Chemical Today May 2016

May 2016 | Volume 1 | Issue 2

Chemical Today Connecting World Chemically

PAINTING

14 Expert Viewpoint RAK Ceramics Sun Chemical

28 Feature Glass & Ceramics

62 Logistics Digital Supply Chain

NOW ALSO AVAILABLE ON

A SAFER WORLD Pg 22 1

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THE WORLD WILL SOON GET A FRESH COAT OF COLOUR ON IT!

The global market for dyes and organic pigments is expected to grow at 6 percent per year to become $20 billion by 2019. Moreover, as the growth in the west is slowly becoming stagnant, the new age growth story of ink and dye industry is being written in Asia.

As the industry gets mature and consumers are more aware about health issues, there is rise in demand for safer inks and dyes. While incorporating the new consumer demands, Asia will definitely bring about a fresh coat of colour to the world.

The biggest blow for the ink industry has been the decline in the printing industry due to closure of newspaper printing, rise of e-books and advertisers increasingly using other media to reach consumers. However, this decline has made way for increased usage of digital inks. All this and much more is part of our ‘Sector View,’ as we look at how the Inks & Dyes industry is shaping up in the future.

In our ‘Expert Viewpoint’ section, read views of Sun Chemical as Roy Bjorlin, director, global commercial & strategic initiatives, electronics materials, speaks about various aspects driving growth of the Electronic Chemicals business.

Other than the Inks & Dyes, glance through our ‘Feature Story’ on Glass & Ceramics, where we reflect the trends in the society. Some of the latest concepts such as new patterns and nature emulating tiles are being majorly accepted by customers globally. Do read what RAK Ceramics has to say about how the industry has evolved, as we speak to the CEO Abdallah Massaad, in our ‘Expert Viewpoint’ section.

For our ‘Logistics Insight,’ know what Accenture has to say about digital supply chain planning for the chemical industry. The IT major gives six capabilities that will prove to be a winning proposition for the industry.

Moving towards research, many a times Academic Research provides a simple solution to solving global environmental concerns, for instance oil spills. See how a team of researchers - Dr Justin Weibel, Dr Xuemei Chen and Dr Suresh Garimella from Purdue University, are researching the use of sponge material to tackle major oil spills, in our ‘Academic Speak’ section.

The Chemical Today digital magazine is available on our website www.worldofchemicals.com. And yes, download our worldofchemicals magazine app for both IOS and Android!

Whether you want to give us a break, bouquet or brickbats, write to editorial@worldofchemicals.com

Shivani Mody Editor In Chief shivani.m@worldofchemicals.com

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Chemical Today is a monthly magazine focused on chemistry & the chemical industry.

Disclaimer: All rights reserved worldwide. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, without the prior written permission of the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain other noncommercial uses permitted by copyright law. All photographs, unless otherwise specified, are used for illustrative purposes only. The publisher makes every effort to ensure that the magazine’s contents are correct. However, we accept no responsibility for any errors or omissions and for any loss or damage caused as an effect thereof. The information provided in this publication is for general use and may not be appropriate for the specific requirements of readers. Views and opinions expressed in this magazine are not necessarily those of the publisher.

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Editor: Shivani Mody. Published for May 2016.

© 2016 worldofchemicals.com

Cover Image © Rainwood Productions LLC 4

CONTENTS

EXPERT VIEWPOINT Abdallah Massaad Chief executive officer of Ras Al Khaimah (RAK) Ceramics

QUOTES

18 08

NEWS NATIONAL

10

INTERNATIONAL

12

EVENTS

14

EXPERT VIEWPOINT CERAMICS

18

INKS

22

SECTOR VIEW 24

INKS & DYES FEATURES

24

SECTOR VIEW PAINTING A SAFER WORLD

30

GLASS & CERAMICS REPORT RENEWABLE CHEMICALS

36

ELECTRONIC CHEMICALS

38

INKS

40

CERAMICS

44

ACADEMIC R&D

46

ACADEMIC SPEAK

54

R&D YOUNG TURKS

62

LOGISTICS INSIGHT

64

JOBS 70 TENDERS

72

PRODUCTS

74

EQUIPMENT

82

GLOSSARY

88

54

ACADEMIC SPEAK TACKLING MAJOR OIL SPILLS WITH A SPONGE

5

YOU CAN GET TO KNOW

6

THE TOOLS

TO HANDLE CHEMISTRY visit: www.worldofchemicals.com

7

QUOTES

THE DEMAND FOR FRESH WATER IS EXPECTED TO GROW BY 40 PERCENT BY 2030, PLACING PRESSURE ON BUSINESSES TO RETHINK HOW THEY MANAGE THEIR WATER

CHRISTOPHE BECK Vice President and President of Nalco Water, Ecolab Inc.

Kristine Williams

Vice President, Research, Development and Engineering, Ecolab Food & Beverage.

“Increased quality assurance is critical as processors seek to expand distribution channels and offerings, reduce waste, and improve profitability in today’s highly competitive market”

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Chemical Today Magazine | May 2016

www.worldofchemicals.com

Moloy Banerjee

Managing Director, Linde India The Indian healthcare industry is one of the most vital and fast growing industrial sectors which is expected to reach $160 billion by 2017 and $280 billion by 2020. We believe in it’s potential and will continue to invest in this industry

Douglas Muzyka

Senior Vice President and Chief Science & Technology Officer, DuPont Scientific discovery is the basis of innovation. It provides knowledge, enables new inventions and inspires learning in new directions that lead to solutions for the world’s most difficult challenges

David Koehl Global Business Manager, Home & Personal Care, Troy Corporation

Choosing the right preservative system is one of the most important and challenging responsibilities of the personal care formulating chemist

Surjit Kumar Chaudhary Secretary, Department of Chemicals and Petrochemicals (DCPC), Government Of India.

Chemical industry is a key enabler for other industries. As chemicals are consumed in varying proportion by every industry (rightly from electronics to paints, from pharmaceuticals to cosmetics), without chemicals sustainable development of other sectors is not possible Chemical Today Magazine | May 2016

9

NEWS NATIONAL

BASF INDIA OPENS

NEW CONCRETE ADMIXTURES PLANT IN KHARAGPUR

B

ASF said that it opened its new production plant for concrete admixtures in Kharagpur, West Bengal to meet the increasing demands for construction chemicals projects in the eastern part of India.

market. The Kharagpur plant will help us better serve the growing demand for durable and energy efficient construction materials, which will make ‘Smart City’ a reality in India,” said Christian Mombaur, senior vice president, construction chemicals, Asia Pacific, BASF.

The plant will produce standard and custommade performance-based construction chemicals “Fast and flexible solutions are essential for the under the Master Builders Solutions brand. These construction industry. Our sixth construction include concrete admixtures product ranges such chemicals plant in India enhances our flexibility to as MasterGlenium, MasterPolyheed, MasterPel and serve our customers with prompt supply and shorter MasterRheobuild, as well as chemical solutions for lead times, especially in the eastern and the northunderground construction under the MasterRoc eastern parts of India,” said Dr Raman Ramachandran, product brand. The site is supported by an office, chairman and managing director, BASF India Ltd and warehouse, occupational health checkup room and head, BASF South Asia. a well-equipped concrete lab that will deliver tailor- With close proximity to Kolkata, Orissa and Bihar, the made recipes through formulation excellence. plant is strategically located in West Medinipur with “Asia Pacific is one of the fastest growing markets well connected transportation networks, with access to globally and India is a strategic growth engine of this national highway, rail and Haldia port.

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Chemical Today Magazine | May 2016

www.worldofchemicals.com

RELIANCE

ARM TO SELL GAPCO STAKE TO TOTAL

R

IL had bought the stake and management control in GAPCO in 2007. GAPCO has significant presence in the downstream petroleum sector in African countries including Tanzania, Uganda, Rwanda and Kenya in East Africa.

“REPDMCC’s agreement to sell its interest in GAPCO is part of a joint transaction wherein both REPDMCC and the minority shareholder have agreed to sell their entire respective holdings in GAPCO for cash. The sale is expected to be within the coming months,” RIL said in a statement.

R

eliance Industries Ltd (RIL) said that its indirect wholly owned subsidiary, Reliance Exploration & Production DMCC has signed agreements with Total SA of France for sale of its entire 76 per cent stake in African fuel retailer Gulf Africa Petroleum Corporation (GAPCO) for an undisclosed sum.

Mauritius-incorporated GAPCO is a holding company with subsidiaries in Tanzania, Kenya and Uganda, which are primarily engaged in petroleum product import apart from trading, storage, distribution, marketing, supply and transportation of oil products.

GAPCO owns 260 thousand kilo litre (tkl) of storage capacity and operates 108 retail outlets. RIL said the proposed transaction is subject to regulatory approvals and other closing conditions.

K

KAJARIA

TO INVEST RS 150 CRORE

FOR NEW PLANT IN AP

Chemical Today Magazine | May 2016

ajaria Ceramics, one of India’s largest wall and floor tiles manufacturing company, is investing Rs 150 crore to set up a polished vitrified tiles making plant near Nellore, Andhra Pradesh in India.

The plant, reported to be commissioned by September 2017, would have the capacity to produce 5 million square metres (sq mt) of tiles per year. The company currently produces 20 million sq mt of polished vitrified tiles.

“The last two years have been very tough. But things have started to look up since February. The next three years would be positive for the industry,” said Ashok Kajaria, chairman and managing director, Kajaria Ceramics.

This would be the company’s second plant in AP. Kajaria, which closed 2015-16 with revenues of Rs 2448 crore and produces 68.6 sq mt of tiles per year across its 10 plants in the country, already has a ceramics tiles manufacturing unit at Gudivada.

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NEWS INTERNATIONAL

AKZONOBEL INAUGURATES LARGEST TECHNOLOGY CENTRE IN

CHINA

A

kzoNobel said that it has inaugurated a new €6.5 million, largest technology centre in Shanghai, China. The company’s research facility will support product innovation and the development of next-generation paints, coatings and specialty chemicals.

Equipped with a full array of state-of-the-art material analysis and performance testing facilities, the center currently employs 150 scientists, which is expected to rise to 200 by 2020. The majority of the products supported by the new facility will be waterborne and powder-based, in line with the company’s ambitions to develop more eco-premium solutions.

“The opening of this new technology center marks another milestone in the company’s organic growth strategy, as we continue to drive our innovation agenda and build a resilient portfolio of more sustainable products,” said Klaas Kruithof, RD&I director of AkzoNobel’s performance coatings business.

AkzoNobel invested a total of €347 million in research and development during 2015, with a strong focus on sustainability. The company is also looking to increase its revenue from downstream eco-premium solutions to 20 percent of revenue by 2020. In China, it has already reached 30 percent.

“A key strength of our new technology center is that it is focused on all the company’s paints and coatings activities,” added Roger Jakeman, RD&I director of AkzoNobel decorative paints. “This offers major advantages in terms of synergies, efficiency benefits and creating additional value for customers.”

“With Asia, and especially China, upgrading its manufacturing industry protocols, innovative solutions with strong sustainability features will be a key to future success. The new center will therefore, play a vital role in supporting manufacturing, as well as future markets, such as solar and wind power,” said Dr Lin Liangqi, president of AkzoNobel China.

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Chemical Today Magazine | May 2016

www.worldofchemicals.com

SCHOTT LAUNCHES NEW GLASS WAFERS PORTFOLIO

T

he special glass expert, SCHOTT AG, said that it will launch its portfolio of thin and ultra-thin glass wafers and sheets for the semiconductor and optoel ectronics industries. With its high-quality wafers and substrates, SCHOTT serves emerging industry trends in the fields of IC packaging, radio frequency (RF) components and micro-electromechanical systems (MEMS).

The wafers and substrates, produced with proprietary processes, are available in different sizes (wafer diameters up to 12˝; sheet sizes up to 510 x 510 mm2) and thicknesses (from 1.1 mm down to ultra-thin 25 µm).

our broad range of materials and processing capabilities, we are able to offer our customers made-to-measure solutions with customized features.

In this way we support emerging “More-than-Moore” industry trends, for example in consumer electronics, high-performance computing or autonomous driving, cost efficiently enabling high performance levels for the end user,” said Dr Rudiger Sprengard, director, new business ultra-thin glass, SCHOTT AG. While developing laser structuring technologies for thin and ultra-thin glass, SCHOTT has already established an ultrasonic lapping process for the Additionally, SCHOTT offers extensive application coarse structuring of glass wafers with tight tolerances support in the field of handling technologies and for- in mass production. SCHOTT also recently expanded mation of glass wafers with “Through Glass Vias” (TGV) its wafer portfolio to include the photo-structurable covering a wide spectrum of feature sizes.“Thanks to glass FOTURAN II.

SAINT-GOBAIN ACQUIRES JTT

COMPOSITES

ASSETS Chemical Today Magazine | May 2016

S

aint-Gobain Performance Plastics has acquired the assets of MIPNET Industries operating under the brand JTT Composites. Based at a new facility near Bordeaux, France, JTT Composites supplies the regional aerospace market and sells composite parts designed with the innovative RT2iTM weaving technology. “This acquisition will expand our portfolio of high-performance solutions and value-adding services and, thanks to new processes, enhance our production capabilities. The European aerospace sector is booming right now and we have set our sights high on this market,” said Scott Huth, business manager for Saint-Gobain performance plastics.

This acquisition is in line with the group’s intention to strengthen its positioning on growth markets.

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EVENTS

13 – 17 June TURBOEXPO Location: COEX Convention & Exhibition Center Organised by: ASME (The American Society of Mechanical Engineers) Website: https: //www.asme.org/events/ turbo-expo

Turbo Expo is a technical conference which brings together experts from around the world to share the latest in turbine technology, R&D and application in the following topic areas: industrial gas turbines and aircraft engines, steam power plants, wind turbines, fans & blowers, organic Rankine cycle and supercritical CO2 cycle power systems. Turbo Expo offers a diverse trade show floor. The three-day exhibition attracts the industry’s leading professionals and key decision makers, whose innovation and expertise are helping to shape the future of the turbo machinery industry.

15 – 16 June DOWNSTREAM CENTRAL ASIA CONFERENCE Location: Astana - Kazakhstan Organised by: Global Business Club (GBC) Website: http: //www.gulfoilandgas.com/ webpro1/events/event_details.asp?id=2353

The event brings together key players from the entire Central Asia downstream sector and foreign partners for continued development of the industry. The Downstream Central Asia is the only “downstream” event in the region where long-term business relations require face-to-face meetings and negotiations.

16 – 17 June WORLD CHLOR-ALKALI CONFERENCE Location: Millennium Hilton Bangkok, Thailand Organised by: ICIS Conferences Website: http: //www.icisconference.com/ worldchloralkali

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Chemical Today Magazine | May 2016

The 20th World Chlor-alkali Conference provides an insight on the latest industry developments and also gives you vital market information to prepare your business for the challenges and opportunities ahead.

www.worldofchemicals.com 26 – 30 June HTCMC Location: Toronto Marriott Downtown Eaton Centre Hotel, Toronto Canada Organised by: The American Ceramic Society Website: http://ceramics.org/meetings/9th-international-conference-on-high-temperature-ceramic-matrix-composites-and-global-forum-on-advanced-materials-and-technologies-for-sustainable-development-2016

The 9th International conference on high temperature ceramic matrix composites in conjunction with Global Forum on Advanced Materials and Technologies (GFMAT) will focus on key issues, challenges, and opportunities in a variety of advanced materials and technologies that are critically needed for sustainable societal development.

18 – 20 August FESPA MEXICO Location:Centro Banamex, Mexico City Organised by: FESPA Association Website: http: //www.fespa.com/calendar/ fespa-events/fespa-mexico-2016-test. html

The event focuses on wide format digital printing, garment decoration, screen printing, textile printing, and signage, alongside quality educational content that will offer visitors the chance to build their businesses and add new print solutions to their product portfolio.

21 – 25 August ICC Location: Dresden, Germany Organised by: Deutsche Keramische Gesellschaft /International Ceramic Federation Website: http: //www.dkg.de/en/events/ congresses_and_conferences/event/100

The International Congress on Ceramics (ICC) is hosted every two years by the International Ceramic Federation (ICF) in cooperation with the ICF member societies. The 6th International Congress On Ceramics (ICC6) will be held at Dresden, Germany. It is platform which enables exchange of information on ideas and visions of the future for ceramics and inorganic materials.

12 – 15 September TURBOMACHINERY & PUMP SYMPOSIA Location: Houston, TX

This event showcases products like fundamentals of centrifugal pump and system interaction, key features of topside and subsea multiphase pumps etc in the plant, machinery & equipment industry.

Organised by: Turbomachinery Laboratory Website: http: //pumpturbo.tamu.edu/

13 – 14 September GASPRO Location: Dresden, Germany Organised by: Norris conference centers Website: http://www.gulfpub.com/

GasPro will focus on gas supply, procurement, purchasing, transportation, trading, distribution, operations, safety, the environment, regulatory affairs, technology development, business analysis, LNG and more. All segments of the gas processing industry will be discussed: upstream, midstream and downstream.

20 – 22 September WORLD SODA ASH Location: Lisbon, Portugal Organised by: IHS Chemical Week Website:https: //www.ihs.com/events/ world-soda-ash-2016/overview.html

Chemical Today Magazine | May 2016

The IHS Chemical World Soda Ash Conference & Workshop will once again present the insight and analysis that you have come to rely on and bring together the soda ash industry from around the globe for a time of networking and information sharing.

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EVENTS

20 – 23 September GLASSTEC Location: Dusseldorf, Germany Organised by:Messe Dusseldorf GmbH Website:: http://www.glasstec-online.com/

Glasstec is the international trade fair for glass production—processing— products. The show presents the entire spectrum of glass as a material in a comprehensive way from production through processing and finishing to the final application.

