increasingly popular in contemporary architecture. In the context of the National Resource Programme “Resource Wood” (NRP 66), Swiss researchers have now developed an even more radical approach to combining wood and concrete: they are fabricating a load-bearing concrete which itself consists largely of wood. In many blends, the volume fraction of the wood is over 50 percent. Cement-bonded wood products have been around for more than a hundred years. Yet previously they were used only for non-load-bearing purposes, such as insulation. Daia Zwicky, head of the institute for building and environmental technologies at the school of engineering
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and architecture of Fribourg, wondered whether it wasn’t time for a more ambitious use of wood-based concrete.
Floating concrete Together with his team, Zwicky experimented with the content and granularity of the wood as well as diverse additives and subsequently subjected the various blends to rigorous tests. The main difference from classical concrete is that the gravel and sand content is replaced with finely ground wood. In other words, sawdust rather than small stones is mixed in with the cement. Thanks to the high wood content, the new building materials show good flame retardance and act as thermal insulation. “They weigh at most half of what normal concrete weighs – the lightest of them even float!” said Zwicky. Moreover, as the materials are based largely on renewable resources, after dismantling they can be reused as a source of heat
and electricity. The wood content can be burnt in waste incineration, although for everyday use it conforms to fire protection standards. Initial 1:1 stress tests show that the new wood-based concrete is also suitable for slab and wall elements and can provide a load-bearing function in construction. The process is also suited to prefabricated units. In this context, in particular, the Fribourg group would like to deepen their expertise through a broader range of tests. The researchers want to find out which wood-concrete composite is best for which applications, and how it can be produced efficiently. “It will take several years before we see the first buildings in which lightweight concrete containing wood plays an integral role in the construction,” said Zwicky. “The level of knowledge required for widespread application is still too limited.”
TURNING DIRTY TINFOIL INTO BIOFUEL CATALYST
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researcher at Queen’s University Belfast has discovered a way to convert dirty aluminium foil into a biofuel catalyst, which could help to solve global waste and energy problems.
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n the UK, around 20,000 tonnes of aluminium foil packaging is wasted each year - enough to stretch to the moon and back. Most of this is landfilled or incinerated as it’s usually contaminated by grease and oils, which can damage recycling equipment.
the contaminated foil. This is the starting material for the preparation of alumina catalyst. Usually, to produce this type of alumina it would have to come from bauxite ore, which is mined in countries such as West Africa, the West Indies and Australia, causing huge environmental damage.
Innovative
Promising
However, Ahmed Osman, an early career researcher from Queen’s University’s school of chemistry and chemical engineering, has worked with engineers at the university to create an innovative crystallisation method, which obtains 100 percent pure single crystals of aluminium salts from
Osman, who took on the project under the University’s Sustainable Energy, Pioneering Research Programme, has created a solution which is much more environmentally-friendly, effective and cheaper than the commercial catalyst which is currently available on the market for the
Chemical Today Magazine | September 2017
production of dimethyl ether - a biofuel which is regarded as the most promising of the 21st century. Osman said making the catalyst from aluminium foil cost about £120/kg while the commercial alumina catalyst comes in at around £305/kg. Its unique thermal, chemical and mechanical stability means it can also be used as an absorbent, in electronic device fabrication, as a cutting tool material or as an alternative for surgical material for implants. The ground-breaking research has been published in Nature Scientific Reports.
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GREEN CHEMISTRY DISCOVERY TOWARDS SUSTAINABLE SOURCE OF FUEL ADDITIVE ETHANOL
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ost of the fuel additive ethanol used in the US is made from corn. But new research reveals that copper can turn carbon dioxide into ethanol without using corn or other plants.
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ost cars and trucks in the United States run on a blend of 90 percent gasoline and 10 percent ethanol, a renewable fuel made primarily from fermented corn. But producing the 14 billion gallons of ethanol consumed annually by American drivers requires millions of acres of farmland. A recent discovery by Stanford University scientists could lead to a new, more sustainable way to make ethanol without corn or other crops. This technology has three basic components: water, carbon dioxide and electricity delivered through a copper catalyst. The results are published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS). “One of our long-range goals is to produce renewable ethanol in a way that doesn’t impact the global food supply,” said study principal investigator Thomas Jaramillo, an associate professor of chemical engineering at Stanford and of photon science at the SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory.
Associate Professor Thomas Jaramillo (left) and SLAC scientist Christopher Hahn have demonstrated the feasibility of designing copper catalysts that convert carbon dioxide into ethanol without corn or other crops.
“Copper is one of the few catalysts that can produce ethanol at room temperature,” he said. “The problem here is that it also makes 15 other compounds simultaneously. Separating those products would be an expensive process and require a lot of energy.” Scientists would like to design copper catalysts that selectively convert carbon dioxide into higher-value chemicals and fuels, like ethanol and propanol, with few or no byproducts. But first they need a clear understanding of how these catalysts actually work.
Copper crystals For the PNAS study, the Stanford team chose three samples of crystalline copper, known as copper (100), copper (111) and copper (751). Scientists use these numbers to describe the surface geometries of single crystals. “Copper (100), (111) and (751) look virtually identical but have major differences in the way their atoms are arranged on the surface,” said Christopher Hahn, an associate staff scientist at SLAC and co-lead lead author of the study. “The essence of our work is to
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Stanford scientists have designed a large copper catalyst that produces ethanol from carbon dioxide and water.
understand how these different facets of copper affect electrocatalytic performance.”
Catalytic performance Comparing electrocatalytic performance, the researchers were able to get clear results. Electrodes made of copper (751) were far more selective to liquid products, such as ethanol and propanol, than those made of copper (100) or (111). Ultimately, the Stanford team would like to develop a technology capable of selectively producing carbon-neutral fuels and chemicals at an industrial scale. “The eye on the prize is to create better catalysts that have game-changing potential by taking carbon dioxide as a feedstock and converting it into much
more valuable products using renewable electricity or sunlight directly,” Jaramillo said. “We plan to use this method on nickel and other metals to further understand the chemistry at the surface.” Jaramillo also serves as deputy director of the SUNCAT Center for Interface Science and Catalysis, a partnership of the Stanford School of Engineering and SLAC. Study authors include co-lead author Toru Hatsukade, Drew Higgins and Stephanie Nitopi at Stanford; Youn-Geun Kim at SLAC; and Jack Baricuatro and Manuel Soriaga at the California Institute of Technology. Funding was provided by the US Department of Energy and the Stanford Global Climate and Energy Project.
SECTOR VIEW CONSTRUCTION CHEMICALS
SCIENCE OF
SMART CONSTRUCTION The answer to a ‘good’ construction lies in using the right construction chemicals.
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Chemical Today Magazine | September 2017
BY DEBARATI DAS
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building made of bricks and mortar has lot more science involved than we can imagine - a science to make these structures sturdier than ever, a science to make them ecologically compliant and a science to make them economical. And this is what every construction chemicals manufacturer is aiming for. Various advancements in new-age construction chemicals are constantly raising the bar of construction industry itself. The construction chemicals market size is likely to cross $50 billion by 2024, according to Global Market Insights. This growth will be supported by various factors including the rapidly escalating infrastructure spending across BRICS countries, growing population, increase in the disposable income in the emerging countries, rise in the number of infrastructural projects and several government initiatives to provide low cost homes in various regions. This global momentum of escalating construction industry is dominated by the Asia Pacific construction chemical market which is expected to exhibit double digit growth, much higher than any other region. The growth in this region is spurred by rising rate of urbanization leading to numerous infrastructure projects. China’s construction industry holds the major share in this region and held more than 60 percent share of the Asia-Pacific market in 2015, as per Research and Markets.’ Also the construction chemical market in India is projected to grow at a CAGR of over 15 percent during 20152020, mentioned TechSci Research. This is due to high demand for residential, commercial and public buildings and rising government and private investments in infrastructure and real estate sectors. “Growing adoption of the green building concept and various proposed smart city projects is anticipated to fuel demand for construction chemicals market in India. The trend in India’s construction industry is gradually changing, with the interest of public and private investors gradually shifting towards high quality construction,” said Karan Chechi, research director, TechSci Research. However this growth spurge is opposed by the slow growth rates of the construction industry in the developed countries especially various European countries due to financial and economic crisis along with maturity of construction industry in the countries resulting into stagnancy of infrastructural growth. The matured market of the US too is expected to remain sluggish with its single digit growth. Middle East is a region which has a huge growth potential due to the rising number of infrastructural
Chemical Today Magazine | September 2017
projects, and their drive to achieve construction excellence with technology improvement. Other countries such as Russia, Australia and Brazil are expected to have high growth rates for this market. With the diverse set of applications across the construction industry, construction chemicals have become an imperative ingredient in today’s infrastructural environment. Although, the main use of construction chemical is to strengthen the structure with enhanced durability, there is much more that is demanded from it. Making structures environmentally friendly is one of the major concerns today. According to the European Commission, buildings account for up to 40 percent of the total energy consumption and produce more than 33 percent of the overall greenhouse emissions in the region. Most construction chemical manufacturers are working towards making construction materials that can reduce the overall carbon footprint of the structures while giving them a competitive advantage. Hence, greener buildings will further catalyze the global construction chemicals market in the coming years. Demands for high-end protective coatings in commercial and residential complexes with features such as fire resistance, water proofing, dust resistance etc, is providing further impetus to the industry. Restoration of historical and old buildings and infrastructures is also one of the major areas of growth for this industry enhancing the market for adhesives and sealants in the coming years. The global construction chemicals market is broadly segregated into concrete admixtures, water proofing chemicals, flooring compounds and repair & rehabilitation. Concrete admixture chemicals are used for better mixing of materials used in cement to make concrete, and finds application across commercial and residential buildings as well as infrastructures, such as bridges, roads, flyovers, etc. This segment also accounts for above 50 percent of the overall construction chemicals market size and is expected to witness a significant growth. Admixtures can be mineral and chemical concrete admixtures. Mineral include fly ash, rice husk ash, silica fume, and granulated blast furnace slag while chemical admixtures include superplasticizers, normal plasticizers, waterproofing admixtures, air-entraining agents, accelerating agents, and retarding agents. Water proofing construction chemicals are used to avoid water infiltration and prove essential for exteriors of buildings. Flooring compounds are used to resist abrasion, corrosion, slipping, chemical attack and most importantly to give the floor an aesthetic appearance. Repair and rehabilitation
construction chemicals are basically used in the repairing systems, wear and tear of the construction structures. Other construction chemicals segment of global construction chemical market includes sealants, grouts, tile adhesives and protective coating and resins. Along with these advancements, the construction industry is going through a ‘Green revolution’ where various governmental regulations are promoting the trend towards green and energyefficient buildings which has inturn increased the demand for eco-friendly construction materials. The usage of readymix concrete (RMC), construction products that do not emit VOC and do not have any detrimental effects on the environment, etc are on the rise. With stringent emission regulations, manufacturers are coming up with water-based reactive formulations like waterborne protective coatings which provide various functional benefits like graffiti resistance, self-cleaning features, etc. “The construction sector can play an active role when it comes to safeguarding the future of the planet as estimates suggest that buildings currently account for anywhere between 25-40 percent of world carbon emissions. The sector is the world’s top consumer of global raw materials while it is also responsible for a high proportion of the solid waste generated. As a result, building practices are changing and every link in the construction value chain is examining how their methods can contribute to energy efficiency, waste reduction and the safety and wellbeing of both construction workers and building occupants,” said Roland Albers, senior vice president (construction & consumer global business unit), Bostik. However, amidst all these advancements the industry is also struggling with the dearth of skilled labour, apathy from various infrastructure developers to implement a high quality standard and fluctuating raw material prices, which is hindering the growth of the global construction chemicals market. But change is the way to growth and the growth of construction chemical is heavily dependent on the changes that the construction industry undergoes, leading to continuous innovation and development. Cutting edge infrastructural developments, low cost affordable housings, materials which can expedite construction time helping builders to meet deadlines, industrialization and the need for plants with state of the art facilities, favourable regulations and improving manufacturing standards & practices are just some of the factors that will constantly ascertain the innovation drive in the construction chemical market.
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FEATURE SOY-BASED SOLVENTS
SPILLING THE BEANS
FOR A GREENER FUTURE
© United Soybean Board
BY DEBARATI DAS
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very industry is constantly trying to reduce its damaging impact on the environment. And this has led companies to explore bio alternatives. As part of this, companies are discovering the plant Soy. It is a versatile plant with hundreds of uses. Apart from being a staple food item in many parts of the world, it is also being used to develop biodegradable biofuel, plastics, cosmetics, paints & coatings etc. making it a better alternative for petrochemical derived products. Solvent is one such market where the potential of soy is being constantly explored to make this key ingredient of the chemical industry more environmentally friendly. Solvent, is no doubt, one of the most important ingredients of the chemical industry which finds innumerable uses in various industries. According to Markets and Markets report, the global market size of solvents which was worth $19.99 billion in 2015 is growing at a CAGR of 7.9 percent to reach $28.25 billion by 2021. “The global solvents market is driven by the demand from major application areas, such as paints & coatings, pharmaceuticals, printing inks, adhesives and cleaning products. The market is undergoing significant changes owing to the growing environmental concerns, increasing
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number of regulatory pressures and concerns over toxic emissions during the manufacturing of solvents,” said Hitesh Bhatia, lead analyst-specialty chemicals sector, Technavio. But amidst various technological advances which are driving the growth of this industry, the market is also clouded by concerns of being environmentally friendly. And hence, green, bio-based, eco-friendly solutions is making a strong mark in this industry. Conventional solvents not just lead to the high VOC emissions, but also have adverse effects on both human health and the environment. Therefore, the use of traditional solvents is facing restrictions from regulatory authorities as well as consumers. In various markets, the government is playing a staunch role towards incorporating stringent environmental regulations and this will continue to drive a shift toward less hazardous solvents that reduce emissions and lower toxicity. Going hand in hand is the rapidly changing perception and consumer preference which has effectively began to favour green products derived from renewable resources such as plantbased alcohols, soy methyl ester and terpenes. Further, the depleting state of natural resources has added humongous
pressure on the oil and natural gas industry leading to constant oil prices fluctuation forcing various industries to shift its attention towards plant based alternatives. All this is increasing the demand for bio-based solvents in the market. One such eco-friendly trend is the emerging opportunities of soy-based solvents. Soy has some of the greatest advantages of being not just cost competitive but also ascertains low-VOC, low-toxicity and is a readily biodegradable replacement for conventional chlorinated and hydrocarbon solvents. Methyl soyate, a methyl ester derived from soybean oil, has been found to be an excellent “green” alternative industrial solvent for use in various industrial and institutional cleaners, paint strippers, adhesives, parts cleaners etc. Methyl soyate is produced by transesterification of soybean oil and methanol with a sodium hydroxide catalyst. It is a safer alternative to chlorinated, petroleum and oxygenated solvents that offers very low flammability, a very high flash point, low VOC levels, nonHazardous Air Pollutant (HAP) and is a non-ozone-depleting chemical (ODC). “It is very important to find alternatives to petroleum-based products in industrial manufacturing and agricultural products. Renewable ingredients like soy-based
esters reduce the impact of contamination in the air, soil and water and provide a more sustainable future,” said Skip Laubach, president and COO, Vertec Biosolvents. “An additional benefit to using soy derived solvents is that they are biodegradable. Soy allows us to develop products with no hazardous air pollutants. Often petroleum based product use will have environmental residuals that risk entering the groundwater or soil. Using soy-based products reduces the impact on air, soil and water which is good for all of us.” There is a growing awareness about the use of methyl soyate as a green and biobased solvent in different applications and it has been found that methyl soyate makes products more sustainable and environmentally-friendly, without sacrificing performance or increasing price. Given these qualities, the preference for soy based solvents has witnessed a sharp rise. Markets and markets reported that the market size, in terms of value, of green & bio-solvents is estimated to be about $5.58 billion in 2015 and is projected to grow at a CAGR of 7.94 percent to reach $8.17 billion by 2020. P&S Market Research points out that the global soy based chemicals market alone was valued at $11,688.7 million in
Chemical Today Magazine | September 2017
2015, and it is expected to grow at a CAGR of 7.5 percent during 2016 - 2022.
