Chemical Today Magazine December 2021

December 2021 | Volume IV | Issue XII

Expert Viewpoint Chlor-alkali Market

IT In Chemicals Industry 5.0 Cosmetics Tech Digital Agriculture

Insights

US Chemical Market Bioplastics

Reports

SMART MEDS WITH

INDUSTRY 4.0

Expectations of a strong recovery As we move into the new year 2022, there is renewed outlook for the chemical industry.

Most of the industry segments are suggesting rise in demand, stable pricing and expansion of opportunities. Moreover, economic indicators point out that the global economy is moving forward. However, reaching preCOVID levels post the pandemic situation will depend on various factors and will be uneven across nations.

Earlier, the German chemical industry organization Verband der Chemischen Industrie eV (VCI) forecasted that the chemical production, excluding pharmaceuticals, is expected to slow down somewhat across most of the globe next year, but the United States will see the biggest production gains across all major chemical manufacturing markets in 2022.

The US chemical industry is poised for a strong recovery in 2022 as economies reopen and restrictions are lifted, which should drive up plant utilization rates that were hit hard by the pandemic.

In India, personal services and construction were particularly affected, considerably slowing down of the economy. However, the economy is expected to recover from the sharp downturn moving further – while shortcomings in infrastructure, education and public administration are slowing growth in the medium term.

The industry could face margin pressures amid raw material cost inflation, which will likely remain high through the first half of 2022. Also, industry margins could come under increased pressure toward the end of 2022 as pentup demand starts to clear out. In spite of chemical demand and production getting ramped up, the supply chain, logistics and transportation challenges will continue into the next year as well. This could dampen growth efforts and production capabilities to an extent.

Globally, along with production and revenue concerns, the chemical industry will also be focusing on sustainability and decarbonisation.

Further, continuous R&D in the speciality chemicals market has facilitated development of products with optimum and advanced features. This is one of the major factors that drives growth of this market. With rapid industrialization, noticeable demand from Asian countries such as India and China have arisen.

Also American Chemistry Council suggested that the capex will come down notably in 2022, as the industry participants expect a strong recovery in industrial and manufacturing operations moving ahead. The industry also appears to be preparing for increased sales into the technology sector.

For the year 2022, we come up with host of online events, as the market conditions continue to be in a precautionary mode. Keep watching as we unfold market trends through our virtual events.

For suggestions or feedback write to editorial@worldofchemicals.com © 2021 worldofchemicals.com Cover Image Source : Unsplash.com

Chemical Today Magazine | December 2021

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Chemical Today

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

CONTENTS QUOTES

SECTOR VIEW

PHARMA MANUFACTURING

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NEWS

NATIONAL NEWS MOVERS & SHAKERS (NATIONAL) INTERNATIONAL NEWS MOVERS & SHAKERS (INTERNATIO AL)

CHEMICAL SECTORS

PLASTICS CIRCULAR ECONOMY COPOLYMERS ATEX REGULATIONS TPEs FOOD SAFETY POLYAMIDES PUMPS INDUSTRY HEALTH OMICRON VARIANT

EXPERT VIEWPOUNT CHLOR-ALKALI MARKET

03 04 07 10 14 16 18 19 20 23 24

SECTOR VIEW

EXPERT VIEWPOINT

CHLOR-ALKALI MARKET

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PHARMA MANUFACTURING

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GREEN CHEMISTRY

29

INSIGHTS

BIOPLASTICS US CHEMICAL MARKET

36 37

ETHYL ACETATE MARKET NANOCOATINGS OXO ALCOHOLS MARKET PHARMACEUTICAL INTERMEDIATES POLYPROPYLENE SPECIALTY CHEMICALS

40 42 44 46 47 49

ACADEMIC R & D

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REPORT

Maulik Patel,

Chairman and Managing Director, Meghmani Finechem LimitedMeghmani Finechem Limited.

INSIGHTS

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BIOPLASTICS

Chemical Today Magazine | December 2021

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IT IN CHEMICALS INDUSTRY 5.0 DIGITAL AGRICULTURE COSMETICS

59 61 62

JOBS

64

PRODUCTS WRITE UP

66

PRODUCTS

67

EQUIPMENT

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Published for December 2021.

QUOTES

India is a very important market for polyurethanes and has a wonderful potential for growth. When leaders of the industry from all over the world get together under one roof, it leads to better production and faster growth of the industry R C Bhargava Former CEO and current Chairman, Maruti Suzuki.

Indian Solar Manufacturers Association (ISMA) members have expressed positive sentiments as manufacturing and Make in India initiative gathered momentum. The phenomenal growth opportunity of Renewal Energy is unparalleled in the world today, looking at current and future energy consumption in India over the next 2-3 decades.

All stakeholders have immense opportunities especially those who make and develop products in India.

K N Subramaniam CEO, Moserbear Solar Ltd and Treasurer, Indian Solar Manufacturers Association (ISMA)

The rise of e-commerce and access to new technologies has accelerated counterfeiting and other forms of illicit trade. That makes fighting counterfeit medical products an ever-more urgent priority for pharma companies both in terms of patient safety and brand reputation.

Yann Ischi Director, New Channels and Partnerships, SICPA

Within the Volkswagen Group, we have a clear strategy for how we want to put battery-electric vehicles into series production across our brands and in many different market segments. However, a major qualification for success in the volume market is more powerful battery concepts. In Volkswagen Group R&D we are focusing on close cooperation, not only with industrial partners but also with the smart minds of the scientific community.

Dr Ulrich Eichhorn Head, Group R&D, Volkswagen AG.

NEWS NATIONAL RELIANCE INDUSTRIES, SAUDI ARAMCO CANCEL $15 BILLION-STAKE SALE DEAL

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UMBAI, INDIA: Saudi Aramco has cancelled its mega plan to acquire a 20 percent stake in Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL) for $15 billion. Consequently, RIL has withdrawn the application with the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) for segregating oil to chemicals (O2C) business under the new entity Reliance O2C Ltd, reported Fortune India.

After RIL’s foray into solar energy and materials businesses, both the companies agreed to re-evaluate the proposed investment in the O2C business. Jamnagar, which accounts for a major part of the O2C assets, is envisaged to be the centre for RIL’s new businesses of renewable energy & new materials, supporting the carbon zero commitment, RIL said.

RIL and Aramco signed a non-binding Letter of Intent in August 2019, for a potential 20 percent stake acquisition by Saudi Aramco in the O2C business.

“The deep engagement over the last two years has given both Reliance and Saudi Aramco a greater understanding of each other, providing a platform for broader areas of cooperation. Saudi Aramco and Reliance are deeply committed to creating a win-win partnership and will make future disclosures as appropriate,” the company mentioned.

The deal valued the business at $75 billion. Both the companies will re-evaluate the deal in light of RIL’s foray into solar energy, the Indian refiner has said in a statement.

In October, Reliance also appointed Saudi Aramco chairman Yasir Al-Rumayyan to its board as an independent director.

RIL will continue to be Aramco’s preferred partner for investments in the private sector in India and will collaborate with Saudi Aramco and SABIC for investments in Saudi Arabia.

“Over the past two years, both the teams made significant efforts in the process of due diligence, despite Covid-19 restrictions. This has been possible due to the mutual respect and long-standing relationship between the two organisations,” the company said.

The Indian refining major plans to build four giga factories in Jamnagar—a solar photovoltaic module factory; an energy storage battery factory; an electrolyser factory; and a fuel cell factory for converting hydrogen into motive & stationary power.

MEGHMANI ORGANICS TO SET UP NEW TITANIUM DIOXIDE PLANT IN INDIA

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UMBAI, INDIA: Meghmani Organics Limited (MOL) is setting up a new white pigment titanium dioxide (TiO2) plant with an investment of Rs. 400 crore and 33,000 metric ton capacity at Dahej, Gujarat, India, the company said in a regulatory filing.

plant in India. Titanium Dioxide (TiO2) is an import substitution product aligning to the Government’s ‘Make in India’ and ‘Atmanirbhar Bharat’ vision,” said Ankit Patel, chief executive officer, Meghmani Organics.

The new titanium dioxide plant is expected to be commissioned

by Q1 FY24 and will be funded by an appropriate mix of internal accruals and debt.

Currently India’s total TiO2 production capacity is at 81,000 MTPA with 80 percent demand fulfilled by imports. The demand for this white pigment is expected to grow at 4.2 percent CAGR reaching 3,00,000 MTPA by 2026.

“The company has strengthened its value-added proposition of its Pigments Division with its entry into White Pigment Titanium Dioxide (TiO2). Meghmani Organics foray into Titanium Dioxide (TiO2) is in line with the company’s endeavour of creating sustainable growth in Pigment Division beyond Phthalocyanine Pigment Blue and Green. The project is poised to be the largest

Titanium dioxide is a naturally occurring white opaque mineral used as a bright white pigment. It is majorly available in two grades: Rutile and Anatase Grade with industrial applications in paint, coating, plastic, polymers, inks, dyes, paper and cosmetics etc.

GHCL Limited has signed a MoU with Tamil Nadu government for investing 500 crore in the state. GHCL will set up 40,000 ring spindles in Manaparai, Tiruchirappalli district, to produce synthetic and synthetic blended yarn to cater to the knitting and weaving segments.

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Chemical Today Magazine | December 2021

ARETE INVESTS RS 1050 CRORE TO DEVELOP INDUSTRIAL PARK IN DAHEJ

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API, INDIA: ARETE Group announced it will invest Rs 1050 crore in developing phase one of Payal Industrial Park, a privately-integrated Industrial Park at Dahej, Gujarat. The park is spread over a vast 3,500 acres of area earmarked for large-scale industrial development, logistics parks and utilities. It is developed within the Gujarat PCPIR (Petroleum, Chemicals and Petrochemicals Investment Region) – as declared by government of India under PCPIR Policy 2007, and hence surrounded by fastgrowing industrial projects within Gujarat PCPIR. The park has been approved by the government of Gujarat, and world-class infrastructure facilities has been planned. Its master planning is done by CH2M Hill; therefore it has been planned innovatively for efficient internal roads, water distribution facilities, effluent treatment plants, power distribution and fire fighting. Additionally, industries will also have superlative access to manpower, close proximity to vendors and other ancillary products by being a part of the industrial cluster. All these

facilities collectively make Payal Industrial Park an ideal hub for water-intensive and polluting industries such as chemical, agrochemical, fertilizer, dyes intermediates, pigments, chlor-alkali, chemical, petrochemicals, specialty chemical, polymer, rubber, metals and metallurgical and textile industries, among others.

It has easy access to Dahej Port, whereas Hazira Port, Surat and Jawaharlal Nehru Port (JNPT), Navi Mumbai are also important for the park in terms of boosting exim trade and connectivity to Middle-East, Central Asia and Europe. Further, it is situated close to the Western Railway Network, and is also at close vicinity to three international airports viz. Surat International Airport, Baroda Airport and Ahmedabad Airport.

“The Park envisions to be ‘Asia’s ultimate destination to set up industry’, while also fulfilling the vision of Gujarat’s ongoing ‘mega industrial revolution’ and contributing towards the ‘Make in India’ initiative,” said Virender Kumar, head - business strategy & marketing, ARETE Group.

ADANI COMPANIES DECLARE ENERGY COMPACT GOALS AS PART OF COP26

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HMEDABAD, INDIA: Adani Green Energy Ltd (AGEL) the world’s largest solar power developer, and Adani Transmission Ltd (ATL), India’s largest private sector power transmission and retail distribution company, have declared their Energy Compact Goals as part of COP26, primarily adhering to Sustainable Development Goal 7 (SDG 7).

AGEL has set a target of achieving 45 GW renewable energy capacity by 2030, with the average tariff below the Average Power Purchase Cost (APPC) at the national level. Further, AGEL will invest $20 billion in renewable energy development over the next decade and develop a 2 GW per year solar manufacturing capacity by FY 202223.

SDG 7 defines a set of targets to be achieved by 2030. The companies are to ensure universal access to affordable, reliable, and modern energy services and increase substantially the share of renewable energy in the global energy mix.

ATL is on course to increase the share of renewable power procurement from the current 3 to 30 percent by FY 2023 and to 70 percent by FY 2030 through its utility subsidiary in Mumbai and reduce its carbon intensity on per unit of revenue basis to support SDG 13 for Climate Change Mitigation. ATL’s role as a transmission provider and distributor of energy is also in line with SDG 11 on Sustainable Cities and Communities, as it provides resilient infras tructure and ensures community access to a consistent and secure power supply.

Both AGEL and ATL have centered their business strategy around the achievement of SDGs across all their activities, with SDG 7 as the cornerstone.

AGEL’s and ATL’s commitment will also support the targets taken by the Government of India and its commitment to the UN Energy Compact. India has committed to increase the installed capacity of renewable energy to 450 GW by 2030 and to the Production Linked Incentive Scheme (PLI) to add 10 GW solar PV manufacturing capacity by 2025. India has also committed to ‘enhance energy efficiency in agriculture, buildings, industry and transport sectors and promote energy-efficient appliances/equipment to reduce India’s emissions intensity of GDP’.

Adani Green Energy Ltd (AGEL), the world’s largest solar power developer, is targeting 45 gigawatts of renewable energy capacity by 2030 and will invest $ 20 billion to develop a 2 GW per year solar manufacturing capacity by 2022-23.

Earlier this month, Adani Group announced that its logistics-toenergy conglomerate will invest $ 70 billion over the next decade to become the world’s largest renewable energy company and produce the cheapest hydrogen on the Earth.

Adani Green Energy Ltd (AGEL), a leading solar power developer, is targeting 45 gigawatts of renewable energy capacity by 2030 and will invest $ 20 billion to develop a 2 GW per year solar manufacturing capacity by 2022-23. (File Photo)

Chemical Today Magazine | December 2021

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NEWS NATIONAL AIR PRODUCTS OPENS NEW OFFICE IN NEW DELHI, INDIA

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UMBAI, INDIA: Air Products announced the opening of an office in New Delhi, India. The Delhi office will be the hub for the company’s business development and stakeholder engagement activities. This expansion follows the opening of a new Engineering, Procurement and Construction (EPC) center in Vadodara, Gujarat which began operations just over a year ago during the pandemic.

“India is a growth region for Air Products and plays a strategic role in the Company’s journey. We are very proud to invest in India and want to continue to grow our presence and develop strong relationships in the region; aligned with our goal to be the safest and most innovative industrial gas company in the world,” said Dr. Samir Serhan, chief operating officer, Air Products.

“We are delighted to expand our footprint in India as we continue

to grow in the region. Our EPC centers are focused on providing technology, engineering and project execution, for Air Products’ activities in India, the Middle East, Europe and the Americas.

Being centrally based in the capital city of New Delhi will help the company to focus on several investment opportunities in India on build, own, operate (BOD) model in the gasification, green hydrogen and hydrogen for mobility (H2fM) space,” said Anand Chordia, managing director, Air Products India.

With the opening of the New Delhi office, Air Products is now present in four states of India as it operates an EPC center and IT center in Pune, Maharashtra, an EPC center in Vadodara, Gujarat and a World scale, Industrial Gas Complex at BPCL Kochi Refinery in Kochi, Kerala.

EPSILON PARTNERS WITH C4V FOR SYNTHETIC ANODE MATERIAL SUPPLY IN INDIA

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UMBAI, INDIA: Epsilon Advanced Materials (EAMPL), a diversified battery anode materials company, announced that it has entered into a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Charge CCCV LLC (C4V), for the development and qualification of large-scale supply of synthetic anode material to support C4V’s domestic supply chain vision to establish Gigafactory in India. This MoU will enable C4V to secure an additional, India based, anode material partner with the right level of technology, performance and production capabilities in support of their soon to be submitted application for the Indian Government’s PLI-ACC scheme.

As part of the agreement, both Epsilon and C4V will jointly develop tailored, high-end, synthetic anode materials suited for applications in C4V’s lithium-ion cells and Giga scale production lines. The joint effort will aim to exploit the synergies of both companies’ innovative product design, to enhance performance and safety of Li-Ion battery cells. The collaboration is intended to result in a long-term, volume supply agreement for battery materials of C4V’s battery cells that target significant, India based, growth markets including automotive

and industrial applications.

“We aim to lead the global electric vehicle market by combining our raw material technology and C4V’s innovative battery manufacturing technology for varied industrial and automotive applications. This partnership will give us an opportunity to develop anode material supply ecosystem in India for global supply. This move will not only support our PM’s vision of Aatmanirbhar Bharat but also put India on global map as a battery material manufacturing hub. As an organisation, who is committed to a sustainable future, we aim to manufacture products with low carbon footprint,” said Vikram Handa, managing director of Epsilon Advanced Materials Pvt Ltd. “This MoU is part of C4V’s acceleration plan as it fulfils its role as a future supplier of the battery technology to its partners in India.

In EAMPL, we have found a partner who shares our sustainability values and we are looking forward to an exciting future ahead,” said Kuldeep Gupta, VP of strategic alliances at C4V.

Ramky Enviro, inaugurated one of the World’s first and India’s largest Landfill Gas to Compressed Biogas Plant at Hyderabad Integrated Municipal Solid Waste (HiMSW) site. The project is focused on Conversion of Landfill Gas into Compressed Biogas as an automotive fuel.

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Chemical Today Magazine | December 2021

NEWS MOVERS & SHAKERS (NATIONAL) GAIL PROMOTES RAKESH JAIN AS FINANCE DIRECTOR

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EW DELHI, INDIA: Rakesh Kumar Jain has been promoted as the director (finance) of GAIL (India) Limited, a public sector unit, under the Ministry of Petroleum & Natural Gas (MoPNG), Government Of India. Earlier, he was the executive director (finance & accounts).

Jain has been appointed as director (finance) of GAIL from 1 December, 2021 to 30 June, 2026, according to a DoPT order issued recently. He was recommended for the post by the PESB panel in a selection meeting held on August 27.

Rakesh Kumar

Jain is a cost and management accountant by profession. He has worked in the areas of corporate finance and treasury including forex risk management, capital budgeting, corporate accounts, finalization of long term international LNG and gas agreements, pricing, liquefaction and regasification terminal service agreement, mergers & acquisitions, taxation, regulatory aspects etc.