21 – 23 September AED Location: Rosemont, Illinois Organised by: Association of Equipment Manufacturers Website: http://www.aem.org/events/conferences-andseminars/2016-aed-aem-equipment-economic-forum/

5 – 6 October THE INKJET CONFERENCE Location: Dusseldorf, Germany Organised by: ESMA Website: www.theijc.com

The forum focuses on current industry trends and the latest issues facing the heavy equipment industry. As a networking-platform, the event will help people gain insights to help the industry to succeed and maximize their profit opportunities.

The conference brings together Industry and academic leaders to speak about the latest advances and future technological developments driving digital print. The conference focuses on inkjet engineering and inkjet chemistry.

13 – 15 October POWDER & BULK SOLIDS INDIA Location: Bombay Convention & Exhibition Centre (BCEC) in Mumbai, India.

Organised by: Vogel Business Media GmbH & Co KG Website: http://www.powderbulksolidsindia.com/

11 – 16 December INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON ORGANIC SYNTHESIS Location: : Mumbai, India Organised by:Indian Institute of Technology Bombay Website: http://www.icos21.in/icos.php

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Chemical Today Magazine | May 2016

Powder & Bulk Solids India is a three-day event which showcases latest products. The event is a forum a get-together for process technicians, process engineers, production managers and scientists etc in the chemicals & dyes, industrial products, plant, machinery & equipment industries.

The 21st international conference on organic synthesis (ICOS) will showcase product and services from chemicals & dyes industry. ICOS is a biennial event, initiated by IUPAC as a platform for the exhibition of new and upcoming topics in the field of organic chemistry. Research in organic chemistry includes mainly the frontiers of total synthesis, designing of new methodologies, flow chemistry, C-H activation, synthetic biology, pharmaceutical and industrial chemistry.

www.worldofchemicals.com 17

EXPERT VIEWPOINT CERAMICS

CHANGING HOME FACADE WITH NEW

AGE TILES & CERAMICS

BY SHIVANI MODY

Tell us about the journey of RAK ceramics.

RAK Ceramics was established in 1989 by H H Sheikh Saud Bin Saqr Al Qasimi, Ruler of Ras Al Khaimah and UAE’s Supreme Council Member. Now under the vision and leadership of Sheikh Khalid Bin Saud Al Qasimi, Chairman of RAK Ceramics, the company has enjoyed rapid growth becoming an industry leader in just 20 years.

One of the largest ceramics’ manufacturers in the world, RAK Ceramics specializes in high-quality ceramic and gres-porcelain wall and floor tiles, sanitary ware, tableware and faucets. From a single factory in Ras Al Khaimah, the company has grown to become a global player and has 16 plants including 10 tiles, two sanitary ware and one tableware plants in the UAE and one plant each in India, Bangladesh and Iran. The company has a global annual production capacity of 110 million square metres of tiles, 5 million pieces of sanitary ware, 24 million pieces of tableware and 600,000 pieces of faucets.

What is the future growth and strategy plans of RAK Ceramics?

Abdallah Massaad

chief executive officer of Ras Al Khaimah (RAK) Ceramics talks at length about the ways in which fashion conscious global consumers are forcing the ceramics industry to think out of the box. From emulating nature on the walls to glowing tiles on the floor, home decor is completely a new ball game with the new range of tiles and ceramics available today.

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Chemical Today Magazine | May 2016

RAK Ceramics’ vision is to be the leading ceramics lifestyle solutions provider in the world and in 2014 a ‘Value Creation Plan’ was implemented to support this vision. The value creation plan is aimed at streamlining the business by investing in core businesses and exiting from non-core businesses.

Continued implementation of the value creation plan is the immediate focus for 2016, with a strong emphasis on revenue growth,

www.worldofchemicals.com capacity expansions and ongoing acquisitions in core businesses. In 2015 the company acquired 100 percent of its subsidiaries in the UK, Germany, Iran and India.

These acquisitions will strengthen the RAK Ceramics brand and give the company greater control over its global operations.

What are the recent trends in the ceramics market?

Textures that emulate natural materials are very popular such as our collections that resemble natural stone, marble or wood.

We are also seeing increased demand for extra-large slabs, which make spaces appear bigger and brighter.

RAK Ceramics was the first manufacturer in the GCC to introduce Maximus Mega Slab. This giant sized 135x305 cm slab can be used on walls, floors and facades or to create kitchen or bathroom surfaces. The large size of Maximus reduces the need for grout lines giving a seamless look to spaces. Maximus Mega Slab is RAK Ceramics’ most versatile product yet and is opening up new markets for us, replacing traditional granite and stone.

Brief us about the key market drivers for the ceramics industry The building industry and in particular, new project development is one of the key drivers for growth in the sector. But we are also seeing an increase in refurbishments. Ceramics is now a design-orientated, fashion-led product, with trends changing constantly and fashion conscious customers no longer want to wait 5-10 years to replace their tiles or sanitary ware, but change them more regularly to keep their interiors and exteriors looking fresh and modern.

It is important for ceramics’ manufacturers to follow closely what is in fashion, which styles are on trend and ensure we meet market demands. Ceramics are now used creatively both indoors and outdoors in many different ways, not just on walls or floors. People are using ceramics outdoors to create facades, for cladding, and decoration and indoors to replace counter tops such as kitchen and bathroom surfaces. It is a very exciting time for the industry.

Shed some light on the various sectors, which are seeing growth for ceramics?

The ceramics industry is showing healthy growth across segments, thanks to increased efficiency in the Chemical Today Magazine | May 2016

manufacturing process and renewable energy efficiency.

Forecasts from WinterGreen Research indicate that ceramics markets valued at $296.2 billion in 2014 will reach $502.8 billion by 2020. As a multinational manufacturer with distributors across the globe, RAK Ceramics is encouraged by these forecasts particularly in our high-value markets of the Gulf region, Europe and Asia. One of the fastest growing segments in the industry is tiles. This is especially true in the Gulf region, where the UAE and Saudi Arabia are its largest markets globally.

The Gulf market will continue to be a high-growth market for RAK Ceramics for the foreseeable future.

According to market analysts Frost & Sullivan, the tiles market in the GCC is predicted to grow at a robust 12 percent year-on-year from 2013 to 2018.

The tiling segment is also performing well around the world, and is expected to reach a value of $125.32 billion by 2020 with a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 8.5 percent, according to Frost & Sullivan.

In emerging markets such as India and Bangladesh, demand for tiles is growing due to governmentled spending on infrastructure improvements and RAK Ceramics is well positioned to benefit from this expected growth.

RAK Porcelain is also performing very strongly and the tableware industry is seeing steady growth particularly in Asia-Pacific, where Global Industry Analysts Inc saw a CAGR of 5.4 percent between 2007 and 2013.

What is RAK’s focus on innovation in ceramics products?

Technology and innovation are at the heart of RAK Ceramics’ philosophy and the company has continuously led the way in terms of product innovation.

Its manufacturing plants are equipped with state-ofthe-art technology and it is this continued investment into the latest technologies which ensures the company remains at the cutting edge of ceramics’ production globally.

RAK Ceramics is the first manufacturer in the GCC to introduce Continua+ technology enabling it to manufacture large format porcelain surfaces such as Maximus Mega Slab. Other innovations include Luminous, a range of tiles that glow in the dark – a technology which unlocks the potential for a wide range of applications; and Antimicrobial, a hygienic 19

EXPERT VIEWPOINT CERAMICS easy to clean tile especially suited for use in schools, healthcare facilities or the hospitality industry.

What is the current advancement in Nanocomposite materials for ceramics?

The development of nanocomposite material is very exciting for the ceramics business, because it allows manufacturers to bring products to scale.

There are many advantages to nanocomposite organic and inorganic materials including improved mechanical properties, such as strength, modulus and dimensional stability. It is also less permeable to gases, water and hydrocarbons. It is stable under high heat, and heat-distorting temperatures, is more flame retardant, has higher chemical resistance and it has higher electrical conductivity.

Ceramic nanocomposite material is a fast growing area of research and is currently undergoing trials. We hope that in the near future, nanocomposite materials will be able to reduce the wear and tear of our kilns and with the ability to withstand high temperatures and pressure, they will offer customers improved lifespan for their ceramics.

With the growing importance of 3D printing technology, how is RAK incorporating this technology in ceramics business?

RAK Ceramics prints 3D designs onto the surface of our tiles. Our manufacturing plants are equipped with the latest state-of-the-art HDD (High Definition Digital) and DDD (Digital Define Definition) printers which enable us to print highly intricate and detailed 3D designs directly onto flat, curved or textured surfaces, some great examples of this include collections such as our Wood Art or Stone Art where the technology can be used to produce tiles which look and feel like real wood or stone.

What are the recent trends in the ceramic raw materials?

RAK Ceramics mostly uses traditional materials such as kaolin clay, quartz and feldspar and our business was built on the limestone, clay and sand of Ras Al Khaimah. For our manufacturing processes, 80 percent of raw materials are now imported from around the world from countries including: Italy, Spain, Germany, Thailand, Malaysia, China and India.

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Chemical Today Magazine | May 2016

Our suppliers in the Gulf region, Europe, and Asia often maintain their own mines and processing plants or manufacturing materials, which allows us to source raw materials, while taking into account product quality, pricing and timely delivery. Our research and development team is always looking at new ways to improve our products, including the use of new raw materials or technology in our manufacturing processes.

What are the challenges faced in the ceramics market pertaining to chemical raw material supply?

The balance of trade deficit drives freight prices higher, which increases the price of raw materials and at RAK Ceramics we work hard to stay abreast of every change, from regulations to exchange rates.

Additionally, as sophisticated printing techniques become more common place and the demand for more intricate tile designs grows, we are required to source specialist printer inks from Europe in order to meet this demand. The shelf life of these inks and pigments can be short, causing us to lose 30 percent during the 40 days of transit from Europe to the UAE.

What are your expectations from chemical manufacturers supplying products for the ceramics industry?

As a business that sources raw materials from all over the world, in practical terms, developing chemicals with a longer shelf life and ensuring that all products are shipped with the required documentation would make every shipment more economical. This will in turn contribute to the continued development of the ceramics industry.

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Chemical Today Connecting World Chemically

For years the portal worldofchemicals.com has been writing news and information about chemistry & the chemical industry. Building on our online expertise ahead we have more in-depth stories and premium content for the industry in a new format – print medium: ‘Chemical Today’ magazine.

Chemical Today is a unique monthly magazine bringing to you chemistry & chemical industry - related information, delving on nearly 50 sectors annually.

With a focus on 4 to 5 sectors each month, we give you access to latest happenings in the corporate sector as well as academic research. Other than the usual suspects - the Cover Story, Features, Events and Interviews, we will focus on Green Chemistry/Sustainability, IT In Chemicals, Automation, Logistics and Research & Development (R&D) By Youngsters on a monthly basis.

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EXPERT VIEWPOINT INKS

REVOLUTIONIZING

INK TECHNOLOGY FOR ELECTRONICS

BY SHIVANI MODY

Discuss about the company’s electronic chemical business.

Sun Chemical advanced materials delivers a wide range of materials for printed electronics and printed circuit boards. Our printed electronics technologies are optimized for advanced photovoltaics, including HIT, SE, and IBC processes. Other applications include printed antennae, membrane touch switches, sensors, lighting and displays.

Explain the trends that are driving the electronic chemical industry.

Today, trends remain focused on achieving finer lines and higher conductivity metallization. However, new applications are emerging in smart packaging and we are increasingly supporting our brand and converter partners in the packaging market.

Smart packaging is a major focus around the world. Asian markets, especially China, have also made large investments in advanced solar cell process and designs.

For our advanced materials division, there is significant growth potential in smart labels, printed sensors, printed antennae and 3D printing.

What is the latest development in the electronic director, global commercial & strategic inks industry?

Roy Bjorlin

initiatives, electronics materials, Sun Chemical, talks about the various aspects that are driving the growth of the electronic chemicals business.

Nanosilver ink is considered a very strategic material and is an innovative part of advanced materials’ technology portfolio. In the coming years, nanosilver ink will become very popular as it enables 3D designs for printed antennae.

What is the advancement in copper and nano inks for electronic segment?

The advanced materials division has developed and continues to develop both nanosilver and copper inks. In the market, copper inks remain in the early development stages whereas nanosilver is a new yet trusted technology.

Give us an idea about T+Sun’s latest innovations.

By combining the capabilities of T+Ink and Sun Chemical, T+Sun has made significant progress in developing smart 22

Chemical Today Magazine | May 2016

www.worldofchemicals.com packaging solutions through the use of Touch Code.

We have also begun promoting a full package of inmould electronic inks, including graphic inks as well as conductive, dielectric and resistor inks.

Tell us about your focus on R&D and innovation.

We continue to match R&D capabilities with our target markets in order to provide our customers with tailormade solutions. In particular, advanced materials ensures that customers can achieve highly advanced designs in a wide range of electronics.

Sun Chemical, a member of the DIC group, is a leading producer of printing inks, coatings and supplies, pigments, polymers, liquid compounds, solid compounds, and application materials. Together with DIC, Sun Chemical has annual sales of more than $7.5 billion and over 20,000 employees supporting customers around the world.

Sun Chemical Corporation is a subsidiary of Sun Chemical Group Co-operatief UA, The Netherlands, and is headquartered in Parsippany, New Jersey, US.

THE EASIER WAY YOU CAN SERVICE

CHEMICALS

23

SECTOR VIEW INKS & DYES

PAINTING

A SAFER WORLD

What would life be without colours! From clothes, to walls, to food and even its packet, colour is an integral part of our lives. Riding on this market demand is the ink and dye industry, which simply won’t fade away from growth prospects. However, this industry is seeing some of the most challenging transformations of all times.

24

UV INK TATTOO

BY DEBARATI DAS

www.worldofchemicals.com

Nowadays the global dye industry is facing some of the biggest challenges of all times - demand for organic pigments, stringent rules over food and food packaging colours, drastic fall of the print industry, are just the beginning of the list. And although, colours wouldn’t fade away from the face of the world, stern protests from all quarters of the society for safe dyes and pigments has led the industry with just one solution - Evolve!

consumer of organic pigments, while in Asia-Pacific iron oxides usage dominates the regional consumption with rising growth potential of carbon black pigments.

The usage of pigments is seeing a strong growth in paints and varnishes globally followed by plastics.

Rising awareness about health issues related to dyes has also brought about a demand for environment friendly, safe and organic pigments.

These challenges are simply bringing out the best from the global dye makers. With new technology and ideas in place, the world is about to get a fresh coat of colour on it!

Market Dynamics - From West to East

While the ink and dye industry has witnessed adequate growth opportunities, this sector is also facing its share of challenges. The drastic fall in the global printing industry and the trend towards e-books and papers has subsequently led to the downslide of inks industry.

The ink and dye industry is an integral part of a huge gamut of industries including textiles, leather, plastics, paints, printing, pharmaceuticals, food, food packaging to name a few.

Furthermore, the global fluctuation in automobile industry and frequent slowdowns in this sector has pulled the reins of the fast advances in the paints and coatings industry.

The global market of dyes and organic pigments is expected to witness a growth of 6 percent per year to be valued at $19.5 billion in 2019, as per Freedonia Group report. However, while the growth in the west is slowly becoming stagnant, the new age growth story of ink and dye is being written in Asia.

Trends in Technological Advances

The global dye manufacturing industry was originally dominated by suppliers from Europe namely UK, Switzerland, Germany but it is now shifting to Asia.

Experts suggest that while China will remain the dominant player in the market, India, Bangladesh and Vietnam will also witness rapid growth in the coming years. The shift is predominantly due to lower costs of production, growing prominence of global textile industry and the rise in consumer spending ability of the middle class in the Asia Pacific.

Textile alone accounted for over half of world dye and organic pigment demand in 2014, and the radical rise of demand for textiles witnessed in China and India will further amplify the demand for dyes. Furthermore, consumer preferences for new, unusual textile colours, which are environment-friendly will give rise to higher value products in the industry.

The strong growth in construction activities will boost demand in paints and coatings with special preference for expensive, higher value paints. According to reports, North America will witness strong growths in paints and coatings applications due to rising construction expenditures. North America has also become a huge Chemical Today Magazine | May 2016

Challenging Market Segments

The changing preference by customers is forcing the ink and dye industry to change its manufacturing tactics and bring in new technological advances to meet the global demand.

Printing Technologies: The drastic decline in the overall printing industry due to closure of newspaper printing, rise of e-books and advertisers increasingly using other media to reach consumers has majorly affected the printing ink market. However, this decline has made way for new technological developments and increasing demand for digital inks. The growth of digital printing has brought in new demands on the pigments with specific requirements like quality of dispersion, viscosity and consistency.

Energy curing technology: To meet this demand, there has been significant growth of energy curing technologies, which gave rise to alternative ink types, such as ultraviolet (UV) and electron beam (EB) inks.

Energy curing technologies have also been growing in popularity due to their utility, eco-friendly standing, viscosity stability & compatibility and usefulness in a wide range of applications. Unlike other methods of curing, exposure to light is comparably non-hazardous and typically less expensive than conventional coatings.

UV inks consist of chemicals, which dry more or less instantly when exposed to ultraviolet light. They can 25

SECTOR VIEW INKS & DYES be used on a greater variety of substrates like plastics, vinyl, foil, paperboard, and other specialty substrates and offer increased health and safety for press operators and the environment. EB curing is similar to UV- the ink contains fluid oligomers and monomers that, when exposed to a beam of high-energy electrons, release free radicals that cause the polymerization (or curing) of the ink.