Europe, Eastern Europe, Middle East and Africa.
The surging automotive and construction industries has further accelerated the growth of this market. The transportation sector is growing considerably due to infrastructural development and rapid lifestyle across the globe. Rampant growth in both non-residential and residential constructions will further stimulate demand for construction-related materials, such as paint and coatings and adhesives and sealants and hence soy-solvents will further have a major role to play.
Thus, it is becoming imperative for industries to look into the potential that bio-resources have to offer. Solvay recently participated at the Plant Based Summit in France where it exhibited its line of biobased solvents among other products. “We seek to exploit the specific characteristics of bio-resources, from which we create new uses for our customers as cost effectively as possible, while reducing the environmental footprint of their products,” added Francois Monnet, renewable chemistry director, Solvay.
“Adoption of less harmful green and biobased solvents allows paints and coatings manufacturers to comply with all these regulations, thus giving the global solvents market an overall boost,” said Bhatia. According to reports, North America held the largest share in the global soybased chemicals market in 2015 with 34.5 percent share in terms of value. The developing countries in South America are also expected to make progress in the global soy-based chemical market. In the East, the Asian countries such as Korea, Singapore and China are investing heavily in the renewable chemical sector. Other promising markets include Western
Although soy and other bio-based resources has an edge over other conventional petroleum based solvents with its eco-friendly nature, low volatile organic compound (VOC) content emission etc making it the prime reason for manufacturers to shift towards green solvent, its high production cost hampers the market growth. It would need an unanimous sense of responsibility among all manufacturers towards preserving the environment and an equal awareness among customers to support the casue for soy and other bio-resources to thrive in the market.
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INTERNATIONAL FOCUS JAPAN
CHEMICAL SECTOR
PATCHES REVIVAL AND GROWTH PROSPECTS POST CRISIS
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BY SONAL SRIVASTAVA
E
conomic development in Japan thrives on growth of its manufacturing industry. Previously, the manufacturing industry of Japan was known for its competitive strength globally. Chemical sector accounts for a significant section of GDP in Japan. However, emergence of electronic companies in developing countries including South Korea and China has posed significant challenges for the manufacturing industry of Japan. Striving to maintain competitive pace with other countries, the companies in Japan significantly rely on its chemical sector for integrating technological development. Despite the slump in its electronic industry, Japan continues to offer hightech electronic products attributed to developing chemical sector. According to a recent news update, growth in the Japan transport sector was high as compared to the chemical sector in May. However, due to an upsurge in output of automotive engines and passenger cars in May, the chemical sector in Japan has rebounded in terms of output, registering an output of 3.4 percent in July. The news update further reveals that the manufacturers who were surveyed by the industry ministry predict a moderate growth in output of the automotive industry. This industry will represent an increase of 3.6 percent in terms of output in August. Such factors are likely to impact growth of the chemical sector in Japan over the coming years. In the immediate aftermath of two world wars, government in Japan was striving to recover from food crisis. In an attempt to revive from food crisis, the government imposed regulations to use chemical fertilizers for increasing agricultural production. The economic stagnation in the 1970s meant that the chemical industry had to downsize as production facilities became obsolete due to the prevailing oil crisis. Due to this, the chemical manufacturing companies started expanding and relocating the production units in developing countries to decrease costs related to labour, distribution and raw materials. Slashing down high prices enabled the chemical companies to expand their business activities, imports and investment in other countries. Despite the devastating impacts of tsunami and earthquake, the chemical sector in Japan has witnessed a dramatic growth over the years.
Government Support has been Vital to Growth Throughout the turmoil in the Japanese economy, the chemical sector has
Chemical Today Magazine | September 2017
continued to tread along, owing to government support and initiatives. The setting up of ‘Invest Japan Business Support Center (IBSCs)’ – an organization offers investment related information and support to the one-stop centers to boost investment in Japan. This support center also provides information to companies from other countries setting up business in Japan. Moreover, government agencies and ministries operate through single contact points known as ‘Invest Japan Offices’. These contact points assist and direct other companies and investors to divisions or offices that are responsible for a particular procedure. Such factors are expected to contribute significantly towards growth of the chemical sector in Japan. At the time of crisis after wars and natural disasters, the government turned towards the chemical industry to counter the social challenges. The chemical industry was the first industry in Japan that addressed social concerns related to pollution, safety, environment and security. This industry took initiatives to develop new technologies and improve existing facilities in order to deal with the oil crisis. Further, the chemical industry in Japan concentrated on constructing larger facilities that enabled them to use energy and resources in an efficiently. Constructing technologies and facilities that enable efficient use of energy and resources also catered to the problem of growing pollution. Attributed to growing support from the government, the chemical sector in Japan is projected to witness considerable growth in the upcoming years.
What is Driving Growth of the Chemical Sector? Progressing from zero based thinking to actual implementation, the chemical industry has extended its application in the pharmaceutical and electronic industry. Surge in demand for chemical products in the agricultural and manufacturing industries has further contributed towards growth of the chemical sector in Japan. End products as compared to other applications represents significant demand for chemical products in the Japan chemical sector. Pharmaceutical products among various end products represents major demand for chemical products. Cosmetic and toothpaste are also likely to represent considerable demand for chemical products in Japan chemical sector. Recent news updates reveal that Mitsubishi Chemical Holdings Corp plans to establish a base in the US in order to bag new business opportunities. The company plans to set up a base in the Silicon Valley.
It will focus on mergers & acquisitions and collaborations with startups to move forward.Major chemical companies based in Japan are capitalizing on their original and proprietary technologies. Mitsubushi Chemical is mainly focusing on production of high molecular weight and high – density polyethylene to offer ultra thin films. Other market players are trying to gain a competitive edge through strategies such as technological collaborations in the global market. Due to such factors, the chemical sector in Japan is likely to witness a steady growth over the coming years.
Gaping Holes in the Growth Road In order to boost the agricultural production, farmers mainly use chemical fertilizers and agrochemicals. Growing use of agrochemical products and chemical fertilizers can adversely affect health of people. Due to such factors, the government has imposed various regulations that encourage farmers to use eco-friendly farming and organic techniques. These factors can influence manufacturers to update their portfolio and include more eco-friendly solutions in their offerings. Moreover, manufacturing industries increasingly use plastic for production of electronic products and packages. Convenience stores, retail stores and supermarkets provide customers with a plastic bag for carrying purchased items in Japan. Government in Japan is taking initiatives to spread awareness regarding use of increasing use of biodegradable bags and packages. Grappling with use of plastic bags, the government plans to charge plastic shopping bag tax from the customers to encourage use of biodegradable bags. Bound to such factors, the chemical sector in Japan is likely to witness a downturn in terms of growth. Furthermore, the imported and domestic products undergo through various procedures to check the quality and standards of the product. Products in Japan cannot be sold without certification of compliance according to the prescribed standards. Pharmaceutical products and equipment do not receive approval without the certification of compliance. These factors continue to remain a challenge for the growth of the sector in the foreseeable future. Overall, the chemical sector in Japan continues to tread along, and it is anticipated that it will continue to offer growth opportunities to manufacturers. Further, the chemical sector in Japan will continue to contribute to the GDP of the country. Author: Sonal Srivastava is Features Writer at Future Market Insights
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INTERNATIONAL FOCUS JAPAN PETROCHEMICALS
Tsutomu Tannowa, Chairman, Japan Petrochemical Industry Association (JPCA) and CEO of Mitsui Chemicals Inc, talks in depth about Japan’s vision and mission for the growth of its petrochemical industry.
BY SHIVANI MODY Opportunities for the petrochemical industry in Japan.
BEATING THE ODDS TO BE
A GLOBAL
PETROCHEM LEADER
The immediate challenge faced by the petrochemical industry in Japan and Asia is the magnitude of the influx of products derived from shale gas in the US, especially polyethylene (PE). From the latter half of this year till 2018, 4.5 million tons will rise intensively out of 7 million tons of construction plan until 2020, so the supply-demand balance is likely to be lost. In 2018, the surplus of products derived from shale gas will go to Central and South America, Europe, and Asia. Especially, many are looking towards China, which is the world’s largest demand site, and we are forced to receive short-term influences such as price reduction. To prepare for this, the Japanese petrochemical industry has been taking the following counter-measures. a. Elimination and consolidation of ethylene facilities: Three facilities were shut down in the period from 2014 to 2016, reducing the production capacity by approx. 20 percent. b. Disposal of low-profit derivative facilities: Restructuring and integration of businesses centered on polyolefin.
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c. Change of product portfolio: Changing it to high-functional products, which are unlikely to be replaced with imported products. Recovery of recent economic conditions has added to such structural reforms, the operating rate of ethylene facilities in Japan has continued high operation of 95 percent or higher for nearly two years. The same situation applies to derivatives. It is unfeasible to forecast accurately to what extent this situation will be affected by the influx of shale-derived PE. However, crude oil price is stable at a low level compared to the period before the global financial crisis in 2008, so it will be temporarily affected. By mid-2020, the supply-demand gap is expected to be eliminated by a steady increase in global demand of around 4 percent. In Japan, by mid-term, demand for petrochemical products will remain at the current level due to population decline and shift of domestic manufacturing bases to overseas locations. However, Japanese manufacturers develop high-performance, differentiated materials by working closely with customers, which is the source of their strength. The petrochemical industry in Japan is the starting point for Japan’s supply chain of manufacturing. We believe that we have a mission to continue providing highperformance petrochemical products, which is also necessary for allowing downstream industries, such as automotive and electric industries, to remain competitive.
Innovation in Japanese petrochemical industry. Polyolefin accounts for the majority of research and development in the petrochemical industry. For polyethylene, the R&D focus is on higher performance and differentiation of PE with matallocene catalysts, or LLDPE in particular. We will improve the strength and high-speed formability of sealant film used for food packaging, thereby enabling highspeed filling and productivity improvement in the food industry. Application for medical containers is also being studied. With regard to polypropylene (PP), there are higher rigidity of neat resins and development of composites. For processed materials of automobiles, we aim to create a substitute for metallic parts. Demand for materials with lighter weight will grow further due to the spread of electric vehicles. Also, we are attempting to use carbon fiber as a composite material of PP. Normally, PP and carbon fiber do not adhere to each other but we are aiming to do so. Regarding PE, companies are competing to develop a metallocene catalyst. The basic patent for metallocene catalyst expired a long time ago, and it is expected that an innovative metallocene catalyst will be created. From an environment perspective, we pay attention to ammonia. The quantity of CO2 emissions per unit during
the manufacturing of ammonia is more than twice that ethylene, and the production volume of ammonia is the largest of all chemical products. The Haber–Bosch process which was developed more than 100 years ago is still widely applied. If a low-temperature, low-pressure manufacturing process is developed as an alternative to the Haber– Bosch process; it will be a groundbreaking innovation and will contribute greatly in preventing global warming. Efforts to develop such an innovative process are going on. Ammonia also attracts attention as an energy carrier. This substance has as many as three hydrogen atoms in its chemical formula. It does not emit CO2 even if it is combusted in a thermal power plant, and it can be an effective carrier of hydrogen, the ultimate clean energy. This has led us to believe that ammonia is an important substance for addressing the global warming.
Enhancing business activities with Asia Pacific markets. Japan exported 1.18 million ethylene equivalent tons and around 0.2 million propylene equivalent tons in 2015. Their shares in the Asia-Pacific region excluding Japan are 2 percent and 0.5 percent, respectively, and the products do not have a presence in terms of quantity. It will increase somewhat when adding the overseas production in the area, but it is not big compared to the whole area.However, the picture looks different if we look at segments where high performance is demanded, such as automotive PP compounds, PE for sealants with high sealing property, and highperformance elastomers. We speculate that the Japanese petrochemical industry has a strong presence in this market, although this is based on a qualitative observation. According to a private survey, in FY2016 the scale of businesses of major Japanese petrochemical companies for automobiles was 1,451.7 billion yen, constituting 10 to 20 percent of all businesses. The average overseas sales ratio was 53 percent, which is an evidence of progress in the field of highperformance chemicals. In the future, demand for further improvement in the quality of life will grow with the increase in the middle-class population in Asian countries. We believe that the Japanese petrochemical industry can respond to demand in this field.
Challenges faced by Japanese petrochemical industry. (1) Feedstock disadvantage: Shale gas in North America, crude oil accompanying ethane gas in the Middle East is very different from naphtha. The gap has been shrinking over the last two years due to the fall in the crude oil price, but crude oil price can fluctuate dramatically at any time. For this we are promoting diversification of materials, such as LPG.
(2) High cost of utilities: Electricity and steam, and distribution cost is very high. The electricity cost has increased by 30 percent compared to the period before the Great East Japan Earthquake, because nuclear power plants have been shut down since the disaster. We are encouraging sharing of utilities in industrial complexes to bring down the expenses. (3) The aging of facilities and the resultant increase in maintenance costs have been considerable in recent years. Although every company has to address this issue, JPCA is looking for a way to reduce the cost by preventing a peaking in the entire country during major Shut Down Maintenance (SDM). (4) The size of our ethylene plants is small compared to those of other countries. We believe that construction of new facilities, with a capacity of more than one million tons per each, will be necessary at some point in the future.
JPCA’s efforts to improve the petrochemical industry in Japan. At JPCA, we have three initiatives: (1) Protecting security and safety: As mentioned above, the operating rate of ethylene plants in Japan has been 95 percent or higher for nearly two years. That is greatly stressful for both facilities and operators. JPCA has been playing the key role in promoting countermeasures, such as strong commitment to security and safety by top management, implementation of risk assessment, sharing of accident information, and encouraging companies to take such measures. (2) Developing infrastructure for regulatory reform: We are pursuing structural reforms by lobbying for relevant government agencies. We are also requesting a revision in the tax system from the viewpoint of international equal footing. (3) Promoting globalization: In May this year, we held the Asia Petrochemical Industry Conference in Sapporo as the host country. We will continue to work diligently for the development of petrochemical industries in Asia. For example, Asian countries are facing the issue of plastic waste associated with developing urbanization. Working together with the Japanese government, JPCA and other chemical associations initiated to cooperate and work on this problem in the 1970s. As a result, the plastic recycling rate has reached 83 percent, among the highest in the world. We would like to contribute to the sound development of petrochemical industries in other countries, by sharing with them the experience and knowledge accumulated in Japan about 3Rs (reduce, reuse, and recycle), marine debris (micro plastics), food loss, and other problems, even though the actual method will differ among countries.
INSIGHTS OIL & GAS, PETROCHEMICALS
Colin Chapman, President of Euro Petroleum Consultants, delves into the growth prospects of oil & gas chemicals in the global market.
BY DEBARATI DAS Trends in oil & gas chemicals and petrochemicals segment. Supply and demand factors have been re-shaping the petrochemical market, the most influential were availability of unconventional gas in the North America and high demand for oil and petrochemicals in the Asia Pacific, spearheading the expansion of the industry.
TREADING THROUGH
SHORES OF OPPORTUNITIES 40
Chemical Today Magazine | September 2017
USA has shown the most significant growth due to the shale boom, mainly in new gas processing, GTL plant capacity, ethylene, methanol and ammonia plants. Low ethane prices have triggered a revival of the US petrochemical sector - a substantial number of petrochemical plants have been built and new projects are in the pipeline. Middle East and Asia-Pacific regions have slowed down their rate of construction since 2012, with Middle Eastern companies focusing on refining cluster development, and Asian-Pacific – on world-class scale petrochemical complexes. An alternative olefins production route is encouraged by high crude prices – coal & methanol-to-olefins (CTO) and methanol-to-propylene (MTP). These processes are actively developing, particularly in China that has to import vast amounts of hydrocarbons to feed domestic supply while having lower quality coal in
reserves. Currently, these alternatives look less attractive but they do offer competitive economics, especially in coal-rich regions.