HUBERGROUP INDIA APPOINTS NEW MANAGING DIRECTOR become MD in 2007. Under his leadership, hubergroup India (formerly Hindustan Inks and Micro Inks) has developed to become a key cornerstone of hubergroup.

Prior to joining hubergroup, Kalra was managing director and vice president of SI group – India, where he also served on the board of Korea & Singapore. He has had a successful stint with the likes of Total, Chevron, Pidilite, Valvoline & WR Grace.

Suresh Kalra

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API, INDIA: hubergroup India announced that it has appointed Suresh Kalra as managing director and head of regional business unit (RBU) Asia effective 1 January. Kalra joined the company as executive director in September 2021 after a rigorous selection process with a defined succession plan and has been inducted into the board of directors.

Also current hubergroup India MD Ashwani Bhardwaj has decided to retire from the company effective 30 January. Bhardwaj had

Chemical Today Magazine | December 2021

“Suresh Kalra is an accomplished leader known for his strong personal leadership and track record of driving business growth and corporate transformation. His breadth of experience in leading businesses in diverse and dynamic markets is an ideal fit with hubergroup’s strategic priorities, and we look forward to him leading hubergroup Asia in its next phase of growth,” said Heiner Klokkers, chairman of the management board.

“I am very excited to be a part of hubergroup and I am looking forward to accelerating the momentum in our chemicals business while continuing to strengthen our position in print solutions on the Asian markets,” Kalra said. “My focus in this new position will be to leverage the company’s unique product portfolio, the strong manufacturing base in India, and the exceptional talent in executing our growth strategy.”

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ROSSARI BIOTECH APPOINTS EX-NAVIN FLUORINE FINANCE HEAD AS CFO

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UMBAI, INDIA: Rossari Biotech Limited, a speciality chemicals manufacturer, announced it has appointed Ketan Sablok as the group chief financial officer. A senior finance and business leader with over 25 years of experience, Ketan will be responsible for leading the finance organization, working on key financial strategies, accounting, treasury, financial planning and analysis, tax and IT. He will report to Sunil Chari, managing director & co-founder, Rossari Biotech Ltd. Sablok has previously been associated with Navin Fluorine International Ltd and Shaw Wallace & Co Ltd. “At Rossari Biotech, we are focusing on expanding our capabilities through our recently acquired companies and trying to capitalize on organic and inorganic growth opportunities. We are confident that Sablok’s experience in leading the finances of publicly traded companies and treasury will help us transition to the next chapter of development and expansion. He will play a key role in maintaining profitability, financial planning and setting up robust systems,” said Chari.

Ketan Sablok

“I am delighted to join Rossari Biotech at this stage of expansion and growth. The Indian specialty chemical industry is on an upward trajectory and being the leader, Rossari Biotech has the potential to truly make India a hub for specialty chemicals. I look forward to leveraging my expertise and helping drive the next phase of sustainable growth for Rossari Biotech,” said Sablok.

ROSSARI APPOINTS EX-PIDILITE PRESIDENT AS SURFACTANTS, SILICONE BIZ CEO span. One of his key assignments was executive assistant to Kumar Mangalam Birla at Aditya Birla Group.

A seasoned strategist and Business Manager for the last 21 years, Debashish will be leading the integration of Rossari with its new acquisitions and driving accelerated growth of the group through these new businesses.

“Rossari is on a very crucial growth phase and is looking at organic as well as inorganic growth opportunities simultaneously. We are confident that Vanikar’s experience in leading strategy, integration, scaling new businesses & brand transition will help us redefine our business and achieve new successes as a leading player in the industry. He will play a key role in integrating the recent acquisitions of Rossari to our group’s vision, business goals and culture,” said Sunil Chari, managing director & co-founder, Rossari Biotech Ltd.

Debashish Vanikar

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UMBAI, INDIA: Rossari Biotech Limited, a speciality chemicals manufacturer, announced the appointment of Debashish Vanikar as CEO, surfactants & silicone business. Prior to this, Vanikar was president of Pidilite Industries. He has also been associated with Ultra Tech Cement Limited, Aditya Birla Retail Limited, Aditya Birla Management Corporation Pvt. Ltd, CLAAS, Asian Paints Limited & Procter & Gamble Limited during his career

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Chemical Today Magazine | December 2021

In his two decades of professional journey, Debashish has worked across B2B industries like adhesives, cement, chemicals and paints.

He has led many business transformation and integration projects across different geographies.

“I believe while acquisitions are a great vehicle to grow, effective integration of entities into the business is a critical success factor. I am looking forward to the journey of absorbing the new businesses in the group. Additionally, I am keen to see Rossari make its leap in their digital transformation journey across all functions,” said Vanikar.

Chemical Today Magazine | December 2021

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NEWS INTERNATIONAL INEOS, UK-BASED FIRM TO SET UP POLYSTYRENE RECYCLING PILOT PLANT IN UK

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RANKFURT, GERMANY: INEOS Styrolution confirmed its decision to invest into a pilot plant for advanced recycling of polystyrene. The site will be set up in collaboration with Recycling Technologies in Swindon, UK. It is expected to be operational in the second half of 2022.

The decision announced is a significant step forward launching polystyrene recycling through depolymerisation technology.

Depolymerisation is an advanced recycling technology that converts polystyrene waste feedstock back into its main building block, styrene which can then be used to manufacture new polystyrene with identical properties to the virgin material. The unique properties of polystyrene allow this efficient monomer recycling process to be harnessed avoiding the need to downcycle polystyrene. An additional benefit of depolymerisation is a significant decrease of greenhouse gas emissions when compared with the production of virgin polystyrene from naphtha.

The Swindon pilot plant will be based on Recycling Technologies’ fluidised bed reactor technology, which offers excellent scalability making it the technology of choice for future even larger recycling plants.

“With Recycling Technologies, we have found a partner, who is not only offering a very attractive technology, but who is also sharing our own vision to avoid polystyrene ending up in landfills or being incinerated. We are on the right path to make polystyrene a circular material,” said Dr. Alexander Gluck, president EMEA at INEOS Styrolution.

“We welcome INEOS Styrolution’s decision and are pleased to be a critical element of the team to build Europe’s first advanced chemical polystyrene recycling facility. Harnessing our fluidised bed engineering technology and expertise to recycling polystyrene is a critical step to making polystyrene circular,” said Adrian Griffiths, CEO & founder of Recycling Technologies Ltd.

JOHNSON MATTHEY TO SELL GLASS TECHNOLOGIES BIZ TO FENZI

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supplier of materials for flat glass processing, for £178million payable in cash at completion on cash free, debt free basis.

AGT will be sold to Fenzi Holdings SPV SpA, a manufacturer and

The divestment of AGT is consistent with JM’s aim of creating a simpler, more focused portfolio, it said. Aligned with JM’s strategy, the company is focusing its resources towards growth areas targeted at climate change solutions as it delivers on its vision for a cleaner, healthier world.

ONDON, UK: Johnson Matthey (JM) announced the sale of its Advanced Glass Technologies (AGT) business, a leading global provider of specialist glass enamels and precious metal pastes supplied mainly to the automotive sector. AGT is part of value businesses in JM’s ‘Other Markets’ segment and was previously identified as non-core to JM’s growth strategy. The transaction is expected to be completed in spring 2022.

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Chemical Today Magazine | December 2021

WESTLAKE TO ACQUIRE HEXION’S GLOBAL EPOXY BUSINESS FOR $1.2 BILLION

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OUSTON, US: Westlake Chemical Corporation announced that it has entered into a definitive agreement with Hexion Inc to acquire Hexion’s global epoxy business for approximately $1.2 billion.

Based in Rotterdam, The Netherlands, Hexion’s epoxy business is an industry leader in the manufacture and development of specialty resins, coatings and composites for a variety of industries, including high-growth and sustainability-oriented end-uses such as wind turbine blades and light-weight automotive structural components.

In the twelve months ended 30 September, Hexion’s epoxy business had net sales of approximately $1.5 billion.

The transaction is anticipated to be completed in the first half of 2022. Westlake will significantly expand its integrated business by adding a downstream portfolio of coatings and composite products to its leading chloro-vinyls businesses.

“Light-weighting is a critical feature for the manufacture of structural components for automobiles and for renewable energy,

particularly the composite blades used by wind turbines, and epoxies are key ingredients for these sustainable products,” said Westlake president and chief executive officer Albert Chao. “The industries served by Hexion Epoxy are very attractive to Westlake and the business is expected to be a synergistic addition to Westlake’s existing businesses.”

Hexion Epoxy is a global leading producer of epoxy resins, modifiers and curing agents for high-performance materials, coatings and composites. The fully-integrated business includes upstream base epoxy resins and intermediates delivered as liquid or solid epoxy resins, as well downstream specialty epoxy resins used in coatings and composites. Hexion Epoxy operates globally on three continents with eight manufacturing facilities and five research and development labs located in Asia, Europe and the United States, as well as tolling sites in Asia.

NOURYON BEGINS ORGANIC PEROXIDE PRODUCTION IN TIANJIN, CHINA

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MSTERDAM, ‎NETHERLANDS: Nouryon said it has begun full-scale production at its organic peroxide greenfield site in Tianjin, China to support the increasing demand from packaging, paints and coatings, and construction customers in the region. The site consists of three manufacturing facilities and is equipped with the latest technology for safety, energy efficiency, and environmental protection.

Nouryon is a global leader in organic peroxides, which are essential to manufacture a wide range of polymers used in the PVC and composites industry for products like window profiles, artificial marble, coating resins, blood bags and other medical packaging materials. Nouryon product brands produced at the site include Trigonox® and Perkadox® organic peroxides as well as Butanox® methyl ethyl ketone peroxide.

“Asia is an important growth market for Nouryon and the start-up of our new organic peroxide facilities in Tianjin is a significant milestone for us,” said Nouryon chairman and CEO Charlie Shaver. “We have a long history in Asia and this strategic investment demonstrates our commitment to growth and delivering innovative and sustainable solutions that answer society’s needs, today and in the future.”

Chemical Today Magazine | December 2021

The manufacturing facilities are equipped with the latest wastewater and environmental treatment systems and utilize the world’s leading safety processes to minimize discharge of waste to air. This plant equipment design will further improve the efficiency of manufacturing processes and support reduced water and energy consumption.

“We are excited to launch our modern and innovative organic peroxide manufacturing facilities in Tianjin, where we have introduced some of our groundbreaking new innovations,” said Johan Landfors, executive vice president and president of technology solutions and Europe at Nouryon. “This investment underscores our technology leadership in our products and manufacturing processes, our dedication to growing with the polymer industry in the region and our continued commitment to our customers in Asia. Nouryon is dedicated to further improving our environmental footprint and safety performance and we are proud that the new facilities exceed China’s stringent safety and environmental standards.”

In Asia, Nouryon produces organic peroxides in Ningbo and Tianjin, China, in Asa, Japan and in Mahad, India. Recently Nouryon also announced another new facility start-up in Ningbo, supplying two key intermediates for polymers and composites production.

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NEWS INTERNATIONAL DSM TO ACQUIRE VESTKORN MILLING; GROWS PLANT-BASED PROTEINS BUSINESS

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EERLEN, NETHERLANDS: Royal DSM announced that it has signed an agreement to acquire Norwegian company Vestkorn Milling, one of Europe’s leading producers of pea- and bean-derived ingredients for plant-based protein products, for an enterprise value of €65 million.

Vestkorn Milling is well-positioned in the buoyant alternative protein market, supplying proteins, starches and dietary fibers for plant-based foods, pet food and animal feed. The company has 55 employees and is based in Tau on the south-west coast of Norway. The transaction is expected to close in Q4 2021.

“We very much look forward to welcoming Vestkorn Milling and their team to DSM. Increasingly, food and beverage producers around the world are looking to partners who can offer an integrated portfolio of ingredients, expertise, and solutions to help them differentiate and get to market fast. This is especially important in the highly dynamic meat alternatives space, where consumer and societal expectations around authentic taste, texture, and nutritional profile, as well as climate impact, are becoming more and more sophisticated,” said Patrick Niels, executive vice president of DSM’s Food & Beverage division.

“Through the cooperation with DSM we have taken a huge step towards becoming a global leader of pulse-based ingredients. Over the past years we have significantly expanded our business and market. With DSM, we have got a long-term oriented owner that will fuel further growth and expansion,” said Aslak Lie, CEO of Vestkorn Milling.

The acquisition is a further step in DSM’s strategy to build an alternative protein business and will provide synergy with DSM’s innovative CanolaPRO™ rapeseed protein isolate, which will commercially launch next year.

Vestkorn Milling’s proteins, starches and dietary fibers are highly complementary to DSM’s broad offering to companies developing plant-based food and beverages, which includes vitamins, algal lipids and minerals to improve nutritional value; texturizing hydrocolloids; and flavors and yeast extracts as well as enzymes to improve protein taste and functionality.

The combination will furthermore help DSM deliver on its Food System Commitments to reach 150 million people with delicious, nutritious and sustainable plant-based protein foods by 2030.

SIKA COMMISSIONS NEW MORTAR FACILITY IN JIAXING CITY, CHINA

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AAR, SWITZERLAND: By opening a new mortar production facility in Jiaxing City, in the province of Zhejiang in Eastern China, Sika has further expanded its production capacity in the rapidly growing Chinese construction market, it said. The commissioning of the new facility is Sika’s response to high demand in the region.

At the same time, this step guarantees optimized logistics, shorter transportation routes for raw materials and finished goods, and a reduction in CO2 emissions.

With its latest investment in the expansion and improvement of its supply chain in China, Sika is targeting further growth in the greater Zhejiang region, one of China’s most economically prosperous areas.

Up to now, the technologies for construction projects in Eastern China were produced at the Shanghai and Suzhou plants. Sika can now meet the customers’ demand locally in all three metropolitan regions with a booming construction economy, providing a more sustainable and service-oriented solution.

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“With our latest investment in capacity expansion, we are establishing a much broader production base in China and gearing our production footprint for further dynamic growth. We will ensure supplies to our customers, in China’s fast-paced construction market, more quickly and sustainably to improve competitiveness. Our goal is to continue our above-average growth compared to the market while reducing our overall environmental footprint,” said Mike Campion, regional manager Asia/Pacific, Sika.

The construction industry in China will set to continue growing for many years to come, thanks in part to large-scale state investments in new and existing infrastructure. China’s plan for a “mega transport network” will see an additional 60,000 km of railways, 159 airports, 300,000 km of roads, and 10 new ports constructed in the next 15 years.

GRANBIO GETS FUNDING FOR NANOCELLULOSE DISPERSION COMPOSITE SCALE-UP

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TLANTA, US: AVAPCO, a subsidiary of GranBio Technologies, announced that it has been awarded $500,000 in funding from P3Nano, a public private partnership between the US Endowment for Forestry & Communities and the USDA Forest Service (USFS), along with an additional $230,000 from the USFS under a separate program to advance scale-up and commercial introduction of the Nanocellulose Dispersion Composite (NDC™) rubber masterbatch for the tire and rubber goods markets.

The breakthrough NDC masterbatch is the result of a four-year joint development program between Birla Carbon and GranBio, designed to address growing sustainability demands from the tire industry in terms of improving both tire rolling resistance and vehicle fuel economy through enabling the incorporation of sustainable, bioderived nanocellulose into commercial rubber compounds.

P3Nano’s funding program targets projects designed to advance the commercialization of cellulosic nanomaterials. Under the competitive award, the companies will demonstrate continuous scale-up of production of the NDC at GranBio’s Biorefinery in Thomaston, Georgia for anticipated full-scale factory and on-road tire trials by global partners within the tire and mechanical rubber goods industries.

Under the additional competitive award from the USFS’s Wood Innovations program, designed to expand and accelerate market growth for wood products, the companies will prepare an engineering package, market analysis, and financial modeling for the first NDC commercial plant.

“The NDC project demonstrates how Birla Carbon continues to drive innovation in sustainability supporting our ambitions and those of our customers,” said John Loudermilk, chief executive officer, Birla Carbon. “The partnership with GranBio allows us to ‘Share the Strength’ in support of our aspiration to achieve net zero carbon emissions, including the development of novel materials from biomass.”

“The NDC is a key example of GranBio’s mission to “Enable Net ZeroTM” solutions through the development and deployment of sustainable biomass-based technologies across the biofuels, biochemicals, and advanced biomaterials sectors. The partnership with Birla Carbon materializes a common strategy to enable netzero emission in tires and the automotive value chain,” said Bernardo Gradin, chief executive officer of GranBio Technologies.

SO NG W O N TO E X PA N D S E MICONDUCTOR CHEM ICAL S CAPA C ITY

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LSAN, SOUTH KOREA: Songwon Industrial Co Ltd announced that it is investing in expanding its chemical production capacity for semiconductors. A new technically advanced production line is being built to enable SONGWON to achieve the capacities required to meet the evolving customer needs from January 2022.

As the 4th Industrial Revolution progresses, demand for semiconductors is rising rapidly and with it, customer demand for high-end specialty chemicals and raw materials for IT industries (incl. semiconductors) as well as display materials is growing significantly. SONGWON’s capacity increase investment in the main

Chemical Today Magazine | December 2021

chemicals used for producing semiconductors will deliver sufficient supply to meet the strong demand in this industry.

“We’re aiming to expand our electronic material business, and in particular semiconductor related materials,” explained Dongkyung (DK) Park, leader business unit specialty chemicals and leader global research & development. “Moving upstream with backward integration which is one of SONGWON’s main strengths, we will be maximizing our know-how and optimizing our technology to help us to secure the best quality from the raw materials and for the final products.”

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NEWS MOVERS & SHAKERS (INTERNATIONAL) JOHNSON MATTHEY APPOINTS BAYER BOARD MEMBER AS NEW CEO nine years. He has served in senior roles at the former Schering AG and then Bayer HealthCare.

After nearly eight years as chief executive, MacLeod will step down from that role and from the board on 1 March, but will stay on to support the transition process until the company’s annual general meeting on 21 July when he will then retire from JM. “After a rigorous and wide-ranging selection process, the board is delighted to appoint Liam to the role. He has a proven track record of driving growth as well as modernising organisations whilst retaining a strong external engagement with stakeholders, regulators, and government. His capabilities will be key for JM as we continue to scale our attractive high growth businesses to address climate change challenges, while investing in the opportunities for the future,” said JM chairman Patrick Thomas.