“The EB process opens the door for printing on thin films and foils. Ebeam should also offer advantages for companies wanting to print low migration labels and packaging for food applications,” said Kristin Adams, marketing manager for Collins Inkjet Corporation.

Carbon black pigment: Ink represents only 2 percent of carbon black consumption overall out of which about 35 to 40 percent of the consumption was in printing of newspapers alone which is further seeing a global decline. However, there is a strong performance in rubber applications, which consume more than 90 percent of carbon black. The rise in car ownership among global middle class will further increase the carbon black usage in tire, hose and other parts. Packaging and specialty applications will also partially offset the losses in publication.

The primary advantage of EB curing inks is that they don’t require photo initiators, as the electron beam is powerful enough to start the polymerization process.

Due to this, EB inks are less expensive, clean up with water rather than solvents, are low-migration, and are safe & non-toxic, which makes them ideal for food and pharmaceutical packaging, especially thin films and foils.

In graphic arts market there is an increasing use of non-impact printing methods, such as inkjet. Hence, there will be increased demand for high performance pigments over conventional pigments used in traditional printing inks.

Textile:

chemicals in its processes, releasing the wastewater into the sea, polluting the environment.

According to Research and Markets report, the global dyestuff for textile market is expected to grow at a CAGR of 8.67 percent over the period 2015-2019.

Dyestuff is used to colour a wide range of textile fibers such as polyester fibers, nylon fibres, acrylic fibres, and other fibres. Polyester fibre is the most widely used variety of textile fibre and is the largest product segment of the global dyestuff market for textile fibres.

The rising demand from the end-user industries such as home textiles, apparels, automotive textiles, and other textiles is also accelerating the growth in this industry.

In textile segment, disperse and reactive dyes is commonly used to colour polyester and cotton, respectively which represent nearly half of total world dye demand. China manufactures and exports disperse dyes in large quantities. Similarly, India is one of the biggest producers of reactive dyes in the world.

Waterless technologies: Environmental concerns are driving the textile industry to change its manufacturing tactics. Dye manufacturers use large amount of water and 26

Ink Trends

Chemical Today Magazine | May 2016

To address this issue, waterless dyeing technologies are being developed and deployed to reduce pollution.

The use of water is cut to near-zero, significantly diminishing the pollution. The decreased use of chemicals for dyeing will increase the speed of dyeing cycles, leading to less energy consumption. This in turn will reduce the cost of textile dyes propelling the market growth.

Many emerging economies are gradually switching to dyeing textiles with liquefied carbon dioxide instead of water to address the water issue. Nano-ecological dyeing is also an emerging concept, to bring in ‘the sustainability’ factor.

The concept of AirDye technology, which makes use of air instead of water in textile dyeing, is also quickly picking up pace in the developing countries. This method consumes 95 percent less water and up to 86 percent less energy as compared to the traditional dyeing methods.

Eco-friendly dyes: There is also an increase in the demand for natural dyes or eco-friendly dyes. Vendors are focusing on

www.worldofchemicals.com shifting from chemical dye manufacturing to valueadded offerings. A sharp fall in the current market offering such as distinct basic dyes, direct, mordant, vat dyes and reactive & disperse dyes is expected in the near future making way for natural dyes.

Synthetic dye also has adverse effects on the health of people and the environment due to which emerging economies are shifting to natural dyes instead. Several developed countries have imposed a ban on the import of synthetic dyes. Use of azo dyes is banned in developing countries like India owing to its environmental and health impacts.

All these factors has led to the use of dyes made out of Cochineal dactylopius, Indigofera tinctora, Haematoxylum campechianum, Rubia tinctorum, Maclura pomifera, Punica granatum, Schinopsis lorentzii, Reseda luteola, etc.

Food and Food Packaging: While printing industry has seen a downturn, it is seeing hike in demand in packaging industry, especially food & pharmaceutical packaging. However, global awareness about food safety has increased the scrutiny over the colours and pigments used not just in food products but also in food packaging. Studies have shown that certain components, even those in indirect

Chemical Today Magazine | April 2016

contact, may migrate into the food or beverage under certain conditions. As a result, certain mineral oil saturated and aromatic components used in printing inks have been identified as an area of growing concern. This has led to various measures to eliminate undesirable migration of ink into food. Factors like package design, material selection in ink, adhesive and coating formulations, and use of recycled paper and paperboard are being brought under additional scrutiny.

The rise in FDA regulations in most countries has also forced more and more companies to comply with the global standards and regulations. There is a greater demand for higher quality and more consistent pigments that are colour stable, viscosity stable, compatible with a wide range of resin systems, and print on a wide variety of substrates.

This has led to the growth of a wider variety of colours and special effect pigments and increased the need for a wider selection of pigment colour index types and special mica and metallic pigments.

It has been found that the potential for ink migration into the packaging is less with aqueous inks, driving the packaging ink trend toward aqueous inks. Organic pigments and extensive range of FDA approved pigments are increasingly being used by the industry.

27

SECTOR VIEW INKS & DYES

“In the packaging ink market segment, the trend in the market is moving toward functional and sensory packaging. The packaging market faces different challenges than other market segments, such as low migration, the push toward smaller package size, recyclability and other efforts to reduce the impact of packaging on the environment,” said Peter O’Loughlin, director of marketing for performance pigments, Sun Chemical.

Reality Checks The unprecedented growth of the global dye industry has gone through the following reality checks: Environmental/Health Awareness: The grave implications of chemical dyes have triggered the demand for environment friendly natural dyes and organic pigments. The movement started with the banning of Azo dyes in most parts of the world.

Need for R&D: The industry needs financial investments and support from government and trade organizations to uplift a country’s dye industry by bringing in new technologies and path breaking researches.

“These trends in the packaging inks market have resulted in a greater demand for higher quality and more consistent pigments that are both colour stable and viscosity stable, compatible with a wide range of resin systems, and print on a wide variety of substrates,” Handling the problem of plenty: With the shift of the global industry to the East, countries like he added.

China and India have dramatically increased their Eco friendly/Organic pigments: production capacity. However, the governments need Organic pigments will witness an overall growth in to be prepared to handle the over capacity and price the market share due to the general shift in market volatility due to the sudden production outburst and preference towards ecofriendly and safe manufacturing. price volatility.

Printing inks, coatings, plastics, textiles, construction Product quality V/s competitive prices: Factors are some of the industry with is witnessing a drastic that sustain the fierce competition are high quality shift towards organic pigments globally. products with competitive pricing. This can only be “Our customers are increasingly looking for pigments and resins that can be used in environmentally-friendly waterborne systems and maintain the same performance requirements as solvent borne systems,” said Mehran Yazdani, president, Sun Chemical Advanced Materials.

These transformations are revolutionizing ink and dyes used in various day-today applications and products.

And with these changes, this world is moving towards being colorful, bright, yet a safer place to live in.

28

Chemical Today Magazine | May 2016

achieved by high end technology and research to stay in sync with global demands. Low cost production and labor cost should not lead to inferior product quality.

Stringent regulations: Governments need to play a bigger role in the growth of the dye manufacturing industry by making rules and regulations which support the industry to spread its wings within and outside the country.

Communicate With www.worldofchemicals.com

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29

FEATURE GLASS & CERAMICS

GLASS & CERAMICS:

CHANGING THE

FACADE OF STYLE The global industry of glass and ceramics is at its all-time high. The rise in some of the biggest sectors, such as construction, health care, automotive etc. has carried the glass and ceramics industry in its stride. With this increase in demand, the industry is now working towards broadening its application areas and bringing in new trends in the market.

30

Chemical Today Magazine | May 2016

www.worldofchemicals.com

BY DEBARATI DAS

© RAK CERAMICS

The glass and ceramics industry has been riding on the growth of other sectors. With a global boom in the construction industry, glass and ceramics have witnessed major growth too. According to Research and Markets report, the global glass ceramics market is expected to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 6.1 percent from 2016-2020. However, this growth has also brought in a fierce competition in the market demanding the industry to offer quality and innovation to its global customers.

Although rising construction and infrastructure projects have given a major boost to the glass and ceramics market, the industry is not restricted to floor tiles and sanitary ware. It finds a host of applications in various industries such as pipes, bricks, cookware, tableware, pottery products, gas and fire radiants, kiln linings, glass and steel crucibles, knife blades, disc brakes in vehicles, watch cases, biomedical implants and many more. It is increasingly being used in residential spaces, restaurants, offices, malls and resorts and industrial sectors - all of which are growing at a drastic pace.

Market Dynamics In the glass industry, a Lucintel report suggests that the global flat glass industry is expected to reach an estimated $66.6 billion by 2019 driving on the growth of automotive and construction industries. The report further points out that OEMs are now switching to insulated glazing from single glazing units due to the growing demand of energy efficient glasses. Industry players have also introduced solar control glazing and lightweight glazing which is changing the dynamics of the glass industry globally. Electronics industry is also witnessing a major shift in demand with new range of display glasses for the burgeoning market of television, mobile handset and other products.

“The requirements for emerging display technologies, in both TV and mobile applications, will place greater demands on glass performance. To meet these requirements we’re providing our customers with additional glass substrate options to ensure they have the right product to meet current and emerging display requirements,” said Chris Hudson, commercial director, Corning Display Technologies.

The drastic rise in industrialization and urbanization has resulted into growing demand for commercial as well as residential buildings in the emerging economies such as India, China, Brazil and South Asian countries, giving ceramic industry new growth Chemical Today Magazine | May 2016

31

FEATURE GLASS & CERAMICS prospects. According to the WinterGreen Research report, the ceramics market forecasts indicates that the $296.2 billion market will reach $502.8 billion by 2020 in response to the growth in every industry as they achieve efficiency in manufacturing process and renewable energy.

Technological advancement in manufacturing of ceramic tiles and availability of abundant raw materials in these economies have also contributed in growth of ceramic tiles market.

The major ceramic segments include roof tiles, floor tiles, bricks, sanitary pottery, ceramic insulation, glass, cement, and refactory clay bricks.

However, floors tile captures the largest product segment of ceramic tiles market. Wall tile is expected to be the second leading segment in the global ceramic tiles market followed by other products like table tops, facades, counter tops etc. exhibiting significant growth in the coming years.

With the potential to be used as a substitute for paints, demand for ceramic tiles used for residential replacement has increased its market share owing to the fact that various new patters and nature emulating tile patterns are being majorly accepted by customers globally.

Trend Setters The growth of an industry is market by the way it re-innovates itself.

Ceramics and glass has undergone a huge change in the recent times in order to explore new areas of application.

Ceramics in health care industry: Rising demand for implantable devices for surgical methods is giving a major boost to the medical ceramics market, which is projected to reach $16.3 billion by 2020, with a CAGR of 6.4 percent between 2015 and 2020, according to Research and Markets report. Dental and orthopedic implants are the key application areas of medical ceramics. They are being used in therapeutic treatment of cancer and related diseases and in dialysis due to their high bio-compatibility. It is also being used in surgical & diagnostic instruments and implantable electronic devices. China, India, Indonesia, and Brazil are the fastest-growing market for medical ceramics along with US, Germany, Italy and France.

Factors such as rise in urban population with disposable income, increased awareness about health care, rise in cosmetic & plastic surgeries, increasing cardiovascular diseases, increasing aging population, rising cases of hip & knee replacement procedures, coupled with increasing research activities in Asia Pacific is triggering the growth of this market.

Dental Implants: Since ceramics has high mechanical strength, excellent biocompatibility, tribological properties and dimensional stability, it is the ideal material preferred for dental implants. More advanced and specialized ceramics are fast replacing bio-metals in dental treatments.

Nanophase materials: Nanophase materials are increasingly being used for the production of high-strength compact composite coatings for advanced implants. With a lot of research taking place in this field, manufacturers too are investing substantially in developing advanced nanophase ceramics for diagnostic devices and implantable electronic devices.

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Chemical Today Magazine | May 2016

© RAK CERAMICS

Chemical Today Magazine | May 2016

33

FEATURE GLASS & CERAMICS Due to the unique properties of nanophase ceramics, it is being used in various applications like drug delivery where slow degradation of ceramics allows for longer release of the drug at targeted cells; and bone substitution & regeneration where rougher surfaces and increased surface area of nanophase ceramics promotes reactivity and absorption of proteins assisting in tissue development.

Medical packaging: With the rise of nanomedicines, the role of glass has been redefined in medical capsuling and packaging. SCHOTT recently launched SCHOTT Vials Delamination Controlled (DC)- a new pharmaceutical vials that minimize the risk of delamination. In delamination, the glass surface and the drug formulation react under certain circumstances and delaminate over time and tiny glass flakes can then be seen in the solution.

is now a design-orientated, fashion-led product, with trends changing constantly and fashion conscious customers no longer want to wait 5-10 years to replace their tiles or sanitary ware, but change them more regularly to keep their interiors and exteriors looking fresh and modern,” said Abdallah Massaad, CEO, RAK Ceramics.

The global tiles industry has showcased some of the rarest trends of all times. Floor tile has become a replacement for hardwood and other flooring options due to high durability and low maintenance. Replacing paint, wall tiles today come in the most exquisite patterns.

Some of the latest patterns trending this year include: mix and match of fragmented tiles giving kaleidoscope effect, brick wall effect, rustic and painted wood patterns, 3-D linear designs, street art, pop art or “SCHOTT Vials DC can also be used for drugs that have classic art engulfing an entire wall, distressed and already been approved without requiring costly re- tactile effects of sandblasted marble, stripped wood registration. They minimize the risk of product recalls and fabric etc. Aquatic and marine palette of green and and make a major contribution to patient safety,” said blues are being widely used in bathroom decors this Andreas Reisse, executive vice president, SCHOTT’s year.

Pharmaceutical Systems Business Unit.

Challenges Faced Glass Ceramics in Construction:

The glass and ceramics industry is infested with various In this segment, CaO-Al2O3-SiO2 system is gaining challenges in its growth path. competence as construction materials. Glass-ceramics • Cost of manufacturing: Glass and Ceramics is an are attractive materials used in various applications energy-intensive market. Availability of raw materials such as building materials, cooking ceramics, and high costs of energy and limited access to cheap machinable ceramics, bio-ceramics, optical materials fuels has had an impact on the competitiveness of the etc. CaO-Al2O3-SiO2 system is significant, due to its industry in the global market. special durability and mechanical properties. They are widely being used for abrasion and chemically resistant • Environmental Concerns: The manufacturing parts or floor and wall tile in the chemical, mechanical, of ceramics and glasses is surrounded by are range of environmental concerns such as the need to heat construction, and heavy industries. kilns up to 2000°C, high emission of carbon dioxide According to reports, APAC region dominates the glass and harmful dust, impact on the ecology and health ceramics market, with India and China as the biggest of works etc. There is a need for high end research to markets, and will generate revenues of over $5 billion implement technologies and techniques in ceramics by the end of 2020. There is also an increasing use of production that minimizes energy use by kilns and sol-gel technology in glass ceramics. reduces environmental degradation.

Ceramic Tiles art: The global ceramic tile market • Fierce competition: While major global players are alone is expected to reach $125.32 billion by 2020, changing the trends of the industry, increasing number according to Grand View Research Inc. Not just the of local manufacturers who make inferior quality rise in construction activity, but there has been a products along with import of low-cost ceramics drastic upgrade in the interior designing sense of the products from emerging economies is hampering the customers globally. This has led to an upsurge in tile growth of the industry. patterns and deigns. Apart from new construction High-quality production processes, assured logistics activities, residential replacement is one of the largest systems for fast delivery and development of innovative growth areas where customers and revamping their products and tends in the industry is the much needed houses to be aligned with the latest trends. impetus for the glass and ceramics industry to make “We are seeing an increase in refurbishments. Ceramics 34

Chemical Today Magazine | May 2016

the most of the global market dynamics.

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The portal worldofchemicals.com has been writing news and information about chemistry & the chemical industry since last five years. Moving ahead with more in-depth stories and premium content for the chemical industry we now have a new format – a print magazine ‘Chemical Today.’

Every element, Every chemical, Every chemical complex, Every reaction, Every process and Every product is a story in itself.

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REPORT RENEWABLE CHEMICALS

RENEWABLE CHEMICAL

MANUFACTURING MARKET Renewable chemicals find high application in large number of areas such as transportation, beverage bottling & food packaging, bio-medical, health, recreation, housing, environment, textiles, agriculture and fertilizers.

Key Findings

application and regional outlook. These segments are further divided in to a number of sub segments.

Renewable chemicals find high application in large number of areas such as transportation, beverage bottling and food packaging, bio-medical, health & hygiene, recreation, housing, environment, textiles, agriculture, fertilizers and industrial.

The global renewable chemical manufacturing market is expected to grow at the CAGR of 12.71 percent during 2015-2022. The major factors leading to the expansion of renewable chemicals manufacturing market are the strict rules and regulations imposed by various regulatory authorities to keep a check on products leading to the damage of the environment, Asia pacific region is expected to have the largest the abundance availability of renewable chemicals that application of the renewable chemicals in the too at a reasonable price is, and the consumer today forecasted period. Due to its usage in large number of is getting inclined towards the use of Eco-friendly applications the industry is expected gain a high share in the global market. Renewable chemicals are made products. using different types of raw materials such as corn, Some of the other factors leading to the growth of sugarcane, sugar beet, wheat, cassava, vegetable oils, the market are intense research and development coconut oil, palm oil, palm kernel oil and castor oil. activities going on the field leading to the development Based on the product type it is segmented as bio-based of better products. Also there are certain opportunities chemicals, platform chemicals and bio polymers. in the market which can be the major cause for the high growth of the market in the forecasted period Regional insight such as the collaboration with various universities Based on geography the industry is divided into North and excellent application of the chemicals to increase America, Europe, Asia pacific and Rest of the world. the yield of the of various end use sectors such as North America has the largest share in the global agriculture, textiles, fertilizers etc. market followed by Europe, Asia Pacific and rest of the Some of the factors acting as the restraint for the market are the issues related with the production and cost of the renewable chemicals and also trade-off with vital resources is one of the major restraints being faced by the industry.