Demands from oil & gas chemicals and petrochemicals users Undoubtedly, chemical and petrochemical products have become indispensable to modern society. Of course, the main requirement for users is safety - human life and health should be an absolute priority. Another important aspect - environmental friendliness - modern society bears full responsibility to future generations for the proper conservation of ecosystems. Hence, much attention is paid to both recycling and development and application of special materials ie. biofuels and biodegradable polymers. Another important objective for special materials development is getting materials with unique properties capable of expanding usage of chemical and petrochemical products and thus replacing traditional materials to improve end-product performance, increase lifetime or reduce operating costs.
Technologies that will benefit oil & gas processing chemicals industry. Development of technologies has vast importance for oil & gas and chemical industries. With efficient GTL technologies, more consumers may introduce gas - a more environmentally friendly fuel - to their energy balances on a larger scale. As for gas to (petro) chemicals, development of these ways of gas monetization helps to both cope with the lack of gas pipeline infrastructure faced by landlocked gas fields and satisfy demand for petrochemical and chemical products that grows globally in response to developing economies and expanding population.
Growth potential in Russia. Russia has huge growth potential related to the chemical sector development due to the extensive feedstock availability. EPC has been operating on the Russian market for over 20 years and lately we have seen a sustainable trend: local oil & gas companies contemplate new ways to monetise natural resources. In addition to oil residue deep conversion and gas liquefaction, Russian companies are considering and implementing various options for gas processing into chemical products, primarily methanol and ammonia; as for refiners, they look into integration of downstream activities with focus on propylene, aromatics and their derivatives.
Growth prospect for biofuels and low-carbon economy Environmental concerns have led to a significant demand for biofuels growth their importance in global energy system has been strengthening for more than 10 years now, starting from US and EU regions. Asia Pacific region is expected to be
Chemical Today Magazine | September 2017
the most rapidly growing area of the world in this industry. Nevertheless, the issue of food security remains critical in countries that contributed to demand growth the most – India, Indonesia, Thailand. Three main factors might increase Asian bioplants competitiveness: low-cost effect, government support, long-term downstream partners. Some experts believe that replacing fossil fuels in the next decades is possible, and biofuels provide the best possible alternative if utilized rationally; some countries seem to reject wider introduction of bioenergy to their energy balance. With overcoming critical challenges, synergy effect can be achieved in feedstock availability, processing & logistics, conversion and extraction.
Incorporating sustainability in refining and petrochemicals segment In order to ensure sustainability producers would need to increase output quantity, choose configuration and technology according to indepth study to evaluate which scheme best fits market and budget, select optimal project implementation strategy, take into account multi-technology options. Process safety is helping business to maintain its stability, gain strength on the market, including share growth from positive reputation and company image, while saving costs on repairing assets after incidents, fines for environmental damage, let alone taking care of health and lives of employees and locals. A complex safety system approach was designed to solve various important issues: understanding processes, identifying hazards and causes, determine credible consequences, evaluate & mitigate risks, highlight weak points, maintain asset integrity, prepare emergency response, encourage cultural changes, provide knowledge, increase visibility of safety.
Challenges faced by the oil & gas industry global With reduced refining margins, coupled with weaker global demand and production overcapacity, last year proved to be a challenging one for refiners. The increased crude demand with the announced cuts in oil production will lead to a more balanced supply/demand market in the region. This increased demand in the Asian market will attract a lot of interest from important producers. First in line will be the Middle East with new crude production capacities expected to come online. Alternative suppliers from South America and the US will face strong competition from established traders and exporters. There are a few important questions to be addressed, such as market needs and opportunities for gasoline and/or diesel,
power generation, coke production and petroleum gas utilization, use of unconverted materials, dealing with budget constraints, best ways to integrate within existing refinery, etc. The consequences of low crude price could be: withholding of major investment projects; selection of low-cost projects for processing of heavy residues, and reduction of refining margins.
Environmental and government policies impacting oil & gas chemicals business. Traditionally, the oil & gas and chemical industries are under serious pressure from regulators, whose aim is to ensure process, environmental and health safety in consumption of end products. I would like to draw attention to regulation that might be implemented soon - the International Marine Organization (IMO) requirements for sulfur content in bunker fuels. According to that, since 2020, restrictions are imposed on SOx emissions from sea-going ships, and these limitations can change the structure of global demand for bunker fuel radically, stimulating the development of new vessel designs (installation of scrubbers for flue gas cleaning, use of electricity and nuclear power), as well as the use of alternative fuels (distillate fuel, LNG, methanol). The introduction of these requirements poses a major challenge for refiners around the world, forcing to reconsider operational strategies within reducing demand for highsulfur fuel.
Trainings required for emerging markets. There are some major areas that need to be developed more within companies and key managers and specialists should have indepth knowledge of company’s goals and strategy as well as ways and instruments to achieve best results – they should all be trained and brought into teams to ensure better cooperation: • Operational Efficiency - includes a wide range of topics: essential instruments for creation of corporate continuous improvement system as well as process structure optimization with the help of benchmarking, advanced IT and software, • Project Management - best ways to execute each phase of the project lifecycle and ways to optimize project activities, • Strategy Development, including master planning, markets and specific oil, gas and petrochemicals master-classes, • Health, Safety and Environment process safety seminars are particularly topical for companies developing corporate safety culture and looking for in-depth review of different instruments such as HAZOP, RCA and others.
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REPORT CONSTRUCTION CHEMICALS
© Zaedon Building Matrials W.L.L
GROWING URBANIZATION
IS SETTING CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY AT PACE 42
Chemical Today Magazine | September 2017
G
rowing urbanization is setting construction industry at pace, thereby giving rise to raw material industry such as construction chemicals market. In general construction chemical is one of the chemical compounds in specialty chemicals segment of the chemical industry. Construction chemicals are widely used in construction of residential, non- residential as well as non-building infrastructural activities such as roads, highways and expressways. With the diverse set of applications across the construction industry, the construction chemical become an imperative material in today’s infrastructural environment. The main use of construction chemical is to strengthen the structure with enhanced durability. The manufacturers of construction chemicals might pose a 3 percent to 4 percent rise in current prices due to change in raw material prices and increased demand of new construction chemicals. However, as quality is prime concern for construction industry, the use of construction chemicals offering is long lasting and has crucial benefits with assured quality, the demand is expected to be unaffected of price rise. For instance Middle East is a remarkable region in the construction chemicals industry as it possesses the world’s finest and most famous constructions. The global construction chemicals market is growing significantly in terms of volume demand and revenue. The global construction chemical market is segmented on the basis of geography and product type. The global construction chemical market is geographically segmented into seven key regions which are North America, South America, Eastern Europe, Western Europe, Asia Pacific, Japan and Middle East & Africa. Asia Pacific construction chemical market dominates in the global construction chemical market geographic segments followed by Europe, Americas and Middle East respectively. In terms of growth rate the Asia Pacific construction chemical market is expected to exhibit double digit CAGR, higher than that of other geographic segments
Chemical Today Magazine | September 2017
of global construction chemical market for the forecast period. Whilst the developed countries in Americas and Europe is projected to grow with stagnant growth rate for the forecast period due to maturing market and slower growth in infrastructural development. The growth in Asia Pacific segment of global construction chemical market is spurred by growing urbanization which is fuelling the growth of infrastructure projects, thereby leading to the consumption of 65% of the world’s cement production. China stand outs to be leader in Asia Pacific region of global construction chemical market whilst the India has miniscule market share. However the demand of construction chemical is gaining momentum in global construction chemical market in India due to rising awareness of benefits of construction chemicals. Other countries such as Russia, Australia and Brazil are expected to have high growth rates in their respective regions of global construction chemical market segment. The global construction chemicals market can be broadly classified into concrete admixtures, water proofing chemicals, flooring compounds, repair & rehabilitation and others. Concrete admixtures chemicals are used for better mixing of materials used in cement to make concrete, which holds the majority in global construction chemical market. Concrete admixtures construction chemical market can be further divided into plasticizers, super-plasticizers, hyperplasticizers, accelerators, retarders, air entrainments and corrosion inhibitors. Water proofing construction chemicals are used to avoid water infiltration and prove to be essential on the exteriors of buildings. Flooring compounds are used to resist abrasion, corrosion, slipping, chemical attack and most importantly to give the floor an aesthetic appearance. Repair and rehabilitation construction chemicals are basically used in the repairing systems, wear and tear of the construction structures. Other construction chemicals segment of global construction chemical market includes sealants, grouts, tile
adhesives and protective coating and resins. Admixtures, flooring and water proofing construction chemicals have the highest share in the global construction chemicals marketas a result of their numerous end use applications. The growth of global construction chemicals market is proportional to the growth in construction industry. The world is moving towards continuous innovation and development. Infrastructural development is one of the important elements in this process which is spurring the demand of construction chemicals in global construction chemical market. Industrialization and urbanization are an impetus to the growth of global construction chemicals market. There has been a constant product improvement in the global construction chemicals market due to adoption of up graded technologies and exploring research and development activities by key players of global construction chemicals market. The global construction chemicals market is consolidated in terms of revenue share, however on application and product type level the market is consolidated by supply majorly catered by domestic players in region such as Greater China. The key players in global construction chemicals market are Akzo Nobel Chemicals AG, Antas Chemical Company Limited, Ashland Inc, BASF SE and Bostik Inc. The potential of medium-sized unorganized and regional players is high and are expected to gain significant market shares by 2020. Construction chemicals market is expected to witness growth and novel opportunities due to the evident growth in construction and manufacturing sectors. There is a shift in demand for better performance construction chemicals. The industry is likely to unfold substantial avenues due to the attractive housing sector, rising awareness and increased penetration of construction chemicals, favorable regulations and improving manufacturing standards and practices. Source: Future Market Insights
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REPORT FERTILIZER ADDITIVES
ADDITIVES DEMAND
IS SET TO INCREASE IN COMING YEARS 44
Chemical Today Magazine | September 2017
Market Overview Global Fertilizer Additives Market was valued at $3,170 million in 2016 and is expected to reach $3,741 million by 2023, registering a CAGR of 2.3 percent from 2017 to 2023. Fertilizer additives are added to the fertilizers to stimulate their productivity. The demand for higher agricultural yields are met with the subsequent demands for primary nutrients and high quality of fertilizers, which in turn is responsible for the increase in the demand for the fertilizer additives. Moreover, fertilizer additives improve the quality and stability of fertilizers and soil, avoid loss of nutrients such as nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, and sulfur, and prevent corrosion of the container used for transportation. They also provide antifoaming and anti-caking characteristics to the fertilizer. The fertilizer additives market is segmented based on type, application, form, and geography. Based on type, the market is classified into dust control agent, anti-caking agent, colorants, corrosion inhibitors and hydrophobing agents, anti-foam agents, and granulation aids. Based on application, it is categorized into mono ammonium phosphate, triple super phosphate, urea, diammonium phosphate (DAP), ammonium nitrate/calcium ammonium nitrate, and others (potassium chloride and potassium magnesium
Chemical Today Magazine | September 2017
sulfate). Based on form, it is divided into granular, prilled, and powdered. Based on geography, it is analyzed across North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, and LAMEA. Demand for additives is on an increase to inhibit loss of key nutrients such as nitrogen, phosphorous, potassium, and sulfur. Moreover, these additives are deployed during storage and transportation of fertilizers to prevent the formation of caking of fertilizers, due to fluctuating storage temperatures. In addition, these additives find enhanced usage to prevent formation of lumps in fertilizers during rainy season owing to increase/decrease of storage temperatures. Thus, additives play an essential role in maintaining the quality of fertilizers. Moreover, rise in demand for agricultural commodities further boosts the market growth. The global fertilizer additives market provides various opportunities to the market players, owing to advancements in fertilizer industry and rapid growth in the global economy. Moreover, the decreasing the arable land, adoption of new technologies in production of fertilizers, and the increase in willingness of farmers to spend more for higher productivity are some of the factors that augment the demand for fertilizer additives. However, harmful environmental effects posed by the increased use of chemical fertilizer is
expected to hinder the market growth to some extent.
Top Investment Pockets Anti-caking agent segment is expected to project highest growth rate owing its increased usage during transportation, consumption and packaging of fertilizer as it prevents formation of lumps in fertilizers. In addition, these additives are also deployed during production stage of fertilizer as well as during their utilization at fields.
Segment Review The granular segment, dominated the global market in 2016, and is anticipated to maintain its dominance throughout the forecast period. Based on the form, the market is classified into granular, prilled, and powdered. The granular form of fertilizer additives is estimated to grow at a CAGR of 1.7 percent.
Geographical Review Asia-Pacific accounted for a considerable share of the total revenue in 2016, followed by Europe and North America. Moreover, the demand for agricultural commodities is on a rise in Latin America, majorly in Africa owing to decrease in arable land and is expected to gain major growth during the forecast period. Source: Allied Market Research
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REPORT INDUSTRIAL SOLVENTS
USE OF BIO BASED AND
GREEN SOLVENTS IS ON THE RISE IN APAC A
solution is defined as a mixture of two or more substances with uniform chemical and physical properties. Every solution consists of two basic components as solvent and solute. The main purpose of the solvent is to convert substances into a suitable form for a particular use, with its ability to dissolve, suspend or attract other materials. Solvents once used can be discarded, reused or recycled in an ecofriendly manner. Usually industrial solvents are liquids but they can also be present in the form of solids and gases. The importance of solvent is brought about the most important fact that, many substances exhibit their greater usefulness when dispersed in a solution. Industrial solvents are typically used as ingredients in formulation of products or processing auxiliaries in manufacturing. The physical and chemical properties of a solution can be best utilized by making use of proper choice of solvents, thus making them suitable for use into a variety of processes and methods of industrial applications. Industrial solvents market has significantly changed the modern living and made solvents one of the most valuable and useful products for various end user industries and manufacturing companies. On the basis of application, industrial solvent market is segmented as pharmaceuticals, cosmetics, printing ink, paints & coatings and adhesives. Some of the more important uses of industrial solvents are in electronic industry, pesticides, photographic reproduction and textile industries. Large quantities of industrial solvents are also involved in oil refining and recovery, dry cleaning, rubber and polymer, fuel additives and metal degreasing. Most of the solvents in industrial solvents market are primarily used as dissolution agent in
various industries which accounts for about half of market share followed by cleansing, degreasing and purification. The growing demand from pharmaceutical, paints and coating industry is fueling the global demand for industrial solvent market. On the basis of product types, industrial solvents market can be segmented intooxygenated, hydrocarbon, and halogenated. These have been further segmented into alcohols, glycols, ketones, ethers, glycol ethers and esters for oxygenated solvents, aromatic and aliphatic solvents for hydrocarbon, perchloroethylene, methylene chloride, trichloroethylene for halogenated solvents. The other possible segmentation of industrial solvents market can be done on the basis of raw materials such conventional and green, whilst green industrial solvents market is expected to show high CAGR during the forecast period. On the basis of end use, the industrial solvents market is segmented into manufacturing industrial solvents and non-manufacturing industrial solvents. Manufacturing industrial solvents market as of 2013, commanded dominant market share whereas sub-segments of nonmanufacturing industrial solvents market such as transportation and cleaning are anticipated to register high growth rate during the forecast period. Rapid industrialization in developing economies and chemical sales have led to significant demand for industrial solvents market. Industrial solvents market is anticipated to grow at higher pace in countries such as China, India and other developing countries due to potential growth in industrial value added over the past few years. Global industrial solvents market is expected to grow significantly with an increasing
demand from pharmaceuticals, paints and coatings industry. As of 2013, APAC was the predominant industrial solvents market, followed by Europe and North America and is expected to maintain its dominant position during the forecast period. The growth in the construction and automobile industries with comparatively less strict environment regulations is fuelling the demand for industrial solvents market in the APAC region. Availability of abundant labour and petrochemical feedstock are major drivers for growing demand in APAC industrial solvents market, and is also one of the major reasons to attract manufacturers in the APAC region. The growth in pharmaceutical, paint & coatings industry in emerging economies such as India and China is playing a significant role in industrial solvents market. However, strict legal regulations and growing environmental awareness amongst end user industries are major restraints for industrial solvents in the APAC region. Penetration of bio based and green solvents is the new rising trend in the APAC industrial solvents market. Key players in the industrial solvents market include Arkema, BASF SE, BP PLC, Diacel Chemical Industries Ltd, Exxon Mobil Corporation, Lyondell Basell Industries, Royal Dutch Shell PLC, PetroleoBrasileiro SA, Dow Chemical and Total SA. Asia Pacific industrial solvents market has become a global manufacturing hub which is attracting major players to set up their manufacturing plants and target high growth markets such as India and China. Upcoming opportunities with increasing preference of green solvents, continuous research and development and product innovation is anticipated to drive growth in industrial solvents market in the coming future. Source: Future Market Insights
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Chemical Today Magazine | September 2017
Chemical Today Magazine | September 2017
47
REPORT LEATHER CHEMICALS
TANNING CHEMICALS MARKET
SHARE LED THE OVERALL INDUSTRY Industry Trends Leather Chemicals Market size was more than $6 billion in 2016 and is estimated to witness growth over 6 percent over the forecast timespan. Escalating leather demand across the globe for manufacturing footwear, apparels etc. will positively influence the leather chemicals market size over the projected timeframe. The product is majorly used in leather processing in order to produce fine finished products. For instance, tanning chemicals are used to convert raw hide or skin into a stable material by avoiding further decay and diminishing fetid odour. Rapid industrialization along with possibilities of fatal injuries in the manufacturing company has gathered attention of regulatory authorities including ILO, OSHA and NIOSH towards worker safety, particularly in the US and Europe. This is lead to formulation of strict regulations towards personal protective equipment (PPE) use. PPE commonly includes safety shoes and gloves made of leather. Thus, creating growth avenues for the leather chemicals market size. Leather processing has harmful environmental impact particularly due to high polluting chemicals used in skin tanning. For instance, processing one ton of raw hide or skin leads to production of over 20 to 80 meter cubes of wastewater, which includes substantial chromium levels ranging from 100–400 mg/L and sulfide levels ranging from 200–800 mg/L along with other solid wastes which may lead to pathogen contamination. Furthermore, high operational cost involved in leather processing via various stages such as tanning, crusting, surface coating etc. may hamper the global leather chemicals market share over the forecast timeframe.