“After nearly eight years as chief executive, the time is right for me to move on. JM is more relevant than it has ever been through its consistent focus on developing innovative, science based, sustainable technologies. I am confident in our future growth prospects and the significant benefits our technologies will bring,” said MacLeod.

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Johnson Mattheya

ONDON, UK: Johnson Matthey (JM) announced that Robert MacLeod will retire as chief executive and has appointed Liam Condon to succeed him. Condon, who will join JM as chief executive on 1 March is currently a management board member of Bayer AG and president of the Crop Science Division, a role he has held for

“Johnson Matthey is an incredibly innovative company focused on using science to address the challenges of the 21st century.

Living within our planetary boundaries requires an acceleration of decarbonisation and Johnson Matthey has the technology and people to be at the forefront of this massive societal transition. I am really excited to join Johnson Matthey and work with our team on accelerating growth and value creation as we push forward towards a more sustainable future,” said Condon.

SYMRISE EXTENDS CEO’S CONTRACT UNTIL 2025 of schedule. With Bertram continuing as CEO of Symrise AG until the end of 2025, Symrise is preserving its customary continuity and long-term management approach.

“Dr Heinz-Jürgen Bertram has been leading Symrise AG confidently and successfully for more than ten years now. Under his leadership, Symrise AG has developed into one of the 40 largest publicly listed companies in Germany. After 14 successful years in the MDAX, the company was promoted to the DAX, Germany’s leading index, this year,” said Michael Konig, chairman of the supervisory board. “This track record demonstrates once again that Bertram enjoys a high level of trust on the capital market as well as among customers and employees.”

By 2025 Symrise intends to drive forward its expansion in highgrowth business areas as well as the further development of its own base of natural raw materials with targeted investments.

The company is targeting sales of €5.5 to € 6 billion by 2025. Organic growth is expected to be between 5 and 7 percent.

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Dr Heinz-Jurgen Bertram

OLZMINDEN, GERMANY: At its meeting on 1 December, the supervisory board of Symrise AG once again extended the contract of chief executive officer Dr Heinz-Jurgen Bertram ahead

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Since August 2009, Bertram heads Symrise’s business activities as CEO. He has performed in various management functions at the Bayer Group, the Haarmann & Reimer Group and Symrise since 1985.

MERCK ANNOUNCES NEW SECTOR CFO HEALTHCARE

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ARMSTADT, GERMANY: Merck announced that effective 1 January, Jakob Hoppe will become Sector CFO healthcare, reporting to Marcus Kuhnert, member of the executive board and chief financial officer of Merck. Hoppe will succeed Andreas Stickler who has decided to leave the company effective 31 December, to continue his career outside of Merck.

“I am particularly pleased that with Jakob Hoppe as new Sector CFO Healthcare one of our internal top talents will be promoted to a senior leadership position,” said Kuhnert.

Hoppe joined Merck in 2007 as graduate trainee in Finance. Since then, he held various positions of growing strategic relevance and impact within group finance; most recently as head of controlling, marketing and strategy healthcare, where he also led the Immunology Franchise on an ad interim basis for over a year. In his new role, he will become a member of the CFO council and healthcare executive committee.

Jakob Hoppe

Stickler joined Merck in 2002 as financial controller for Europe as well as Oncology and since then held various, key-leadership positions. From 2008 to 2015, as head of group M&A, he drove major strategic acquisitions (eg. Serono, Millipore, Sigma Aldrich), which were mission critical for future profitable growth of Merck.

In 2015, Stickler became Sector CFO Healthcare and took on additional responsibility as head of strategy, business development, portfolio management and digital & data in 2019.

CHEMOURS NAMES DAWN FARRELL AS NEW CHAIRPERSON OF BOARD OF DIRECTORS of directors effective 1 January. Mrs. Farrell currently serves as the company’s lead independent director and has been a member of the board of directors since the company’s founding.

Earlier, Chemours has appointed Mark Newman as the new president and chief executive officer, succeeding Mark Vergnano.

“I look forward to continuing the strong working relationship I’ve had with Dawn and the board under her leadership as its chairperson in the new year,” said Newman.

“Dawn has been a champion for the best interests of Chemours and all its stakeholders,” said Mark Vergnano, chairman of the board of directors at Chemours. “As I reflect on this transition, I’m confident Dawn will continue her relentless dedication as the next chairperson of the board.”

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Dawn Farrell

ILMINGTON, US: The Chemours Company announced the appointment of Dawn Farrell to chairperson of the board

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Mrs. Farrell is a retired energy industry executive and the past president and CEO of TransAlta Corporation. She spent much of her 35-year career in various leadership positions with TransAlta and BC Hydro. She is a member of the board of directors of Canadian Natural Resources Ltd. Vergnano, who assumed chairmanship of the board of directors in July to facilitate a smooth leadership transition for the business, will continue to serve as a member of the board.

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PLASTICS CIRCULAR ECONOMY

MECHANICAL RECYCLING - AN ESSENTIAL COMPONENT OF CIRCULAR ECONOMY

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lastics contribute to a sustainable and resource-efficient economy.

Despite the recent wave of negative news and condemnation of plastics, these materials contribute a lot to a sustainable environment – specifically, the ecological footprint of polymeric material is smaller than that of metal and glass or even natural materials like paper, which have a sizeable demand on arable land, clean water, fertilizers and regeneration time.

In fact, plastics make an important contribution to the decarbonization of our economy. For example, light and innovative materials in packaging have saved CO2 emissions in transport and have reduced food waste while ensuring food safety.

The shift towards sustainability has been accelerating in the last few years. It has been driven by consumer demand which has translated

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into more stringent legislation. Many countries and regions have implemented strict regulations to further drive the innovations needed to achieve these goals. Our customers are increasingly facing pressure with regards to resource-efficient solutions and have announced ambitious goals to reduce their CO2 footprint. We are now often approached by customers with sustainability topics, ranging from regulatory support, product carbon footprints to renewable feedstocks and recycling.

With upcoming new and stricter regulations for plastics, the challenges taken up by some trendsetters will soon be relevant for all.

A proper waste management infrastructure including – but not limited to – waste collection, waste separation and cleaning and optimized recycling processes needs to be implemented and improved.

Too little is recycled, and much is disposed incorrectly and inefficiently.

Today only about 20% of plastic waste generated globally is recycled.

There’s an urgent need to reduce the amount of plastics that gets thrown away. Of course, this is not a call for a plastic-free economy.

However, plastics need to become sustainable and circular – keeping intact its functionalities while reducing its negative impact. This is the only way forward. To close as many loops as possible and achieve our circular economy goals, one area we are focusing on is mechanical recycling.

Mechanical recycling is an essential component of the circular economy. For plastic waste, mechanical recycling is the preferred recycling solution when it is ecologically most beneficial, technologically possible, and economically attractive.

End-of-life materials can be processed via collecting, sorting, shredding, melting and transforming it into secondary raw materials for a new application. Manufactured from recycled material, the article enters its new use-phase before the next end-of-life management.

The challenges of getting mechanically recycled plastics into applications with the highest possible value are many and varied.

Challenges in mechanical recycling A major challenge to overcome in plastics recycling is to mitigate quality deficiencies of polymers arising from thermal and mechanical stress during the recycling process. In mechanical recycling, waste plastics are shredded and melted to make the recyclate, which is then used to make new products. However, this material is not suitable for many applications without further processing. One reason is that repeated use and processing often damage the polymer chains so much that the plastic becomes brittle or yellowed. Another reason is that plastic waste is often made up of a mixture of different plastic types which cannot be separated from each other.

the recycling of plastics. BASF plastic additives do more than just facilitate recycling, they also help some recyclates to achieve high performance characteristics, superior even to virgin product: the keyword is upcycling, not downcycling, which means upgrading instead of downgrading.

Additives don’t just improve properties such as stability of recyclates so they can be re-used in a high-end application, such as making a new design chair out of post-consumer plastic regrind. They are also key for processability when recycled plastics are being re-converted.

One example is that regrinds need to withstand certain temperatures and mechanical stresses during the re-conversion process to allow best performance in the next life of the polymeric material.

Together with optimized waste management and improved sorting of plastic waste, plastic additives will play a central role in mechanical recycling and help ensure that a higher proportion of plastics can be materially recycled. By 2030, we expect plastics production from mechanical recycling to nearly triple. This corresponds to an annual growth of around 10 per cent.

As the market leader for plastics additives, we recently launched IrgaCycle™, a new range of additive solutions to address the imminent needs in plastics recycling.

The new IrgaCycle™ range includes additive solutions that can help increase the percentage of recycled content in several end-use applications such as packaging, automotive & mobility, and building & construction. These solutions address specific quality issues associated with recycled resins, such as limited processability, poor long-term thermal stability and insufficient protection from outdoor weathering.

For example, beverage bottles are made of polyethylene terephthalate (PET), while their lids are usually made of polypropylene (PP). Such mixtures of incompatible plastics have a significantly negative impact on quality.

The IrgaCycle range is offered as part of the VALERAS™ portfolio.

In addition to enabling plastics circularity with IrgaCycle, VALERAS solutions bring significant sustainability value to plastic applications by improving durability, reducing waste, saving energy, reducing emissions, and promoting biodiversity.

Tailor-made additive formulations that improve the properties of these recycled plastics can be a solution for these challenges. BASF is aware of the growing importance of the recycling sector for society at large via the increasing interest in specialty additives for

Initiatives like mechanical recycling are not about avoiding negative consumer perception or punitive regulation. They are about identifying new growth areas, building consumer trust, and driving new opportunities for a sustainable, and profitable, future.

Author: Hermann Althoff is Senior Vice President, Performance Chemicals, Asia Pacific at BASF. Chemical Today Magazine | December 2021

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COPOLYMERS ATEX REGULATIONS

COMPOUNDS ADDRESSING TIGHTENING ATEX REGULATIONS FOR EXPLOSIVE ENVIRONMENTS

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ABIC launched new LNP™ STAT-KON™ and LNP™ STAT-LOY™ compounds. The products offer enhanced anti-static performance for applications regulated under the European Union’s increasingly stringent ATEX directive governing equipment used in explosive atmospheres. The new technologies can potentially replace lesseffective metals and coated or filled polymers in electronics enclosures, automation equipment, equipment housings, lighting fixtures, safety gear and hand-held devices such as flashlights.

The two new products are based on SABIC’s LNP™ copolymers technology. LNP STAT-KON DD000XI compound is an advanced material that provides exceptional electrostatic discharge (ESD) protection while retaining excellent impact resistance to safeguard sensitive electronics and offers processing ease. LNP STATLOY D3000IEU6 compound is a colorable product that offers opportunities to reduce costly secondary painting operations. Its proprietary polymer blend ensures sufficient ESD performance without interfering with electronic signals.

“SABIC is deeply committed to assisting customers with ATEX regulatory compliance by proactively developing specialized antistatic materials. Our new LNP grades feature optimized electrostatic discharge formulations that offer unique properties such as colorability and have been subjected to rigorous testing by an independent thirdparty laboratory,” said Joshua Chiaw, director, business management LNP & NORYL, specialties, SABIC. “These new compounds not only help accelerate time to market, but they also can enhance application performance, durability, aesthetics and processing to provide a competitive differentiator.”

Designed with ATEX in mind LNP STAT-KON DD000XI compound and LNP STAT-LOY D3000IEU6 compound address ATEX safety requirements for electrical conductivity while giving customers a choice of desirable performance and processing attributes. LNP STAT-KON DD000XI compound provides surface resistivity in a range of 106 - 1010 Ω.

It delivers high impact performance at low temperatures and after long-term hydro aging, as well as high heat resistance (a heat deflection temperature of 140 °C @ 0.45 MPa (VICAT can also be

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considered instead)). The material’s broad processing window and high flow can enable thin-wall designs to reduce weight, while its easy mold release – relevant for parts with relatively sharp draft angles – helps expand design flexibility.

Compared to conventional carbon powder-filled polycarbonate (PC) solutions, LNP STAT-KON DD000XI compound delivers higher practical flow and a wider processing window, further expanding productivity and design freedom. Its higher impact resistance helps address the needs of increasingly demanding assembly and use conditions.

LNP STAT-LOY D3000IEU6 compound provides a surface resistivity of 109 - 1011 Ω to address the ATEX regulations, while allowing high transmission of electrical signals such as radar, radio and wifi. The signature feature of this product is its full colorability – with an extensive palette including vivid shades and good color retention after processing. Using this LNP STAT-LOY material, customers can enhance their applications with a broad range of colors for branding, aesthetics or safety indications without the drawbacks of coating and painting operations. Previously, PC-based grades for ATEX applications were mainly available in black.

Other prominent benefits of LNP STAT-LOY D3000IEU6 compound include its high impact strength at low temperatures (ductile down to -30 °C), and a high degree of impact retention after hydro aging.

“With each update, the ATEX equipment directive becomes more stringent and impacts a widening range of applications – from industrial, electrical and mechanical equipment to electronics and healthcare applications,” said Luc Govaerts, director, formulation & application, specialties, SABIC. “Our new anti-static materials are engineered using unique LNP copolymer technology to help customers meet ATEX requirements for their end applications more easily and reliably. SABIC is staying ahead of changing requirements by continually developing new technologies that result in new and differentiated products. This ongoing expansion of our portfolio will enable new applications and provide solutions for meeting ATEX regulations in the future.”

TPEs FOOD SAFETY

NEW TPE SOLUTION COMPLIES WITH GLOBAL FOOD-CONTACT REGULATIONS

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onsumers are increasingly focusing on the safety and health benefits of goods and materials when making purchasing decisions. This means manufacturers have to ensure compliance with national and international food safety regulations in order to attract more customers. To meet this demand on a global level, KRAIBURG TPE now extends its offering of food contact TPEs with a new THERMOLAST® K series.

A shift in consumer behavior can be observed: Today’s buyers are increasingly taking responsibility for their own well-being by making informed decisions about the safety and health advantages of the goods and materials they buy. This change does not happen by chance.

Toxic chemicals leaching from compounds or materials are major concerns in the manufacturing and consumer goods industry. That is why food contact safe materials such as thermoplastic elastomers (TPEs) are gaining popularity.

The change has far reaching consequences for manufacturers. As a result, they are driven to ensure compliancy with national and international food safety regulations to attract more customers.

Here KRAIBURG TPE offers food contact safe and safety regulation compliant TPEs.

Chemical Today Magazine | December 2021

The company’s latest addition to its food contact TPE portfolio is a material solution for everyday consumer applications that require stringent conformity with a wide range of standards, including (EU) No. 10/2011, GB 4806 and (FDA) CFR21 as well as DIN EN 71-3 for toys. It also features properties such as adhesion to PP, optimized flow, and hardness range from 30 to 90 Shore A. The materials are easily processable by processes such as injection molding, extrusion and 3D printing. Furthermore, the compounds in the food contact TPE series are free from animal ingredients, heavy metals, phthalates, bisphenol A, and latex, accommodating to the production of sustainable goods.

“Ensuring consumer safety is crucial for today’s manufacturers of consumer products,” stated Lee Jia Yin, product developer at KRAIBURG TPE. “Our new food contact TPE series satisfies food safety material requirements and complies with REACH, SVHC and RoHS. The good haptic and soft-touch properties of the new series of compounds are ideal for applications such as household goods, packaging for food and consumer care products, razors, toothbrushes, toys and other products.”

The compounds are available in natural and translucent colors with the option of in-house pre-coloring, allowing the flexibility of a variety of product solutions.

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POLYAMIDES PUMPS INDUSTRY

ADVANCED POLYAMIDES TO ENSURE DELIVERY OF HIGH-QUALITY WATER IN PUMPS INDUSTRY Wilo products combine top-rated performance, German engineering and world-class materials. They are designed to provide maximum efficiency for heating and cooling systems.

Within the heating sub-segment, DOMO offers several options especially developed for applications in circulation pumps. “The material of choice for Wilo has been DOMO’s TECHNYL® A218 V30 BLACK 34NG,” said Manuel Rossi, technical account manager at DOMO. “This is an injection molding compound based on polyamide 66 (PA66) containing 30 percent glass fiber reinforcement, which is heat stabilized and glycol resistant, and grants stable performance in permanent contact with water.” This solution is applied for the production of Wilo Para MSL/6-43/SC circulation pump, for heating systems.

A second grade, approved for drinking water-contact applications, is TECHNYL® A218W V30 BLACK FA. The two grades show very similar performance in glycol ageing, with TECHNYL® A218 V30 BLACK 34NG marginally superior. (see graphs)

Technyl® A 218 V30 BK 34NG versus Technyl® A 218 WFC V30 BK FA

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nsuring high quality and sustainable supplies of water for consumers is a major challenge for city authorities. As cities grow, the challenge will only increase. DOMO Chemicals, a major supplier of polyamide materials, is preparing to meet that challenge.

The company is already delivering solutions for water supply and treatment applications. It has developed products that offer certified high performance over decades in contact with hot water as well as cold drinking water, increasingly found in such products as water meters, heating systems and home appliances. Many of its innovations are developed in collaboration with leading producers of water delivery and management systems.

One example is the work that DOMO does with Wilo, a premium supplier of pumps and pump systems for building services, water management and industrial applications. The two companies have common goals in contributing to urbanization megatrends: both are aiming to make complex technologies user-friendly, simple to use, energy-efficient and high-performance.

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The APT (Application Part Testing) laboratory in DOMO Chemicals’ Engineered Materials division is well equipped to test specimens and final parts for water management applications. Key properties can be evaluated under even the most extreme conditions on specimen and final parts. Water temperature, pressure, flow rate, concentration of different substances (chlorine, oxygen, for example), pH, and other parameters can all be modified and controlled. Results from the tests make it possible to forecast performance over entire envisaged product lifetimes.

“In the past couple of years at DOMO, we have developed several successful solutions for the water management market,” said Lorenzo Tellini, head of sales C&E (consumer & electronics) market at DOMO. “Our technical team has a deep understanding of its needs as well as the know-how on how to meet them. This is all at the service of end users to optimize and boost the efficiency of their production and their products.”

HEALTH OMICRON VARIANT

HOW DIFFERENT IS THE NEW SARS-COV-2 OMICRON VARIANT?