Market segment insight The market of renewable chemical manufacturing is segmented on the basis of raw materials, product type, 36

Chemical Today Magazine | May 2016

world. Although, Asia pacific is expected to dominate the market in the future, because of developing economies such as China and India.

Competitive insight Some of the known companies in this industry are BASF SE, Brakemen, Bio methanol Chemie Nederland BV, DuPont Tate & Lyle Bio Products Company LLC, Mitsubishi Chemical Corp etc.

Source: Brisk Insights

www.worldofchemicals.com

Chemical Today Magazine | May 2016

37

REPORT ELECTRONIC CHEMICALS

GLOBAL ELECTRONIC CHEMICALS AND MATERIALS MARKET Asia-Pacific region shows rapid growth in CAGR 38

Chemical Today Magazine | May 2016

www.worldofchemicals.com

©Honeywell Electronic Chemicals

T

he migration of the electronics equipment market from western countries to the Asia-Pacific region, particularly to China, is a key driver of rapid growth in the region. BCC Research reveals in its new report this growth trend should continue during the next few years, which should steadily increase the region’s global market share.

materials is related to overall growth in the production of electronic devices, as well as technological innovation that will create opportunities for new materials. New materials such as low-k dielectrics and advanced photoresists will see growth rates well above average, and opportunities also will emerge in existing technologies as chemical compositions improve and attain better compatibility and lower costs.

Electronic chemicals and materials can be divided into two broad categories. Electronic chemicals consist The Asia-Pacific countries (excluding Japan) represent mainly of gases, polymers, photoresist chemicals, the largest and fastest-growing geographical market wet chemicals and solvents, and some miscellaneous for electronic chemicals and materials due to economic chemicals and metals. Electronic materials are liberalization and rising incomes in countries such as composed mainly of wafers and chemical mechanical China and India. planarization slurries.

“These countries (again, excluding Japan) are the The global electronic chemicals and materials market largest geographical market for electronic chemicals is projected to reach $22.9 billion and $30.5 billion and materials, due to the rapid electronics market in 2015 and 2020, respectively, reflecting a five-year expansion and rising standards of living,” said BCC compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 5.9 percent. research analyst Andrew McWilliams.

The wafers product market, the largest segment, “The growth of the end-user sectors of semiconductors should reach $7.9 billion and $10 billion in 2015 and and printed circuit boards in the region is also likely 2020, respectively. The two fastest-growing segments, to be rapid in the coming years, driven by developing the photoresist chemicals market and wet chemicals countries such as China and India where applications and solvents market, should share identical five-year in computers, communications, consumer electronics, CAGRs of 8.4 percent. motor vehicles and the military are all expected to The increase in demand for electronic chemicals and grow at high rates.”

Chemical Today Magazine | May 2016

39

REPORT INKS

NITROCELLULOSE BASED INKS

MARKET

FORECAST

2016 – 2023 Superior properties for furniture applications with rapidly growing furniture industry are projected to assist nitrocellulose demand.

Industry Analysis Nitrocellulose market size is set to surpass 295 kilo tonne by 2023, with over 5.5 percent CAGR from 2016 to 2023. This global nitrocellulose market report anticipates industry to generate revenue exceeding $940 million by 2023.

Growing printing applications across multiple industries ranging from packaging to print media can be attributed for robust global nitrocellulose market size growth. Global printing ink industry generated revenues worth $4.5 billion in 2014.

Gravure and flexographic inks in the packaging industry use nitrocellulose as a key component.

Gravure and flexographic inks generated revenues worth over $620 million & $850 million in 2014.

Flexographic demand is presumed to experience a 40

Chemical Today Magazine | May 2016

higher growth rate compared to gravure printing.

Flexographic technology is used for printing in the packaging industry Nitrocellulose-based inks are preferred for their properties such as fast drying capability, good adhesion to the material and compatibility with wide range additives such as resins, plasticizers and pigments.

These inks also meet the regulations issued by Food & Drug Administration (FDA) and European Union (EU). The advantage of these printing inks is that the solvents evaporate completely on drying. Superior properties for furniture applications coupled with rapidly growing furniture industry are projected to assist nitrocellulose demand.

Global furniture trade generated revenues close to $130 billion in 2014. Asia Pacific has witnessed highest change in the consumption pattern with over

www.worldofchemicals.com 5 percent growth per annum in comparison to other regions such as North America and Europe at around 3 percent and 1.5 percent yearly growth.

The concept of good living and better lifestyle has prompted the middle-class people to invest more in furniture across the globe. Regions with cheap labour and with considerable artistic capabilities have become export centres for furniture.

Leading global brands are taking initiatives to enter the fast growing regional markets by setting up production centres and forging partnerships with local manufacturers. Such initiatives by MNCs assist in boosting product demand.

Growing internet penetration and rising e-commerce exposure has aided the furniture industry as well.

Customers are increasingly accepting online furniture shopping in the developing countries. Though online shopping is a small fraction of the total furniture industry, it must witness brisk growth in the near future.

Intricate regulatory framework by FDA and EU such as 67/54/EEC coupled with transport regulation such as UN 2555 and UN 2556 leads to higher operational cost in this industry, which may affect global nitrocellulose market price trend up to 2023.

Application Analysis Printing inks nitrocellulose demand was the highest and generated revenues worth over $140 million in 2015.

Wood coatings application in the US nitrocellulose market size accounted for over 25 percent of the demand in 2015 and is set to attain growth rate at over 5.2 percent up to 2023. Strong demand from furniture industry in the US is anticipated key industry trend driving North America market for wood coating applications.

Automotive paints market share was over 19 percent in 2015 and estimated to grow at below average CAGR at over 4.8 percent up to 2023. Susceptible to pollution & scratches, low operating life and high VoC emissions in the environment are factors contributing to sluggish growth for automotive paints application.Substitutes such as acrylic enamel, two pack paint, acrylic lacquer and CeramiClear employing nanotechnology have superior properties and are accepted for the automobile coating application.

Chemical Today Magazine | May 2016

Regional Analysis Europe nitrocellulose market size, with Germany, France and UK being the key growth regions, generated revenue exceeding $115 million in 2015. Leather finishes application in Germany was valued at over $4 million in 2015, whereas wood coating applications in UK was worth over $5 million.

APAC, dominated by China nitrocellulose market size, dominated the demand with valuation exceeding $280 million in 2015. China automotive coatings application demand was calculated at over 13 kilo tonne in 2015 are estimated to grow significantly over the next seven years.

MEA, led by Saudi Arabia, Qatar and UAE, should see sluggish growth, whereas Central & South America, dominated by Brazil industrial base, are set to grow significantly at over 6 percent CAGR up to 2023.

Competitive Market Share Global nitrocellulose market share has numerous regional companies operational in unorganized sector and compete with MNCs on the basis of product quality and price. Notable industry participants include Nitro Quimica, Dow Wolff and Tembec. Other prominent industry participants are EURENCO, Atomax Chemicals, IVM Chemicals, Synthesia, and TNC Industrial.

Companies are expected to increase their presence throughout the value chain by enhancing product portfolio and partnering with local distributors & resellers to increase market presence.

China nitrocellulose market size, by application, (USD Million) 2012-2023

Source: Global Market Insights Inc. 41

REPORT INKS

© Huber Group India

UV CURABLE INKS - OPPORTUNITIES AND FORECASTS 2014 TO 2020

The market is expected to garner $3.5 billion by 2020

T

he world UV curable inks market would garner a revenue of $3.5 billion by 2020, registering a CAGR of 15.7 per cent during 2015 – 2020, forecasts a new report titled, “World UV Curable Inks—market opportunities and forecasts 2014 – 2020,” by Allied Market Research.

its popularity in the industrial sectors owing to the constant technological advancements. UV LED inks is expected to gradually replace the conventional UV inks owing to the longer shelf life and improved energy efficiency of LED lamps.

recent years. Stringent environmental regulations pertaining to volatile organic compound (VOC) emissions and remarkable curing properties of UV curable inks would increase their adoption in the publication sector. Moreover, sluggish curing properties and low resolution images associated with conventional inks have boosted the demand for instantly curable, high quality and eco-friendly UV inks.

These UV inks have been majorly used in the packaging industry, mostly in the Asia-Pacific region. The world UV curable inks market is expected to generate revenue of $3.5 billion by 2020, registering a CAGR of 15.7 percent during 2015–2020.

Ultraviolet (UV) curable inks undergo a photo Fast-growing packaged F&B industries have led to the chemical process in presence of ultraviolet light, which increasing use of UV inks for label printing. UV LED leads to the drying of the ink. UV curable inks have inks are an emerging technology, which is gradually witnessed widespread acceptance over traditional inks replacing UV inks across different verticals. The Asia- due to various advantages such as superior bonding, Pacific market is expected to witness an upsurge owing reduced rejection rates and superior solvent resistance to the increasing adoption in labelling of drugs and properties. UV inks have witnessed an upsurge in their consumer goods. adoption owing to favoring environmental regulations, The printing industries have been facing the issues of growing awareness and increased focus on improving volatile organic compound (VOC) emissions in the the safety of packaged foods.

Furthermore, the increasing applications of 3D printing across various verticals have boosted the growth of the market. However, high costs of equipment and fluctuating prices of raw materials would marginally In the current scenario, UV curable inks have restrict the growth of the market. Technological emerged as an ideal alternative to solvent and water- advancements in the field of UV printing have created based ink technologies owing to its suitability over a ample opportunities for the growth of the market. The variety of substrates. UV ink is expected to continue recently developed technologies, UV LED inks, have

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© Huber Group India been significantly accepted among customers owing to their superior advantages over mercury lamp curable UV inks.

World UV curable inks market is segmented based on product type, industry vertical and geography. Free radical inks offers superior adhesion, instant curing and better durability properties compared to cationic UV inks. UV inks have been increasingly adopted across various verticals including automobile, medical, consumer goods, publications and printing industries.

The world UV curable inks market has been analyzed on the basis of different geographical regions, which include North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific and LAMEA. Asia-Pacific would be the fastest growing region among others owing to high adoption of UV inks in countries such as China, India and Japan. The key players profiled in the report include APV Engineered Coatings, Hewlett-Packard Company, Illinois Tool Works Inc, Leibinger Group, RUCO Druckfarben, Eastern Marking Machine Corp, Flint Group, Toyo Ink SC Holdings Co Ltd, Gans Ink & Supply Co and T&K Toka Corp.

Chemical Today Magazine | May 2016

KEY FINDINGS OF THE STUDY: • The UV curable inks segment would exhibit a significant growth due to stringent environmental regulations on VOC emissions and instant curing property of these inks • Free radical UV ink segment is forecast to dominate the UV ink market owing to its faster curing properties • Publications and printing industries would continue to maintain its leading position in the market during the forecast period (2015 – 2020) • The Asia-Pacific region would maintain its leading position during the forecast period, with nearly two-fifth share of the overall market by 2020 • Industry players have been focusing on delivering technologically advanced solutions and improving the suitability of these products for a variety of substrates Source: Allied Market Research 43

REPORT CERAMICS

KAOLIN MARKET ANALYSIS - FORECAST TO 2022

Mineral sees growth due to increase in demand from the paper and paint industry

Key findings Kaolin accelerates gloss, brightness and smoothness of the material, which further improves the printability of the paper. Increase in demand of the minerals from paper and paint industry also increased due to these properties over the forecasted period.

The demand for minerals in the paint industry is growing as it improves gloss and color of the material which contribute high growth in kaolin market. It also increases the shelf life of the product.

Regional insight

The high growth in infrastructure development in developing regions such as India, China & Indonesia etc and rising population and living standards are the key reasons for the high growth of the construction industry which results in high growth of kaolin industry.

APAC kaolin market is accounted for over 30 percent of the market share globally. The high growth of paper and paint industry is the key reason for owning large market share regionally. Growth in ceramic manufacturing industries in china fuelled the growth of kaolin industry over the forecasted period. Developing region is the highest potential market over the next few years, as the construction projects are increasing therefore it is expected that the demand of kaolin grow over the period. In Europe economic slowdown is one of the key challenges for the market growth of kaolin in terms of manufacturing and construction industry.

Market segment insight

Competitive insight

Paper segment in kaolin industry is the largest application segment globally and owns largest market share. Kaolin is used in paper industry as a paper coating agent and improves various properties such as printability and appearance. Kaolin is also used as a substitute of calcium carbonate as a coating of paper.

The key players in the global Kaolin market include Thiele Kaolin, Imerys SA, I-Minerals Inc, Quarzwerke GmbH, SCR-Sibelco NV, KaMin LLC, BASF SE, LB Minerals Ltd, Kaolin AD, Ukrainian Kaolin Company, Daleco Resources Corporation and so on. Innovation is the key strategy adopted in the Kaolin market.

For the production of ordinary Portland cement (OPC) metakaolin is used. As metakaolin’s ability is to increase hydration in the material, this incorporates high resistance in efflorescence. This characteristic helps in increasing the market growth of kaolin globally.

Source: Brisk Insights

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Connecting World Chemically

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ACADEMIC R&D

SPECIAL INK PAVES THE WAY FOR CHEAP POLYMER SOLAR CELLS ith a major investment from Innovation Fund Denmark, a consortium of companies and research institutions led by senior researcher Eva Bundgaard from DTU Energy will develop new materials for polymer solar cells.

W

The research and development will start from the requirements of the solar cell and its manufacture.

These requirements are then translated into specific requirements to the composition and print properties of the ink and to the printing machine.

Polymer solar cells are a promising alternative to traditional silicon solar cells, having the potential of a substantially lower production cost. A polymer solar cell consists of a number of thin layers deposited one by one on a carrier foil using roll-to-roll processes known from the printing industry. Each layer is printed using a particular, highly specialized ink containing the required material. Today, good inks exist for all the layers of the solar cell, except for the important active layer in which the energy of the sun is converted into electrical energy. The lack of an ink for the active layer with the necessary properties, and in the quantities needed industrial production, is a major hindrance to the spread of the technology.

The main result of the project will be a robust ink enabling mass production of polymer solar cells with an efficiency of at least six percent in the conversion of solar energy into electricity. This is more than double the present efficiency. To reach this ambitious goal it is necessary to develop a polymer which efficiently can capture and convert the solar energy to electrical energy, and which can be realized in an industrially printed ink. This means that the polymer must be able to be manufactured in large quantities and with fully scalable methods. Industrial printability also implies automation of the printing process to increase reproducibility and reduce waste.

The purpose of the project INKA – Inks for large-scale processing of polymer solar cells is to develop an ink for the printing of the active layer of the solar cell, but also to ensure high compatibility between this ink and industrial printing machines.

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This will be a significant step towards the development of a competitive industry based on the DTU technology for mass production of polymer solar cells, with applications ranging from consumer electronics to large-scale energy production.

www.worldofchemicals.com

RESEARCHERS DISCOVER NEW GLASS TECHNOLOGY

UBC’s Kenneth Chau holds a glass sample used in his latest research, which proved that putting thin layers of metal over glass increases light transmission.

I

magine if the picture window in your living room could double as a giant thermostat or big screen TV. A discovery by researchers at the University of British Columbia has brought us one step closer to this becoming a reality.

The next phase of this research, added Chau, will be to incorporate their invention onto windows with an aim to selectively filter light and heat waves depending on the season or time of day.

The theory underlying the research was developed Researchers at UBC’s Okanagan campus in Kelowna by Chau and collaborator Loic Markley, an assistant found that coating small pieces of glass with extremely professor of engineering at UBC. Chau and Markley thin layers of metal like silver makes it possible to questioned what would happen if they reversed the enhance the amount of light coming through the practice of applying glass over metal - a typical method glass. This, coupled with the fact that metals naturally used in the creation of energy efficient window coatings. conduct electricity, may make it possible to add “It’s been known for quite a while that you could put advanced technologies to windowpanes and other glass on metal to make metal more transparent, but glass objects. people have never put metal on top of glass to make “Engineers are constantly trying to expand the scope of glass more transparent,” said Markley. “It’s countermaterials that they can use for display technologies, and intuitive to think that metal could be used to enhance having thin, inexpensive, see-through components that light transmission, but we saw that this was actually conduct electricity will be huge,” said UBC associate possible, and our experiments are the first to prove it.” professor and lead investigator Kenneth Chau. “I think Chau and Markley’s research was published in the one of the most important implications of this research Nature Publishing Group’s open access journal is the potential to integrate electronic capabilities into Scientific Reports. windows and make them smart.”

Chemical Today Magazine | May April 2016 2016

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ACADEMIC R&D

NEW WEARABLE

SWEAT SENSORS COULD

TRACK YOUR HEALTH

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hen University of California (UC) Berkeley engineers said they are going to make you sweat; it is all in the name of science.

Specifically, it is for a flexible sensor system that can measure metabolites and electrolytes in sweat, calibrate the data based upon skin temperature and sync the results in real time to a smartphone.

While health monitors have exploded onto the consumer electronics scene over the past decade, it is the first fully integrated electronic system that can provide continuous, noninvasive monitoring of multiple biochemicals in sweat.

This research is published in the journal Nature.

The advance opens doors to wearable devices that alert users to health problems such as fatigue, dehydration and dangerously high body temperatures.

“Human sweat contains physiologically rich information, thus making it an attractive body fluid for non-invasive wearable sensors,” said study principal investigator Ali Javey, a UC Berkeley prof of electrical engineering and computer sciences.