Market - By Product Tanning leather chemicals market share led the overall industry and accounted roughly
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Chemical Today Magazine | September 2017
around 40 percent of the overall business size in 2016. It includes product such as low sulphide unhairing agents, sodium formate, aldehyde tanning agents, formic acid, chromium sulphate, magnesium oxide and fungicides. These chemicals are mainly used in the initial stages of leather processing in order to provide a desirable and stable material. For instance, formic acid is used to lower the pH value of skin and fungicides are used to prevent fungal growth. Finishing leather chemicals market share is likely to exhibit gains more than 5 percent CAGR from 2017 to 2024. These chemicals play an essential role in the business by producing protective coatings to leather along with improving its aesthetic appearance. It also helps in covering the natural and unremovable defects from leather and provides various value added features to the final product such as smooth surface, prolonged durability, weather resistant, wear & tear resistance etc.
Market - By End-user The global leather chemicals market share for footwear led the overall business in 2016. Increasing footwear sales across the globe on account of improving consumer lifestyle dynamics accompanied with elevating customer spending capacity is the major factor triggering the global footwear demand in the recent. Customers owing to their high spending power trend to use multiple shoes, which in turn shall promote the overall market size by 2024. Automobile is likely to expand at over 5 percent CAGR over the forecast timeframe. Automobile, particularly personal vehicles are one of the major end-user of leather products. For instance, leather is used in seat covers. Thus, rapidly increasing personal car sales across the globe is likely to drive leather chemicals market share for automobiles. For instance, the global passenger car sales were approximately 69 million units in 2016 and is likely to
witness growth close to 5 percent over the forecast period.
Market - By Region North American leather chemicals market share accounted for more than 20 percent of the overall industry volume in 2016. The regional growth is mainly attributed to prevalence of massive consumer base for leather products such as footwear, gloves and jackets. Leather products mainly footwear and gloves are majorly used for industrial safety applications owing to their superior resistance against cut, abrasion and impact. Thus, due to strict regulations regarding PPE use across industries in the US shall complement the market size in the region. Asia Pacific led the global leather chemicals market share in 2016. Substantial leather production in China and India along with increasing customer base for leather products is analyzed to be the prime factor propelling industry growth in the region. For instance, China and India together accounts for more than 40 percent of the overall leather export. This signifies ample product demand in the region to enhance features of natural leather.
Market Share Leather chemicals market share is competitive due to existence of large, medium and small scale manufacturing companies across the globe. Key industry share contributors include BASF SE, Lanxess, Bayer AG, Clariant, Elementis PLC, Balmer Lawrie & Co Ltd, Indofil Industries Ltd, Schill & Seilacher GmbH & Co, Zschimmer & Schwarz & Co KG, DyStar, Lawrence International, Stahl International BV, Chemtan Company, TEXAPEL and TASA Group International. Major players in the business including BASF, Clariant and Lanxess are involved in strategic mergers and acquisitions in order to achieve competitive advantage in the industry ecosystem. Source: Global Market Insights Inc.
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Under the Patronage of His Excellency Shaikh Mohammed bin Khalifa Al Khalifa Minister of Oil, Kingdom of Bahrain
ORGANISED BY
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ACADEMIC R&D TAKING CONCRETE STEPS TOWARD
LOWER CARBON DIOXIDE EMISSIONS The hardest thing about concrete just might be the problem of how to make the ubiquitous building material in an environmentally friendly manner. Recent laboratory results at Princeton University indicate that the challenge of making greener concrete may eventually be cracked.
C
oncrete raises climate-change concerns because manufacturing its primary component, Portland cement, is responsible for as much as 8 percent of human carbon dioxide emissions. Even worse from an environmental standpoint, forecasters predict Portland cement production will double over the next 30 years. There are possible replacements for Portland cement. One option, called alkali-activated materials, promises to perform the same function and cut cement-related carbon emissions by up to 90 percent. Studies have shown that alkali-activated materials are as strong as Portland cement. But there is relatively little longterm data about the greener cement’s durability-a key question for someone building a structure to last decades or more. Researchers at Princeton and other institutions have been working to address the lack of information about the new cement replacements. Claire White, an assistant professor of civil and environmental engineering and the Andlinger Centre for Energy and the Environment, said it can be challenging in the lab to simulate accurately the long-term durability of concrete. But the information is critical if industry is to adopt the material. “One of the reasons that alkali-activated materials are not widely used is a lack of testing standards at a national level,” White said. “Alkali-activated materials are a new beast, and we need to put a lot of effort into studying their durability,” said Maria Juenger, a professor in the department of civil, architectural and environmental engineering at the University of Texas-Austin. In an article, in the Journal of the American Ceramic Society, White’s research team describes a novel approach to evaluate
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the alkali-activated material’s permeability. Permeability is a critical weakness for any cement because chemicals such as carbon dioxide, sulphates or chloride that intrude into a concrete structure can weaken the concrete as well as corrode the steel used as a reinforcement for most modern buildings. Permeability is an important measure of a cement’s durability, but it is very hard to measure accurately in a lab, White explained. To solve this problem, White’s research team used a method called a beambending test, which is not typically used to measure permeability. In a series of tests, Catherine Eiben, a former graduate student in White’s lab, measured the permeability of alkali-activated material made from a sodium hydroxide solution and slag, a byproduct of iron production. Anna Blyth, a rising senior, conducted another series of measurements using the material, but altered the solution so that the material contained soluble silica. The researchers found that the first version of alkali-activated material was more permeable than Portland cement; but the silica version had markedly lower permeability. Blyth conducted the tests as part of her undergraduate independent research. “We want to develop new methods to obtain accurate data on how these materials will perform over time,” White said. “This will help with the implementation of sustainable alternatives in the construction industry.” The researchers involved in the project were Blyth, Eiben, White and George Scherer, the William L Knapp ’47 Professor of Civil Engineering, Emeritus. Support for the work was provided in part by the National Science Foundation and the Peter B Lewis Fund for Student Innovation in Energy and the Environment.
WHEN TIME RAVAGES FORM WITHIN Will the reinforced concrete bridge still be standing for years to come, or has corrosion already set in? ETH scientists have discovered that previous concrete samples were too small to allow a reliable statement on the condition of reinforced concrete.
New Taminabrücke view from below
T
aminabrucke opened in June this year following four years of construction. At 475 metres, the reinforced concrete bridge is the longest arch bridge in Switzerland. Reinforced concrete may enable architecturally impressive structures, but as both experience and numerous worldwide studies confirm, the material is prone to harmful environmental influences, such as CO2 in the atmosphere and de-icing salt in particular. Over the years, chloride from the salt penetrates the concrete until it eventually reaches the steel reinforcement and the armouring iron begins to rust. Reinforced steel structures are checked regularly to detect damage early and prevent corrosion – the destruction of steel by penetrating chlorides. This is a big and increasingly important job when all the bridges, tunnels and buildings made from reinforced concrete between the 1950s and the 1970s in Switzerland are taken into account. And the older the structure, the higher the risk that the reinforcing steel in the concrete will corrode.
An expensive problem “Corrosion is responsible for up to 90 percent of damage to reinforced steel structures,” explained Ueli Angst, professor at the Institute for Building Materials. “And with more and more structures reaching a critical age, the annual cost of repairs in Switzerland could amount to between CHF 5 billion and CHF 20 billion.” Along with visual appraisal and non-destructive examination methods, extraction of concrete samples is another key process, as ETH professor Bernhard Elsener – who focusses on the corrosion and durability of building materials – explained:
Chemical Today Magazine | September 2017
“The chloride concentration in the samples is calculated in the laboratory. If the sample exceeds the critical threshold of 0.4 percent relative to cement weight, not just near the surface but in the deeper levels, the assumption to date has been that corrosion could soon set in and that repairs were required.” These small samples are typically about 5 to 20 centimetres, a practical size for handling in the laboratory. However, a current study by the two ETH professors shows that the conclusions drawn from examinations are incorrect in many cases.
New critical threshold “Concrete is not a homogeneous material. The size effect of corrosion can be directly accounted for by these differences,” explained Angst. “Only the analysis of a larger specimen, say a metre long, will allow a realistic assessment of the condition.” This is difficult for practical reasons, so the two ETH materials experts have developed a mathematical formula that allows conversion of the critical threshold in a certain specimen to any other size – thus replacing the fixed critical threshold of 0.4 percent used until now. But the results of the ETH study do not just apply to laboratory examination of concrete samples. The findings are also relevant for the use of sensors that can be built into reinforced concrete structures to monitor corrosion. The scientists believe that the only way to prevent corrosion damage entirely is to switch to expensive high-alloy steel. “This costs about ten times more than normal reinforcing steel,” said Elsener, “yet when you look at the subsequent costs of regular inspections and repairs it could work out cheaper in the long run.”
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ACADEMIC R&D LITHIUM BATTERIES TO RUN
AT ULTRA-LOW TEMPERATURES
E
ngineers at the University of California San Diego have developed a breakthrough in electrolyte chemistry that enables lithium batteries to run at temperatures as low as -60 degrees Celsius with excellent performance. The new electrolytes also enable electrochemical capacitors to run as low as -80 degrees Celsius — their current low temperature limit is -40 degrees Celsius. While the technology enables extreme low temperature operation, high performance at room temperature is still maintained. The new electrolyte chemistry could also increase the energy density and improve the safety of lithium batteries and electrochemical capacitors. The work will be published online by the journal Science. The technology could allow electric vehicles in cold climates to travel farther on a single charge. It could also be used to power craft in the extreme cold, such as high atmosphere WiFi drones and weather balloons, satellites, interplanetary rovers and other aerospace applications. The batteries and electrochemical capacitors the researchers developed are especially cold hardy because their electrolytes are made from liquefied gas solvents-gases that are liquefied under moderate pressures-which are far more resistant to freezing than standard liquid electrolytes. The new lithium battery electrolyte was made using liquefied
fluoromethane gas. Electrochemical capacitor electrolyte was made using liquefied difluoromethane gas. “Deep de-carbonization hinges on the breakthroughs in energy storage technologies. Better batteries are needed to make electric cars with improved performance-to-cost ratios. And once the temperature range for batteries, ultracapacitors and their hybrids is widened, these electrochemical energy storage technologies can be adopted in many more emerging markets. This work shows a promising pathway and I think the success of this unconventional approach can inspire more scientists and researchers to explore the unknown territories in this research area,” said Shirley Meng, a nanoengineering professor at the UC San Diego Jacobs School of Engineering and the study’s senior author. Meng leads the Laboratory for Energy Storage and Conversion and is the director of the Sustainable Power and Energy Center, both at UC San Diego. “It is generally agreed upon that the electrolyte is the primary bottleneck to improve performance for next generation energy storage devices,” said Cyrus Rustomji, a postdoctoral researcher in Meng’s group and the study’s first author. “Liquid-based electrolytes have been thoroughly researched and many are now turning their focus to solid state electrolytes. We have taken the opposite,
albeit risky, approach and explored the use of gas based electrolytes.” The UC San Diego researchers are the first to explore gas-based electrolytes for electrochemical energy storage devices. In the future, this technology could be used to power spacecraft for interplanetary exploration. In pursuing this project, the UC San Diego team realized that gases have a property that would make them work particularly well at temperatures where conventional liquid electrolytes would freeze — low viscosity. “Low viscosity leads to high ion mobility, which means high conductivity for the battery or capacitor, even in the extreme cold,” Rustomji said. In addition to their exceptional low temperature performance, these electrolytes offer a unique safety advantage. They mitigate a problem called thermal runaway, which is when the battery gets hot enough to set off a dangerous chain of chemical reactions that in turn heat up the battery even further. With these new electrolytes, the battery will be unable to self-heat at temperatures much higher than room temperature. Another nice feature, Rustomji noted, is that this mechanism is reversible. “As soon as the battery gets too hot, it shuts down. But as it cools back down, it starts working again. That’s uncommon in conventional batteries.”
New electrolytes made from liquefied gas enable lithium batteries and electrochemical capacitors to run at extremely cold temperatures.
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Chemical Today Magazine | September 2017
SOUP ADDITIVE TO CREATE A
STRETCHABLE PLASTIC ELECTRODE Paving the way for flexible electronics, Stanford chemical engineers have developed a plastic electrode that stretches like rubber but carries electricity like wires.
A printed electrode pattern of the new polymer being stretched to several times of its original length (top), and a transparent, highly stretchy “electronic skin” patch forming an intimate interface with the human skin to potentially measure various biomarkers (bottom).
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he brain is soft and electronics are stiff, which can make combining the two challenging, such as when neuroscientists implant electrodes to measure brain activity and perhaps deliver tiny jolts of electricity for pain relief or other purposes. Chemical engineer Zhenan Bao is trying to change that. For more than a decade, her lab has been working to make electronics soft and flexible so that they feel and operate almost like a second skin. Along the way, the team has started to focus on making brittle plastics that can conduct electricity more elastic. Now in Science Advances, Bao’s team describes how they took one such brittle plastic and modified it chemically to make it as bendable as a rubber band, while slightly enhancing its electrical conductivity. The result is a soft, flexible electrode that is compatible with our supple and sensitive nerves. “This flexible electrode opens up many new, exciting possibilities down the road for brain interfaces and other implantable electronics,” said Bao, a professor of chemical engineering. “Here, we have a new material with uncompromised electrical performance and high stretchability.” The material is still a laboratory prototype, but the team hopes to develop it as part of
Chemical Today Magazine | September 2017
their long-term focus on creating flexible materials that interface with the human body.