BY DR. ADITYA RAO SJ

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ith the outbreak of the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 last year, scientists had forecasted that it was terrible. But they also thought it was stable. For instance, coronaviruses do not mutate as readily as the viruses that cause the flu, hepatitis, or AIDS -thanks in part to a molecular “proofreading” system that SARS-CoV-2 and its kin use to prevent damaging genetic errors when replicating.

However, the researchers were only partly correct. The virus is indeed nasty as it is not so stable after all. The virus has acquired minor but constant random mutations since it appeared in humans resulting in Alpha, beta, gamma, and delta variants. These mutations are most of the time single-letter typos in the viral genetic code, deletions, or insertions of long stretches. In most cases, such modifications kill the virus; if not, it can cause no change in its structure or behaviour but enhance the virulence factor of the viral proteins.

Recently, new and new variants of the original SARS-CoV-2 virus (also called the wild type) have been spotted having significant changes in the way they act, including alterations to its transmittance.

These viral versions have seemingly appeared in rapid succession in different parts of the globe, including UK, South Africa, and Brazil, and with some variants outcompeted the existing ones. Although improved surveillance and sequencing efforts partially explain why these variants appear, some repetition in their patterns suggests the

Chemical Today Magazine | December 2021

mutations are not random.

Now, to this existing list of SARS-CoV-2 variants, a new member has been added; the Omicron variant (B.1.1.529) that is considered as a variant of interest (VOI) or a variant of concern (VOC) by WHO. This Omicron variant was first reported to WHO from South Africa on 24 November 2021. The epidemiological situation in South Africa has been characterized by three distinct peaks in reported cases, the latest of which was predominantly the Delta variant. In recent weeks, infections have increased steeply, coinciding with the detection of the B.1.1.529 variant. The first known confirmed B.1.1.529 infection was from a specimen collected on 9 November 2021. This variant has a large number of mutations, some of which are concerning. Preliminary evidence suggests an increased risk of reinfection with this variant, as compared to other VOCs. The number of cases of this variant appears to be increasing in almost all provinces in South Africa.

The severity has reached such an extent that the cases are already popping up in the countries present on the opposite sides of the world, and many governments are already rushing to close their borders. The scientists are also not very clear yet whether the new variant is more alarming than the previous versions of the virus. The studies still have to unravel the contagiousness, the likeliness to cause serious illness, or even the ability to evade the protection of existing vaccines.

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How much is the Omicron different?

In the new variant, the mutated residues are mainly at the receptorbinding domain of the spike protein, as reported by a group of Italian researchers from the prestigious Bambino Gesu hospital in Rome.

The three-dimensional image (figure 1) shows more than double

Figure 1A) The general structure of the Spike protein monomer of SARS-CoV-2 wild type bound to ACE2 receptor, B) the Delta variant, and C) the Omicron variant highlighting the receptor-binding domain in orange color with residues highlighted against different mutation rates.

Structurally, the Omicron variant contains 32 mutations in the gene for the coronavirus spike protein, compared to the original strain of SARS-CoV-2 first identified in Wuhan, China. Many of these mutations are also found in other VOCs, including the Delta variant, but many others are not.

Mutations and structural stability A widely accepted theory on mutations describes the rate of amino acid substitutions is based either on the stringency of the structure or the instability of the structure with functional constraints. Meaning, the stringency or instability exhibited by an amino acid will influence the encoding gene to undergo a strong negative or positive selection pressure, respectively, deciding the number of changes in the gene product resulting in a slower or rapid evolution.

Dr. Adam Lauring, a virologist at the University of Michigan, suggested that the mutations appearing in different coronavirus variants are helping the virus to transmit more readily and evade the host immune system. The report also supports this theory as the antibodies from individuals with COVID did not completely neutralize the variant previously identified in South Africa. A few people who recovered from the disease were also found susceptible to the mutant virus.

the mutations compared to the Delta variant version of coronavirus.

After releasing the first image of the Omicron variant, the team of researchers said, “We can clearly see that the Omicron variant presents many more mutations than the Delta variant, concentrated above an all-in-one area of the protein that interacts with human cells.”

How concerned should we be?

Although this constellation of mutations is worrying, Prof Francois Balloux, Director of the University College London Genetics Institute, UK said, “There was no reason to get overly concerned unless cases of the variant rapidly start to increase in the near future. New variants are constantly emerging, and better surveillance systems will inevitably pick more of them up. Many of these new variants fizzle out – including some of those previously considered VOIs. Unless B.1.1.529 is transmissible enough to outcompete the Delta variant, it may similarly disappear.”

The good news is that, with the knowledge gathered so far and using the existing type of PCR testing, the diagnostic and disease surveillance labs should be able to detect this variant ahead of wholegenome sequencing. We can also estimate how much of the threat it may pose shortly, enabling the governments to take up control measures, if necessary.

So far, it is only clear that a new coronavirus variant has been detected that contains many mutations compared to its wild type. Some mutations, especially within the spike protein regions, are alarming to human health as they may help the virus evade vaccine-induced immune protection. Although the full implications of the discovery are currently unclear, scientists have emphasized the need for continued surveillance and stressed that protective measures such as social distancing, mask-wearing, and vaccination would help limit its spread.

Author: Dr. Aditya Rao SJ is Senior Scientist at Kimberlite Chemicals India Pvt Ltd.

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EXPERT VIEWPOINT CHLOR-ALKALI MARKET

CHANGING GEARS OF INDIAN CHEMICAL INDUSTRY

Maulik Patel, Chairman and Managing Director, Meghmani Finechem Limited delves deep into the changing dynamics of the Indian economy and ways in which Indian chemical industry is strengthening itself to meet global competition.

BY SHIVANI MODY

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uture outlook of the global economy.

A year and a half since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, the worldwide economy is ready to re-arrange its most difficult post-downturn recuperation in 80 years in 2021. However, the bounce back will depend on various factors and will be uneven across nations. The global economy is moving forward, but according to the OECD’s latest Economic Outlook the divergence between countries and regions will reflect the uneven progress made towards recovery from the economic crisis.

India is emerging as a structural beneficiary of the ‘China +1’ diversification model.

Beyond the labor cost advantages, a large pool of technically qualified manpower, strict adherence to global manufacturing standards and strong protection of intellectual property (IP) rights have led to rapid scaling up of the

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chemical industry in India. Also, the way we see, chemical industry will be benefited from various steps taken by Government of India in terms of PLI schemes, Make in India and Aatmanirbhar Bharat strategy, as chemical industry provides basic feedstock for all the industries.

Market dynamics of chlor alkali, caustic soda segment.

Caustic soda is the basic raw material for various applications in many industries; therefore growth of caustic soda would be in line with the growth of GDP. In 2020, when the country was hit by COVID and lockdown was imposed, demand for caustic soda was impacted to a certain extent.

However, since caustic soda is also used in the manufacturing of necessity products, it was not fully impacted in lockdown.

Now with lockdown lifted, demand has started increasing, governments globally are spending on infrastructure; this all has

led to the surge in demand of caustic soda.

We expect this surge in demand to continue at least till 2024. Also, globally there is a shortage of supply on account of hurricanes in USA, old technology plants in Europe are shutting, China is not running plants to its full capacity on account of dual control energy policy, etc. This has further accelerated the realization price of caustic soda.

Potential of chlor alkali, caustic soda in India and Asia Pacific.

The swift expansion of Chlor-alkali (Caustic Soda and Caustic Potash) market can be attributed to the rising demand in application across diverse industries. These chemicals are extensively used in a wide range of applications, ranging from production of alumina, textiles, soaps & detergents, agrochemicals, pharmaceutical segments etc. The growth momentum is expected to continue for years to come.

Ways the industry can get back its growth momentum post pandemic.

Demand for Chlor-Alkali derivative products ie. Chloromethanes and Hydrogen Peroxide, has started moving up. Chloromethanes majorly

goes

in

pharmaceutical

and

refrigerant segment and Hydrogen Peroxide majorly goes in paper & pulp, textile and effluent treatment. Due to good demand in India as well as globally, the realisations from the product has moved up. We believe the

overall

chemical

industry

should

witness growth due to good demand in India and globally. Also China + 1 strategy and government’s PLI scheme for various industries will help this momentum to continue.

Insight into business.

the

company’s

MFL is into manufacturing and selling of chemicals. It is into Chlor-Alkali and its value added derivative products. The manufacturing facility is fully integrated and automated complex on account of the product basket it has and this helps the company to maintain the highest level of efficiency. Currently, the company is into following products •

Caustic Soda – 2,94,000 TPA Capacity

– 4th Largest in India •

Caustic Potash – 21,000 TPA Capacity –

2nd Largest in India •

Chloromethane – 50,000 TPA Capacity

– 3rd Largest in India • Hydrogen Peroxide – 60,000 TPA Capacity – 3rd Largest in India For further expansion, the company is getting into Epichlorohydrin (ECH) and CPVC Resin. ECH is the chemical that goes majorly into manufacturing of epoxy resin and also in pharmaceutical intermediate and water treatment resin. We will be the 1st in India to manufacture ECH and the raw material required to manufacture the same will be based on 100 percent renewable resource.

There is good demand for ECH and it is further expected to grow in double digit for next 5 - 7 years. We are coming up with ECH capacity of 50,000 TPA and it is expected to get commissioned in Q1FY23. CPVC Resin is used to manufacture CPVC pipes, as on today 95 percent of CPVC resin demand is imported.

Chemical Today Magazine | December 2021

Once we commission our plant of 30,000

the 30,000 tonne CPVC plant and demand

TPA, we will be the largest manufacturer

for the same is expected to grow by ~ 13

of CPVC Resin in India. Demand for CPVC

percent CAGR. Currently 95 percent of

Resin is expected to grow at ~ 13 percent

CPVC resin demand is catered by importing,

CAGR for next 5 – 7 years. CPVC resin plant

once our plant is commissioned in Q2FY23,

is expected to get commission in Q2FY23.

we will be able to cater 20 percent of CPVC

Further we are increasing our capacity of

Resin demand and forex to that extent will

caustic soda and power plant to strengthen our fully integrated complex. Capex for the expansion will be partly funded by internal accruals and party by borrowed funds. Part of the raw material required for manufacturing ECH and CPVC Resin is available within

be saved. For both the products, we will closely monitor the demand and chalk out our growth strategy. Our steps are in line with government’s vision and push towards Aatmanirbhar Bharat.

strengthen our fully integrated complex. The

Elaborate on company’s R&D and innovation initiatives.

company’s focus is to create Chlor-Alkali

The innovation that MFL does is related to

eco system/family and building on our core

the selection of the product chemistry and

strength.

best technology for producing the product,

Ways in which BSE and NSE listing has changed the company’s outlook.

like we did for ECH and CPVC resin. Also to

Listing of the company as a separate entity

hence improve the efficiency. We are working

was a major landmark for us. The kind of

on future expansion, where we will be getting

support we have received from the investors

into specialty chemicals and for that R&D

after listing has boosted our confidence.

facility will be required and that is already in

At the same time it has also increased our

our planning process.

responsibility towards the shareholders. We

Impact of digitization on the growth of the chemical industry.

plant itself and hence we are further

have already announced our roadmap till FY2024 and with huge support, we have also started to plan beyond 2024 for continued and sustained growth going ahead as well.

design the facility and improve process where we can generate more from less input and

Industry 4.0 brings together a number of digital and physical advanced technologies

We are committed to deliver strongly on

to form a greater physical-to-digital-to-

our plan which includes 34 percent CAGR

physical connection. Be it IoT, AI or ML,

growth in top line to reach revenue of Rs.

they all have created a huge boost for

2000 crore by FY2024 and similar growth at

industries. Advanced technologies relevant

the bottom line.

to the chemicals industry—such as the IoT,

Domestic impact on becoming India’s first ECH and CPVC manufacturer.

advanced materials, additive manufacturing,

ECH is an essential feedstock for production of epoxy resins, which is used in corrosion protection coatings in industrial, automotive, packaging sectors among others and also it is used in pharmaceutical segment. The current demand of ECH in India is around 72,000 tonne and demand for the same is expected

advanced analytics, artificial intelligence, and robotics—together have reached a level of cost and performance that enables widespread applications.

More

importantly,

these

technologies are now advanced enough that they can integrate with chemicals companies’ core conversion and marketing processes to digitally transform operations and enable “smart” supply chains and factories as well as

to grow in double digit percent for at least

new business models.

next 5 to 7 years. We are making a capex of

Additionally,

Rs 275 crore for annual production capacity

and

of 50,000 tonne and it is expected to get

has substantially optimized the chemical

commission in Q1FY23. Post commission

manufacturing processes, reducing wastage

almost 55 percent of ECH demand in India

and finding alternatives of manufacturing

will be catered domestically and hence forex will be saved upto that extent.

Similarly we are investing 195 crore towards

automation,

implementation

of

digitization

data

analytics

chemicals in the most efficient way. All of this translates to better margins, less wastage and higher growth for the industry as a whole.

25

Adoption of sustainable and environment-friendly solutions.

Challenges faced by the chemical manufacturers.

Today the entire optics of enterprises have shifted to sustainability, carbon-neutral and being ESG compliant. Chemical, pharma, manufacturing as industries are some of the industries which struggle and have to keep up to remain sustainable and carbon-neutral.

Interestingly, these are the industries which are focusing more on sustainability & ESG compliance and using recycled raw materials to be more environmental friendly.

Currently, global chemical market size is of

We are more than onboard to shoulder our responsibility towards sustainability. Our resource allocation and efficiency is one of the best in the industry. We manage critical resources to minimize consumption and waste, increase reuse and recycle of materials, and drive operations efficiently. We strategically manage our energy and carbon footprint, driving greater efficiency and increasing utilization of renewable resources.

From a macro-perspective, our upcoming ECH plant will be India’s first chemical plant to run on a raw material which is 100 percent renewable sources.

$4.9 trillion and out of that India has market share of just 4 percent. Chemical industry today accounts for as much as 7 percent of the GDP in the Indian economy and about 14 percent in overall index of industrial production. While the industry has shown

has

successfully

the economy more formal for strong future growth. The energy is backbone of chemical industry. Electrical duty need to be made part of GST to make level playing field with global companies. One nation one policy will help to strengthening policy and will speed up the target of solar and wind energy sector.

Third, government had worked for speedy

there are certain challenges which really

environment clearance for pharmaceutical

affect the productivity and demand of the

products and APIs during Covid times. I

industry. One of the biggest challenges is

believe that if government tries to apply the

lack of good infrastructure. Some of the other

similar speed for environment clearance

challenges are:

for chemical segment and other related

First, there are many multinationals that are setting up manufacturing facilities in Malaysia, Indonesia to serve the demand of India which would indirectly impact the growth prospects for India. Though in last

important segment, then India can achieve its target of 5 trillion economy much faster.

This will also attract multinationals to set up plants in India and bring in new and latest technologies through JVs.

7 years government has not signed any FTA

There are various challenges and government

agreement with any country and that has led

of India has taken various initiatives which

to be beneficial but that should continue for

will help the domestic companies to grow

domestic companies to grow.

and compete with global peers.

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Chemical Today Magazine | December 2021

government

implemented GST in India which has made

promise and potential in the time of crisis,

Get The Chemical Industry Updates

26

Second,

SECTOR VIEW PHARMA MANUFACTURING

SMART MEDS WITH INDUSTRY 4.0

BY DEBARATI DAS

T

he Industry 4.0 revolution has had a huge impact in the functioning of every industry. Pharmaceutical space is no different. Smart manufacturing has become the need of the hour to help pharmaceutical industry broaden its horizon.

According to studies, the use of smart manufacturing technologies in pharma companies have delivered up to 30 to 40 percent increase in productivity.

This was rightly proven during the COVID-19 pandemic which took the pharmaceutical industry by surprise. Year 2020 has taught that “Agility” is the key requirement for this industry. In a pandemic which left the entire medical fraternity baffled, the industry responded back with the agility to understand the virus, agility to research, discover and test new drugs and vaccines to counter the pandemic, agility in manufacturing huge batches of vaccines and agility to send the medication to every nook and corner of the world to save lives.

Industry 4.0 plays an important role in each and every step of pharmaceutical value chain right from research on new drug, manufacturing of drugs to sending medicines to doorsteps. With smart manufacturing technologies, every level reaches new heights of perfection. Here are the three main stages of pharma value chain which has undergone dramatic changes due to adoption of next gen technologies:

This agility is only possible with high end smart technology which can only be offered by Industry 4.0. Today the global pharmaceutical industry has been able to bring the pandemic into control with the combination of IoT technology, artificial intelligence, digital twins and many such next gen technologies which opens the scope of realtime drug manufacturing.

It also leads to the simplification of various aspects of drug manufacturing like managing complexities in production processes, gathering data from large volumes, transitioning to modern methods of manufacturing, etc. Industry 4.0 gathers huge amount of data using various tools and analyzes it in near real time, making the entire process faster, accurate and precise. This becomes increasingly important as the industry is transitioning from batch manufacturing to continuous manufacturing operations.

Chemical Today Magazine | December 2021

Smart manufacturing at every step

Research: The process of creating a new formulation is a lengthy

and time-consuming process. During the pandemic, the entire world laid its trust on speedy development of vaccines that can counter the COVID-19 virus. Without Industry 4.0, Artificial intelligence and data analytics, the world would not have received such a huge array of vaccines in the shortest possible time. This will open up doors to the future course of drug formulation and experimentation.

Laboratories with smart manufacturing and artificial-intelligence capabilities can ensure optimal quality-control, while significantly reducing the footprint and costs of a traditional lab. In such infrastructure, testing can take place off-site instead of a centralized location widening the scope of research. AI based research results are way faster and more accurate, drastically cutting down on the time to bring new drugs to the market.

27

Manufacturing: During the pandemic, global population

of over 7.8 billion people required immediate vaccination and medication. This was a gigantic task for the pharmaceutical industry to achieve and it was definitely not possible to achieve with traditional manufacturing processes. The Industry 4.0 in pharmaceuticals is all about automation of traditional manufacturing and industrial practices using modern smart technology. Digitization is a necessity in pharmaceuticals because the whole manufacturing process needs to ensure that each doze has the same, accurate formulation which in traditional process is achieved through a lot of trial and error. In pharma industry, this repeatability is a major challenge and only a smart factory can achieve this. Modern technologies including AI, ML, automation and robotics has brought in accuracy in formulation, less wastage, efficient manufacturing and maximum protection against human contamination.