“However, sweat is complex and it is necessary to measure multiple targets to extract meaningful information about your state of health. In this regard, we have developed a fully integrated system that simultaneously and selectively 48

Chemical Today Magazine | May 2016

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measures multiple sweat analytes, and wirelessly transmits the processed data to a smartphone. Our work presents a technology platform for sweat-based health monitors.” Javey worked with study co-lead authors Wei Gao and Sam Emaminejad, both of whom are postdoctoral fellows in his lab.

Chemical clues to a person’s physical condition To help design the sweat sensor system, Javey and his team consulted exercise physiologist George Brooks, a UC Berkeley professor of integrative biology.

The researchers used more than 10 integrated circuit chips responsible for taking the measurements from the sensors, amplifying the signals, adjusting for temperature changes and wirelessly transmitting the data.

The researchers developed an app to sync the data from the sensors to mobile phones, and fitted the device onto “smart” wristbands and headbands. They put the device – and dozens of volunteers – through various indoor and outdoor exercises. Study subjects cycled on stationary bikes or ran outdoors on tracks and trails from a few minutes to more than an hour.

“Having a wearable sweat sensor is really incredible because the metabolites and electrolytes measured by “We can easily shrink this device by integrating all the Javey device are vitally important for the health and the circuit functionalities into a single chip,” said well-being of an individual,” said Brooks, a co-author Emaminejad. “The number of biochemicals we target on the study. “When studying the effects of exercise can also be ramped up so we can measure a lot of on human physiology, we typically take blood samples. things at once. That makes large-scale clinical studies With this non-invasive technology, someday it may possible, which will help us better understand athletic be possible to know what’s going on physiologically performance and physiological responses to exercise.” without needle sticks or attaching little, disposable Javey noted that a long-term goal would be to use cups on you.” The prototype developed by Javey and his this device for population-level studies for medical research team packs five sensors onto a flexible circuit applications. board. The sensors measure the metabolites glucose and lactate, the electrolytes sodium and potassium, Brooks also noted the potential for the device to be used to measure more than perspiration. and skin temperature.

“The integrated system allows us to use the measured “While Professor Javey’s wearable, non-invasive skin temperature to calibrate and adjust the readings of technology works well on sweating athletes, there are other sensors in real time,” said Gao. “This is important likely to be many other applications of the technology because the response of glucose and lactate sensors can for measuring vital metabolite and electrolyte levels of be greatly influenced by temperature.” healthy persons in daily life,” said Brooks.

Developing smart wristbands and headbands

“It can also be adapted to monitor other body fluids for those suffering from illness and injury.”

Adjacent to the sensor array is the wireless printed circuit board with off-the-shelf silicon components.

The Berkeley Sensor and Actuator Center and the National Institutes of Health supported this work.

Chemical Today Magazine | May 2016

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ACADEMIC R&D

MAKING

ELECTRONICS OUT OF COAL INSTEAD OF BURNING UP THIS COMPLEX HYDROCARBON, LET’S MAKE DEVICES FROM IT, SAID JEFFREY GROSSMAN.

J

effrey Grossman thinks we’ve been looking at coal all wrong. Instead of just setting it afire, thus ignoring the molecular complexity of this highly varied material, he said, we should be harnessing the real value of that diversity and complex chemistry. Coal could become the basis for solar panels, batteries, or electronic devices, he and his research team said.

succeeded in making a simple electrical heating device that could be used for defrosting car windows or airplane wings, or as part of a biomedical implant.

In developing this initial application, they have also for the first time characterized in detail the chemical, electrical, and optical properties of thin films of four different kinds of coal: anthracite, lignite, and two bituminous types. Their findings have just been reported in the journal Nano Letters.

As a first demonstration of what they see as a broad range of potential high-tech uses for this traditionally low-tech material, Grossman, doctoral student Brent “When you look at coal as a material, and not just as Keller, and research scientist Nicola Ferralis have something to burn, the chemistry is extremely rich,” 50

Chemical Today Magazine | May 2016

www.worldofchemicals.com said Grossman, the Morton and Claire Goulder and Family professor in environmental systems in the department of materials science and engineering (DMSE). The question he wanted to ask is, “Could we leverage the wealth of chemistry in things like coal to make devices that have useful functionality?” The answer, he said, is a resounding yes.

It turns out, for example, that naturally occurring coal varieties, without the purifying or refining that is needed to make electronic devices out of silicon, have a range of electrical conductivities that spans seven orders of magnitude (ten million times). That means that a given variety of coal could inherently provide the electrical properties needed for a particular component.

Designing a process Part of the challenge was figuring out how to process the material, Grossman said. For that, Keller developed a series of steps to crush the material to a powder, put it in solution, then deposit it in thin uniform films on a substrate - a necessary step in fabricating many electronic devices, from transistors to photovoltaics.

Even though coal has been one of the most widely used substances by human beings for centuries, its bulk electronic and optical properties had never really been studied for the purpose of advanced devices.

“The material has never been approached this way before,” said Keller, who carried out much of the work as part of his doctoral thesis in DMSE, “to find out what the properties are, what unique features there might be.” To do so, he developed a method for making thin films, which could then be tested in detail and used for device fabrication.

everything from plastics to dyes and solvents, traditionally the material has been treated like other kinds of raw ore: something to be refined into its basic constituents, atoms, or simple molecules, which are then recombined to make the desired material. Using the chemistries that nature has provided, just as they are, is an unusual new approach. And the researchers found that by simply adjusting the temperature at which the coal is processed, they could tune many of the material’s optical and electrical properties to exactly the desired values.

The simple heating device the team made as a proof of principle provides an end-to-end demonstration of how to use the material, from grinding the coal, to depositing it as a thin film and making it into a functional electronic device. Now, they say, the doors are opened for a wide variety of potential applications through further research.

The big potential advantage of the new material, Grossman said, is its low cost stemming from the inherently cheap base material, combined with simple solution processing that enables low fabrication costs.

Much of the expense associated with chip-grade silicon or graphene, for example, is in the purification of the materials. Silica, the raw material for silicon chips, is cheap and abundant, but the highly refined form needed for electronics (typically 99.999 percent pure or more) is not. Using powdered coal could provide a significant advantage for many kinds of applications, thanks to the tunability of its properties, its high conductivity, and its robustness and thermal stability.

Shenqiang Ren, an associate professor of mechanical engineering at Temple University who was not involved in this research, calls this work a “very extensive and informative study to facilitate the understanding of unrefined coal’s potential for practical significance.”

Even this new, detailed characterization they carried out is just the tip of a large iceberg, the team says. The four varieties selected are just a few of the hundreds that exist, all with likely significant differences. And preparing and testing the samples was, from the “This is a significant step (probably the first) to utilize outset, an unusual process for materials scientists. “We nanocarbon materials, directly from unrefined coal, usually want to make materials from scratch, carefully with controllable electronic properties and excellent combining pure materials in precise ratios,” said stability and scalability,” he added.

Ferralis, also in DMSE. In this case, though, the process The work was made possible, Grossman said, thanks to involves “selecting from among this huge library of a grant from the Bose Fellows Program at MIT, which materials,” all with their own different variations. encourages the kind of high-risk research embodied Using nature’s complexity in this project. The work was also supported by While coal and other fossil fuels have long been used ExxonMobil through the MIT Energy Initiative and as feedstocks for the chemical industry, making the ExxonMobil Energy Fellow Program.

Chemical Today Magazine | May 2016

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ACADEMIC R&D

NEW SEMICONDUCTOR

INKS FOR PRINTED ELECTRONICS

IN LCD AND OLED

DISPLAYS

NEW PRODUCT GENERATION INCREASES THE PERFORMANCE OF PRINTED TRANSISTORS

P

rinted electronic circuits will become more efficient as large-area processing (e.g. slot die coating). in future with new semiconductor inks from BASF. Electronics are easily printed Researchers at BASF have succeeded in improving the composition of the individual semiconductor A digital photo and thus also a display consists of ink components to double the mobility of the charge picture elements (pixels). To present an image or a carriers in the printed circuits. This allows to further film on a display, the pixels are controlled individually reduce the structures in size and to produce high via the backplane. Today the backplane is produced resolution LCD or OLED screens on plastic substrates. by complex, energy-intensive processes at high temperatures under vacuum. This limits the choice of “Because of their technical properties, the semicon- substrate materials to eg, glass and high-temperature ductor inks we have offered so far have already proved stable polymers. successful in our customers’ applications,” explained Dr Heike Pfistner, marketing, organic electronics at The printable semiconductor inks and new process BASF New Business GmbH. “We are continuously op- technologies open up a range of options in this respect. timizing the products from our portfolio and can now For example, new, flexible substrate materials can be offer printable semiconductors with significantly bet- used. The printing processes are typically operated ter performance and with the usual good process abili- in air and at low temperatures. The combination ty.” The mobility of the charge carriers is an important of printability and high mobility will enable all criterion and is decisive for the use of the semiconduc- conventional display technologies (ePaper, LCD, OLED) to be equipped with printed backplanes. tor inks in a range of applications.

This makes flexible displays easier to manufacture.

Inks with versatile uses Further applications include circuits and memories The printing inks are based on semiconducting for intelligent packaging through which the consumer polymers featuring good solubility allowing easy can, for example, obtain additional information about adjustment of viscosity. This property is important for the packaged products, as well as portable electronics the use in various coating and printing processes, such (wearables) such as fitness wristbands or smartwatches 52

Chemical Today Magazine | May 2016

Chemistry in Everything Everything with Chemistry Find it On www.worldofchemicals.com

53

ACADEMIC SPEAK

TACKLING MAJOR OIL SPILLS WITH A

SPONGE

A team of researchers - Dr Justin Weibel, Dr Xuemei Chen and Dr Suresh Garimella, are working together towards finding a solution to a global environmental concern - oil spills.

The team talks about the simple solution they found for this hazardous problem, which is endangering the world.

Weibel is a research assistant professor; Chen, a post-doctoral research associate; and Garimella is a Goodson distinguished professor; all at the school of mechanical engineering and Birck Nanotechnology Center, Purdue University, West Lafayette, US.

Explain the dynamics of your research.

Nature is an important source of inspiration for developing advanced materials. One area of our group’s current research focuses on bioinspired micro/nano-structured superhydrophobic surfaces that enable fundamental investigation of interfacial wetting phenomenon, as well as the development of new material technologies that exploit these characteristics. These surfaces can be applied in drop wise condensation, water harvesting/reclamation, anti-icing, anti-fouling, biomedical and other various applications. We have most recently used these techniques to develop a functionalized sponge material that can collect large amounts of oil while preventing any water from being absorbed; the material has great potential for cleanup of oil spills and oil-water separation.

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55

ACADEMIC SPEAK Elaborate on the advanced materials and technology that gave shape to your research.

Only two materials comprise this new technology, namely, melamine sponge and polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS). The melamine sponge acts as a skeleton material with a highly porous structure (over 99 percent open volume) onto which the PDMS is coated. The intrinsic hydrophobic nature of the PDMS, in combination with the microporous structure of the melamine sponge, renders the material super hydrophobic (robustly repels water). During the one-step solution-immersion fabrication process, hexane is used as a solvent to dissolve PDMS, but is not retained in the final material.

technology that we developed, the melamine sponge does not need any secondary treatment, and only a single low-cost material (PDMS) is used as the coating.

In combination with the simple fabrication process, these features make the final oil-water separation product cost-effective and scalable.

How will your research help in case of environment and industrial chemical leaks?

The as-fabricated functionalized sponge material exhibits robust superhydrophobic and superoleophilic properties, meaning it can strongly repel water while easily absorbing oils.

The commercially available raw materials and scalable fabrication process ensure that this material In what ways is this tech- can be adopted for the cleanup of nology different from other oil spills and industrial chemical leaks of low-surface-tension similar research work? contaminants that are immiscible We present a simple solutionwith water. immersion method for the fabrication of superhydrophobic What is the economic and superoleophilic PDMS- viability of this technology functionalized melamine sponges. on a larger commercial In order to functionalize the sponge, scale? it is immersed in a homogeneous The raw materials used in the solution of PDMS and hexane. technology are quite common: The sponge is removed from the melamine sponges are found solution, wrung out, and dried in as household cleaning sponges; an oven at an elevated temperature. PDMS is a polymer commonly used This process leaves a thin layer of for the fabrication of microfluidic PDMS coated onto the underlying devices; and hexane is used in sponge microstructure. Previous a variety of industrial cleaning functionalized polymer sponges and degreasing processes. These (for oil-water separation) typically materials can be readily obtained include both a nanostructured from large chemical suppliers. hydrophobic coating material Also, to fabricate the oil-absorbent and a separate adhesion medium product, only a small amount of for binding, which require more PMDS coating material is needed. complex fabrication processes and Due to the facile fabrication limits their reusability. In the new approach and low-cost materials, 56

Chemical Today Magazine | May 2016

we are certain that the material can be readily fabricated on a large scale.

Give us a sense of the longevity and re-usability properties of the material?

We have demonstrated in the laboratory that the sponges retain their properties after absorbing in oil and squeezing out oil tens of times for a single sample, without any degradation in performance.

We have no reason to suspect that the coating would degrade over many more such operations. The coating is chemically stable and would not require retreatment, but can be cleaned to remove any residual oils left in the sponge.

What are the challenges you faced while carrying out your research?

Due to the excellent selectivity for absorption of oil by the sponge (and not water), during our oilwater separation experiments, it was quite difficult to quantify the infinitesimal amount of water that unintentionally captured along with the oil. Using a coulometer (a device that measures the water content in oils), the purity of the collected oils was over 99.98 percent, a near-perfect separation efficiency within the measurement accuracy.

Are you in talks with the industry for commercializing your technology?

We have applied for a patent on this material technology, which is receiving much attention and interest from potential industrial users. We are excited to see this product adopted for eventual use in large-scale systems.

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57

ACADEMIC SPEAK

Group Members: Optical Materials Group (From right to left: Shichao Lu, Yongze Yu, Qiannan Mao, Liting Lin, Jiejie Chen, B Shanmugavelu, Shifeng Zhou, and Zaijin Fang.)

EXPLORING NEW NUANCES OF GLASS WITH CONTROLLABLE RELAXATION

Professor Shifeng Zhou talks about the complexities that a crystal clear pane of glass holds. Along with his team of researchers, Zhou, explores the great potentials that glass has and various fields of science where the use of glass that bring in a revolutionizing change.

Zhou is from school of materials science and engineering, South China University of Technology, Guangzhou, China.

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www.worldofchemicals.com Give us an idea about your current research.

control of phase transition, dopant distribution, and even the chemical state and chemical environment of dopant in glass phase.

Glass, in itself, is very interesting and fascinating as the nature of glass and the glass transition We noted that the research are recognized as the deepest technology should be general to and most interesting unsolved various pure glass and glass-based problem in solid state theory. composite, which have been tested For glass technology, one of in our group recently. For example, the paramount challenges is transparent composites embedded the search for approaches that with CeO2:F nanocrystalline phase can produce new glasses. Our with unusual core-shell-like multicurrent research focuses on the scale structure can be successfully glass functionalization through fabricated. Furthermore, chemical controllable relaxation, because state evolution of dopant (eg, Bi) in we recognized that the non- glass can be engineered. Chemical equilibrium glassy state relaxes environment of dopant (eg, Ni, Cr) spontaneously to the meta-stable can also be modified. By using this super cooled liquid and even more technology, we have demonstrated the success in improvement of stable state. optical performance through We are particularly interested controllable relaxation in various in bulk crystallization, surface pure glass phase including borate, crystallization, aging, spacesilicate, germanium, germanium selective relaxation, and also phase silicate and borosilicate glasses separation of meta-stable glass. For doped with various metal ions. We example, partial crystallization of have designed and succeeded in rare earth ions doped glasses greatly fabrication of various functional enhances the high energy photon glass composites embedded with absorbing capacity. Controllable Ga2O3, ZnO, TiO2,(Ga2O3)3 relaxation of transition metal/main (GeO2)2, LiTaO3, Li2Ge4O9 and group ions doped glasses leads Mg2SiO4 crystalline phases. to great emission enhancement and ultra-broadband optical Elaborate on the chemical amplification. We tried to fabricate materials used in your various novel glass based materials, research. including films for UV-blocking and planar photonics, and fibers The chemical materials used in our research are multi-component glass for fiber optics. and their derived composite doped In what ways is your rewith various metals elements, such search technology different as Ce Ni, Bi, and Cr. The selection from other research works? of multi-component glass as the Our current research technology host is critically important since it is controllable relaxation in allows high dopant concentration. glass. In contrast to other works, Furthermore, the rich microwhich suffers from the difficulty structure in this glass system in rational micro-structure provides unique advantages for engineering in glass, the protocol control of the chemical state and shown here allows simultaneous chemical environment of dopants,

Chemical Today Magazine | May 2016

which dominates the optical performance of glass system.

What are the potential applications of your research?

Metal ion doped multi-component glass with robust absorption feature (e.g., CeO2:F glass-ceramics) can be potentially applied in various fields such as biological shield, cultural relics preservation and radiation hardening of electronic devices. For example, in the space station, the high energy radiation from aerospace is very strong and can cause serious damage to electronic equipment. Fortunately, in the future, if you add an UVblocking coating film on the surface of package (transparent glass/polymer material), the device would be protected well and its service lifetime may be potentially prolonged.

Metal ion doped multi-component glass with high efficient and broadband luminescence is highly attractive for applications in highresolution medical tomography, tunable lasers, and modern super-high-capacity information transmission system. As another example, we have achieved ultrabroad band luminescence in Ni2+-doped glass-ceramics and Bi-activated glass. The broadband optical amplification from 1050 nm to 1425 nm with the bandwidth of 75THz can be expected.