Flexible interface Electrodes are fundamental to electronics. Conducting electricity, these wires carry back and forth signals that allow different components in a device to work together. In our brains, special thread-like fibers called axons play a similar role, transmitting electric impulses between neurons. Bao’s stretchable plastic is designed to make a more seamless connection between the stiff world of electronics and the flexible organic electrodes in our bodies. “One thing about the human brain that a lot of people don’t know is that it changes volume throughout the day,” said postdoctoral research fellow Yue Wang, the first author on the paper. “It swells and deswells.” The current generation of electronic implants can’t stretch and contract with the brain and make it complicated to maintain a good connection. To create a flexible electrode, the researchers began with a plastic that had two essential qualities: high conductivity and biocompatibility, meaning that it could be safely brought into contact with the human body. But this plastic had a shortcoming: It was very
brittle. Stretching it even 5 percent would break it. “By understanding the interaction at the molecular level, we can develop electronics that are soft and stretchy like skin, while remaining conductive,” Wang said. Other authors include postdoctoral fellows Chenxin Zhu, Francisco Molina-Lopez, Franziska Lissel and Jia Liu; graduate students Shucheng Chen and Noelle I. Rabiah; Hongping Yan and Michael F. Toney, staff scientists at SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory; Christian Linder, an assistant professor of civil and environmental engineering who is also a member of Stanford Bio-X and of the Stanford Neurosciences Institute; Boris Murmann, a professor of electrical engineering and a member of the Stanford Neurosciences Institute; Lihua Jin, now an assistant professor of mechanical and aerospace engineering at the University of California, Los Angeles; Zheng Chen, now an assistant professor of nano engineering at the University of California, San Diego; and colleagues from the Materials Science Institute of Barcelona, Spain, and Samsung Advanced Institute of Technology. This work was funded by Samsung Electronics and the Air Force Office of Science Research.
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ACADEMIC SPEAK REVOLUTIONARY REACTOR
GIVING BACK
TO NATURE
Insight into the research. Our current research focuses on developing an alternative energy driven (such as plasma) chemical production, where energy is selectively delivered to the reaction channels which yields higher energy efficiency. It is based on innovations at three levels and guided by a holistic approach; material innovation, process innovation, and plant innovation. Material innovation addresses the need of catalyst and its combination with alternative energy source, process innovation aims to increase productivity and energy efficiency by selective activation of reaction channels, and finally plant innovation looks into distributed/ localized production platform via containerized plant such as “Evotrainer”.
‘Revolutionary reactor that coverts nitrogen from the atmosphere into Nox’ In our investigation we have developed an intensified gliding arc reactor, which operates at high frequency (kHz) as opposed to conventional 50 Hz operation, which enables high degree of non-equilibrium within the gliding arc region. Air is used as the only feed to obtained NOx (=NO + NO2) as the final product at relatively lower temperatures and at atmospheric pressure. We have produced ~ 2 vol% of NOx on an average and our modelling-simulation studies points out that this could be as high as 20 vol% per gliding arc cycle, which is much higher than the equilibrium concentration of 6 vol% at >3500 oC. Moreover the energy consumption was found to be as low as 2.5 MJ/mol, which is lowest among the plasma studies. This reactor is extremely flexible as it can be readily started and shut down, can be operated at wide range of pressures and can easily be integrated in the proposed containerized plant. However, further improvement in this reactor geometry and operation is necessary to increase the product concentration and to further bring down the energy consumption below 0.5 MJ/mol N.
Cost effectiveness of the technology when scaled up for commercial processes
Bhaskar Patil, Researcher at Eindhoven University of Technology, The Netherlands, discusses his research on plasma assisted nitrogen fixation and he wonders if it can work for the world.
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Chemical Today Magazine | September 2017
First of all, this is not the final version of the reactor and the technology, before it goes into commercial process; it needs to undergo few iterations to improve the performance and to get every bit from the reactor technology and the approach. The preliminary economic and life cycle analysis already shows promising results with the current performance. It is clear that when plasma reactor is used the overall reaction and separation sections would be greatly simplified, e.g. no need of compressors
and the pre-heat exchangers, thanks to the proposed atmospheric and low temperature process. Cutting down on these expensive process equipment will not only yield savings in the capital cost but also save the inventories. Moreover, plasma process emerges as more environmentally friendly process when driven by renewable energy. The reactor tested on lab scale, operates already at quite higher capacity and can readily be scaled-up to commercial process by numbering-up strategy. Moreover, the gliding arc reactor is known for its flexibility in terms of operating pressure, processing capacity, and start-up/shut down time. The reactor technology can also be easily integrated with the existing renewable energy network.
Ways the research can benefit farmers to help tackle issues of limited land availability, food shortages and volatile weather conditions. Over the past century, the Haber-Bosch process has gone through many changes and operational optimizations, which have pushed this process very close to the thermodynamic limit in terms of the energy consumption. However, the Haber – Bosch process still consumes ~1% of the world’s total energy use, ~3-5% of the world’s total natural gas output and emits over 300 million metric tons of CO2. Therefore it comes with no surprise that ammonia has been identified by the International Energy Agency (IEA) as one of 18 chemicals, which contribute 80% to the total energy demand of the chemical industry and 75% of GHG emissions. Thus, a sustainable route for production of nitrogen containing chemicals is indispensable. Looking at the future, world population is rapidly growing and it is expected to cross 9 billion by 2050, so that demand in food will also grow much more, which will correspondingly increase the dependency on fertilizer use to increase the food production. Thus, the CO2 emission from fertilizer production via the HaberBosch process will become an alarming factor in view of global warming. Interestingly, new opportunities in the renewable energy production/cost and innovative process design concepts have been established recently. These new developments opens a new paradigm of localized and small-scale sustainable production of nitrogen containing compounds, for which the Haber-Bosch process will not be economically and environmentally attractive, because of its CO2 footprint and required harsh process conditions. Therefore, we think that plasma assisted nitrogen fixation is an innovative and alternative sustainable route for nitrogen fixation, which can be driven by alternative energy sources such as solar or wind. It would also facilitate production of nitrogen containing products close to the point of use (e.g. fertilizer at farmland for African countries) and at the point of energy production (near
wind mill or solar farm in Germany/ Norway), which is feasible by employing container plants. Moreover, the preliminary life cycle analysis shows that this process will achieve considerable reductions in environmental footprint.
Commercializing the technology Several efforts are put in to further investigate and thoroughly understand the plasma assisted nitrogen fixation process under the flagship project “Fertilizing with Wind”. We are exploring other possibilities to extend this technology, for example in hydroponics, aquaponics, etc. It is further investigated for commercialization in African countries and that is the business case currently under discussion. Several research proposals, such as Leap-Agri call from EU, are submitted and under scrutiny to further exploit the knowledge and the expertise gained in this research work.
Collaboration with Evonik This collaboration was a result of the European Union funded project “MAPSYN”, requiring intense industry-academic collaboration. We are furthering our collaboration with Evonik to transfer learnings from the lab environment to the demonstration scale plant. We cannot comment on the specific details because of the confidentiality.
Plans for future research. Our future research plan evolves around developing thorough understanding of plasma assisted nitrogen fixation without and with catalyst. In without catalyst studies, we would like to vibrationally excite the nitrogen molecule by employing nonequilibrium plasmas to lower the energy demand. For catalyst studies, plasma-catalyst interaction and synergy are important aspects, which require systematic catalyst and various integration concept screening. Our ultimate goal is to develop localized nitrogen fixation plants, which can fit in a container and can be taken anywhere either to utilize the surplus renewable energy (e.g. in Germany/Norway, etc) or to produce fertilizer or other fixed nitrogen products at the point of use (e.g. remote and fertilizer deprived places such as African countries).
Adoption of the research in emerging countries It would be very beneficial for emerging regions, especially because of the higher importance given to the renewable energy generation, as it aims to utilize in-situ the electricity produced from the renewable sources. In developing regions such as African countries, farmers lack access to the sufficient amount of fertilizers and the cost is unusually high. “Fertilizing with the wind” will enable farmers living in the developing regions and stranded regions to produce their own fertilizers and will make them self-reliant.
To read more interview http://www.worldofchemicals.com/media/interviews/academics
ACADEMIC SPEAK LASER MATERIAL DEPOSITION
STRENGTHENING
CONCRETE WITH TYRE FIBERS
Dr. Nemkumar Banthia delves into the grave environmental menace of tackling disposed tyres ending up in landfill by diverting it as a sustainably efficient ingredient for the construction industry. His research is based on extracting fibers from tyres and utilizing them as reinforcement in concrete. Dr Banthia is a Professor, Distinguished University Scholar & Canada Research Chair in Infrastructure Rehabilitation at the Department of Civil Engineering in The University of British Columbia, Canada. He is also the CEO and Scientific Director at Canada India Research Center of Excellence (IC-IMPACTS).
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Chemical Today Magazine | September 2017
Insight into current research The research relates to extracting fibers from the tyres, and utilizing them as reinforcement in concrete. The fibers we are extracting are entirely made of polyester. The process specifically extracts only the polyester fibers and leaves behind other fibers such as steel, rayon and nylon fibers. There are many advantages of adding fibers to concrete. Concrete is a very brittle material that cracks easily. Due to the brittleness induced cracking, deleterious chemical are allowed to enter the body of concrete and thereby create undesired outcomes such as rebar corrosion and various other forms of internal damage. To combat brittleness and crack growth, we have been reinforcing concrete with fibers for more than 50 years. Fibers produce stress-transfer bridges and abate crack formation and growth. The difference is that so far industry has been using fibers from virgin source and in our current work, we have extracted the fibers from a waste stream, ie. automobile tyres instead of from virgin sources.
Advantages of using polymer fibre from tyres in concrete structures. Fibers control crack growth and enhance durability that can in turn enhance the lifespan of concrete structures by as much as twenty years. Fibers can also enhance mechanical resistance of concrete including strength, toughness, energy absorption, fatigue endurance and impact resistance. As a bonus, we now know that polymeric fibers also enhance the fire resistance of concrete structure.
Recycling automobile tyres. The current rates of recycling of automobile tyres are less than 35 percent, which means that more than 65 percent of the tyres are ending up in the landfills. This is unacceptable. Whatever we can do to protect our landfills and use waste products from one industry as a resource in some other industry will help us achieve long term sustainable growth. This concept is called “industrial-ecology” and in this case we are taking the waste from the automobile industry (tyres) and using it in the construction industry (concrete). Fibre-reinforced concrete significantly helps reduce tyre industry’s carbon footprint. First we are sparing virgin fiber that would otherwise be used as reinforcement in concrete and instead replacing them
with tyre fibers. Second, we are enhancing the performance, lifespan and durability of concrete structures thereby achieving additional sustainability and reduced municipal costs.
Advantage of the research compared to similar material usage. This is completely new. Thus far, no one has extracted fibers from tyres as we have and used them as reinforcement in concrete the way we have. Tyre crumb has been previously used but is not very effective. We have demonstrated that our tyre extracted fibers perform as good as the virgin fibers which the concrete industry is currently using in large quantities.
Commercializing the research There is a significant interest in both the tyre sector and the construction sector to use the technology. Further, the research will be absolutely useful for adoption in emerging markets. This would be excellent for India as India’s concrete consumption is growing rapidly and so is the volume of scrap tyres. All of the tyre fiber can be consumed by the concrete industry thereby improving the quality of concrete in India.
Enhancing the research. We will continue to enhance the performance of concrete reinforced with tyre fiber. Also, we are attempting to extract fibers from other industrial sources such as the pulp and paper industry, agro-foods industry, garment industry, etc.
Challenges faced while conducting research. Some of the challenges include lack of purity of fibers, high pH stability of fibers, low extraction yield, high energy consumption during extraction and low rates of recovery.
Ways in which Canada-India Research Center of Excellence (IC-IMPACTS) can support research collaborations between Canada and India. IC-IMPACTS is a very successful model of two countries collaborating with university, industry and government sectors involved with the aim of finding sustainable solutions to problems facing both countries. Currently, IC-IMPACTS is tackling problems in Infrastructure, Water and Health. The next step is to explore Clean Energy.
© GTS FIBER
Chemical Today Magazine | September 2017
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R&D YOUNG TURKS Working on BPA-free plastics Anna Kucera
SOCIETY FOR SCIENCE & THE PUBLIC
Most people probably don’t think much about what is in the plastics they use. But Anna Kucera, 16, did. Bisphenol A, or BPA, is a building block of the clear, hard plastics long used in many products, especially water bottles. But when health concerns about BPA emerged, many comp anies began making their clear plastic with other substances. And that made the junior at Canterbury School in Fort Myers, Fla., wonder what replaced the BPA in “BPAfree” plastics. With a bit of chemistry, she now shows that in some plastics, BPA has been replaced with one of its potentially toxic chemical cousins. Known as bisphenol F, or BPF, this other chemical leaches out of those plastics at amounts 10 times higher than the levels that leach from BPA-based plastics.
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The teen showed off the results of her project at the Intel International Science and Engineering Fair, or ISEF. The competition brought together 1,800 high school students from around the world to show off their research this year. (ISEF was created by Society for Science & the Public and is sponsored by Intel). Now, it is common to find plastics labeled as “BPA-free.” Anna wondered what they were made from. “There are so many bottles that are ‘BPA-free.’ They must substitute something for the BPA because they look exactly the same,” she said. She read that BPA might be replaced with other endocrine disruptors, such as BPF and bisphenol S (BPS). The teen decided to investigate what was in those BPA-free bottles. She purchased 10 plastic water bottles labeled “BPA-free” and 10 bottles that didn’t have the label. Working with her father Paul Kucera and chemist Daniel Paull at Florida Gulf Coast University in Fort Myers, the teen filled her bottles with a chemical called acetonitrile (Ah-SEE-towNY-tryle). It is a solvent, or a material into which other chemicals dissolve. She put her filled bottles in a tub of water at 55° Celsius
Chemical Today Magazine | September 2017
(131° Fahrenheit) for 72 hours. Then she ran the fluid from inside the bottles through a gas chromatograph linked to a mass spectrometer. A gas chromatograph separates chemicals in a mix. The mass spectrometer identifies them. Anna hunted for BPA, BPS and BPF in her samples. None of her samples had any BPS. The fluid from bottles that had no BPA-free label did have some BPA, about 0.440 parts per million, or around 0.44 milligram (0.000015 ounce) of BPA per liter (0.26 gallon) of water. That’s would be equal to dissolving about 1 kilogram (2.2 pounds) of BPA in an Olympic swimming pool. The fluid from BPA-free bottles had no measurable BPA. But they did contain a lot of BPF. Anna measured about 4.7 milligrams (0.00016 ounce) per liter (0.26 gallon) of BPF in the acetonitrile that had been in those bottles. That’s 10 times as the amount of BPA that had leached into the fluid from the bottles that weren’t BPAfree. “What the manufacturers are doing is substituting something very similar for BPA,” she said. A chemical extraction may get some of the BPF out of the water bottle. But that doesn’t necessarily mean that BPF would leach out of a plastic bottle and into someone’s water at the same concentrations. However, Anna is worried. BPS has been shown to cause health problems in rats and zebrafish. And studies affex sex-hormone levels in human cells and can mimic estrogen in zebrafish. “It may not be safe to believe that a BPA-free bottle is any better than an ordinary plastic bottle,” the teen said. “There’s quite a lot of BPF leaching out.” Anna hopes that chemists will find another chemical to use in plastics. “If they could find something that could achieve the same thing, but was a better substitution that was more environmentally friendly,” she said. “That would be much better.” Source: Society for Science & the Public
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LOGISTICS SUPPLY CHAIN SMART DELIVERY WITH SERVICE
ORIENTED LOGISTICS BY SHIVANI MODY Trends in the chemical logistics and supply chain landscape in India. We see B-to-B (B2B) logistics becoming more service oriented and business customers demanding e-commerce-like experiences. Therefore competitive advantage is no longer being determined by the product alone but more by the package of logistics services wrapped around the product offering. Chemical companies who provide customers with differentiated logistics service solutions in addition to the products, could be tomorrow’s leaders of a global industry expected to be worth €5.6 trillion by 2035. This is also the conclusion of our recently published DHL Global Forwarding white paper Differentiated Logistics Services. As this trend grows, responsive logistics solutions become not just ‘nice to have’ but a deciding differentiating characteristic. Chemical producers who can strategically and quickly change their traditional view and offer differentiated logistics services will create competitive advantages, build customer loyalty and increase their bottom-line. For example, Vendor Managed Inventory (VMI) and Just in Time (JIT – Kanban) might not boost margins in the short term, but will build customer loyalty – an extremely valuable asset.