Digitization and smart manufacturing also ensure better quality compliance by reducing manual errors and allows faster and effective resolution of problems. This not just leads to cost savings in millions but also ensures faster time to market new formulations. It will also make it possible to move away from batch manufacturing towards continuous manufacturing, a production method which involves much less downtime and improved productivity.

Furthermore, these modern technologies help reduce downtime with the use of sensors and predictive systems that make machines self-aware. These technologies allow machines to auto-correct as well as predict failures, allowing better planning of maintenance of machineries to avoid unexpected downtime.

Logistics: Industry 4.0 also ensures product safety and supply chain security by ensuring end-to end transparency and real-time asset tracking. During the pandemic, the pharmaceutical industry

faced three major logistical problems: transporting huge batches of vaccines to different parts of the world right up to remote locations, tracking shortage and surplus in vaccine availability at every centre and ensuring optimum storage conditions of vaccines throughout the entire supply chain. This micro-monitoring and real time tracking was only possible with digitization. With smart supply chain management, inventories were constantly tracked so as to shift unused stocks to places where it was required. Smart manufacturing and Industry 4.0 also help in making smarter and faster decisions about business to boost profitability.

Way Forward With changing lifestyles, climatic conditions, food pattern, ecological conditions, global pollution levels and many such factors, new diseases, infections, and viruses are emerging. Although medical science is making dramatic advances, there is a dire need to predict the future course of human health and avoid life threatening diseases, epidemics and pandemics. This requires research that can accurately envisage and forecast the changing patten in diseases and infections. AI, ML and other technologies is the only way to achieve that.

Remote-monitoring and predictive-maintenance capabilities built into the equipment can decrease downtime and enable companies to reduce company’s expenses. Industry 4.0 technologies also makes the entire supply chain seamless and highly efficient making businesses more competitive and better-equipped to deal with the challenges and opportunities of the future.

Smart Manufacturing has the potential to bring in a paradigm shift in the future of pharmaceutical industry and it is a revolution that no company big or small should miss out on.

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Chemical Today Magazine | December 2021

GREEN CHEMISTRY

UNEXPECTED DISCOVERY MAY OFFER NEW INDUSTRIAL APPLICATIONS

Newly discovered chemistry involving water-soluble particle surfaces is now being presented in a new study.

N

ewly discovered chemistry involving water-soluble particle surfaces is now being presented in a new study in Science.

Initiated by a team from the University of Gothenburg, this study may be useful in the future for sewage treatment, for example.

Gases and aerosol particles play important roles for the chemistry in the atmosphere. Their interactions affect clouds and the climate.

Typical examples of aerosols are smoke, fog and air pollution.

Aerosol particles are especially important, even if they are not visible, because they have surfaces in an atmosphere that otherwise consists only of gases. A new study has now found evidence that when these surfaces begin to absorb water and dissolve, new and previously undiscovered chemistry can take place.

Surprising discovery of new chemistry In the new article in the journal Science, the researchers describe that when a surface of ammonium sulphate dissolves, it promotes sulphate-reducing ammonium oxidation.

The discovery is surprising, because this reaction ordinarily requires extra energy to overcome a barrier and therefore does not occur spontaneously.

“It was a surprise to see the reaction occur, but we came to understand that the water-soluble salt surface made the reaction possible. This has led us to rethink the catalytic effects of surfaces, where some reactions actually can be promoted in the right conditions,” said Xiangrui Kong, researcher at the University of Gothenburg and lead author of the study.

Chemical Today Magazine | December 2021

Possible benefits for cost-effective industrial and environmental applications The research has ramifications for our understanding of the atmospheric sulphur cycle and the occurrence of other important compounds involved in many chemical reactions in the atmosphere.

The sulphate-reducing ammonium oxidation reaction that was observed may also be useful for sewage treatment, for example, and other industrial applications. Biocatalysts or other expensive methods are currently required to activate such reactions.

According to the researchers, the new mechanism indicates that cost-effective applications may be developed based on this new knowledge.

“As we began to realise our results, it took us quite some time to understand what we were observing and why, but the result is exciting and motivates us to dig deeper into how surface phase transitions can change the chemical environment,” said Erik Thomson, senior lecturer at the University of Gothenburg and one of the authors behind the study.

The new study is the fruit of a collaboration between researchers from the University of Gothenburg and researchers from the Paul Scherrer Institute in Switzerland and the Qatar Environmental and Energy Research Institute. The observations were made at the Swiss Light Source research facility in Switzerland and theoretical calculations support the experimental observations and the proposed reaction mechanism.

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EMISSION REDUCTIONS FROM PANDEMIC HAD UNEXPECTED EFFECTS ON ATMOSPHERE

Worldwide restrictions during the COVID-19 pandemic caused huge reductions in travel and other economic activities, resulting in lower emissions. Seen here, almost-empty highways in Colombia during the pandemic. (Image © International Monetary Fund)

T

he COVID-19 pandemic and resulting limitations on travel and other economic sectors by countries around the globe drastically decreased air pollution and greenhouse gas emissions within just a few weeks. That sudden change gave scientists an unprecedented view of results that would take regulations years to achieve.

A comprehensive new survey of the effects of the pandemic on the atmosphere, using satellite data from NASA and other international space agencies, reveals some unexpected findings.

The study also offers insights into addressing the dual threats of climate warming and air pollution. “To understand what is driving changes to the atmosphere, we must consider how air quality and climate influence each other,” said Joshua Laughner, lead author of the new study and a postdoctoral fellow at Caltech in Pasadena, California.

Published November in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, the paper grew from a workshop sponsored by Caltech’s W.M. Keck Institute for Space Studies, led by scientists at that institution and at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California, which is managed by Caltech. Participants from about 20 US and international universities, federal and state agencies, and laboratories pinpointed four atmospheric components for indepth study: the two most important greenhouse gases, carbon dioxide and methane; and two air pollutants, nitrogen oxides and microscopic nitrate particles.

Carbon Dioxide The most surprising result, the authors noted, is that while carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions fell by 5.4 percent in 2020, the amount of CO2 in the atmosphere continued to grow at about the same rate as in preceding years. “During previous socioeconomic disruptions, like the 1973 oil shortage, you could immediately see a change in the growth rate of CO2,” said David Schimel, head of JPL’s carbon group and a co-author of the study. “We all expected to see it this time, too.”

Using data from NASA’s Orbiting Carbon Observatory-2 satellite launched in 2014 and the NASA Goddard Earth Observing System atmospheric model, the researchers identified several reasons for this result. First, while the 5.4% drop in emissions was significant, the growth in atmospheric concentrations was within the normal range of year-to-year variation caused by natural processes. Also,

30

Chemical Today Magazine | December 2021

the ocean didn’t absorb as much CO2 from the atmosphere as it has in recent years.

Air Pollutants and Methane Nitrogen oxides (NOx) in the presence of sunlight can react with other atmospheric compounds to create ozone, a danger to human, animal, and plant health. “NOx chemistry is this incredibly complicated ball of yarn, where you tug on one part and five other parts change,” said Laughner.

As reported earlier, COVID-related drops in NOx quickly led to a global reduction in ozone. The new study used satellite measurements of a variety of pollutants to uncover a less-positive effect of limiting NOx. That pollutant reacts to form a short-lived molecule called the hydroxyl radical, which plays an important role in breaking down long-lived gases in the atmosphere.

The pandemic also limited the atmosphere’s ability to cleanse itself of another important greenhouse gas: methane. Molecule for molecule, methane is far more effective than CO2 at trapping heat in the atmosphere. Estimates of how much methane emissions dropped during the pandemic are uncertain but one study calculated that the reduction was 10 percent.

Methane grew by 0.3 percent in the past year – a faster rate than at any other time in the last decade. With less NOx, there was less hydroxyl radical to scrub methane away, so it stayed in the atmosphere longer.

Lessons From the Pandemic The study took a step back to ask what the pandemic could teach about how a lower-emissions future might look and how the world might get there.

Notably, emissions returned to near-pre-pandemic levels by the latter part of 2020, despite reduced activity in many sectors of the economy. The authors reason that this rebound in emissions was probably necessary for businesses and individuals to maintain even limited economic productivity, using the worldwide energy infrastructure that exists today. “This suggests that reducing activity in these industrial and residential sectors is not practical in the short term” as a means of cutting emissions, the study noted.

“Reducing these sectors’ emissions permanently will require their transition to low-carbon-emitting technology.”

GREEN CHEMISTRY

FIRST TIME OBSERVING AN INHOMOGENEOUS ELECTRON CHARGE DISTRIBUTION ON AN ATOM “Confirming the existence of the theoretically predicted sigmaholes is not unlike observing black holes, which had never been seen until only two years ago despite being predicted in 1915 by the general theory of relativity. Viewed in that sense, it’s not much of an exaggeration to say that the imaging of the sigma-hole represents a similar milestone at the atomic level,” explained Pavel Jelínek of FZU and CATRIN, a leading expert on the theoretical and experimental study of the physical and chemical properties of molecular structures on the surface of solid substances.

Until now, the existence of the phenomenon known as a sigmahole had been indirectly demonstrated by X-ray crystal structures with a halogen bond, which revealed the surprising reality that chemically bonded halogen atoms of one molecule and nitrogen or oxygen atoms of a second molecule, which should repel one another, are in proximity and thus attract one another.

The scientists examined the subatomic structure of halogen using Kelvin probe force microscopy. It helped develop the first experimental visualization of an inhomogeneous electron density charge distribution ie. a sigma-hole – and the definitive confirmation of the concept of halogen bonds.

Comparison of the theoretical prediction and the experiment results.

U

ntil now, observing subatomic structures was beyond the resolution capabilities of direct imaging methods, and this seemed unlikely to change. Czech scientists, however, have presented a method with which they became the first in the world to observe an inhomogeneous electron charge distribution around a halogen atom, thus confirming the existence of a phenomenon that had been theoretically predicted but never directly observed. Comparable to the first observation of a black hole, the breakthrough will facilitate understanding of interactions between individual atoms or molecules as well as of chemical reactions, and it opens a path to refinement of the material and structural properties of various physical, biological, and chemical systems.

The breakthrough was published in Science.

In an extensive interdisciplinary collaboration, scientists from the Czech Advanced Technology and Research Institute (CATRIN) of Palacky University Olomouc, the Institute of Physics of the Czech Academy of Sciences (FZU), the Institute of Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry of the Czech Academy of Sciences (IOCB Prague), and the IT4Inovations Supercomputing Center at VSB – Technical University of Ostrava have succeeded in dramatically increasing the resolution capabilities of scanning microscopy, which several years ago enabled humankind to image individual atoms, and have thus moved beyond the atomic level to subatomic phenomena. The scientists have, for the very first time, directly observed an asymmetric electron density distribution on single atoms of halogen elements, the so-called sigma-hole.

Chemical Today Magazine | December 2021

“We improved the sensitivity of our Kelvin probe force microscopy by functionalizing the tip probe with a single xenon atom, which allowed us to visualize the inhomogeneous charge distribution in a bromine atom within a molecule of brominated tetraphenylmethane, that is, a sigma-hole in real space, and confirm the theoretical prediction,” said Bruno de la Torre of CATRIN and FZU. “I think it’s safe to say that imaging with subatomic resolution is going to have an impact on various fields of science, including chemistry, physics, and biology,” said Jelínek.

“I’ve studied noncovalent interactions all my life, and it gives me great satisfaction that we can now observe something that previously we could “see” only in theory and that the experimental measurements precisely confirm our theoretical premise of the existence and shape of the sigma-hole,” said computational chemist Pavel Hobza of IOCB Prague, who performed the advanced quantum chemical calculations on the supercomputers at IT4Inovations in Ostrava.

“What we’re seeing is that halogen bonds and noncovalent interactions in general play a dominant role not only in biology but also in materials science,” added Hobza.

The characteristic shape of the sigma-hole is formed by a positively charged crown surrounded by a belt of negative electron density.

This inhomogeneous charge distribution leads to the formation of a halogen bond, which plays a key role in, among other things, supramolecular chemistry, including molecular crystal engineering, and in biological systems. The new imaging method opens the door to refinement of the material and structural properties of many physical, biological, and chemical systems affecting everyday life.

31

ESR-STM ON SINGLE MOLECULES AND MOLECULE-BASED STRUCTURES

STM image of iron phthalocyanine (FePc) molecules, iron (Fe) atoms and titanium (Ti) atoms co-deposited on 2 monolayers of magnesium oxide (MgO) surface atop a silver substrate. Well-isolated FePc molecules and naturally formed FePc dimers are abundant.

S

caling down information devices to the atomic scale has brought the interest of using individual spins as a basic unit for data storage. This requires precise detection and control of spin states and a better understanding of spin-spin interactions.

For the first time ever, scientists at the IBS Center for Quantum Nanoscience at Ewha Womans University (QNS) have imaged the spin of an individual molecule using electron spin resonance in a scanning tunneling microscope. This achievement, published this month in Nature Chemistry, harnessed the power of synthetic chemistry to control the electron spin of a molecule.

32

Fe, Ti atoms, and FePc molecules were co-deposited on the surface of a thin magnesium oxide film grown on a silver substrate. They were then imaged and probed using an STM equipped with ESR capabilities. This work has extended the ESR experimental platform from single atoms to a much broader class of matter – magnetic molecules, which brings many more possibilities to perform quantum control on single magnetic molecules.

A scanning tunneling microscope (STM) has the ability to see exact atomic structures, atom by atom, at a level that is not possible with other techniques. This study uses an electric microwave applied to the STM tip to drive electron spin resonance (ESR) on single molecules and investigate the magnetic interaction between two molecules using this technique.

Electron spin resonance is widely employed in biology and chemistry to determine the structure of unknown molecules and to measure the dynamic properties of spins in these molecules. ESR is a cousin of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) that most people are familiar with from hospital visits. ESR is also an essential tool in the emerging research field of quantum-coherent nanoscience, where the quantum properties of spins are utilized for quantum computation and quantum information science.

“Employing single molecules in atomic-scale quantum-control studies is always of high interest and importance. This work sheds light on some intriguing magnetic interactions between nonlocalized spins, which is crucial for developing molecule-based spintronic devices,” said the paper’s first author, Dr. Xue Zhang.

“It is impressive to see that the intermolecular interaction can be investigated with an energy resolution in the nano-electron volt precision. Certainly, we should explore more unknowns with this fantastic ESR-STM technique,” said Yu Wang of QNS.

Chemical Today Magazine | December 2021

GREEN CHEMISTRY

MEET VMS – THE BRIEFCASE-SIZED CHEMISTRY LAB HEADED TO VENUS

DAVINCI will send a meter-diameter probe to brave the high temperatures and pressures near Venus’ surface to explore the atmosphere. During its final kilometers of free-fall descent (shown here), the probe will capture spectacular images and chemistry measurements of the deepest atmosphere on Venus for the first time.

S

hort for Venus Mass Spectrometer, VMS is one of five instruments aboard the DAVINCI descent probe. Launching in 2029, DAVINCI will be the first US probe mission to enter Venus’ atmosphere in over 40 years. The goal of the mission is to explore Venus to determine if it was habitable, and to understand how it ended up as inhospitable as it did.

The probe will descend for around one hour through the Venus atmosphere, making chemistry, temperature, pressure, and wind measurements as well as infrared imaging before landing on the surface of the planet. The job of VMS is to ingest gas during the probe’s descent, analyze it, and provide us with information about the chemical composition of the Venusian atmosphere and possible connections to surface mineralogies.

The subsystems within VMS allow us to perform complex chemistry experiments in a very small package, which is “essentially like sending a complex chemistry lab squished down to the size of a briefcase,” said Charles Malespin, chief of the planetary environments lab at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland and Payload Element Lead for VMS. “VMS will provide unprecedented measurements atmospheric composition of Venus,” said Malespin.

of

the

VMS will measure noble gases such as helium, neon, argon, krypton and xenon. Noble gases are inert, odorless, and colorless gases that are unusual because they do not react with many other elements, and since these are stable over the long term can be informative about processes that happened long ago. This can help find key pieces of information to answer questions about how Venus formed and how it evolved so differently from Earth.

Gas inlets in the VMS system collect gases from the atmosphere.

Some gases will be directly analyzed with a VMS component called the “Quadrupole Mass Spectrometer” (QMS), which is the “nose” of the instrument. It sniffs a small portion of the ingested gas and separates the gas into its individual components. For gases that are

Chemical Today Magazine | December 2021

in concentrations lower than the detection limits of the QMS, such as the heavier noble gases krypton and xenon, the gas is chemically ‘enriched’ by another component of VMS called the Gas Processing System (GPS), using a series of chemical scrubbers and getters.

“Leveraging technology, techniques, and experience from previous missions is invaluable when you are going to a new location,” said Malespin, who also serves as deputy principal investigator on the Sample Analysis at Mars (SAM) instrument onboard the Curiosity rover on Mars.

VMS is going to use the exact same QMS as SAM uses, and a very similar GPS. “Our experience with SAM will hopefully allow us to work more efficiently and leverage the lessons learned while we build and prepare VMS for the DAVINCI mission,” said Malespin.

The sampling subsystems within VMS will have to be adjusted to function in Venus’ highly inhospitable atmosphere, with sulfuric acid clouds and surface temperatures hot enough to melt lead.

“There are changes that need to be made to ensure that key aspects of the instrument can successfully operate and complete the science goals in the new environment,” explained Malespin.

“There are spots (in the atmosphere) where the more corrosive gases would form droplets and collect on the inlet, possibly clogging it.

The heated inlet would vaporize those droplets and allow the inlet to remain free of any clogs,” said Malespin.

Along with VMS, the DAVINCI probe will host the Venus Tunable Laser Spectrometer (VTLS), Venus Atmospheric Structure Investigation (VASI), and Venus Descent Imager (VenDI). All of these instruments will be inside the climate-controlled descent sphere, which will protect them from the extreme temperatures and atmospheric pressure – over 90 times that of Earth’s atmosphere at the surface – during descent in the deepest atmosphere. In addition, a student collaboration experiment will fly (VfOx) to measure the partial pressure of oxygen in the deep atmosphere directly.

33

NEW WAY TO HARNESS ENERGY FROM AMMONIA

Researchers Christian Wallen and John Berry from the University of Wisconsin–Madison have identified a new way to convert ammonia to nitrogen gas through a process that could be a step toward ammonia replacing carbon-based fuels.