In contrast to the conventional rare-earth doped optical amplifier which generally offers limited bandwidth of 11 THz, the newly developed material provides notable advantages, including a dramatic increase in bandwidth, flat gain and tunable gain profile.

In addition, the success in

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ACADEMIC SPEAK broadening the emission band is also highly promising to advance the optical coherence tomography (OCT) technique for noninvasive diagnostic imaging with improved depth resolution.

Describe the methods for large-scale fabrication of this type of film.

The materials, in the form of film, show various promising applications such as smart coating, the base materials for planar photonics. For large-scale fabrication of the composite film, the stable and homogeneous solution is crucially important. As mentioned above, we are especially interested in multi-component glass system. However, this type of glass system shows great phase separation and/or crystallization tendency. Thus, one of the key issues is to develop various new stable multi-component solutions.

We are currently focusing on this issue.

Shed some light on the selflimited nanocrystallization of glass and its importance?

Self-limited nanocrystallization is a unique phase evolution process in glass. We name it as “self-limited� because it occurs in solid-state matrix in which the ionic diffusion is highly limited. As it is well known, the conventional material synthetic ways are mostly conducted in solution and vapor conditions, we focus our attention on solid-state matrix, for taking advantage of the rigid environment to modulate the ionic migration kinetics.

The viscous glass matrix would pose a considerable constraint for ionic movement and remarkably increase the diffusion activation barrier. This intriguing feature can be expected to provide distinct advantages for the amorphous60

Chemical Today Magazine | May 2016

crystalline phase transition.

Furthermore, the solid-state matrix offers the convenience for achieving doping control.

For example, the intentional introduction of various cation/ anion impurities (e.g., F-, In3+, and Ni2+) can be realized. In addition, the reverse doping can also be achieved. In this process, fluorite is gradually etched by O2ions in oxide matrix and finally F--doped nanostructure would be obtained in a controllable manner.

Moreover, the process also allows fine-tuning of the aggregation state of doping centers over a wide range of length scales, from ions to clusters to nanoparticles, via carefully regulating the topological structure feature of the glass matrix.

while presences of rich short- and medium-range order. Thus, we still need to make further study about the multi-scale structure and detailed phase transition process in glass. Secondly, the multi-component glass presents many distinct advantages such as continuously tunable composition and high dopant solubility.

However, it usually shows great devitrification tendency. There are still much works to do for preventing undesirable phase evolution and crystallization. It is extremely important if we want to fabricate low optical loss glass film or glass fiber. We believe these fundamental researches have great significance to the current glass industry.

What are some of the Do you plan on challenges you faced while commercializing your carrying out your research? technology?

There are still some of the challenges about our research. Firstly, glass structure is extremely complicated, which is characterized by the absence of long-range disorder

We are trying to commercialize our technology. Now our plan is to modify the fabrication procedure for meeting the large-scale processing requirement.

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IT’S A DIRECTORY OF CHEMICAL

SELLERS & BUYERS 61

R&D YOUNG TURKS THE TEEN WHO’S PUTTING AN END TO OIL LEAKS Augusta Uwamanzu-Nna, 17, of Elmont, New York, was named a finalist in the 2016 Intel Science Talent Search for adding a nanoclay ingredient called attapulgite to cement slurries to improve the undersea cement seals that keep offshore oil wells from leaking. She found that adding nanoclay at just 0.3 percent of the total volume of the mixture markedly improved the mixture’s properties. Augusta’s initial interest in cement stemmed from her learning that production of cement accounts for 7 percent of humanmade carbon emissions. The blowout was caused by the poor mix design of the cement in the well, so she tested a novel cement design modified with nanoclays. Her results indicate that cement slurries modified with these nanoclays show great potential for offshore oil wells.

The valedictorian of Elmont Memorial Junior-Senior High School, Uwamanzu-Nna pursues other interests including Future Business Leaders, Key Club, a student anti-drug programme and a Language Honor Society.

CHARGING THE WORLD WITH A BETTER BATTERY Gabriel Mesa, 16, of, Canton, Connecticut, combined piezoelectric materials with graphene, to create a new battery technology, the “Carbon Battery” - an environmentally safe and compostable battery that generates electrical energy through mechanical instead of chemical means.

The patent-pending Carbon Battery seeks to replace conventional batteries that are typically created using toxic materials. Furthermore, the Carbon Battery is self-contained and requires no external stimulation, unlike alternative batteries powered by the sun, trash, or wind. The Carbon Battery is intended to provide a clean energy source for personal-use situationssuch as lighting a rural home during monsoon season, when solar power is not feasible-and also has commercial applications-such as an alwayson phone battery or (when used en masse) as a method for enhancing of existing power-generation sources such as dams.

This invention earned Gabriel top honors at the 10 XPrize Challenge and Broadcom Masters, won him first place at the Connecticut Science and Engineering Fair, and made him a repeat winner at the Connecticut Invention Convention. In addition to commercializing the “Carbon Battery,” Gabriel is currently working on a device for diabetic neuropathy.

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TEENAGER DESIGNED A PROGRAMME TO PEG PROTEINS Amol, 17, of Marlborough, Mass., has always been interested in chemistry and biology. But once he learned how to code, he said “it clicked.” From then on, he knew how he would like to make an impact in the world. A student at the Massachusetts Academy of Math and Science in Worcester, he set out to create computer software to “take all of the data people normally set aside as useless and use it to come up with real results.”

To do that, Amol began working in the laboratory of Gil Alterovitz at Harvard Medical School in Boston. The teen created a computer programme called ViaPocket. It analyzes proteins- the building blocks of cells - to find spots that can be targeted by drugs. Proteins can have intricate structures. If those structures become disordered, diseases such as cancer may develop. Unfortunately, when proteins go bad, their chaotic sections can change frequently and be hard to pin down. This makes disordered proteins difficult to target with drugs that could shut them down.

Instead of targeting the messy sections of the proteins gone rogue, Amol sought nearby, normal sections of the protein as sites at which to target drugs. His software analyzes the chains of smaller molecules that make up proteins. It searches for short sections near the disordered areas that might contain “pockets” — small dips in the protein shape where a drug could bind. He has already found six new pockets in proteins that play a role in cancer and heart disease. Soon, the teen hopes to put his software on the Internet, where other scientists can use it to find more targets to fight disease.

INNOVATIVE METHOD TO REMOVE PHOSPHORUS FROM WATERWAYS

Paige, 17, of Bangor, Maine, also found some local motivation. During chemistry class at Bangor High School, the teen had been shocked to find out just how much phosphorus was in local waterways. She thought the streams were pristine. But the phosphorus was a sign that they were polluted with fertilizer. “I couldn’t believe it,” she recalled. Excess fertilizer in streams can lead to eutrophication-a situation where nutrients boost algal growth. The overgrowth of algae can use up much of the oxygen in the water. Choked off from oxygen, animals that live in the water can suffer or die.

After analyzing seven local streams for nine months, Paige realized the highest phosphorus levels occurred right after storms. That’s when nutrients washed in from all over the city. She decided to design a filter to pull the phosphorus out of the water. The teen’s filter is a tiny, quarter-size circle that packs a lot of power. It’s made from alginate (AL-jih-NATE), a molecule found in brown seaweed. She mixed it with magnesium and aluminum. When phosphorus in the water bumps into the metals, it binds to them. The metals then precipitate out of the water, becoming a solid that can be removed easily.

Chemical Today Magazine | May 2016

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LOGISTICS INSIGHT

DIGITAL SUPPLY

CHAIN PLANNING IN CHEMICALS:

SIX CAPABILITIES TO WIN The speed of change is increasing and digital technologies are on the rise. What does this mean for supply chain planning in the chemical industry?

Advanced digital technologies, such as big data, analytics, cloud, connected devices and social media, are driving new opportunities to integrate along the business value chain, develop smarter products and offer innovative services. In fact, total expected benefits from digital transformation amount to US$14.4 trillion by 2022, of which US$2.7 trillion are attributed 64

Chemical Today Magazine | May 2016

to supply chain-related savings. Thus, chemical companies have an unprecedented opportunity to accelerate their digital supply chain journey—but they need to get started now.

However, many chemical companies currently lack the digital maturity to begin (see Figure 1). Unlike customer oriented industries like electronics and high

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tech that excel at enhancing digital experiences, chemical companies have limited interactions with end customers, which reduce their ability to seize revenue-enhancing opportunities.

But change is in the works. The vast majority of chemical company executives now recognize that digital is critical to gaining a competitive advantage. Case in point, 94 percent of Accenture survey respondents expect to increase their digital investment in the next three years, and more than half (57 percent) expect that optimizing the supply chain is one of the biggest areas of opportunity.

The key is to develop the right set of digital supply chain capabilities to achieve this promise.

Develop digital supply chain capabilities Chemical companies need to develop a notion of where digitalization can have the greatest Chemical Today Magazine | May 2016

impact on gaining competitive advantage in supply chain planning.

Based on Accenture’s experience working with all of the chemical companies in the Fortune Global 500 and over 130 chemical clients globally, this report gives guidance on how to master the challenge We believe the six key supply chain (SC) capabilities to master include the following:

4. Profit, Sales & Operations Planning (PS&OP): Proactive balancing of demand and supply constraints considering possible business scenarios and their impact on profitability.

5. Supply Chain Resilience: Monitor and proactively manage supply chain risks to improve the organization’s ability to cope with unexpected, disruptive events.

1. Demand Sensing: Advanced analysis of structured and unstructured data to identify relevant patterns and predict demand development.

6. Supply Chain Control Tower: Integration of the data visibility, analytics and execution layer as a platform across all supply chain functions to improve flexibility and *responsiveness.

2. Supply Chain Collaboration: Interlock with customers, suppliers A CLOSER LOOK AT DIGITAL and other partners in the value SUPPLY CHAIN CAPABILITIES chain, leveraging technology to Demand Sensing exchange information.

3. Dynamic Inventory Management: Continuous inventory parameter analysis and adjustment to optimize safety and buffer stocks in a multi-stage supply network.

Demand sensing is the ability to identify demand patterns and incorporate the conclusions into the supply chain planning organization.

By compiling, structuring and 65

LOGISTICS INSIGHT assessing relevant information from various sources, the capability supports short-term planning (through inputs such as weather forecasts, commodity prices and real-time order information), as well as long-term planning (through information technology or economic trends). Ultimately, this leads to increased automation in the planning process, improved forecast quality and a potential to reduce inventory.

A large chemical portfolio player uses demand sensing for forecasting and sales development based on internal information about customer industries, complemented by external economic indicators and stock exchange reports.

Supply Chain Collaboration

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Collaboration technology affects supply chain planning mainly through improving visibility, automation, synchronization and coordination. Although a number of chemical companies have developed one-to-one collaborative planning, forecasting and replenishment (CPFR) solutions for their key partners, collaboration at scale can only be achieved via cloud-based collaboration platforms. These platforms offer an automated exchange of supply chain-specific information such as forecasts or delivery schedules with customers and suppliers.

Integrating business partners into a cloud solution can also be done within days, instead of months.

Profit, Sales & Operations Planning

One leading chemical portfolio player, for instance, uses the cloud for its order management, finance, material management, purchasing and transport management supply chain collaboration processes. By

Traditional sales and operations planning balances demand and proactively plans supply constraints in order to meet overall business objectives. PS&OP adds a financial perspective to the process and supports chemical companies in evaluating the implications of a constrained plan by incorporating functionalities such as “what-if ” scenario capabilities, financial impact analysis and an optimization engine to define an optimal

Chemical Today Magazine | May 2016

taking this route, the company cost-effectively integrated more than 2,000 business partners worldwide—customers, suppliers, e-billing partners and carriers—and significantly reduced manual order processing efforts.

Dynamic Inventory Management In order to reduce inventory costs while improving customer service levels, dynamic inventory management provides an end-to-end assessment of the supply network and the ability to adjust inventory parameters to enhance safety and buffer stocks at various supply chain stages. This includes pooling at appropriate stages in the network, postponement strategies and segmenting the responses for different channels with the help of service levels. Today’s multi-stage inventory products are enhanced with optimization based technologies with business intelligence and analytics capabilities.

Companies that establish dynamic inventory management often set up a dedicated center of excellence to support business units and to scale up according to their needs.

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outcome. These capabilities are Supply Chain Resilience enabled by analytics technology Given today’s global supply networks and interlinked economies, to support the PS&OP decisiondisruptive events such as earthquakes or employee union strikes have a making process, namely demandgreater impact on supply chains. These events are hard to predict, leaving shaping analytics (provide scenarios chemical companies exposed to demand and supply risks on both the for product portfolio change, price strategic and operational levels. and promotions, opportunities and risks) and responsive supply With the rise of digital, new supply chain resilience risk management analytics (provide supply scenarios applications and services are available to help companies monitor, analyze based on demand range forecasts, and respond to critical disruptions in real time. supply capability adjustment, and Supply Chain Control Tower supply risk scenarios).

Although not a new concept, establishing an effective supply chain control Using scenario management and tower has become more feasible with digital technology. It improves the financial impact analysis, feedstock linkage between planning and order fulfillment, which in turn leads to and commodity businesses can better customer service and optimized inventory levels in line with supply support their decision making chain segment requirements. regarding capacity allocation When organized as a shared service platform, the digitalized supply chain and significantly optimize their control tower integrates three essential sub-capabilities: profitability. Chemical companies can also use predictive analytics • visibility to understand “what is happening” in real time and across all to forecast raw material prices in entities of the supply chain; order to optimize regional asset • analytics to tell “why is this happening” and “how could we improve” utilization and increase operating by analyzing root causes and simulating solution options with their margin. impact on supply chain performance and operational cost; and Chemical Today Magazine | May 2016

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LOGISTICS INSIGHT

• execution to orchestrate the implementation of the action plan collaboratively with the relevant functions.

For example, Scale Operators pursue high asset utilization to operate efficiently and must deal with volatile raw material prices impacting their margin. An effective PS & OP capability can help them make profitable decisions in an unstable environment.

Match capability development to chemical industry segment

Demand sensing and a supply chain control tower, on the other hand, will be more relevant for Service Providers because customer intimacy, delivery capability and the provisioning of add-on services are more important for these businesses. Companies in the Specialty Balanced segment might even tailor their supply chain specifically for individual customers. For those, a high degree of integration and collaboration with customers contributes to success and profitability.

It is important to note that the relevance of these six digital supply chain planning capabilities differs between chemical industry segments, which are defined by the level of assets required as well as service and innovation intensity delivered (see Figure 3).

Portfolio Players need to develop a balanced set of digital capabilities, addressing the most important challenges of each segment. For example, they might focus on demand planning and efficiency to make their downstream and upstream segments benefit from digitalization.

The importance of the six digital supply chain planning capabilities for Accenture has identified four each chemical industry segment is illustrated in (Figure 4) segments - Scale Operator, Commodity Balanced, Specialty Conclusion Balanced and Service Provider Leveraging the digitalization of supply chain planning, chemical - complemented by a fifth companies can address several industry specific challenges and make an overarching segment, Portfolio important leap to becoming competitive digital businesses. To realize this Players, which are typically global game-changing opportunity, chemical companies must evaluate the six and diversified enterprises. Each digitalized supply chain planning capabilities and develop them according chemical segment has different to their unique position in the market, using an agile and scalable model. supply chain characteristics; The organizations that master the right mix of digital supply chain therefore, they must focus their capabilities will be best positioned to innovate, compete and succeed in a capability development accordingly. fully digital business future.

Source: Accenture

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Chemical Today Magazine | May 2016

Application Management

ERP

Website Development

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JOBS

QC/QA Chemist Company: Ashland Date posted: 26 May 2016 Country: US City: Assonet

Job description: Ashland’ QC/QA chemist role candidate must have bachelor degree in chemistry, 0 to 2 years experience in an industrial laboratory, must be able to work in lab and plant environments with potential exposure to chemical materials. The chemist should perform a variety of routine tests or experiments within parameters defined by supervisors. Observes and adjusts variables as necessary, operates a wide range of analytical equipment including GC’s, GCMS, HPLC’s, FTIR, UV/Vis spectrometer, auto-titrators, particle size analyzers, viscometers etc. He may perform tests and experiments of a non-routine nature in response to various production situations or in accordance with supervisors’ instructions Website: http://bit.ly/1RsIPy2

Job description: The Dow Chemical Company has an exciting opportunity for right individual to fill the role of senior chemist located in Giheung, South Korea. The candidate should have a Ms in polymer science or chemistry or Senior Chemist chemical engineering or material science, strong knowledge in photolithography Company: The Dow Chemical Company corresponding design ability of raw materials, proven expertise and skills in lithotechnology area or LCD process (5+ years of industry experience). He will need to Date posted: 23 May 2016 have good communication skills in multidisciplinary environment and development Country: Republic of Korea of chemical compositions and polymer design to satisfy requirements of LCD-TFT City: Giheung-gu or OLED backplane material related customer through the lithographic technology.

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Operating Technician Company: W R Grace & Co Date posted: 24 May 2016 Country: US City: Norco

Job description: The Operating Technician performs various routine and nonroutine plant duties to safely operate process equipment to meet EH&S, production, yield and quality requirements. This role requires the ability to work a 12-hour, rotating shift schedule that includes nights, weekends, holidays and overtime. This role requires chemical manufacturing experience, with preference to Incineration and Flare Systems operations, operates windows based PC, including MS office suite, must meet physical requirements of the job which include walking up and down stairs, using ladders, overhead work, lifting up to fifty pounds and operating a forklift.

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Chemical Engineer Company: Syngenta Date Posted: 26 May 2016 Country: US City: Greensboro

Job description: This position requires knowledge and understanding within relevant area, which would typically be gained through minimum 2 years of relevant experience, doctorate degree or relevant technical diploma or equivalent.