Trends in the storage, warehousing and distribution requirements. Due to the sensitive nature of chemical warehousing, it’s important to focus on safety and compliance when storing and transporting both hazardous and non-hazardous materials. There are ever changing transportation (global) and environmental regulations, and hence it is necessary to ensure that chemical warehouses are well equipped to meet safety standards. There is a huge focus on training (of those who handle the cargo) to handle chemicals, lubricants, and hazardous materials. Chemical transportation requires hazardous material compliance, and drivers properly trained to handle emergencies.
George Lawson, CEO, DHL Global Forwarding, India opines about how the definition of logistics has changed to become the package of logistics services wrapped around the product offering.
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Visibility of shipment in addition to robust systems and processes are necessary. Inventory management, online inventory visibility and automated management of min/ max levels by SKU are important features necessary for transportation of chemicals. Additionally we see an increased focus on Health, Safety and Environment.
Evolution of air, ocean and road & rail freight logistics in India. Chemical logistics must ensure the safety of people, the environment and material goods with comprehensive
protective measures throughout all transport phases of dangerous goods. That means: in addition to sound know-how, excellent knowledge of the industry is required for the transport and storage of chemical goods. The standard mode of transportation still continues to be Ocean freight for the Chemical industry, with developments been made in the way the cargo is carried. Liquid chemicals are efficiently and effectively transported internationally in ISO tanks, Flexitanks. There are packing solutions like Intermediate Bulk Containers (IBCs), which are used for transportation by all modes. Some chemical cargo requires temperature control, and these are moved using reefer containers. Considering the hazardous nature of chemicals, it is essential to be compliant with HAZ requirements. Carriers and ports have become very stringent in their regulations when handling chemical cargo. Road infrastructure is improving with newer kms of road being added every day, connecting ports with key cities to ensure that lesser time is spent on road than before. Increasingly chemical companies are considering the ‘Nicer Globe’ transportation model, where the transporter is well trained and equipped to handle chemicals, and there is also GPS monitoring of the truck. For chemical companies, the benefits of differentiated logistics services include delivering the right quantities on time; ability to cover demand fluctuations in cyclical customer businesses without time delay; reasonable logistics costs and predictability and reliability of deliveries. As a relatively new area of opportunity for chemical companies, ‘first movers’ can establish a real competitive advantage, especially when it comes to customer loyalty. More importantly, with the projected sector growth and the broader shift towards a service-orientated approach in B2B, this is a development that chemical companies cannot afford to ignore.
Segments witnessing more demand for logistics solutions. Each segment poses a unique demand for logistics solutions. Specialty chemicals and construction chemicals are fast growing segments in the industry. These are high value chemicals known for their end use applications. This is the sector which requires diverse, innovative supply chain solutions requiring differentiated services to increase competitive advantage and corresponding more precisely to customer needs, even finding ways to adapt on the fly to changing situations and needs.
Logistics, supply chain demands from chemical manufacturers. The immediate challenge facing chemical companies is finding the right strategy to
Chemical Today Magazine | September 2017
meet the changes in demand and choosing the appropriate service differentiation. This requires high-level collaboration from top management to production, supply chain to marketing and sales. The power of differentiation is on display everywhere today. Big data and increasingly sophisticated algorithms enable more customized user experiences for vendors, customers and advertisers. As products and services become smarter, more flexible and more automated, they correspond more precisely to individual customer needs, even finding ways to adapt quickly to changing situations and needs. B2B logistics is becoming more service oriented today, even shifting in the direction of consumer direct logistics. With more business customers demanding e-commerce-like experiences, service orientation becomes a real competitive advantage. Understanding this and its implications for chemical producers represents a major opportunity for logistics. Logistics can also support chemical companies in their production processes by delivering not just the right number of products for a given batch, premixing products, or offering dosing and discharge systems. Going one step further, a logistics partner can be responsible for integrating a chemical company site and its physical logistics structures, which can mean taking full management responsibility for all logistics facilities on behalf of the companies. This, in turn, requires transparency, such as sharing of historical and current data between the logistics partner, chemical company and customers. One option here is to integrate respective IT systems. In the future, supply chains offering comprehensive service bundles – including modern logistics concepts like vendor managed inventory (VMI) – will be a critical success factor. This requires close collaboration between vendor and customer, including the exchange of information on current and future production and consumption – and even planning logistics assets together.
Adopting ‘digitization’ for chemical logistics and supply chain. Companies are digitizing essential functions within their internal vertical value chain, as well as with their horizontal partners along the supply chain. In addition, they are enhancing their product portfolio with digital functionalities and introducing innovative, data based services. Chemical companies plan to invest 5 percent of annual revenue in digital operations solutions in the next five years. And they are setting themselves ambitious targets for the level
of digitization and integration that can be achieved. The chemical industry is already well accustomed to precise process control and automation which lies at the core of the production process in many situations; although in others there is still a high reliance on significant manual processing. Nonetheless, many chemical companies are now investing in more comprehensive digitization within operations and are also aiming to extend this outwards across the value chain and production lifecycle. One of the big issues for chemicals companies is supply and demand planning and the need to achieve better linkages and transparency across their entire value chain – from procurement via manufacturing to distribution. Using digitization to gain visibility and direct integration into real demand will enable improved forecasting and planning of operations. It is a real step-change challenge for many companies that currently don’t have complete transparency about the inventory, location and movement of products upstream and downstream of operations or actual demand straight from customers. For example, in the agrochemical sector, companies supplying crop protection products and/or seeds are participating in ecosystems that can provide easy access to data and analysis on geo-location, diagnostics, crops, fertilizers, weather and other factors, over smartphones or through direct connections with farm equipment. Bayer, BASF, DuPont and Dow Chemical are among the companies that have developed these kinds of precision agriculture solutions for farmers. Many SAP APO systems still rely on forecasts from sales staff and manual inputs to a large extent. Thus, greater transparency of the supply/demand situation, in combination with other developments such as predictive maintenance, can help to greatly reduce idle costs in production. It will also enable companies to have improved visibility over the real utilization and efficiency of their different plants across the globe and future capacity requirements.
Effect of Goods and Services Tax (GST) for chemical logistics and supply chain. GST has greatly improved the transit time for domestic transportation – this is because inter-state permits have been removed which results in vastly reducing time and fuel wastages. The other focus will be on optimization of warehouses within India, but this is still in an early stage, as companies are investing into understanding their own supply chains and market evaluation. However, what is certain is that warehouse optimization will take place, so that supply chain gets leaner and still closer to the market.
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JOBS Research Associate - Analytical Company: Pfizer Date Posted: 01 August Country: India City: Chennai
Assistant Manager - Production Company: BASF Asia Pacific Date Posted: 08 August Country: India City: Mangalore
Research Associate Company: Syngenta Date Posted: 11 August Country: India City: Goa
Production Associate
Job Description: The assistant manager will be responsible for technical, quality and cost effective manufacturing of dispersions shift operations. It also involves plant and process safety, health and environmental activities related to the plant and personnel working in the shift.
Job Description: The purpose of this role is to schedule and execute experiments under supervision and support interpretation of results. Also supervise and maintain procedures, equipment, biomaterials and facilities according to defined guidelines.
Company: AkzoNobel Date Posted: 14 August Country: India City: Thane
Job Description: Production associate should perform the production work according to the production order issued to the plant - from receipt of production order, study of the order, pre-batch, charging, production, QC sampling, packing, labeling, follow site HSE management requirements.
Research Scientist
Job Description: The Research Scientist is focused primarily on developing and commercializing new or existing fluorinated products in non-emissive applications to support business growth. The successful incumbent will focus externally on customers and development partners to identify new market-back opportunities for Arkema’s products and capabilities.
Company: Arkema Inc Date Posted: 15 August Country: US City: King of Prussia
Principal Chemist – Oil Sands Produced Water Company: Ecolab Date Posted: 15 August Country: US City: Naperville
Production Chemist
Company: BP PLC Date Posted: 08 August Country: Azerbaijan City: Baku
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Job Description: Development and qualification of analytical methods for late and early stage biosimilars for assigned mAbs or other ESD molecules under minimal supervision. Working with cross functional and global teams. General lab maintenance and safety adhering to GLP. Ensuring safety and compliance in ARD. All time readiness for audits.
Job Description: In this role, the qualified candidate will provide laboratory support for Produced Water research projects including RD&E and customer facing projects using existing or novel scientific methods. The candidate will manage assigned projects and coordinate activities with others in the Produced Water team.
Job Description: Reporting to the Production Chemistry Team Leader the Production Chemist will provide technical assurance to operations and deliver the chemical treatment and sampling programs with the chemical provider offshore. The role will particularly be focussed on the management of subsea chemicals and delivery for Shah Deniz 2 operations.
R&D instrument chemist Company: Agilent Technologies Date Posted: 13 August Country: China City: Shanghai
Job Description: As an instrument chemist, you will be part of a high performance project team to design and develop hardware and software solutions to help customer analyze chemical compounds in different substance.
Senior Research Scientist Company: Kemira Date Posted: 03 August Country: Finland City: Espoo
Job Description: The company looking for an experienced and innovative Senior Research Scientist to join our Sizing and Performance Team in our Espoo R&D Center. You will work as a Senior Scientist and Project Manager in projects focusing on retention, drainage and strength of paper and board. You will be responsible for research and development for these product lines.
Chemical Today Magazine | September 2017
EQUIPMENT PROCESS
Allen Antao, Executive Vice President and Business Head (Process Equipment), Godrej & Boyce Mfg Co Pvt Ltd, talks at length about the global dynamics of the process equipment market. He also delves into the opportunities offered by India to strengthen the country as a global powerhouse.
ALIGNING WITH THE MANUFACTURING
STRENGTHS OF THE WORLD 64
Chemical Today Magazine | September 2017
BY SHIVANI MODY Process equipment landscape in Indian chemical industry. We manufacture equipment for the process industry. Oil & gas constitutes the predominant part of our portfolio which covers refining, petrochemicals, fertilisers and chemicals. The power sector is a growing part of our portfolio. In India, there has been substantial investment in the refining and petrochemicals space in the last few years driven by investments by the major oil companies and of course, Reliance. Investments in the fertiliser sector are now seeing some momentum. The overall growth in the Indian economy will necessitate growth in the core sectors which in turn will fuel increased demand in all these areas.
Factors supporting growth in the global process equipment market. Since the global liquidity crisis in 2008, there has been a slowdown in demand for process equipment, primarily because of the squeeze on capital investment. When we thought that we were getting out of that phase, we saw a sharp drop in oil prices which affected all those industries which are oil dependent. Global economic slowdown has further served to dampen demand for process equipment. Elevated oil prices boosted the viability of shale gas production in the US which had a positive impact on fertiliser and LNG investments there. The reverse happened when oil prices hit near historic lows. All in all, the industry has seen very challenging times since 2008. Both, the upstream and downstream sectors have been badly hit.
Changing dynamics in Indian market. The India situation seems to be in a slightly brighter spot as compared to the rest of the world simply because it is a faster growing economy. In this kind of a growth environment, there will definitely be increased core sector demand for process equipment. There are other factors driving growth in India. To list only a few: - The increasing push for cleaner fuels is driving new investments in the oil & gas sector in India. - Several environmental protection initiatives initiated by the Government of India are driving the adoption of cleaner processes. - The focus on renewable energy will give rise to new investments in the power sector, boosting the demand further. India is a power house in fabricated equipment for the chemical industry. This not only comes from the fact that there is substantial high
Chemical Today Magazine | September 2017
end investment in manufacturing capability, but also from the fact that Indian technical talent is a much sought after resource. All major global engineering companies have set up their engineering hubs in India to leverage this critical resource. What could hold India back is the availability of pressure vessels grade materials, a significant quantum of which still has to be imported. Indian steel manufactures still do not make the critical grades of steel used in process equipment manufacturing. In a depreciating rupee environment, import substitution would have a beneficial influence on cost. In addition, logistics, makes imports disadvantageous from a cost and time perspective. Locally available materials required for chemical equipment manufacturing in this country will allow Indian manufacturers to take pole position on fabricated equipments, worldwide.
technical specifications and aesthetics of the product he is designing. That said, in our products, Engineering being at the core of Design, the differentiators centre around the latest design technologies like finite element analysis, computational fluid dynamics etc. In more productive manufacturing, lies an important answer to the question of global competitiveness. The use of digital technology has moved beyond plainly mining and analysing data for better decision making. The application of the latest development in electronics is transforming manufacturing at a very rapid pace. Indian engineers are at home in adapting, applying and exploiting these modern manufacturing opportunities. In many ways, the shop floor as we knew it five years back is continuously changing and will be unrecognisable when seen over a five year horizon. For us, leveraging the latest technologies is a strategic imperative.
Impact of mergers & acquisitions on the process equipment business.
IIOT in process equipment.
Scale is essential for survial and growth. Mergers and acquisitions and consolidation put more power in the hands of the merged entity, both financial and technological. It widens the customer base and generally make for better competitiveness and healthier bottom lines. The capabilities of these companies to make investments become stronger which become a strong driver of growth both up and down the value chain. Consolidation, as against fragmentation, improves the gene pool of companies.
New availability of opportunities, in terms of the amount of robotics that we are using now, is unimaginable. Today, the advancement in available technologies allows us to do jobs with fewer people, making us more productive, more globally competitive, reduces cycle times of manufacturing and makes our customers happier with better quality products. We have experienced that when one moves from inconsistent manual processes to very consistent automatic processes there is a sea of change in operational performance which impacts all aspects of a business.
Company’s growth plans, strategy for India and global markets.
Challenges faced as a process equipment manufacturer.
We see India and the Asia-Pacific region, in general growing. We expect a growing Indian economy to generate increased demand. Simultaneously, the new tiger economies in the far East like Vietnam, Myanmar, Indonesia are seeing large scale new investments both in fertilizers and also in upgradation and modernisation of refineries. The Middle East has always been, and will continue to be, one of our primary markets. Several new investments in the US are also very attractive.
As a process manufacturer, training and skill development is a major challenge. Other stimulating aspects of our work include upscaling capabilities, maintaining relationships with global clients, ensuring that we are currently in terms of technology, higher productivity of our workforce etc.
Although the global market, in volume terms, does not present a very optimistic outlook right now, we believe that it will turn for the better going forward. The identified pockets of opportunities offer bright opportunities.
Innovation focus for the company. In our business, we are responsible for the mechanical and thermal engineering of our products based on process dictated specifications provided to us by our customers. This is different from the conventional understanding of design of a product where a designer holds complete sway over the
In terms of global demand, we are a major player in the field and we rank amongst the top fabricators in the world. We export 85 percent of what we make, so we have access to global markets that we have built over the years. To keep growing, we will need to continue to build that channel. For which we will constantly have to keep ourselves upgraded in terms of design capabilities, manufacturing capabilities, ensuring that we are continuously developing and upgrading our skill sets, providing a creative work environment for our people and engaging with our clients in a very responsive manner. These are the things we do best at Godrej and these are our competitive strengths in the market which will fuel our ambition for the future.
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EQUIPMENT EPC
EPC DEMAND IS RISING IN ALL
DIMENSIONS OF CHEMICAL INDUSTRY more Indian companies coming into this sector in India in future with more opportunities for value added and innovative products. In India, the trend is that our industries go for more traditional approaches and do what the entire industry is doing instead of doing something innovative and out of the box which involves risk taking. The industry needs to work on new products, doing backward integration, going for innovative proprietary technologies available internationally, etc. Once the industries start going into those dimensions of chemical industry, then EPC will be a must as there will be no other alternative. Such projects will need EPC specialists to handle the projects and that way the EPC industry will grow.
EPC requirements of chemical manufacturers Chemical companies want EPC companies to execute a project in a way which brings value for money for the investment that they have made. Secondly, EPC companies should be able to build an energy efficient plant where the customer has competitive energy consumption in comparison to the international standards
Growth sectors for EPC market A K Tyagi, Managing Director at Nuberg Engineering Ltd believes that the Indian chemical industry has to evolve to meet the international norms for EPC to be a part of the entire plan. He also delves into how government needs to play a bigger role in giving the right impetus to the industry.