A

research team at the University of Wisconsin–Madison has identified a new way to convert ammonia to nitrogen gas through a process that could be a step toward ammonia replacing carbon-based fuels. The discovery of this technique, which uses a metal catalyst and releases, rather than requires, energy, was reported in November in Nature Chemistry and has received a provisional patent from the Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation.

“The world currently runs on a carbon fuel economy,” explained Christian Wallen, an author of the paper and a former postdoctoral researcher in the lab of UW–Madison chemist John Berry. “It’s not a great economy because we burn hydrocarbons, which release carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. We don’t have a way to close the loop for a true carbon cycle, where we could transform carbon dioxide back into a useful fuel.”

To move toward the United Nations’ goal for the world to become carbon-neutral by 2050, scientists must consider environmentally responsible ways to create energy from elements other than carbon, and the UW–Madison team is proposing a nitrogen energy economy based on interconversions of nitrogen and ammonia.

The scientists were excited to find that the addition of ammonia to a metal catalyst containing the platinum-like element ruthenium spontaneously produced nitrogen, which means that no added energy was required. Instead, this process can be harnessed to produce electricity, with protons and nitrogen gas as byproducts.

In addition, the metal complex can be recycled through exposure to oxygen and used repeatedly, all a much cleaner process than using carbon-based fuels.

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gasoline, particularly in the maritime industry. However, burning ammonia releases toxic nitrogen oxide gases.

The new reaction avoids those toxic byproducts. If the reaction were housed in a fuel cell where ammonia and ruthenium react at an electrode surface, it could cleanly produce electricity without the need for a catalytic converter.

“For a fuel cell, we want an electrical output, not input,” Wallen said.

“We discovered chemical compounds that catalyze the conversion of ammonia to nitrogen at room temperature, without any applied voltage or added chemicals. This is the first process, as far as we know, to do that.”

“We have an established infrastructure for distribution of ammonia, which is already mass produced from nitrogen and hydrogen in the Haber-Bosch process,” said Michael Trenerry, a graduate student and author on the paper. “This technology could enable a carbon-free fuel economy, but it’s one half of the puzzle.

One of the drawbacks of ammonia synthesis is that the hydrogen we use to make ammonia comes from natural gas and fossil fuels.”

This trend is changing, however, as ammonia producers attempt to produce “green” ammonia, in which the hydrogen atoms are supplied by carbon-neutral water electrolysis instead of the energyintensive Haber-Bosch process.

As the ammonia synthesis challenges are met, according to Berry, there will be many benefits to using ammonia as a common energy source or fuel. It’s compressible, like propane, easy to transport and easy to store.

“We figured out that, not only are we making nitrogen, we are making it under conditions that are completely unprecedented,” said Berry, who is the Lester McNall professor of Chemistry and focuses his research efforts on transition metal chemistry.

The group’s next steps include figuring out how to engineer a fuel cell that takes advantage of the new discovery and considering environmentally friendly ways to create the needed starting materials.

Ammonia has been burned as a fuel source for many years. During World War II, it was used in automobiles, and scientists today are considering ways to burn it in engines as a replacement for

“One of the next challenges I would like to think about is how to generate ammonia from water, instead of hydrogen gas,” Trenerry said. “The dream is to put in water, air and sunlight to create a fuel.”

Chemical Today Magazine | December 2021

Chemical Today Magazine | December 2021

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INSIGHTS BIOPLASTICS

DEVELOPING TECHNOLOGIES TO PRODUCE BIOPLASTICS

The bioplastics industry demand is due to the increasing number of applications and awareness of sustainable materials benefits. To capture the bioplastics demand, various companies are looking to develop new technologies which are biobased in nature and more efficient. (Representative Image © Pixabay GmbH)

P

lastics are synthetic polymer materials that exhibit desirable properties such as softness, high tensile strength, thermal resistance, chemical resistance, good strength to weight ratio, weather resistance, transparency, etc. Most of the plastics are petrochemical based, and their feedstock is obtained from petroleum. Plastics including Polyethylene (PE), Polypropylene (PP), Polystyrene (PS), Polyvinyl Chloride (PVC), Polyurethane (PU), Polyethylene Terephthalate (PET), Polyamides etc. are the most widely used polymers in daily life due to their excellent thermal and rheological properties.

The major problem with the use of these plastics is that they are nonbiodegradable in nature and remain in the environment for a very long time. It is estimated that of the 350 million tonnes of plastics produced in 2020, only around 8 percent was recycled, and the rest was left to be dumped into oceans and landfills. Therefore, there is the need for the advancement of new biodegradable materials which are environment friendly and have the potential to replace the conventional plastics.

Bioplastics are one of the most innovative material solutions today, which are biobased and biodegradable in nature. They can be produced from biobased feedstocks, including biomass, organic waste, agricultural waste, vegetable oil, starch, etc. Bioplastics can be degraded by natural agents such as bacteria and fungi into smaller molecules that do not harm the environment. There are three main types of bioplastics, including plastics which are biodegradable and biobased, biodegradable and petroleum based, and non-biodegradable and biobased.

Bioplastic polymers can be produced using different techniques depending upon the final properties of the desired material. The selected process for producing bioplastics is important because particle dispersion is the major challenge in biobased nanocomposite processing.

One of the most widely used processes for producing bioplastics is the fermentation process which is used to process Polyhydroxyalkanoate (PHA) polymers. The process includes two stages in which the first stage consists of the development of high cell density culture, and the second stage includes the increment in the material concentration.

The casting and evaporation process is another process that is used to produce bioplastics. It is mainly used to produce nanocomposites.

The nanomaterials formed by casting and evaporation are dumped from suspensions of nanoparticles and polymers. The polymeric film is obtained after the solvent is evaporated and removed. This method is used to develop PHA films and is usually limited to laboratory scale or small scale only. The most common technology for producing bioplastics is the polymerization method. The polymerization of nanomaterials is an effective alternative to casting and evaporation to develop nanomaterials. Polylactic Acid (PLA) is produced using

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this method. Injection moulding method is one of the solid state processes to develop materials with outstanding properties, including surface softness and moldability. This method entails the formation of polymer granules within a metallic barrel where fibers can be added.

Protein based bioplastics are produced using injection moulding.

Other method to produce bioplastics include extrusion moulding. In this method the materials undergo heating and processing between the twin screws of the extruder.

Apart from the above technologies for the development of bioplastics there are some other technologies under research phase, including production of biobased nanomaterials from materials such as starch, etc. and advanced solution casting method that entails the development of bioplastic films. Other technologies under research include the production of bioplastics by genetic engineering in which genetically modified organisms are used to manufacture bioplastics.

Another modern technology related to bioplastics is sustained drug delivery technology. Bioplastics made for this application are coated with the specific drug, which then releases the medicine to the target area in the body.

Bioplastics are receiving much more attention in various applications in the polymer industry. The reason is that bioplastics are good alternatives to synthetic polymeric materials to create environmentally safe materials. Major application areas for bioplastics include food packaging, and the biomedical industry where bioplastics are being used as sustained drug release agents. Other application areas for bioplastics include agriculture foils, textiles, automotive and construction films, electronic polymers, medical implants etc.

Bioplastics have several advantages over non-biodegradable plastics, but when it comes to viability and large scale production, there are some disadvantages of bioplastics. Bioplastics have high processing costs as compared to conventional plastics. Bioplastics like PLA are degradable only in certain temperature and humidity ranges, which is a major shortcoming of PLA. The mechanical properties of bioplastics are not at par with conventional plastics, and they have problems such as water solubility and solvent effects.

The bioplastics industry demand stood at around 1.2 million tonnes in 2020 and is expected to grow at a healthy CAGR of around 10 percent during the upcoming years. The growth in the demand is due to increasing number of applications of bioplastics and increasing awareness of the benefits of sustainable materials. To capture this demand growth, various companies are looking forward to developing new technologies which are biobased in nature to develop bioplastic in more efficient ways.

Source: TechSci Research

INSIGHTS US CHEMICAL MARKET

CHEMICAL INDUSTRY OUTLOOK 2022: ON TRACK FOR A STRONG RECOVERY

2022 could mark the full recovery for the US chemical industry postpandemic. As the industry moves into 2022, strong demand for both commodity and specialty chemicals should keep prices robust throughout the year. (Representative Image © Unsplash)

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he US chemical industry has witnessed a strong recovery since the beginning of 2021, with demand increasing from the major end markets such as construction and health and safety. This was driven partly by a rebound in US GDP, which will likely grow between 6.0 percent and 6.5 percent during 2021 after declining by 3.5 percent in 2020.1 During the first half of 2021, the industry experienced supply chain disruption caused by extreme weather events when significant chemical capacity along the US Gulf Coast went idle. With supply chain challenges easing, idled capacity should come back online and support inventory buildup. In fact, some commodity chemicals have already achieved prepandemic sales levels in Q3 2021 on a year-over-year basis.2 2022 could mark the full recovery for the US chemical industry postpandemic. As the industry moves into 2022, strong demand for both commodity and specialty chemicals should keep prices robust throughout the year.

The industry should also experience increased

Chemical Today Magazine | December 2021

capital expenditure as leading industry players focus on building capacity and expanding into growing end markets through both organic and inorganic routes. However, the industry could face margin pressures amid raw material cost inflation, which will likely remain high through the first half of 2022. Also, industry margins could come under increased pressure toward the end of 2022 as pent-up demand starts to clear out.

A key thought on the minds of many chemical leaders in 2022 will be returning employees to work. While the industry quickly implemented the required safety standards, the transformed talent landscape likely requires chemical companies to adapt further. Changing demographics and skills requirements should draw a more diverse workforce to chemical companies than ever before.3 One of the critical areas of focus for most US chemical companies in 2022 will likely be sustainability and decarbonization. Many chemical companies are expected to increase investment in research and development

(R&D) capabilities and leverage advances in decarbonization and recycling technologies to lower their and their customers’ carbon footprint, as well as reduce plastic waste. 2022 should see more industry players create goals and plans around abatement of emissions and monetization of waste.

Positioning for a strong rebound in key end markets amid rising costs The US chemical industry is poised for a strong recovery in 2022 as economies reopen and restrictions are lifted, which should drive up plant utilization rates that were hit hard by the pandemic. Industrial production in the United States is expected to grow by 5.5 percent during 2021 and by 4.3 percent during 2022.4 US chemical volumes are expected to grow around 1.5 percent in 2021 and 3.0 percent in 2022, while shipments will likely increase by 8.0% in 2021 and 2022, following a 13.5 percent decline in 2020.5 As 2022 approaches, various end markets should be watched.

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• Construction: The strength in the construction industry has been a key growth driver for chemical sales; housing starts in the United States are expected to reach 1.6 million in 2021,6 as organizations across industries have migrated to work-from-home, which led to increased investments in homes by consumers as a medium to invest their discretionary income. This trend is expected to continue, with housing starts expected to remain robust at more than 1.5 million in 2022.7 Low benchmark interest rates and normalizing lumber prices should support housing starts.

Strong construction activity will likely keep the demand for chemical products, such as polyvinyl chloride and methanol, strong. For example, methanol producers experienced about 2 percent growth in contract prices between January and July 2021.8 Moreover, the recently approved Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, with investments across health care, public safety, and other public infrastructure, as well as increased industrial spending, bodes well for demand for chemical products from the nonresidential construction segment.

• Automotive: The rebound in the automotive industry is another growth driver, as auto sales are expected to cross 17 million in 2021 and 2022 despite the production constraints caused by shortages of key input materials such as semiconductor chips.9 Growth in the automotive sector should drive the demand for base chemicals and performance plastics in 2022. Our assessment of the quarterly performance of major chemical companies revealed that supplies to the automotive industry clocked strong sales growth during the first two quarters of 2021, and this trend is likely to continue well into 2022, driven strongly by the robust recovery of auto sales globally.

• Health and safety: As the threat from coronavirus still looms based on variants, demand for personal protective equipment such as masks, gowns, and gloves should remain high, driving ethylene and propylene sales. The industry could still pivot some of its production capacity toward the products and materials needed to combat the pandemic, such as isopropyl alcohol and ethanol. Industry players are likely to ensure a strong supply of chemicals required to produce antibacterial wipes, disinfectants, and surfactants for soaps and hand sanitizers.

US chemical exports are also expected to grow significantly as major economies reopen and import demand in partner economies improves, especially with trade between the United States and China returning to business as usual. The rapid recovery in the automotive

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sector in China is expected to keep chemical imports high in 2022. After declining 7.6 percent in 2020, chemical exports are expected to grow between 5.5 percent and 6.0 percent in 2021 and reach pre–COVID-19 levels by the end of 2022.10 One of the risks for this strong recovery is inflation. For example, Brent crude oil spot prices rebounded strongly and remained at an average of $74 per barrel in September 2021.11 In a recent survey, 60 percent of the chemical industry respondents saw volatile costs as the biggest risks facing their respective companies in 2022. The September 2021 inflation figures provide further evidence that the supply of raw materials and labor is struggling to keep up with resurgent demand. Central banks in the United States and Europe expect supply bottlenecks and inflation to ease in 2022 once the global recovery finds firmer footing and government support programs are unwound.

Transforming asset portfolios to help weather volatility Chemical companies are entering 2022 after overcoming challenging market conditions in 2020 and 2021, with COVID-19 adding volatility to an already volatile decade. The pandemic led to divergent demand for plastics and specialty materials, testing the resilience of companies’ asset portfolios. The shifts in chemical spending partially reflect commodity price volatility, but are more driven by longer-term trends, including petrochemical expansion in the US Gulf Coast and the buildout of Asian chemical production capacity. 2022 will likely see similar price and demand volatility, and the chemical sector will need to adapt, particularly as the energy transition accelerates. Companies should decide today how to best position themselves for growth despite continued volatility and uncertainty.

Chemical companies are likely to focus on repositioning their asset portfolios and balancing trade-offs between different strategic options with critical considerations such as scale, the scope of products, and growth opportunities. To deliver stronger growth and improve financial performance, firms should consider honing their product and services portfolios further, evaluating several areas:

• Investing in higher value-added opportunities. Companies need to explore not just divesting noncore assets, but also investing in higher value-added opportunities. This means drilling down into key end markets and products where technical and market know-how can be combined with economies of scale to drive margins higher. Per a recent Deloitte survey, 45 percent of the chemical industry respondents expect the electronics end market to experience the fastest growth in the United States during 2022.

• Anticipating consumer preferences. Technological progress and

consumer preferences may shape how chemical companies evaluate potential higher valueadded opportunities and how they will likely invest in them to transform their portfolios over the long term. Those that can balance their future-focused investments with their existing core-focused assets could be better positioned to tackle any potential challenges.

To that end, companies should identify how to commercialize new opportunities such as zero-waste technologies while optimizing their existing, more conventional asset portfolio. Specifically, companies should position their existing portfolio to align to higher-growth end markets.

• Divesting noncore assets. Some

chemical companies could pare back investments in traditional products and services to free up capital for more futureoriented projects in 2022. Some companies are shifting investments from gas to liquids and refining projects to developing differentiated applications for performance chemicals.

Many other companies will likely face similar decisions in the near future, though the range of opportunities will continue to change as technologies and markets evolve.

Over the past two years, the industry’s financial performance had flat-to-declining return on capital. To overcome potential headwinds, companies should identify how they can strengthen their portfolios through mergers and acquisitions (M&A) and organic investment by balancing the tradeoffs between scale, scope, and growth. As companies transform their asset portfolios, they should strengthen their existing products and services while expanding into new areas, whether that means new regions, end markets, or technologies. Companies that better leverage their existing competitive positioning, as well as opportunities to innovate, could grow sustainably through 2022 despite volatility and uncertainty.

Climate change sustainability efforts

driving

In 2022, the chemical industry will likely have a sharper focus on decarbonization strategies due to increased attention from stakeholders, regulatory change, and technology innovation.

The chemical industry is responding with its commitments to decarbonization, recycling, and resource recovery. For instance, as part of the European Union Green Deal, the European chemical industry has committed to carbon-neutrality by 2050 as a part of its contribution to achieving the COP21 climate resolution.12 As the global energy industry continues to shift from fossil fuels to renewables and the “Green Deal” gains steam, this momentum is expected to continue into 2022.

Specifically, industry players may show a heightened focus on new and innovative technologies such as carbon capture and utilization (CCU), for which pending government proposals could allocate additional funding and focus. In addition, companies continue to advance work on steam cracker electrification, advanced and chemical recycling, green hydrogen, and carbon capture and storage (CCS). In a recent Deloitte survey, 90 percent of chemical industry respondents said they will focus on improving resource and energy efficiency in the production of chemicals and materials to drive decarbonization and sustainability in 2022.

These developments will likely help grow renewables, improve energy efficiency, reduce emissions, and create new markets for carbon and other byproducts as part of an increasingly circular economy. As a result, this could foster collaboration that gives rise to new business models and helps advance the energy transition. For example, large-scale waste-to-fuels projects, often undertaken in partnership with others in the value chain, are also becoming commonplace.

While carbon emissions are hard to abate in the chemical industry due to reliance on process heat, advances in decarbonizing chemical production could have a profound impact globally. The benefits of decarbonizing chemical companies could spread beyond the industry itself, since chemistry provides the building blocks for many value chains. Given chemicals’ interconnectedness to different end markets and value chains, addressing this complexity will likely require the industry to have a clear road map.

However, pathways to decarbonization, such as increased electrification, wide-scale use of renewable energy, and intensifying energy efficiency measures, pose certain unique challenges. While many chemical companies have publicly declared their intention to become carbon-neutral by 2050, the challenge lies in the immediate future. Often, companies may need more clarity on the material impacts that their stated goals will have on their operations, markets, and business valuation.

Another issue is whether demand for many conventional plastics and chemicals could wane as the public becomes more educated about the environmental impacts of end products and ready to accept eco-friendly substitutes. As in 2021, the market could show that people are willing to switch to more environmentally friendly substitutes, even if they cost slightly more or function less effectively.

Accelerating business transformation through digital technologies There remains an immense but relatively unexplored potential for advanced data analytics and digital technologies to transform the chemical industry. Today, digital tools and technologies present an economically feasible solution for extracting more efficiencies from incumbent processes and designing novel products and processes. Due to the convergence of accelerating improvements such as advances in sensors, cognitive computing, and analytics, significant progress can be expected in three areas in 2022: data availability, data processing, and engineering and materials research.