He will have to lead development projects to introduce new technology into seeds processing and/ or CP manufacturing operations, provides expertise in both existing and novel manufacturing technologies in order to maximize quality, capacity and efficiency outcomes during the scale-up of new formulated products to commercial manufacture. He should be able to drive quality, capacity and efficiency improvement in seeds processing operations, and work collaboratively with formulation and/ or seeds manufacturing site teams to resolve complex or high business impact processing issues and is the technology lead for implementing and embedding the solutions. The responsibility requires the candidate to maintain an external focus on new technology development and identifies, evaluates and trials new processing equipment.

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Postdoctoral Researcher Computational Chemistry Company: Merck KGaA Date posted: 23 May 2016 Country: Republic of Korea

Research Associate Company: National Chemical Laboratory Date posted: 20 May 2016 Country: India City: Pune

Job description: Merck is striving for leadership in the application of digital technologies across its various businesses. In this context we are offering a postdoctoral researcher position for the evaluation and application of computerassisted synthesis planning combined with molecular screening methods.

Scientific software programming and its application will be a key facet of this position. The position is initially limited to 2 years with an option for extension.

Website: http://bit.ly/20Oiv82 Job description: This role requires a PhD in polymer/organic/materials/chemical engineering or allied subjects, research experience synthetic organic/polymer chemistry, minimum 1 publication in SCI indexed journals. National chemical laboratory is offering 36000/38000/40000/month as consolidated emoluments per month.

Website: http://bit.ly/22rXfq5

Job description: The chemist’s activities are determined and prioritized based upon departmental, plant and corporate goals and objectives. Duties may be modified or additional duties may be assigned based on the business needs of Quality Assurance DAY Chemist the organization. The chemist should conduct routine laboratory analyses on raw Company: Lubrizol Corporation materials, intermediates and final products to support day-to-day plant operations, Date posted: 19 May 2016 participate in QA Lab housekeeping – clean instruments, glassware and spare Country: China parts when needed, support lab investigations related to customer complaints City: Zhuhai (CRM’s) or other major quality issues in the assignment of QA manager, support all QA Lab shifts by working OT as requested.

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Senior Silicone Scientist/Engineer Company: LORD Corporation Date posted: 05 May 2016 Country: US City: Louisville

Job description: The Chemical Research team at LORD Corporation is looking for an experienced scientist or engineer in the field of silicone adhesive formulations and silicone chemistry. The position is located in Cary, NC at the LORD World Headquarters campus. The incumbent will lead higher risk, higher reward R&D projects to support key company initiatives that lead to commercial success.

Work will include significant laboratory R&D efforts, directing technician tasks and external customer trials. The incumbent must have experience in silicone adhesives, elastomers or sealants. Experience interfacing with customers and running external customer trials is a must. He/she should have a track record of projects leading to commercial success and an appreciation of business concepts in order to compliment commercial efforts.

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Analytical Functional Chemist Company: Stepan Company Date posted: 18 May 2016 Country: US City: Northfield

Job description: This role requires MS or BS chemistry with 2 - 3 years experience, lab intern experience desirable and should provide technical advice and training to colleagues (eg test methods, DOE). The candidate should independently perform projects and assignments following established Stepan project management procedures and project plans; draw conclusions based on experimental work, will be involved in cross-functional projects (innovation, tech service requests, experimental production runs, production communications etc), develops new analytical methods with precision and accuracy, with specialty in chromatography.

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TENDERS

SUPPLY OF FERRIC CHLORIDE ( TECL.GRADE 40% )

SUPPLY OF CHLOROPYRIPHOSE 20% EC

Called by KPCL ( Karnataka Power Corporation Ltd ), Bellary

Called by KSWC ( Karnataka State Warehousing Corporation )

Tender No KPCL/2016-17/IND 1664/CALL -2 dt. 17.05.2016

Tender No KSWC/2016-17/IND 116 dt.26.05.2016

EMD Rs. 12,000/-

EMD Rs.3,33,795/-

Fees Rs 550/-

Fees Rs.550/-

Quantity 1,50,000 kgs Tender due on 8th June 2016

Quantity 1,54,000 lts

PROCUREMENT OF CD ( DIETHYL ALUMINIUM CHLORIDE ) & CJ ( DIETHYL ALUMINIUM ETHOXIDE )

PURCHASE OF NICKEL SULPHAMATE -LR GRADE

Tender due on 24th June 2016

Called by HGML IOCL ( Indian Oil corporation Ltd ) - Panipat refinery

Called by SPMCIL ( Security Printing & Minting Corporation of India Ltd )

Tender No NCM1611002 dt.13.05.2016

Tender No 6000007723 /CNPIPMSECTION dt. 28.05.2016

EMD Rs. 480,000/-

EMD Rs.14,000/-

Fees Nil

Fees Nil

Quantity CD - 36 Mts & CJ - 36 Mts

Quantity 1000 lts

Tender due on 8th June 2016

Tender due on 28th June 2016

SUPPLY OF FLOCCULANT

SUPPLY OF DIMETHYL DISULPHIDE

Called by HGML ( Hutti Gold Mines Ltd )

Called by IOCL ( Indian Oil Corporation ltd )

Tender No HGML/2015-16/IND 965 dt.17.05.2016

Tender No JRMM163023 dt.30.05.2016

EMD Rs 29,000/-

EMD Nil

Fees Rs.550/-

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Quantity 8,000 kgs

Quantity 2 Mts

Tender due on 18th June 2016

Tender due on 24th June 2016

Note - 1) For more information visit the company website 2) EMD - Earnest Money Deposit 72

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PRODUCTS

SUN CHEMICAL

LAUNCHES NEW RANGE

OF INKJET INKS FOR

TEXTILE PRINTING

WEXHAM SPRINGS, UK: Sun Chemical launched for double sided output such as flags and banners.

SunTex, a new range of water-based inkjet inks The high-rub resistance of the ink, its toughness and developed to deliver optimum performance for digital durability makes it particularly suitable to withstand textile and soft signage print applications. The new the wear and tear of outdoor applications. The SunTex high performance SunTex portfolio will feature two Sonata inks are available in a selection of colors for ink ranges; SunTex Sonata a series of dye sublimation a range of wide format digital inkjet printers using transfer inks and direct print dispersed inks for Epson print heads. SunTex Encore is the pigmented polyester and polyester-rich substrates; and SunTex inkjet ink offering within the SunTex range.

Encore, a range of direct print pigment inks. The Available in the CMYK as well as additional special SunTex Sonata series comprises a dye sublimation colors (red; orange; blue), this water-based pigment transfer family of inks, offering bright, vibrant color ink offers excellent adhesion to a wide range of and dense black reproduction, excellent transfer media and delivers high levels of wash fastness and properties using low cost papers and delivers robust, wet-rub resistance. Using SunTex Encore eliminates durable print output with reliable and consistent the need for any post treatment processes, speeding jetting at high print speeds. SunTex Sonata also up production and making it suited for use in a offers a disperse-dye direct print ink option with high wide variety of sportswear, fashion wear and home penetration print delivering excellent ‘show-through’ furnishing applications.

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VIDEOJET LAUNCHES

NEW SOLVENT INK FOR NON-POROUS CONSUMER PACKAGED GOODS CHICAGO, ILLINOIS: Videojet Technologies has launched the new Flex Solvent ink for their Thermal Ink Jet (TIJ) range of printers in response to customer’s needs for enhanced ink adhesion on non-porous packaging in the food, consumer and pharmaceutical packaging markets. Dry time on these materials is 1-2 seconds, and is suitable for printer integration in to web production processes. The ink is also an option for packaging which requires absence of methyl ethyl ketone (MEK), such as in the food and beverage markets. The Flex Solvent ink can be used in the current Wolke by Videojet range of TIJ printers, including the 8510, m600 touch, m600 advanced and m600 oem printer models. The inherent simplicity, uptime and print resolution of TIJ, combined with the simple usability of the Videojet and Wolke controllers, make these printers ideal for a range of packaging applications.

NAZDAR LAUNCHES 705 SERIES INKS FOR UV INKJET MARKET

SHAWNEE, US: Nazdar Ink Technologies, the manufacturer of one of the most comprehensive selections of UV, water-based and solvent-based wideformat digital inkjet, screen-printing and flexographic inks, has announced a new range of high quality alternative inks for the HP® FB500/700 printer platform. Nazdar’s 705 Series inks are their most recent entry into the Plug and Play UV inkjet market.

Designed for use in the HP® FB500/700 printers using the 250 Series inks, these new inks offer exceptional compatibility, quality and cost effectiveness, combined with a seamless conversion process. Closely color matched and chemically compatible with the 250 Series users can save both time and money by switching one color at a time. Flushing, purging, or re-profiling is not necessary when transitioning to Nazdar 705 Series due to the accurate color reproduction capabilities of the ink set.

Chemical Today Magazine | May 2016

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PRODUCTS

DUPONT INTRODUCES NEW CONDUCTIVE INK FOR DIGITAL PRINTING RESEARCH TRIANGLE PARK, US: DuPont Advanced Materials (DuPont) is launching a new electronic ink for inkjet printing that offers the high conductivity and strong adhesion required for rapid digital design, prototyping and full-scale manufacturing. The technology will enable digital printing for electronic components and circuits in applications where extremely fine lines are required, such as OLED panels, solar cells, printed antennae and touch panels.

DuPont’s newest conductive ink, PE410, enables rapid prototyping and a smooth transition from “lab to fab” with the versatility to scale up to industrial high-volume inkjet print heads and machines. This allows circuit designers to immediately test a new design, quickly make necessary edits, and, due to reduced silver laydown, save on material costs.

The technology also can be adapted to non-planar printing, enabling a series of new and emerging applications.

MIMAKI INTRODUCES STRETCHABLE UV-CURABLE INK “LUS-350” NAGANO, JAPAN: Mimaki Engineering Co., Ltd., because it enables printing on the substrate before the a global industry leader and manufacturer of wide molding process. LUS-350 ink supports your business format inkjet printers and cutting plotters, announced growth by opening up a wide range of new creative that it will launch a new UV-curable ink, LUS-350. possibilities. After printing, LUS-350 ink can stretch This is a highly durable yet flexible high-performance up to 350% when heated to between 120 and 2000C. ink that has incomparable elasticity together with The ink restores its rigidity after cooling down to room excellent hardness. LUS-350 ink can be loaded into temperature, while maintaining the molded shape and Mimaki inkjet printers, UJF-7151plus and JFX200- its durability. Seemingly contradictory characteristics, 2513, and makes it possible to decorate not only rigidity and stretchability, are combined in one noflexible materials but also materials to be used for compromise ink for producing finished prints that are vacuum molding processes. LUS-350 ink stretches up both beautiful and durable. to 350% at high temperature and restores its rigidity at room temperature, achieving a level of durability that only a UV-curable ink can offer. Previously, vacuum molded products had to be printed after molding, by screen printing or other methods. This ink provides a beautiful finish on molded products such as automotive components and molded signs 76

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HUNTSMAN LAUNCHES NEW FLUORESCENT DYES FOR ATTRACTIVE FASHION SHADES SINGAPORE, MALAYSIA: Huntsman Textile Effects introduces ERIONYL® Flavine FF and Rhodamine FF dyes, offering state-of-the-art performance with outstanding fastness levels and significantly higher strength of neon dyes available in the market today.

These latest additions to the well-established range of ERIONYL® dyes address growing demand for polyamide dyes as polyamide fibers become increasingly popular within the high-value segment of functional elastic garments. To deliver enhanced reproducibility, trouble-free application and minimized risk of known issues with these specific types of dyes, ERIONYL® Flavine FF and Rhodamine FF dyes can be used in combination with Huntsman Textile Effects key auxiliaries such as ALBATEX® AB-45 pH buffer, ERIONAL® FRN fastness improver or INVALON® FL machine cleaner. The ERIONYL® dye range is now complete with ERIONYL® Flavine FF and Rhodamine FF dyes. This comprehensive range provides dyeing concepts tailor made for specific requirements while delivering high quality neon shades and state-of-theart fastness typical for such kind of shades.

EASTMAN EXPANDS GAS TREATMENT PORTFOLIO

Chemical Today Magazine | May 2016

MDEA is an excellent choice for selective removal of H2S in the treatment of tail gas from a Claus-type sulfur recovery unit. Its inherent selectivity towards H2S, high capacity and low regeneration energy requirements have made it the default option for this application. Eastman AdapT® solvents are based on MDEA, formulated to provide additional performance or operating benefits to the amine system. Eastman AdapT 110, the newest addition to the Eastman AdapT gas treatment portfolio, has been thoroughly tested and has demonstrated two key benefits versus generic MDEA in tail gas treatment such as lower energy consumption and deeper H2S removal. Both benefits can yield additional advantages such as higher selectivity, higher capacity, reduced equipment size and investment cost, as well as larger operating flexibility.

Eastman AdapT 110 can handle a wide range of design and operating parameters, and has achieved H2S concentrations in the treated gas below 10 parts per million.

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PRODUCTS WORLD’S FIRST AUTOMATED FOAM ANALYSIS ACCORDING TO ROSS-MILES • Ross Miles Foam Analyzer (RMFA) for foam analysis according to ASTM D 1173 seen for the first time

resolution of 0.4 mm, achieves a previously unattainable precision. The initial foam height measurement does not have to be manually coordinated with the discharge • Precise, electronic foam height measurement, initially and after standardized measuring times of exactly 60, of the reservoir solution. Instead, it corresponds to the electronically detected time at which the maximum 180 and 300 seconds foam height is registered. The other measurement • Additional information by recording the whole times are also adhered to exactly. As well as the foam temporal behaviour and the drainage height, the instrument also records the height of the Kruss GmbH is launching its new foam analysis liquid. In this way, the raw data document whether the instrument, the Ross Miles Foam Analyzer (RMFA) filling level specified in the norm has been accurately in Munich. The RMFA is the world’s first instrument maintained. for measuring foam height electronically according As well as improved reproducibility and accuracy, to the ASTM D 1173 standard, which is commonly electronic data measurement also saves a great deal of referred to for investigating the foamability of foam- time, as the measurement no longer has to be followed forming substances. Measurements with the RMFA live. The user therefore gains five minutes with every are distinguished by high repeatability, large sample foam analysis, which he can use to prepare the next throughput and convenient data handling. surfactant solution, for example.

For measurements carried out in accordance with ASTM D 1173, the foam-forming solution is presented in a high, cylindrical receiver vessel with standard dimensions. A second quantity of the same solution is introduced from above by means of a likewise standardized reservoir. This passes through the column and forms foam as a result of the turbulence on mixing with the receiving phase. The foam height is measured as soon as the reservoir is empty and also after 60, 180 and 300 seconds. Up to now, the height and time have had to be recorded manually. Results were therefore dependent on the user and were subject to a corresponding uncertainty. With the RMFA, this belongs to the past.

Repeatable measurements – electronically and exactly to the norm The RMFA integrates the standardized vessels according to ASTM D 1173 in a newly developed measuring device for electronic height measurement.

An LED bar and a sensor bar are fitted along the easyto-insert intake vessel. The foam height is detected based on the difference in brightness at the foam-air boundary – a measuring method which the company also uses successfully in the Dynamic Foam Analyzer – DFA100.

The electronic height detection ensures considerably improved repeatability of the measurement and, with a 78

Chemical Today Magazine | May 2016

Easy-to-use software with clear data processing The RMFA is used with the company’s universal ADVANCE software, which combines a workflow-oriented user interface with intuitive operation and appealing design. New measurements are set up with just one click from a measurement template which has been specifically created for analyses in compliance with the standard. After starting, ADVANCE records data for the whole transient behavior of the foam and liquid height. The values are automatically singled out together with additional information relating to decay behaviour and drainage.

The results and raw data curves of any measurements can be displayed in common tables and charts with just a few clicks. As ASTM D 1173 recommends measurements of different surfactant concentrations, this rapid comparison of results is also ideally oriented to the standard.

Chemical Today Connecting World Chemically

HYDRAULIC FLUIDS

WITH LOW ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT Quaker Chemical Corporation offers QUINTOLUBRIC® 888 fire-resistant hydraulic fluids for reduced environmental impact.

In the tunneling industry, situations occur every day that can be classified as harmful. These situations occur not only because of the underground environment, or heavy machinery used, but also because of the hydraulic fluid chosen. With the high pressures and flow rates typical in a tunnel boring machine (TBM), a small leak from a line, a seal, or a hose could quickly discharge large amounts of fluid into the tunnel. If a spill occurs, problems can quickly escalate if the hydraulic fluid is not environmentally favourable. If a fire-resistant hydraulic fluid with a favourable environmental profile and low toxicity is used it can help minimize the impact of leaks or spills, reduce safety hazards, and also simplify water treatment requirements.

In addition to a favourable environmental profile, QUINTOLUBRIC® hydraulic fluids also keep machines working at optimal performance with fewer interruptions, support longer life span for equipment and increase safety and reduce risk for a lower total cost of ownership.

Welcoming articles for ‘Chemical Today’ Magazine. ‘worldofchemicals.com’ is one of the fast-growing online portal for the chemical fraternity. Since its launch in 2010, the portal has set a benchmark in keeping the industry updated about latest technology and trends happening globally in the chemical industry.

As an extension of the portal, ‘Chemical Today’ magazine covers chemistry & chemical industry-related information, which is circulated among major industry players in the country and internationally.

We would like to invite you to contribute technical articles, case studies, innovation & research papers, trends/technology perspectives and news related to your area of work. You can also send in any other communication requests, details about new product launches and press releases for inclusion in the magazine.

The article can be around 1,000 to 1,500 words along with graphs, tables and images (high-resolution) having captions + name of author/s (author’s present designation and company name).

Your expertise and knowledge-share will indeed be a value-add for our wide and varied readers.