BY SHIVANI MODY EPC market potential in India India has a great potential because there is a huge amount of import. However, the chemical clusters are not equally distributed across the country. While Gujarat accounts for a big percentage of the country’s chemical industries, in various other states it is almost negligible. For instance in south, the industry is more related to bulk drugs and pharmaceuticals but other chemical businesses are missing. Hence, although we have a huge gap of chemical industry products, we see a huge potential in the future. We expect a huge growth in the chemical industry in the country and the items which are being imported in the country currently will start getting manufactured in the country itself. Even in PVC we have a lot of import today. There is a lot of import of raw materials for manufacturing polyethylene and PVC. So there is a definite gap in this segment.
Trend and development in the Indian EPC market. This industry is dominated by foreign multinational companies. There are very few Indian companies in this sector in the country, we are one of them. However, we see a potential of
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Chemical Today Magazine | September 2017
In India there are already clusters of chemical companies in various parts of the country. So while one state has a huge chemical industry cluster, another state doesn’t hold even a single share of the industry. However there are new industrial policies which are being formed by the government currently which has taxation benefits and investment returns for the investors. Chemical will be a priority sector in the future. There is a demand for EPC in all dimensions of chemical industry because our size and exposure to the chemical industry is very right in the country today. Secondly, few states where the chemical ecosystem has developed, has the advantage of garnering a bigger portion of the returns. But now with the new GST design, industries will be spread across the country which till now was restricted in certain states. We see a big potential for development of the chemical industry in other states.
EPC opportunities from plant upgardation in India There are two issues which need to be resolved in the near future. One, we need to get our plants upgraded to the environment friendly standards. This will open up a lot of requirements and potential for EPC companies to work in this area and make the plants compliant to the future environmental laws. Secondly, modernization and upgradation ensures lesser consumption of raw materials, increasing productivity and making the plant more energy efficient. These two factors for plant upgradations in the future will give huge opportunities for EPC market.
EPC requirements in emerging and developed markets EPC requirements in India will be emerging more because of the open markets there will be no monopoly in the access to technology and adoption. India is an exporter of different types of technologies; R&D is happening in the country, we are networking with technology owners all over the world.
The only issue is that our energy cost is very high- power cost, oil or gas cost for running various processes in a chemical plant is very high. This is a barrier for the growth of the industry in India but as the country is working in all these issues aggressively, various energy cost is going down due to various government efforts. India is a big market, if our county can resolve the issue of high energy cost then the biggest potential can emerge in India.
straight forward projects, they don’t want to invest or take the risk of moving into more complicated projects. EPC work is usually given to local contractors. Nuberg’s focus is on countries like Gulf region, Middle East and North African (MENA) regions, Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia, Vietnam, where complicated projects require EPC. We have been growing by 30 percent in these regions for the last 10 years.
3D platform in EPC market
Research & development offered by the company
If you want to build a world class plant, then you have to work on 3D software to achieve that kind of accuracy. It becomes a better project for companies using 3D platforms with lesser or no mistakes in the later phase of their projects.
Chemical industry is totally dependent on R&D which is very limited in the country. We realised that we can open up an R&D center in Sweden. We are doing R&D in process plants and various projects at pilot scale.
Company plans for future growth
Our associated company is building up a project in Gujarat where the plant will have multipurpose R&D facility. Following which we will be able to do R&D of different kind of chemicals by sharing that utility. There is a big requirement of R&D as we hardly have any propriety technologies in India. But companies which are working in international assignments
Nuberg is currently more focused in other parts of the world. In India if the companies don’t get into innovative products, then our industry doesn’t need EPC. EPC will come into picture when they get into more complicated projects, more value added products. Our industry wants to do
Chemical Today Magazine | September 2017
are very conscious about it and we are starting to gear up ourselves for different manufacturing requirements.
Managing supply chain network For managing the supply chain in EPC, we treat our vendors as our partners. An EPC company cannot evolve without having good partnership with their vendors who deliver quality products and give value for money. So we treat them not as our contractors or suppliers but as our partners.
Challenges faced by EPC providers In India, we have no in-house EPC companies. We need a more methodical approach, necessary skilled manpower, government support for the growth of this industry. Most countries like China, who are big into the EPC business, get various facilities such as softer loans, support bank guarantees etc that give the much needed impetus to EPC companies. In our country we don’t have any such policies. The government needs to realize that this is a very big industry which can bring major revenues.
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EQUIPMENT PROCESS
Anantha Padmanabhan, Managing Director, Alfa Laval (India) Limited, discusses the global trends in the chemical process equipment industry and also the potential in the country.
BEING AT PART
WITH GLOBAL TRENDS 68
Chemical Today Magazine | September 2017
BY DEBARATI DAS Global trends in chemical process equipment industry.
exchangers and industrial waste treatment equipment in this industry.
Like all other industries, chemical industry and the chemical process equipment industry also have to adapt to the global changes driven by new processing technologies, demands of cost competitiveness, connectivity requirements, environmental regulations and the unpredictable global political climate. There is an increased demand on the chemical process equipment industry today in terms of reliability, energy efficiency, life cycle cost and technical/ service support before, during and after equipment purchase.
Development in the fertilizers equipment industry.
Petrochemicals industry equipment market potential in India. Indian chemical and petrochemical processing industry has grown at a healthy rate over the past few years and the industry growth ambition is driven by both domestic consumption and exports. Government policies have encouraged FDI’s in this industry segment. Major segments are Alkali chemicals and Organic chemicals. We are expecting increased investments in the petrochemical and fertilizer industry during the next 3-5 years. The total petrochemical market has registered growth during past years and is expected to grow driven by current low per capita consumption and rise in polymer demand. Indian end product petrochemicals market is expected to grow too. We also see brownfield investments and up gradation of process equipment in petrochemical industry. Heat Exchangers, industrial waste treatment equipment and process plant utility equipment are the important growth opportunities in the next 3-5 years.
Trends in inorganic chemical manufacturing equipment segment. Alkali chemicals are the oldest and the largest segment of the chemical industry. These chemicals serve as key inputs for several industries rubber, pulp and paper, pharmaceutical, water treatment etc. The key chemicals in the chlor alkali industry; Caustic Soda, Chlorine and Soda ash are expected to grow in demand driven mainly by growth in the end use and following capacity expansions by big players. Major players of this industry have aggressive plan for expansion and revamping of old technology. We see good opportunity for energy efficient evaporation systems, heat
Chemical Today Magazine | September 2017
India is one of the major regions contributing to the rising fertilizer demand. In terms of tonnage and value, chemical fertilizer is the largest segment supplying the primary nutrients. Investments in the fertilizer industry will be driven more by plant debottlenecking and up gradation.
Demands from chemical manufacturers related to the equipment. Plant reliability and life cycle cost are two important criteria when it comes to equipment selection to the inorganic industry, where the equipment are expected to withstand highly corrosive environment. Minimum downtime and easy serviceability is another requirement of the industry. In terms of aftersales service, equipment manufacturers are expected to minimize their response time and improve the availability of their services and parts. This is a very competitive industry segment. There is fierce competition for the chemicals manufacturers globally and this drives the demand for energy efficient solutions on equipment manufacturers. Improved and cost efficient material of construction is another requirement of this industry.
Market potential for equipment upgrades and improvements. The market potential in this area is immense. Many of the existing plants have not had access to new equipment technologies when they were built and there is a business need to upgrade the plants for improved plant efficiency. Having been present in the country for many years, we have a large installed base of equipment. This opens up opportunities not only for service and spare parts but also for the upgrades and replacements. We focus on the complete lifecycle experience of our products for our customers.
Latest automation trends for the chemical equipment industry. Increased demands on consistent product quality, plant efficiency and reliability drive the need for increased automation. Connectivity is the current trend and this is driven more by the focus on predictive service (equipment uptime and optimized maintenance cost) and remote access to critical equipment on performance. Connectivity allows equipment technology
providers to support the end users with equipment performance monitoring and optimization right through the equipment life cycle.
Company’s R&D and innovation initiatives Alfa Laval group invests approximately 2.5 percent of its sales in research and development launching between 35 and 40 new products every year. We believe in continuous innovation and staying ahead on the offered technologies to our markets. On our Heat Exchanger and Separation technologies, we have more than 550 patents at present and our 2020 strategy has a high focus on product innovation and the speed of innovation.
Potential of the ‘Service On Wheels’ solution of the company. Service On Wheels is a customer centric service initiative by Alfa Laval India which offers the complete service portfolio to customers at their doorstep, called 360degree service. The aim is to proactively support customers on their critical needs. This will secure genuine and quick service to the customers while ensuring high uptime of their equipment in the time of need. Trained service engineers with all essential tools and spares in a fully equipped service van are available on a call, and will reach customers promptly to ensure efficient service or spare part delivery. This service concept has worked successfully in selected industry segment / region for almost a year now. GST roll out will further make it easier for us to deliver parts along with service at the point of consumption and expand the “Service On Wheels Concept” to more regions/ industries in the country.
Challenges faced in the chemical equipment industry. Indian chemical industry is fragmented and this puts limit on the introduction of new equipment technologies in the country. Another is the slow chemical industry growth in the last 2-3 years, which has not been of help to the equipment manufacturers. The planned investments in the chemical and equipment industry need to happen at a faster pace than the current. It is important for the Indian chemical industry to upgrade themselves with new equipment technologies available in the development countries to match global demands of quality and cost. I hope the “Make in India” initiative will not deprive the Indian industries of this opportunity.
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EQUIPMENT DISPERSION
REDUCTION OF RAW MATERIAL CONSUMPTION DUE TO MORE EFFICIENT DISPERSING BY DOMINIK SEEGER
W
hether in the Chemical, Pharmaceutical, Cosmetics or Food Industry, the costs for raw materials is permanently increasing all over the world and in all fields.
Manufacturing companies search for new processes and new possibilities to remain competitive and distinguish themselves from their competitors. Occasionally, they are successful by, for example, substituting expensive raw materials with cheaper ones. Another possibility for savings is to reduce the raw materials consumed in production but, if quality is to be maintained, it is often necessary for processing steps to be modified or improved.
A
large variety of products, such as lacquer and paint, glue and binders, baby food and beverages, detergents and shampoos, as well as drugs and creams are being produced based on a number of dispersions. A prevalent type of dispersion is the suspension, consisting of heterogeneous liquids with finely dispersed particles in it. The two components do not dissolve or combine chemically and will eventually sediment if left unattended. For the production of suspensions, existing agglomerates and aggregates have to be crushed and reduced in size, distributed in a liquid, wetted and stabilised. A homogeneous distribution of these particles into all elements of the liquid volume is the target. Dispersing (Latin - dispergere – to dissipate, to distribute) is mandatory for the quality of the suspension. In case powders (here the dispersed phase) are dispersed into a basic liquid (continuous phase), the complete and homogeneous wetting of the solids is the most important factor for the quality of the suspension. A complete - respectively a colloidal wetting of the raw materials very often provides the possibility to reduce the quantity of materials used in the process. There are different technical solutions to disperse or to produce a suspension:
1. Batch Disperser: Mixer and Stirrer, Dissolver and RotorStator-Systems 70
Chemical Today Magazine | September 2017
Mixer and Stirrer consisting of a drive, a shaft with respective seals and a mixing or stirring element. The stirring or mixing element may be executed as a simple propeller or equipped with a stator inside of which the propeller rotates (Jetstream mixer). These systems only distribute the existing particles in the liquid; a milling of the agglomerates and aggregates is hardly affected, as almost no shear energy exists. These systems may be applied for dispersing of easy to wet, non-sticky and non-agglomerating raw materials and powders or to keep a suspension homogeneous. The set-up of a Dissolver is equal to the principal of the mixer and stirrer, but uses a toothed mixing disc instead for dispersing. This disc produces stronger impact effects. The processing aim in this case is to crush agglomerates and aggregates to achieve a finer suspension. The shear effect however is restricted and the shear gradient strongly depends on the viscosity of the liquid. The moment the liquid starts to rotate, the impact and shear effect is dramatically reduced. The function of the Rotor-Stator-System by construction depends on the narrow gap between rotor and stator. In general, both parts (the rotating and the static part) are equipped with toothed geometries. Due to the given geometries, the shear gradient is maintained constant and almost independent from the viscosity of the liquid.
In practice, the production of a suspension is sometimes quite difficult. All types of machines mentioned above, are installed directly into a vessel or lowered into the vessel by the means of a lift. Normally the basic liquid is filled into the vessel and the raw materials are added simply be pouring them onto the surface of the liquid. Powders have a rather large specific surface, in extreme cases (e.g. for fine pigments, Nano powders, or Silica Acids) it calculates to about 300.000 m²/kg of powder. In most production scenarios, several kgs of these powders are added directly onto the surface of the liquid. The liquid only has an area of a few square meters so it soon becomes obvious that there is an adverse relation between the surface of powder and the surface of liquid. The result is that individual particles will not be wetted, only the agglomerates and aggregates become roughly wetted. The powder floats on top of the surface and an intensive mixing effect has to be applied to wet all the particles. When a dissolver is used, a Vortex builds up in the liquid and besides the powder air is brought into the product as well. Very often, different raw materials have to be dispersed into a liquid, creating a high work load for the handling of the different packing systems such as bags, barrels and containers that have to be moved and emptied. Many of these powders are sticky and most tend to form dust. Layers of crusts and
agglomerates build up at the wall of the vessel and other equipment installed inside the vessel. These agglomerates in a later process are very difficult to destroy and require a lot of energy and time. The quality of the product suffers by a coarse defined dispersion and with the consequence of different quality from batch to batch. Because of the inefficient use of the raw materials much more raw materials than normally required to be added in order to achieve the desired effect. A part of the raw materials “disappear” as dust in the environment, exhaust systems and dust filter systems. In total, this results in high production and general cost.
Conti-TDS powder wetting and dispersing system
2. Powder Wetting Machines according to the RotorStator-Principle: Different to the installations described above, the Conti-TDS powder wetting machine is installed outside and beside the vessel and connected via a simple piping system. The basic liquid is circulated in a loop which creates a vacuum inside the dispersing chamber of the machine. This vacuum is used to induct powders dust- and loss-free, directly from bags, containers, BigBags, silos or even from a silo truck. The powders are transported in a dense-phase without the need for false air, and are directly dispersed into the liquid under vacuum. Due to the vacuum, the entrained air is expanded, opening up the surface of the powder, ready for wetting. Simultaneously the surface of the liquid in the dispersing zone is also extremely expanded. Only at this point, the powder comes in contact with the liquid (see respective pictures) and become wetted in a most efficient way. In this area, the shear gradient is about 1000 times higher compared to a dissolver. Due to the blast waves created during the pumping action the colloid wetting is completed. The micro air bubbles that stick onto the surface of the particles are separated, coagulated and will collect on the surface of the liquid as a layer of coarse foam, even in products considered difficult to ventilate. The suspension produced in the dispersing chamber returns to the vessel as a “ready made” product. Depending on the amount of powder and the required solids loading, the induction of the powder may interrupted by closing the powder inlet. Additional dispersing, respectively homogenising in the recirculation loop in order to achieve a specific particle size distribution or homogeneity, is also possible. This procedure serves to de-aerate the product at the same time. Independent from the viscosity, type of vessel and batch size, stable suspensions may be produced in a fraction of the time required by conventional mixing and dispersing systems.
Functional principle Conti-TDS powder wetting
As an example: 40 tons of a Titanium Dioxide Slurry in complete in less than 2 hours. The large potential of rationalisation by the Conti-TDS technology is given by the combination of 5 processing steps in one machine (emptying containers, powder transport, powder induction, powder wetting and dispersing). Time and energy are saved.