To tackle the issues of tomorrow more holistically, Deloitte believes that advanced data analytics and digital technologies have the potential to create the most impact along five dimensions in 2022:

• User experience: Designing and

responding to customer interactions to meet or exceed customer expectations and thus increase customer satisfaction, loyalty, and advocacy

• Talent enablement: Delivering value

through human-machine pairing, where robots assist humans in manual tasks, and employees use digital technologies to support productivity and effectively complete tasks

• Asset reliability and performance: Strengthening asset dependability using advanced digital technologies such as IoT (Internet of Things) and remote monitoring

• Material system innovation: Leveraging digital transformations enhance R&D activities.

to

•

Ecosystem

collaboration:

Partnering with multiple entities to better serve customers and markets through solving complex problems.

By leveraging advanced data analytics and digital technologies, chemical companies can become more agile, innovative, responsive, and efficient. Per a recent Deloitte survey, 62 percent of the chemical industry respondents believe that advanced data analytics and digital technologies will potentially create the most impact when it comes to delivering a better user experience in 2022. The journey will likely pose various challenges, but how companies respond to these challenges can determine the winners and losers in 2022 and beyond. A properly designed and optimally deployed data and digital strategy may represent one of the biggest-ever opportunities for the chemical industry in the post–COVID-19 world, primarily when a clear business strategy drives it.

Visibility could be the key to industry resilience For chemical companies, the past two years’ events may be a warning that better systems are needed for navigating disruption. Visibility is likely to become the most critical capability for the industry in the coming year. Increasing visibility (including costs and prices) depends on how a company is experiencing disruption, and digital technologies could be essential enablers. For example, companies experiencing a surge in demand should ensure visibility across their supply network as they ramp up production. As supply shortages could derail production flow, chemical producers in this scenario could consider multisourcing strategies.

Moreover, companies experiencing shifts in demand may want to increase visibility into operations to help them focus on costcutting opportunities. They can use the visibility gained to create flexibility across their production environment to quickly take down costs to weather suppressed demand and more quickly respond to an eventual uptick in demand.

Source: Deloitte

Chemical Today Magazine | December 2021

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REPORTS ETHYL ACETATE MARKET

CONSTRUCTION, PHARMA, AUTO DEMAND TO BOOST ETHYL ACETATE MARKET

There has been a significant rise in production of sustainable packaging products such as flexible packaging due to increasing environmental concerns, which is anticipated to propel the demand for solvent-based printing inks in the packaging industry. (Image © Pixabay GmbH)

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he global ethyl acetate market size was valued at $4.7 billion in 2020 and is expected to expand at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 8.8 percent from 2021 to 2028. This is attributed to the growing investments in the construction, pharmaceuticals and automotive sector. There has also been a significant rise in the production of sustainable packaging products such as flexible packaging due to increasing environmental concerns, which is anticipated to propel the demand for solvent-based printing inks in the packaging industry over the forecast period.

packaging solutions across the world. It is anticipated to contribute to the demand for ethyl acetate solvent-based printing inks globally.

In the packaging solutions industry, flexible packaging solutions are witnessing the highest demand on the account of numerous benefits offered by them, including lightweight, low cost, easy recyclability, increased flexibility, and enhanced shelf life. Furthermore, the demand for ethyl acetate-based flexible packaging solutions is expected to grow in the coming years due to the flourishing e-commerce and retail business across the world wherein these solutions are used.

As ethyl acetate has more than four polarities, it is used in applications with difficult separations. It is also used in column chromatography applications, thereby resulting in its surged use in the wine industry for the differentiation of various wines and the study of wine vintage.

With increasing wine consumption in Germany, the UK etc, new chromatography applications are anticipated to emerge contributing significantly to the overall market growth.

Ethyl acetate solvents are used in car care products in the automotive industry. These solvents are also used in chromatographic separation applications in the pharmaceuticals industry, thus resulting in a stable market. Moreover, they are used in food products and beverages to enhance their flavor. Increasing demand for convenient and sustainable packaging is triggering the demand for flexible

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As chemicals containing VOC are used in the footwear and leather manufacturing industries, the product is expected to witness wide application scope in artificial leather manufacturing processes. With the stringent imposition of various government regulations on the production of natural leather and the surged demand for cruelty-free leather accessories such as belts and apparel, the global market for artificial leather is anticipated to witness significant growth over the forecast period.

End-use Insights The food and beverage segment dominated the market and accounted for the largest revenue share of 25.9 percent in 2020. This high share is attributable to increased usage in various food products such as fruits, dairy, meat, and vegetables among others due to its low toxicity, agreeable odor, and low cost.

The pharmaceutical application segment is another large segment in the market. The segment accounted for a revenue share of around 24 percent in 2020. Ethyl acetate is commonly used in the pharmaceutical industry owing to its low purity; it is also used for purifying and concentrating antibiotics. In the pharmaceutical industry, solvent extraction finds many applications due to its suitability for processing heat-sensitive products and inherent flexibility.

It is used for the auto refinishing process, which involves refurbishing and repairing automobiles and other transportation vehicles.

Growing demand for used vehicles and continuous adoption of new technologies are some of the factors responsible for driving the growth of the automotive to refinish coating market which will directly propel the demand for ethyl acetate over the coming years.

It has a wide scope of application in the manufacturing process of artificial leather as the ethyl acetate solvent plays a vital role in the leather production process. The global market for artificial leather is expected to show significant growth over the forecast period owing to rising demand for cruelty-free leather products such as belts, wallets, bags, clothing, and others. Moreover, the rising demand for solventbased printing inks in flexible packaging is estimated to propel the market demand over the forecast period.

Regional Insights In Asia Pacific, the market accounted for the highest revenue share of 50.0 percent in 2020. This is attributed to the rising urbanization and research and development for the creation of technologically advanced products at an affordable rate. The region has a presence of numerous ethyl acetate manufacturing companies which is also key a driver in the growth of the market.

In North America, ethyl acetate is mainly used for manufacturing printing inks, paints, and coatings, synthetic leather, etc. The increasing consumption of these products is expected to contribute to the growth of the ethyl acetate market in the region. The growing demand for convenient and flexible packaging solutions for food products and beverages in the US is expected to fuel the consumption of ethyl acetate in the country.

Europe has the presence of major industrial economies, such as the UK, Germany and France which have a continuously increasing number of manufacturers and suppliers of automobiles, food products, and beverages, packaging solutions, and chemical products.

The presence of major automobile manufacturing units in Europe drives the demand for ethyl acetate in the region. The growth of the market in this region can be attributed to the flourishing automotive, food and beverages, and artificial leather manufacturing industries in the key countries of the region such as the UK, Germany, and France among others. This is due to the rising awareness among customers to opt for cruelty-free products.

The steady economic growth and an increase in the number of middle-and high-income consumers in countries, such as Argentina, Brazil, Peru and Chile, are leading to a change in lifestyle patterns in the region. These factors have led to a strong increase in the demand for Ready-To-Eat (RTE) food products that are healthy and conveniently packed. This, in turn, is expected to augment the growth of the flexible packaging market, which will directly increase the consumption of ethyl acetate solvent-based printing inks in the region. In addition, the high demand for paints and coatings in the automotive, furniture, and other industries in countries, including the UAE, Kuwait and Saudi Arabia, is expected to increase the demand for ethyl acetate.

Key Companies & Market Share Insights The market is moderately fragmented with a few players accounting for a large share of the market. The key players in the market include Solvay SA, Celanese Corporation, INEOS, Jiangsu SOPO Group, Eastman Chemical Company, Sasol, Sipchem, Daicel Corporation etc. These companies are involved in the bulk manufacturing of ethyl acetate, which is then distributed globally. Moreover, these companies are also continuously involved in mergers and acquisitions to enhance their customer base and acquire new markets globally.

Source: Grand View Research

Chemical Today Magazine | December 2021

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REPORTS NANOCOATINGS

NANOCOATINGS TO TAKE COATING APPLICATIONS TO NEW HEIGHTS

Nanocoating has made it possible to waterproof any material – from cars to sustainable textiles, and to buildings. It offers protection from scratches, corrosion and graffiti. Irrespective of surface, nanocoatings improve durability and lifespan of any object. (Representative Image © Pixabay GmbH)

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he global nanocoatings market size is expected to reach $27.97 billion in 2028 and register a revenue CAGR of 18.3 percent during the forecast period. Nanocoatings market revenue growth is driven by key factors such as increase in construction activities with major focus on visual aesthetics, appearance, and durability.

Nanocoatings are thin and transparent to the naked eye, which enhances its aesthetic appeal. It can be applied to wide variety of substrates like metals, plastics, ceramics and polymers. It also prevents the growth of harmful bacteria in medical setting and avoids fingerprint from forming on automotive surfaces. Nanocoatings emit significantly lower levels of Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs) than traditional polymer coatings, which is driving expansion in terms of applications and rapid demand owing to increasing need for these materials in countries with more stringent VOC regulations.

Nanocoating has made it increasingly possible to waterproof any material – from cars to sustainable textiles, and to buildings. It offers protection from scratches, corrosion and graffiti. Irrespective of surface, nanocoatings improve durability and lifespan of any object

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it is applied to. Nanocoatings is used to coat boats owing to ensuring reduced adhesion of fingerprints, lime, and dust and dirt particles on surfaces. It provide long term protection to boats and makes vessels more resistant to salt water.

Nanocoatings are being used to solve many challenges in various industries. It is useful in applications where opacity could be a problem. For instance, certain nanocoatings can make windows resistant to UV rays and heat. Window panes remain clear, but also gain additional properties. In sanitary areas, particularly in showers, nanocoatings ensure no residue or water splashes and roll on tiles, shower tray, and doors. It does not give water the chance to settle and cause unsightly limescale spots. Barbecue areas can also be coated with nanocoatings to prevent burn marks on table or chairs from sparks that fly from the grill. The grill can also be spared rust if coated with nanocoatings.

Although the COVID-19 pandemic has adversely impacted a wide variety of industries and sectors due to implementation of lockdown in automotive, electronics, and construction sectors and industries, the medical sector has been contributing positively to market growth.

Researchers are working on developing new nanoparticle coatings, which can limit or reduce the transmission of COVID-19 from different surfaces, whilst also reducing the need for use of harmful chemicals.

Safe anti-viral nanoparticle coatings have shown potential to prevent active surface infection from SARS-CoV-2. The coating, when sprayed directly on a surface, can reduce bacterial infection, thus giving it a wide range of potential uses. The Department of Science and Technology (DST) in India, as part of its nano mission program, approved support for upscaling antiviral nanocoatings for usage in N-95 respirator and anti-COVID-19 triple layer medical masks in large quantities.

In April 2021, Nanoksi Finland introduced self-disinfecting nanocoatings which reduces number of bacteria and virus on surfaces and improves indoor air quality. The company’s internationally acclaimed innovation has gained popularity and is already being used in the fight against COVID-19 in several locations across countries in Europe.

In March 2021, Curran Biotech launched new nanocoating that could prevent indoor transmission of COVID-19. The company’s Capture Coating Technology offers great hydrophobic properties and act as a supplement to commercial or household Heating, Ventilation, and Air Conditioning (HVAC) systems. The technology is designed to mitigate and significantly decrease viral transmission of the virus through specified air filtration media.

water, contaminants, and Ultraviolet (UV) rays. Nanocoatings also provides superior protection against etching and micro-marring.

The water-repelling property of nanocoatings significantly surpasses that of poly sealants, as well as blocks oxidation and prevent UV rays better than poly sealants, which offers long-lasting finish to exterior automotive paints.

Demand for nanocoatings in electronic devices is high as thousands of electronic devices are used in challenging and diverse environments.

Such devices require protection against sweat, rain, pollution, submersion, and other threats. Demand for protective nanocoatings is expected to increase significantly for use in safeguard solutions.

Along with smartphones and laptops, smart home security products also require protection from corrosion, moisture, chemicals, and pollution, and demand is expected to support market growth going ahead.

Regional Insights

Market Dynamics Driver: High demand from electronics industry Demand for protective coatings in electronic devices has been increasing rapidly in the recent past. Paints and coatings were primarily used to formulate conventional coatings to protect sensitive electronic devices, but these coatings can be too thick, porous, and bulky for some miniaturized devices. Protective nanocoatings are thinner than paper and serve as a robust alternative to conventional coatings. Increasing emphasis on sustainability is also driving market growth. Regulations such as PFOA/PFOS-free, RoHS, REACH, and CA Prop 65 compliance, are also raising the bar for selection of nanocoatings.

Based on regional analysis, Asia Pacific nanocoatings market revenue is expected to expand at a significantly rapid rate during the forecast period due to high demand from countries such as Japan, India, China, and South Korea. Large geriatric population in China has created major demand for medical devices, which in turn is driving growth of the nanocoatings market. The Indian market is switching to solar panels to reduce dependency on fossil fuels. Solar devices are coated with nanocoatings to enhance lifespan and reduce degradation rate.

North America accounted for a robustly large revenue share in 2020 owing to steady growth of the healthcare industry, advancements in technology, and presence of major companies in countries in the region. Currently, demand for self-cleaning and anti-microbial coating is high from the healthcare sector in the region, which is driving market revenue growth.

Restraint: Increasing price volatility High price volatility of nanocoatings is limiting market revenue growth to some extent. Moreover, nanocoatings are inhalable in powder form and the mixture is carcinogenic due to its potential to induce lung cancers if inhaled. This is expected to restrain growth of the market to some extent going ahead.

Product Type Insights

Competitive Landscape

Based on product type, the global Nanocoatings market is segmented into Anti-microbial, Self-Cleaning, Anti-Fouling & Easy-to-Clean, Anti-fingerprints, and Others. Antimicrobial nanocoatings are deployed in bone replacement materials, surgical instruments, and prosthetic devices. Antimicrobial nanocoatings are essential for indwelling catheters, as the device possesses high risk of microbial infection. Biofilms of yeasts and oral bacteria may result in several localized ailments in the oral cavity, such as dental caries, oral thrush, periodontal disease, tooth root & pulp disease, and dental implant dental braces infections, thus making antimicrobial nanocoatings essential in medical devices.

The global nanocoatings market is fragmented with a number of major players operating on global and regional levels. Major players are engaged in product development and strategic alliances to expand their respective product portfolios and gain a robust footing in the global market. Some major players in the market include Eikos Inc, Buhler PARTEC GmbH, Integran Technologies Inc, Bio-Gate AG, Nanofilm Ltd, Nanoveer Technologies LLC, Cima NanoTech Inc, P2i, Inframat Corporation and Nanophase Technologies Corporation.

Self-cleaning segment accounted for a significantly large revenue share in 2020. Self-cleaning properties of nanocoatings simply allow dirt to roll off. Need for regular maintenance of products can be delayed or not required as often with the use of nano coatings. Metal, wood, and plastics requires less care and surfaces remain smooth for a long time. Nanotechnology coatings are used to protect buildings against pollutants or impregnate fabrics to thwart certain chemical weapons.

End-use Insights Based on end-use, the global nanocoatings market is segmented into healthcare, automotive, building & construction, electronics, marine, and energy. Automotive segment accounted for a significantly large revenue share in 2020. Nanocoatings, when applied to automotive paintwork, offers a glossy finish, durable resistance to

Some Major Development In May 2021, HZO Inc announced strategic alliance with Dymax.

The partnership will expand HZO portfolio by adding 3,000 formulations to its existing coating solutions, and accelerating market reach through Dymax’s global sales channel. Next generation nanocoatings from HZO and quick-cure conformal coatings from Dymax will accelerate market entry, streamline procurement, and enable delivery of better and more durable offering.

In March 2020, P2i, which is a leading player in the market, announced the signing of an agreement with Samsung intended to deploy Barrier nanocoating technology across numerous smartphone designs, to enhance liquid and water protection to the internal components of specific Samsung Galaxy smartphones. P2i’s Barrier is a next-generation waterproofing technology, which provides higher levels of liquid protection and protects components, despite water leakage into a device.

Source: Marketysers Global Consulting LLP Chemical Today Magazine | December 2021

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REPORTS OXO ALCOHOLS MARKET

PLASTICIZERS DEMAND TO PROPEL OXO ALCOHOLS MARKET GROWTH

Nanocoating has made it possible to waterproof any material – from cars to sustainable textiles, and to buildings. It offers protection from scratches, corrosion and graffiti. Irrespective of surface, nanocoatings improve durability and lifespan of any object. (Representative Image © Pixabay GmbH)

Industry Overview Global oxo alcohols market size surpassed $17.5 billion in 2020 and is projected to grow at over 5 percent CAGR from 2021 to 2027 due to increasing demand for acrylate to produce acrylate polymers.

Increasing demand for plasticizers in various industries, such as automotive, construction, and consumer goods, is creating favorable conditions for the market.

Oxo alcohol is a type of alcohol that is produced by adding carbon monoxide along with hydrogen to an olefin to produce an aldehyde

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by using the hydroformylation reaction. After this, the aldehyde is hydrogenated to obtain the alcohol. Increasing demand for plasticizers in packaging and construction industries coupled with expanding application scope in various solvent formulations is expected to propel the oxo alcohols market.

Solvent formulations are used in printing inks and as additives in polishes & cleaners. These products are hydrogenated aldehydes that are manufactured by addition of carbon mono oxide and hydrogen to an olefin.

Main raw materials used in the commercial production of oxo alcohols are propylene, acetylene, and ethylene. These materials act as intermediates in the production of solvents, ether, acetates, as well as plasticizers. They are mainly derived from petrochemical-based feedstocks; thus, any fluctuation in the crude oil index is expected to disturb the supply chain of the market as well as the market profitability.

concrete, and ester-based plastics is anticipated to accelerate the oxo alcohols market value over the foreseeable timeframe.

The oxo alcohols market share from 2-Ethylhexanol product will exceed $12.5 billion by 2027. 2-Ethylhexanol is a colorless liquid that is low in terms of solubility in water but is highly soluble in most of the organic solvents. It is highly used in downstream applications such as in production of 2-Ethyl Hexyl Acrylate and Di-2-Ethyl Hexyl Phthalate (DEHP). These products help to lower the emission rates as well as increase the fuel performance due to which they are highly used in the petrochemical industry; thus, owing to rising consumption in the petrochemical industry, 2-Ethylhexanol product is expected to propel over the forecast period.