If you wish to contribute or for more information write to editorial@worldofchemicals.com Chemical Today Magazine | May 2016

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PRODUCTS HIGH PERFORMANCE STRUCTURAL ADHESIVES Parson Adhesives India Pvt Ltd, subsidiary of Parson Adhesives, Inc-USA, is offering the following products: ‘SONLOK®’ (Anaerobic adhesive technology) comprises various products for Thread locking, Retaining, Liquid Gasketing & Thread sealing. These products are for metal-to-metal contact & cure in absence of oxygen and extensively used in transportation – for automobiles, railways, buses, trucks, tractors, farm equipments; in machine manufacturing – pumps, motors, valves, radiators, transformers, compressors, various machineries.

‘PARBOND®’ (Epoxy & Polyurethane adhesive technology) products are also structural adhesives and have acceptance to many industries including transportation, electrical & electronics, aerospace, marine, railways, wind & solar power related equipments & assemblies.

‘PARTITE®’ (Methacrylate adhesive technology) brand products cover varied applications as structural adhesives. These products are used for combining plastics, composites materials . These products are widely accepted for Windmills, White-goods, home appliances, Solar Cells & modules, Electronic products, Automobile, Railways, Aerospace & Marine applications.

‘PARCON®’ (Silicone sealant technology) products have their own niche applications in many areas in Transport, Railway, Marine, Aerospace, Engg Industries & more.

‘PARLITE®’ (UV curable adhesive technology) products are specialized products for specific applications for bonding, encapsulating, coating, tacking and sealing.

‘PARFIX®’ (Cyanoacrylate adhesive technology) brand These products are UV light curing and are extensively products encompass numerous applications for wide used for bonding glass, plastics & metal surfaces and variety of substrates where bonding of metal, plastics, have varied applications in Automobile, Light fixtures, rubber parts and also of other dissimilar materials. Glass components, Railways, Aerospace, Marine and Parfix products cure in seconds. more.

Contact: Parson Adhesives India Pvt Ltd SF-4, Tower-A, Signet Plaza, Kunal Cross Road Gotri , Vadodara-390021, Gujarat, INDIA.

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Chemical Today Magazine | May 2016

Parson Adhesives also offers custom-made products suiting to your specific requirements.

Tele : +91-265-2972191 / 6541638 Mobile : 094285-11765, 09408354185 Email : sales@parsonadhesives.in Website : www.parsonadhesives.in

NEW ADHESIVE LUBRICANT

FOR SENSITIVE AREAS

Germany-based company, Weicon, has expanded its range of technical sprays with NSF registration with the new Weicon Top-Lub-Fluid. It is a special adhesive lubricant, which was developed for the application in sensitive areas.

Top-Lub-Fluid has a NSF H2 registration for the food industry and can therefore be used in the food and beverage industry, pharmaceutical and cosmetic industry. It is a synthetic, transparent, adhesive lubricant for the permanent inside and outside lubrication of highly stressed chains and wire ropes of all kinds.

Top-Lub-Fluid can be used in a wide temperature range from -40°C to +200°C. It is particularly adherent and pressure-resistant, has an excellent creeping, is noise absorbent and water-repellent and prevents elongation, friction and wear. The fluid may also be used during operation in compliance with the safety regulations. It is suitable for many surfaces, e.g. metal, stainless steel, plastics and elastomers.

Contact: WEICON GmbH & Co. KG P.O.Box 84 60, DE-48045 Münster Königsberger Str. 255 DE-48157 Münster Phone: +49 251 / 93 22 - 0 Fax Inland: +49 251 / 93 22 244 Fax Export: +49 251 / 93 22 233 Email: info@weicon.de Web:: http://www.weicon.com/pages/en/index.php

LAUNCH OF DISINFECTANT FOR CLEANING OPERATIONS EFFICIENCY Spartan Chemical Company Inc, a recognized leader in the formulation and manufacture of sustainable cleaning and sanitation solutions for the industrial and institutional market, announced the availability of BNC-15™, an EPA-registered, one step, cleaner disinfectant.

With disinfection, following the dwell or contact time on the product label is the only way to guarantee all listed microorganisms have been eliminated from the surface. The majority of disinfectants available in the market today, require a 10-minute dwell time. BNC-15 offers 3-minute disinfection for most common bacteria and viruses and a 60-second disinfection for the HIV-1 and Influenza Type A/Hong Kong virus.

In addition, BNC-15 provides Norovirus efficacy in 5 minutes and provides non-food contact sanitization in just 15 seconds. BNC-15 delivers non-acid disinfection and cleaning performance in an economical concentrate and is a proven “one-step” disinfectant, Chemical Today Magazine | May 2016

cleaner, sanitizer, fungicide, mildewstat, virucide, deodorizer which is effective in water up to 250 ppm hardness in the presence of 5% serum contamination.

Contact: Spartan Chemical Company, Inc. 1110 Spartan Dr, Maumee, OH 43537, United States Phone: +1 419-531-5551 Website: http://www.spartanchemical.com/ https://www.spartanchemical.com/about/news/bnc-15/ 81

EQUIPMENT

HORIBA Scientific launches EMIA-Pro Carbon/Sulfur Analyzer HORIBA’s EMIA-Pro Carbon/Sulfur Analyzer offers Non-Dispersive Infrared (NDIR) measurement capabilities, optimizing its range from 1.6ppm–6.0% for Carbon, and 2ppm – 1.0% for Sulfur. It is also equipped with a Unique CO Detector and can be used for Inorganic materials such as steel, cokes, catalyst, non-ferrous alloy like aluminum and lithium-ion battery materials. It also increases cleaning efficiency.

This enables users to repeat their measurements up to 200 times. EMIA-Pro offers increased measurement efficiency, with measurement, display of results and cleaning now takes about 70 seconds. It has a navigation system that recommends the most suitable conditions for samples, troubleshoots errors and alerts users to perform maintenance.

Contact: HORIBA Scientific, 3880 Park Avenue, Edison, New Jersey, 08820-3097, USA

Tel: +1 732 494 8660 Fax:+1 732 549 5125 / +1 732 494 8796 Email: info.sci@horiba.com Web: http://www.horiba.com

Emerson introduces hybrid laser analyzer for continuous gas analysis Emerson claims that its new CT5100 continuous gas analyzer is the world’s only hybrid analyzer to combine Tunable Diode Laser (TDL) and Quantum Cascade Laser (QCL) measurement technologies for process gas analysis and emissions monitoring. CT5100 can measure up to 12 critical component gases and potential pollutants simultaneously within a single system. It is suited for process gas analysis, continuous emissions monitoring, and ammonia slip applications.

It has advanced technology, high reliability, and rugged design. Its “laser chirp” technique expands gas analysis in both the near- and mid-infrared range, enhancing process insight, improving overall gas analysis sensitivity and selectivity, removing cross interference, and reducing response time.

Contact: Emerson Process Management 6021 Innovation Blvd, Shakopee, Minnesota 55379, USA, United States 82

Chemical Today Magazine | May 2016

Ph: +1 800 999 9307 / 952 906 8888 Fax:+1 952 949 7001 Email: RFQ.RMD-RCC@EmersonProcess.com Web: http://www2.emersonprocess.com

www.worldofchemicals.com

JP3 launches new analyzer for hydrocarbon composition & physical properties analysis The Verax CTXTM represents JP3’s latest generation near-infrared analyzer designed specifically for oil and gas applications. With faster measurement times, four independent spectrometer detectors, enhanced optical components, and a new flow cell, the Verax CTX provides significant improvements in measurement speed, quality, repeatability, stability, and reliability in even the harshest environments.

Natural gas or liquids can be accurately analyzed to obtain hydrocarbon composition, Vapor Pressure, BTU, API gravity, and other physical properties. Using patented Near-Infrared (NIR) optical spectroscopy and advanced chemometric techniques, Verax CTX provides readings in a matter of seconds, directly in both liquid and gas streams.

Contact: JP3 Measurement, LLC 4109 Todd Lane, Suite 200 Austin, Texas 78744, USA

Ph: 512.537.8450 Email: gwilliams@jp3measurement.com Web: http://www.jp3measurement.com

Fraunhofer introduces process analysis in real time With a real-time mass spectrometer it has become possible for the first time to analyze up to 30 components simultaneously from the gas phase and a liquid, including in-situ analysis. This sensitive measurement system is also suitable for the automated monitoring and control of chemical reactions and biotechnological processes. Besides the identification of compounds it is possible to evaluate the ion currents quantitatively. By means of integrated data evaluation, concentrations of the monitored substances can be determined and changes of concentration – for example in chemical or biochemical reactions – can be measured and recorded.

Contact: Fraunhofer IGB Ph: +49 711 970-4401 Nobelstrasse 12, Fax: +49 71 970-4200 70569 Stuttgart, Email: info@igb.fraunhofer.de Germany Web: http://www.igb.fraunhofer.de Chemical Today Magazine | May 2016

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EQUIPMENT

Oxford Instruments introduces high performance compact benchtop metals analyzer The FOUNDRY-MASTER Optimum is the advanced version of Foundry-Master Smart. Based on optical emission spectroscopy, it is the ideal instrument for seamless quality control, analyzing the majority of metals and their alloys, including Nitrogen in duplex steel – a unique feature for this class. The analyzer has been designed with ease of use in mind; the user interface software is Windows based and the system includes an integrated self-diagnostics function. The sample stand is accessible from three sides, making it suitable for samples with complex and irregular shapes and sizes.

Contact: Oxford Instruments Plc Tubney Woods, Abingdon, Oxfordshire, OX13 5QX, UK

T: +44 (0)1865 393200 F: +44 (0)1865 393333 Email: info.plc@oxinst.com Web: http://www.oxford-instruments.com

ValvTechnologies, Inc. introduces PulseJet valves that reduce fugitive emissions ValvTechnologies, Inc., manufacturer of zero-leakage severe service isolation valve solutions introduced a fast-acting, high-cycle NexTech® pulsejet valve with EcoPack™ stem packing solution for the reduction of fugitive emissions. Pulsejet valves are designed to send a pulse of gas through a pipeline system. A trunnion-mounted ball valve, ValvTechnologies NexTech® pulsejet valve is capable of 90° or 180° rotation in speeds as low as 0.5 seconds or faster: this fast actuation speed is what creates the gas “pulse” through the pipeline system. Pulsejet systems can be used to clean system filters, spray chemicals in an injection type system, or pulse debris/media through a pipeline to prevent clogging.

Contact: ValvTechnologies 5904 Bingle Rd, Houston, TX 77092, USA 84

Chemical Today Magazine | May 2016

Tel: +1 713 860 0400 Fax: +1 713 860 0499 Email: info@valv.com/jbodine@valv.com Web: http://www.valv.com

www.worldofchemicals.com

NETZSCH introduces new dry fine grinding mill NETZSCH launches SpheRho®, a new agitator bead mill which is used for the dry grinding of mineral and ceramic raw materials. It has very high product fineness and high throughput rates with low specific energy consumption. It operates with very small grinding beads which results in higher stress intensity.

In this way, ultra-fine grinding of even comparatively coarse feed product is possible with low energy input. At approx. 400 kW/m3, the specific grinding chamber energy of the NETZSCH SpheRho® is many times greater than that of conventional bead mills.

It’s simple, sturdy design allows for quick changeover of grinding media and agitator elements, making maintenance and service easier.

Contact: NETZSCH Trockenmahltechnik GmbH Rodenbacher Chaussee 1, 63457 Hanau, Germany

Tel: +49 6181 506-01 Fax: +49 6181 571 270 Email: info.ntt@netzsch.com Web: https://www.netzsch-grinding.com

Sartorius presents new premium mechanical pipette Sartorius Tacta pipettes are available in a range of volumes from 0.1 to 10,000 µl in single channel models, and from 0.5 to 300 µl in multichannel models. Tacta’s ergonomic and clever design enables extremely low pipetting and tip ejection forces that reduce the risk of Work Related Upper Limb Disorder (WRULD). The new Sartorius Optiject, levered tip ejection technology, enables controlled and smooth tip ejection with minimum force. The Optiload feature ensures tip loading with perfect sealing and minimal force. In addition it provides flexible volume adjustment and locking functionalities, and prevents accidental volume changes during pipetting.

Contact: Sartorius AG Weender Landstr. 94-108, 37075 Goettingen, Germany Chemical Today Magazine | May 2016

Ph : +49.551.308.0 Fax: +49.551.308.3289 Email: dominic.grone@sartorius.com Web: https://www.sartorius.com 85

EQUIPMENT

Kason Corp’s centrifugal sifter achieves rates to 100 tons/h Kason Corporation’s centrifugal sifter Model K1350 removes oversize foreign matter and agglomerates from on-size material at rates up to 100 tons per hour.

It features an easy-to-clean cantilevered three-bearing shaft design with bearings at the motor end of the shaft and on the exterior of the discharge end cover, providing maximum support for heavy loads. An exclusive “forward and lift” access door on gas struts improves interior access for cleaning, inspection and maintenance. The sifter can be configured for gravity fed applications, or dilute-phase positive- or negativepressure in-line pneumatic systems. It is suitable for bulk food, chemical and mineral applications.

Contact: Kason Corporation 67-71 East Willow St., Millburn, New Jersey, 07041-1416, USA

Tel: (973) 467-8140/844-527-6648 Fax: (973) 258-9533 Email: info@kason.com Web: http://www.kason.com

Charles Ross & Son Co. diversifies its tumble blender portfolio Charles Ross & Son Company has added 5-, 10- and 25-cu.ft. V-Cone Tumble Blenders to its inventory of stock mixing equipment. Ideal for intimate dry blending of free flowing solids, Ross V-Cone Tumble Blenders or simply V-Blenders, are rated for 125 lbs/ cu.ft. product bulk density and feature stainless steel 316 wetted parts polished to 240-grit finish. Other standard features include hinged covers, a butterfly discharge valve, TEFC direct drive gear motor, and a safety gate with limit switch. V-Blenders can be customized with optional features such as vacuum capability, intensifier bar, spray nozzles, heating/ cooling jacket, explosion-proof motor and built-in controls.

Contact: Charles Ross & Son Company 710 Old Willets Path, Hauppauge, NY 11788, USA 86

Chemical Today Magazine | May 2016

Ph : 631 234 0500 Fax: 631 234 0691 Email: mail@mixers.com Web: http://www.mixers.com

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GLOSSARY PAGE NO Accenture 03, 65 AkzoNobel 12 Allied Market Research 42 APV Engineered Coatings 43 Ashland 70 Atomax Chemicals 41 Bangor High School 63 BASF 10, 36, 44, 52 BCC Research 39 Bio methanol Chemie Nederland BV 36 Brakemen 36 Brisk Insights 36 Charles Ross & Son Company 86 Collins Inkjet Corporation 26 Corning Display Technologies 31 Daleco Resources Corporation 44 Department of Chemicals and Petrochemicals 09 DIC group 23 DMSE 51 Dow Wolff 41 DTU Energy 46 DuPont 09, 36, 76 DuPont Tate & Lyle Bio Products Company LLC 36 Eastern Marking Machine Corp 43 EASTMAN 77 Ecolab Inc 08 Elmont Memorial Junior-Senior High School 62 Emerson 82 EURENCO 41 European Union 40 ExxonMobil 51 Flint Group 43 Food & Drug Administration (FDA) 27, 40 Fraunhofer IGB 83 Gans Ink & Supply Co 43 Global Market Insights Inc 41 Grand View Research Inc 34 Gulf Africa Petroleum Corporation (GAPCO) 11 Harvard Medical School 63 Hewlett-Packard Company 43 HORIBA Scientific 82 Huntsman Textile 77 Hutti Gold Mines Ltd 72 Illinois Tool Works Inc 43 Imerys SA 44 I-Minerals Inc 44 Indian Oil Corporation Ltd 72 IVM Chemicals 41 JP3 Measurement, LLC 83 Kajaria Ceramics 11 KaMin LLC 44 Kaolin AD 47 Karnataka Power Corporation Ltd 72 88

Chemical Today Magazine | May 2016

PAGE NO Karnataka State Warehousing Corporation 72 Kason Corporation 86 Kruss GmbH 78 LB Minerals Ltd 34 Leibinger Group 43 Linde India 09 LORD Corporation 71 Lubrizol Corporation 71 Lucintel 31 Massachusetts Academy 63 Merck KGaA 71 Mimaki Engineering Co.Ltd. 76 MIT Energy Initiative 51 Mitsubishi Chemical Corp 36 National Chemical Laboratory 71 Nazdar Ink Technologies 75 NETZSCH Trockenmahltechnik GmbH 85 Nitro Quimica 41 Oxford Instruments Plc 82 Parson Adhesives India Pvt Ltd 80 Purdue University 03, 54 Quaker Chemical Corporation 79 Quarzwerke GmbH 44 Ras Al Khaimah (RAK) Ceramics 03, 18, 33 RUCO Druckfarben 43 Saint-Gobain 38 Sartorius AG 85 SCHOTT AG 13, 34 SCR-Sibelco NV 44 Security Printing & Minting Corporation of India Ltd 72 South China University of Technology 58 Spartan Chemical Company, Inc. 81 Stepan Company 71 Sun Chemical 03, 22, 74 Syngenta 70 Synthesia 41 T&K Toka Corp 43 Tembec 41 Temple University 51 The Dow Chemical Company 70 Thiele Kaolin 44 TNC Industrial 41 Toyo Ink SC Holdings Co Ltd 43 Troy Corporation 09 Ukrainian Kaolin Company 44 University of British Columbia 47 University of California, Berkeley 48 ValvTechnologies Inc 84 Videojet Technologies 75 W R Grace & Co 70 WEICON GmbH & Co. KG 81 WinterGreen Research 19, 32

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