Colloidal wetting in the Conti-TDS dispersing chamber
Because of the complete colloidal wetting of the raw materials the required amount of raw material can be reduced. Eventual separate: In most cases the aim of a dispersing process is the production of a suspension (liquid/solid) or an emulsion (liquid/liquid). Occasionally it is the dispersing of liquid/gas to build up foam. When dispersing is applied (Latin - dispergere - to dissipate, distribute) existing agglomerates and aggregates are being reduced in size down to the primary particle size, distributed in a medium, wetted and stabilised. A statically homogenous distribution of the particles achieved to all elements of the volume of the medium is the aim of the process. (Source E DIN 55943)
Different dispersions: Liquid/gas
Foam
Sample foam of soap seldom
Liquid/solid Suspension Sample paint
often
Liquid/liquid Emulsion
often
Sample margarine
Chemical Today Magazine | September 2017
Dissolver disc
Rotor-Stator-Systems
Author: Dominik Seeger is Head of Strategic Sales Development – Key Projects at ystral gmbh.
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EQUIPMENT SOIL MEASUREMENT
MEASURING MACRO- AND MICRO-NUTRIENTS
IN SOIL WITH ICP-OES BY KEN NEUBAUER Introduction A key to producing abundant crops is the quality of the soil in which they are grown. Soils lacking the proper nutrient content will yield fewer crops of lower nutritional value than crops grown in good soil. Poor soil can be enhanced by the application of fertilizer, but the nutrient content of the soil must be known in advance so that the proper type and amount of fertilizer can be added. When determining the elemental content of soils, both sample preparation and analysis must be considered. Sample preparation generally involves subjecting the soil samples to acid at elevated temperatures so that the elements of interest are extracted into the acid. This can be accomplished in two ways: open vessel or closed vessel. Open vessel sample preparation involves heating the soil at sub-boiling temperatures for up to four hours and then separating the acid from the soil through filtration or centrifugation. The advantage of open vessel extraction is that a large number of samples can be prepared at the same time, but the disadvantages include having to separate the soil from the acid, the loss of volatile elements or elements in volatile forms, and possible incomplete extraction of the elements of interest. Closed vessel microwave digestion is much faster, typically taking 50 minutes or less. Because the vessels are sealed, elevated pressures are attained, resulting in temperatures significantly higher than the boiling point of the acids. The outcome is faster with more complete extractions. If complete digestion is required, the choice of acids can be altered. Separating the acid from the remaining soil involves only decanting the acid, as the soil generally remains in the digestion tube. The only drawback of microwave digestion is that the number of samples which can be prepared at the same time is limited by the capacity of the microwave. Typical nutrients in soil can be measured by either flame atomic absorption (FAA), inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectroscopy (ICP-OES), or inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICPMS). Given that nutrients are present above trace levels, ICP-OES is usually the technique of choice for this analysis, providing the
72
Chemical Today Magazine | September 2017
best compromise between analysis speed, sensitivity, and cost. This work focuses on the analysis of elemental nutrients in soils using closed-vessel microwave digestion using the Titan MPS™ Microwave and Avio® 200 ICPOES.
Experimental Samples and Sample Preparation Soils were collected locally from residential yards and gardens, as well as commercial farms and pastures. The residential garden samples consisted of natural soils to which large quantities of “bagged” soils were added, as are commonly available at home and garden stores. All samples were taken from healthy, in-production plots, suggesting a high nutrient content. Two reference materials (Soil Solutions A and B, High Purity Standards, Charleston, SC, USA) were used to validate the accuracy of the methodology. Sample preparation was done with closedvessel microwave digestion using the Titan MPS Microwave Preparation System
Instrumental Conditions All analyses were performed with an Avio 200 ICP-OES (PerkinElmer, Shelton, CT, USA). The instrumental conditions are shown in Table 2, and the analytes, wavelengths, and plasma view modes appear in Table 3. The internal standard (yttrium, Y) was added on-
(PerkinElmer, Shelton, CT, USA). To each vessel 1 gram of sample was added, along with pre-digestion analyte spikes as necessary for spike recovery studies, followed by 6 mL HCl (37 percent) and 3 mL HNO3 (70 percent). The vessels were allowed to stand for 10 minutes to allow any early reactions to occur before being sealed, placed in the microwave, and digested according to the program in Table 1. It should be noted that these parameters will not produce a complete digestion of the soil, but will extract the elements. Complete digestion would be accomplished with the addition of hydrofluoric acid to break down the silicates. After the digestion program completed, the vessels were removed from the microwave, uncapped, and the acid mixture decanted into 50 mL autosampler tubes. The vessels were triple-rinsed with deionized water to ensure complete transfer. The samples were then brought to final volume (50 mL) with deionized water. The sample tubes were allowed to sit for about 10 minutes to allow any particulates to settle.
line, with the total flow to the nebulizer being 1 mL/min. All standard sample introduction components and conditions were used. Quantitative measurements were made against external calibration curves prepared in a 10% HCl/HNO3 mixture to approximate the acid content of the final samples.
Results and Discussion The accuracy of the methodology was first assessed by analysis of the reference materials. Figure 1 shows that recoveries for all analytes in both reference materials were within 10 percent of the true values, demonstrating the accuracy of the methodology. However, since neither phosphorus (P) nor sulfur (S) were certified in these reference materials, the accuracy of these elements could not be ascertained. Next, the collected samples were digested and analyzed, with the results appearing in Figure 2. It is interesting to note both the similarities and differences in the nutrient content of these samples. While some elements showed consistency among the different samples (ie. Fe, K etc.), others showed more variation (ie. Ni, Zn etc.). It is also interesting to note the variations between the different sample types: backyard vs. garden vs. field. To assess the accuracy of the sample preparation procedure, as well as validate the P and S measurements, analyte spikes were added to all samples prior to digestion, at the levels in shown in Table 4. The spikes were added directly to the digestion vessels after the addition of samples and acids. The recoveries, as shown in Figure 3, are all within 10 percent of their true values, demonstrating that no significant elemental loss or contamination occurred during the digestion process. In addition, the recoveries of P and S are within 10 percent of their spiked values, validating the accuracy of the methodology for these elements.
Conclusions This work, using the PerkinElmer Titan MPS Microwave and the Avio 200 ICP-OES, has demonstrated the ability to measure both macroand micro-nutrients in soil. The microwave digestion provides fast, efficient analyte leaching by using elevated temperatures and pressures while preventing contamination and loss of volatile analytes. ICP-OES is an established analytical technique, well-suited to the challenges of nutrient analysis. By employing both axial and radial viewing, both macro- and micro- nutrients can easily be measured in soils. The combination of microwave digestion and ICP-OES has proven to be an ideal solution for measuring a wide linear range of elemental levels in soils.
Author: Ken Neubauer is Senior Application Scientist – Inorganic at PerkinElmer.
Chemical Today Magazine | September 2017
73
EQUIPMENT Jacketed ball valves made from different materials
S
ealmech Valve offers a range of fully jacketed ball valves. The jacket covers the body from one flange to the other flange. The body is modified by adding oversize flanges. It allows enough space for bolting clearance. The jackets assure consistent valve heating or cooling of the process media to prevent crystallization or seizing of flow media. The jacketed ball valve (heating jacket ball valve) with very well design to help the high temperature steam or oil flow over the valve ball & body parts to keep the media liquid. This applies especially to media like bitumen and liquid sulfur. In addition, the efficient flow of media is ensured through the elimination of pockets. Steam, can be used as carrier for heating media.
Contact: SEALMECH VALVES Opp. Laxmi Ice Factory, Near ShubhLabh Estate, Tawadipura, Shahibaug, Ahmedabad-380 004, India
Tel: +91-98795-50365 / +91-79-25632698 Fax :+91-79-25632698 Email:info@sealmechvalves.com Web:http://www.sealmechvalves.com
New industrial vacuums for safe, combustible dust collection
N
ilfisk launched two new lines of NRTL-certified continuous duty industrial vacuums for Class II, Division 2 and non-classified environments. All vacuums feature ETL-certification and are designed to meet NFPA 652 housekeeping recommendations for the safe collection of combustible dust. Machine design requirements to ensure NFPA 652 compliance include, but are not limited to, a stainless steel collection container, antistatic main filter, antistatic wheels and a variety of measures to ensure bonding and grounding throughout the unit. Both lines also feature easy-to-clean design and application-specific features for the food, pharmaceutical and OEM industries.
Contact: Nilfisk, Inc. Industrial Vacuum Division, 740 Hemlock Road, Suite 100, Morgantown, PA 19543, USA
Tel : (800) 645-3475 Fax: (610) 286-7350 Email:questions@nilfisk.com Web:https://www.nilfiskcfm.com
Unique mass spectrometer for semiconductor process gases analysis
T
he JEOL InfiTOF compact high-resolution gas analysis mass spectrometer is ideal for monitoring trace impurities in semiconductor process gases, evolved gases from catalytic reactions, vapor epitaxy and more. No larger than a desktop PC, the InfiTOF instantly separates isobaric gases such CO and N2, or N2O and CO2, for continuous monitoring without chromatography. Designed for real time monitoring of directly introduced gas, this high mass-resolution mass spectrometer features stability for real time gas monitoring and elemental composition determination through accurate mass measurement.
Contact: JEOL USA, Inc. 11 Dearborn Road, Peabody, MA 01960, USA
74
Tel. (978) 535-5900 Fax.(978) 536-2205 E-mail:salesinfo@jeol.com Web:http://www.jeolusa.com
Chemical Today Magazine | September 2017
Introducing spectrometer for precious metal testing
S
PECTRO Analytical Instruments introduced the SPECTRO MIDEX MID05 spectrometer-a fifth-generation, fast, accurate, small-spot energy-dispersive X-ray fluorescence (ED-XRF) analyzer for precious metal testing. The new, compact SPECTRO MIDEX MID05 spectrometer delivers improved sensitivity and speed, and represents a smart alternative to fire assay testing. The SPECTRO MIDEX spectrometer is one of the most-advanced laboratory benchtop XRF analyzers available for precious metals testing. The features and benefits of the new SPECTRO MIDEX MID05 spectrometer include: Exceptional Performance, Excellent Ease of Use, High-Reliability, Cost-Effective Analysis, Greatly Improved Speeds, More-Compact, Robust Design etc.
Contact: SPECTRO Analytical Instruments GmbH, Boschstr. 10, 47533 Kleve, Germany Tel: +49 / 2821 / 8 92-0 Fax: +49 / 2821 / 8 92-22 00 E-Mail: spectro.info@ametek.com Web:http://www.spectro.com
Control valves for small quantities
T
he GEMU 567 BioStar control valve is the new, safe solution for media controls from 0.08 to 4.1 m³/h. The sealing takes place via a PTFE diaphragm with PD technology (plug diaphragm). This valve is available with linear control characteristics and with equal-percentage control characteristics. The new 2/2-way diaphragm globe valve with regulating needle or regulating cone fills these gaps. Control valve is used, for example, for dosing small quantities in the beverage industry for in-line mixers (for example, for vitamins, dyes and other additives), for controlling sterile steam and air (for example, for DIP processes) or for controlling the inflow and outflow of bioreactors in the pharmaceutical industry. The BioStar control is available in the nominal sizes DN 8 to DN 20.
Contact: GEMU Gebruder Muller Apparatebau GmbH & Co KG Fritz-Muller-Strabe 6-8, 74653 Ingelfingen-Criesbach, Germany Tel : +49-79 40-123 0 Fax : +49-79 40-123 192 Email: info@gemue.de Web: www.gemu-group.com
Introducing ultrasonic flow meter for low flow rates
B
ronkhorst added a new series to their family of liquid flow metersthe ES -FLOW™ featuring a new ultrasonic wave technology. The new ES-FLOW™ flow meter was designed to measure tiny volume flows from 4 up to 1500 ml/min with high precision, high linearity and low pressure drop, using ultrasound in a small bore tube. Liquids can be measured independent of fluid density, temperature and viscosity. Typical applications for the new low-flow liquid flow meters and controllers can be found in Food, Beverage & Pharma (eg. additives, sterilization), Medical and Chemical (eg. catalysts, reagents) and many other markets which require precision fluid handling eg. fuel consumption measurement and dosing of colorants or lubricants in many industries.
Contact: Bronkhorst High-Tech BV Nijverheidsstraat 2-6, 7261 AK Ruurlo, The Netherlands Tel.: +31 573 458800 E-mail:info@bronkhorst.com Web: http://www.bronkhorst.com
New spectrometer for large and heavy samples
R
igaku Corporation introduced the new Rigaku ZSX Primus 400 sequential wavelength dispersive X-ray fluorescence (WDXRF) spectrometer which was conceived specifically to handle very large and/or heavy samples and offers micro-mapping capabilities. WDXRF analyzers are notable for high sensitivity and spectral resolution for non-destructive elemental analysis. The new system is ideally suited for analyzing sputtering targets, magnetic disks, or for multilayer film metrology or elemental analysis of large samples. All analytical capabilities of a traditional instrument are retained in this “large sample” variant, including measurement of beryllium (Be) through uranium (U) with high-resolution and precise WDXRF spectroscopic examination of samples from solids to liquids and powders to thin films.
Chemical Today Magazine | September 2017
Contact: Rigaku Corporation 3-9-12, Matsubara-cho, Akishima-shi, Tokyo 196-8666, Japan Tel : +81 42-545-8123 Fax: +81 42-545-8119 E-mail: rinttyo@rigaku.co.jp Web:https://www.rigaku.com
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GLOSSARY PAGE NO Accenture 05
Evonik
Agilent Technologies
Expanded Polymer Systems Pvt
62
AkzoNobel
43, 62
ExxonMobil
11, 55 05 10,46
Alexfert 05
FCI 05
Alfa Laval (India) Limited
68
Fitz Chem Corporation
Allied Market Research
45
Future Market Insights
American Automobile Association
10
GEMU Gebruder Muller Apparatebau GmbH & Co KG 75
Antas Chemical Company Limited
43
Geofin Comtrade
09 37, 43, 46 05
Queen’s University
29
Resnick Sustainability Institute
27
Rigaku Corporation Royal Dutch Shell
75 10, 46
Schill & Seilacher GmbH & Co
48
SEALMECH VALVES
74
Shin-Etsu Chemical Co Ltd
08
Showa Denko K K
09
46, 62
Global Market Insights Inc
Ashland
01, 43
Godrej & Boyce Mfg Co Pvt Ltd
64
Indian Oil Corporation
06
Society for Science & the Public
58 75
48
33,48
PAGE NO
Arkema Balmer Lawrie & Co Ltd
SICPA 05
BASF
15, 21, 43, 62
Indofil Industries Ltd
48
SPECTRO Analytical Instruments GmbH
Bayer
48, 61
INEOS Styrolution
21
Stahl International BV
Bostik
25,43
JEOL USA Inc
74
Stanford University
BP PLC
46, 62
Kemira 62
Bronkhorst High-Tech BV
75
Lanxess 48
Chemtan Company
48
Lawrence International
48
Circa Group
26
LyondellBasell Industries
46
Clariant 48
Maruti Suzuki
05
DHL Global Forwarding
60
Mitsui Chemicals Inc
38
46
Motiva
10
Nagase America
09
National Research Programme
Diacel Chemical Industries Ltd Dow Chemical DuPont
76
PAGE NO
46, 61 61
48 30, 53
Syngenta 62 TASA Group International
48
Tata Chemicals
06
TEXAPEL
48
Total SA
46
Trinseo 23 Universal Biofuels Private Limited
07
28
University of British Columbia
56 52
DyStar 48
Nilfisk
74
University of California San Diego
Eastman Chemical Company
Nuberg Engineering Ltd
66
University of Huddersfield
26
08
Ecolab 62
PerkinElmer 73
Valero Energy
10
Eindhoven University of Technology
54
Perstorp 08
Elementis PLC
48
PetroleoBrasileiro SA
46
Vertec Biosolvents
35
Enterprise Products Partners LP
11
Pfizer
62
Volkswagen AG
05
ETH 51
Phillips Carbon Black Ltd
07
ystral gmbh
71
Euro Petroleum Consultants
40
Princeton University
50
Zschimmer & Schwarz & Co KG
48
Everlight Chemical Industrial Corporation
19
PTI
06
Chemical Today Magazine | September 2017
Chemical Today Magazine | September 2017
77
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