The Asia Pacific is poised to surpass $11 billion by the end of 2027 due to the high availability of low-cost labor as well as raw materials.

The region also has less strict regulations compared to North America and Europe, propelling the market growth. Oxo alcohols demand in China is very high owing to large-scale industrialization.

China also has an extensive demand for coatings, paints, adhesives & varnishes as well as reinforced regional construction spending.

It also has a growing automobile sector that consumes a high level of lubricants. These factors along with low-cost production with relaxed government regulations are expected to boost the oxo alcohols market growth during the forecast period.

Lube oil additive application is expected to witness growth at over 3.5 percent during the forecast period. The rising demand for efficient lubrication systems from machinery and automobiles is expected to propel the market growth. These products act as dispersants and synthesis intermediates, increasing their demand in lubricants and propelling the oxo alcohols market.

India and Malaysia are the major growth markets in this region owing to rapid industrialization. Increasing foreign investments and supporting government initiatives are helping these countries to propel the market during the foreseeable timeframe.

Rising inclination toward expansion strategy to propel market

Oxo alcohols market from plasticizers application will surpass $10.5 billion by 2027. Plasticizers are treated as additives to increase the plasticity or fluidity of the product. Most of the plasticizers are primarily used to produce Polyvinyl Chloride (PVC) products that are used in various applications such as flooring, PVC films, and wire & cables; thus, plasticizers are dominating the market owing to their strong foot hold in the polymer industry.

Plasticizers when included in polymers increase the viscosity, plasticity, and decrease the molecular attraction between polymeric chains, making the polymers more flexible as well as durable; thus, the rising demand for PVC, flexible wallboard, plasticizer-based

The oxo alcohols industry is competitive and includes various players such as LG Chem, Grupa Azoty ZAK SA, The Dow Chemical Company, OXEA GmbH, Evonik Industries, Perstorp Group, BASF, Sasol, Hanwha Chemical Corporation, Eastman Chemical, Elekeiroz, Andhra Petrochemicals, Bax Chemicals and ExxonMobil Corporation. The companies are focusing on expansion strategy by increasing their production capacity. This factor is helping them to meet the demand-supply gap and sustain in the market.

Moreover, the companies are also focusing on expanding their manufacturing plants toward Southeast Asian countries as this will lower their production cost and increase the profit margin.

Furthermore, it will also help to avoid strict environmental protection regulations from North America and Europe without compromising on their business.

Source: Global Market Insights Inc

Chemical Today Magazine | December 2021

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REPORTS PHARMACEUTICAL INTERMEDIATES

GMP SEGMENT TO GROW FASTEST IN PHARMACEUTICAL INTERMEDIATES MARKET

Nanocoating has made it possible to waterproof any material – from cars to sustainable textiles, and to buildings. It offers protection from scratches, corrosion and graffiti. Irrespective of surface, nanocoatings improve durability and lifespan of any object. (Representative Image © Pixabay GmbH)

Key Insights

Competition Landscape and Key Development

According to a new research study the pharmaceutical intermediates market size is projected to reach $37,290.33 million by 2028 from $27,356.70 million in 2020; it is expected to grow at a CAGR of 4.2 percent during 2020–2028.

Pfizer Inc, Dishman Group, Dextra Laboratories Limited, Sanofi Winthrop Industries SA, Vertellus Holdings LLC, BASF SE, Lianhetech, Codexis, Midas Pharma GmbH, and Chiracon GmbH are among the key companies operating in the pharmaceutical intermediates market. Leading players are focusing on the new product launch, expansion and diversification of their market presence, and acquisition of new customer base, thereby tapping prevailing business opportunities.

Segmental Overview Based on type, the GMP segment held a larger share of the pharmaceutical intermediates market in 2020. Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP) are regulations by the US Food and Drug Administration that ensure that pharmaceutical products are consistently produced as per the defined quality standards.

These regulations are designed to reduce the risks involved in the production of pharmaceuticals. Under the GMP guidelines, all aspects of manufacturing— from the raw materials, premises, and equipment to the training and personal hygiene of the staff—are covered.

Detailed written procedures are crucial for each process that might affect the quality of the final product. The growing developments are likely to develop such systems that would offer documented proof that correct procedures are constantly followed at every step in the manufacturing process - every time the product is produced.

The market for the GMP segment is expected to grow at the fastest CAGR during the forecast period owing to continuously ongoing developments in GMP.

Increasing Adoption of AI-based Tools for Drug Discovery Artificial intelligence (AI) is emerging as important tool as it helps understand the action mechanism of drugs. The use of AI tools has already been proven to accelerate the process of discovering new therapeutic candidates; the process that earlier used to take years for completion can now be accomplished within months using the AI. In addition to reducing the timelines of drug discovery, AI also helps enhance the agility of the research process, increase the accuracy of predictions regarding drug efficacy and safety, and boost the speed and precision of discovery as well as preclinical testing, thereby enabling more competitive R&D strategies.

Many of pharmaceutical players are collaborating with AI companies for drug discovery. For instance, In June 2017, Genentech collaborated with GNS Healthcare to use the proprietary REFS casual machine learning and simulation AI platform of the later to identify and validate novel cancer drug targets. Similarly, GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) collaborated with Insilico Medicine, a Baltimore-based AIdriven company, to explore the AI capability of Insilico for easing the process of identification of novel biological targets.

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In December 2019, Vertellus acquired Bercen Chemicals, a leading US-based supplier of alkyl succinic anhydrides and additives used in the fuel, lubricant, and paper industries. On the back of this acquisition, Vertellus is aiming to expand its offerings for the North American market, along with serving the global fuel and lubricant additives market more effectively.

In July 2019, BASF planned to invest in its second production plant for test-Butylamine (tBA) at BASF Specialty Chemicals Co Ltd (BSNJ) in Nanjing, China. With this expansion, BASF’s global annual production capacity of tBA would increase by more than 30 percent. The plant is likely to resume operations in 2022 and would adopt advanced technologies of BASF to ensure the minimal generation of by-products in an advanced production process. BASF also operates tBA production plants in Antwerp, Belgium, and Geismar, Louisiana, US. In 2020, North America dominated the pharmaceutical intermediates market. The market growth in the region is credited to the factors such as increasing demand for pharmaceutical intermediates to produce APIs and growing support through initiatives to enhance pharmaceutical production, in addition to the factors driving the global market. Also, the growing pharmaceuticals industry in a Mexico is serving significant growth opportunities for the market players in the region.

Based on type, the pharmaceutical intermediates market is segmented into GMP and non-GMP. The GMP segment held a larger share of the market in 2020 and is anticipated to register a higher CAGR in the market during the forecast period. The pharmaceutical intermediates market, by application, is segmented into antibiotics, antipyretic analgesics, vitamins, and others. The antibiotics segment held the largest share of the market in 2020, whereas the vitamins segment is anticipated to register the highest CAGR during the forecast period. Based on distribution channel, the pharmaceutical intermediates market is segmented as distributors and direct sales.

The direct sales segment held a larger share of the market in 2020, while the distributor segment is estimated to register a higher CAGR during 2020–2028.

Source: The Insight Partners

REPORTS POLYPROPYLENE

USE OF POLYPROPYLENE IN PACKAGING INDUSTRY TO DRIVE GROWTH

The rising demand for rigid sustainable packaging is driving the market for polypropylene. (Representative Image © Pixabay GmbH)

Market Overview The global polypropylene market was valued at $94.3 billion revenue in 2020, and it is expected to grow at a CAGR of 5.7 percent during 2020–2030. The major factors driving the growth of the market are the expanding non-woven polypropylene fiber industry, and increasing usage of polypropylene in packaging industry.

to-weight ratio, meaning it is stiffer and stronger than copolymer polypropylene. These properties, combined with good chemical resistance and weldability make it a material of choice in many corrosion-resistant structures.

Due to COVID-19, the demand for plastics from various end-use industries reduced in 2020. The pandemic, along with the reducing crude price, has dramatically changed the chemical production dynamics. Owing to the implementation of lockdown in various countries, the production plants were shut down in order to curtail the spread of the disease.

The falling demand for polypropylene hit the global polypropylene market in 2020. However, the emergence of new opportunities in the market, including polypropylene gloves, nonwoven polypropylene for N95 masks, and polypropylene plungers in the medical industry, drove the market growth. Apart from this, the falling price of crude oil created opportunities for the production of polypropylene at low prices; however, due to the curtailment of plant operations and hampering of the supply chain, production was somehow not possible. In present times, due to the widespread acceptance of polypropylene in the packaging industry, the market is recovering, and it is expected to witness significant growth in the coming years.

Homopolymers dominated propylene market in 2020 The homopolymer category accounted for the larger value share in the polypropylene market, in 2020, on the basis of type. The homopolymer category is further projected to continue to lead the market during the forecast period. This is majorly attributed to the fact that homopolymer polypropylene has a high strength-

Chemical Today Magazine | December 2021

Homopolymers dominated propylene market in 2020 The homopolymer category accounted for the larger value share in the polypropylene market, in 2020, on the basis of type. The homopolymer category is further projected to continue to lead the market during the forecast period. This is majorly attributed to the fact that homopolymer polypropylene has a high strengthto-weight ratio, meaning it is stiffer and stronger than copolymer polypropylene. These properties, combined with good chemical resistance and weldability make it a material of choice in many corrosion-resistant structures.

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Injection molding category forms largest market share in 2020

Increasing use of polypropylene in packaging Industry to drive growth

The injection molding category accounted for the largest share of the market for polypropylene, both in terms of volume and value, in 2020, and it is expected to retain its dominance in the coming years, on the basis of application. This is attributed to the highvolume consumption of polypropylene in the manufacturing of articles of different sizes and shapes through injection molding to create household goods, automotive & marine parts, and recreational vehicle (RV) products. Hence, the rising demand for molded products, such as rigid containers, will drive the market growth in this category during the forecast period.

The plastic packaging industry is growing at a rapid pace owing to the surging demand for food & beverage and industrial packaging.

According to Plastics Europe, an association of plastic manufacturers, global plastic production was 368 million tons in 2019 owing to the rising demand for plastics in the packaging and building & construction markets. Among all types of plastics, polypropylene held the largest share owing to its wide applications in food packaging, hinged caps, microwave containers, pipes, automotive parts, and banknotes.

Packaging industry domination

Furthermore, the advancements in technologies, rise in the consumer demand for health and wellness products, urbanization, busy lifestyle, and increase in the number of single-person households are shaping packaging trends. Brand owners and retailers are also responding to the consumer demand for more-sustainable packaging products, which are produced by polypropylene resin due to its high tensile strength. Hence, the rising demand for rigid sustainable packaging is driving the market for polypropylene.

expected

to

continue

The packaging category generated the highest revenue in 2020, and it is expected to continue to dominate the polypropylene market during the forecast period, under the end use segment. This is because polypropylene is a widely used plastic for packaging, especially food packaging, where the food and beverages are in direct contact with it. Being a rugged polymer, it is resistant to many chemical solvents, therefore considered safe for several food packaging containers, such as injection-molded pots, thermoformed pots, and thermoformed trays.

Asia-Pacific (APAC) region Is expected to retain its top position APAC led the global polypropylene market in 2020, and it is expected to remain the largest market during the forecast period.

This is attributed to the increasing government spending on research and development of new polypropylene applications. In addition, the rising consumption of flexible food packaging and electrical components in China is creating a huge demand for polypropylene in the region.

Growing nonwoven polypropylene fiber Industry Is also propelling market The nonwoven polypropylene fiber industry is growing which is leading to a significant growth of the polypropylene market, owing to the rising demand for polypropylene staple fibers in needle punch durables, which are consumed in the production of geotextiles, vehicle components, coating substrates, indoor & outdoor carpets, blankets, upholstered furnishing, and bedding.

Furthermore, the nonwoven industry majorly serves hygiene and medical applications, therefore, its consumption is surging owing to the rising demand for spun-bonded polypropylene for infant diapers, toddler training pants, feminine hygiene pads, and adult diapers.

The demand for this plastic in the healthcare and hygiene sector of Asian countries is rising owing to the surging disposable income and hygiene consciousness.

Source: Prescient & Strategic Intelligence Pvt Ltd

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REPORTS SPECIALTY CHEMICALS

PHARMA INGREDIENTS CONTINUES TO BE LARGEST SPECIALTY CHEMICALS MARKET SHARE

Specialty chemicals can be single-chemical formulations or entities whose composition greatly influences the performance of the customers’ product.

These chemicals are used on the basis of their function and performance. Shown here is a chemical plant (Image © Pixabay GmbH)

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pecialty chemicals are particular chemical products that help in providing variety of effects to various industries that they cater to such as textile, ink additives, construction, oil & gas, cosmetics, and food. Specialty chemicals can be single-chemical formulations or entities whose composition greatly influences the performance of the customers’ product. These chemicals are used on the basis of their function and performance.

Continuous R&D in this market has facilitated development of products with optimum and advanced features. This is one of the major factors that drives the growth of this market. With rapid industrialization, noticeable demand from Asian countries such as India and China have arisen. There has been rise in investments in construction and infrastructure development projects in Asia-Pacific.

Therefore, Asia-Pacific is considered as a favorable destination for the specialty chemical manufacturers; thereby, boosting the market growth. Whereas, variations in raw material cost and stringent regulations by the government are estimated to hamper the growth of the global specialty chemicals market.

CAGR of 5.0 percent from 2020 to 2027.

The global specialty chemicals market is segmented on the basis of type and region. Depending on type, the market is divided into agrochemicals, flavor ingredients, fragrances ingredients, dyes & pigments, personal care active ingredients, water treatment chemicals, construction chemicals, surfactants, textile chemicals, biobased chemicals, polymer additives, oil field chemicals, paper & pulp chemicals, electronic chemicals, specialty polymers, pharmaceutical ingredients, and others. Region wise, the specialty chemicals market is analyzed across North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific and LAMEA. The key players operating in the global specialty chemicals market are BASF SE, Dow Inc, Bayer AG, Evonik Industries AG, Lanxess AG, Solvay SA, Clariant AG, Huntsman International LLC, Albemarle Corporation, Nouryon, Sumitomo Chemical Company and Ashland LLC. Other companies in accordance with specialty chemicals market are Henkel Ag & Co KGAA, Merck & Co Inc, Sasol Limited, Koninklijke DSM NV, PPG Industries Inc, 3M, H B Fuller and others.

The global specialty chemicals market was valued at $711.0 billion in 2019, and is projected to reach $953.9 billion by 2027, growing at a

Chemical Today Magazine | December 2021

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By type, the pharmaceutical ingredients accounted for the largest specialty chemicals market share in 2019 and is anticipated to continue this trend during the forecast period. This is attributed to the numerous applications across the pharmaceutical industry such as manufacturing drugs for cardiovascular diseases, skin disorders, and Hughes syndrome. Pharmaceutical ingredients are basically active ingredients that are present in medicine products. They are manufactured from basic chemical compounds in large reactors in different manufacturing plants. After the base or chemical compound is processed it turns into an intermediate, which finally forms the pharmaceutical ingredient. Based on the production of specific pharmaceutical ingredient the number of intermediates varies from 1 to 10.

Moreover, agrochemical is expected to account for around one-eight market share. Increase in population base along with rise in demand for food is further demanding agrochemicals for the better crop production and protection, which further drives the growth of the specialty chemicals market during the forecast period. Furthermore, growing awareness among farmers toward the use of agrochemicals in farming fuels the growth of the market. With increase in urbanization and industrialization there is decrease in agriculture land, which leads to growth in demand for agrochemicals to increase the crop yield per acre of land; thereby, driving the growth of the specialty chemicals market during the forecast period On the basis of region, Asia-Pacific valued for 36.0 percent market share, holding the largest market share across all regions. This is attributed to the presence of key developing economies such as China, India, and Japan in this region, which registered the highest

market share in the specialty chemicals market in 2017. Specialty chemicals are used in the Asia-Pacific region in various applications such as paints & coatings, water treatment, personal care ingredients & cosmetics, electronics, agriculture, and others. These regions offer lucrative investment opportunities for overseas players.

In 2019, China was the largest market of specialty chemicals in Asia, accounting for around 38.9 percent share of the overall market. It was followed by India with 23.1 percent share of the overall market. The specialty chemical market, especially in India, is expected to exhibit dynamic growth during the forecast period. The Indian specialty chemicals industry is highly fragmented and comprises mainly smallto medium-scale companies. Moreover, the unprecedented increase in the use of water treatment chemicals has fueled the growth of the specialty chemicals industry in India.

Furthermore, improving standards of living in most of the developing countries, trade liberalization, growing demand for electronics, and advancements in process technology are the major factors that boost the growth of the specialty chemical industry. Moreover, rise in urbanization and industrialization in the countries such as China, India, and Japan drives the demand for paints & coatings, which further fuels the demand for construction chemicals, which in turn drives the specialty chemicals market during the forecast period. In addition, the demand for water treatment chemicals in Asia-Pacific region, especially in China and India, owing to rise in need for potable water in domestic and industrial applications due to increasing population is expected to fuel the demand for specialty chemicals market.

Source: Allied Market Research

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ACADEMIC R&D

LIGHT-POWERED CATALYST MIMICS PHOTOSYNTHESIS

By mimicking photosynthesis, MIT researchers have designed a new type of photocatalyst that can absorb light and use it to help catalyze a variety of chemical reactions that would otherwise be difficult to perform.

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y mimicking photosynthesis, the light-driven process that plants use to produce sugars, MIT researchers have designed a new type of photocatalyst that can absorb light and use it to drive a variety of chemical reactions.

The new type of catalyst, known as a biohybrid photocatalyst, contains a light-harvesting protein that absorbs light and transfers the energy to a metal-containing catalyst. This catalyst then uses the energy to perform reactions that could be useful for synthesizing pharmaceuticals or converting waste products into biofuels or other useful compounds.

“By replacing harmful conditions and reagents with light, photocatalysis can make pharmaceutical, agrochemical, and fuel synthesis more efficient and environmentally compatible,” said Gabriela Schlau-Cohen, an associate professor of chemistry at MIT and the senior author of the new study.

Working with colleagues at Princeton University and North Carolina State University, the researchers showed that the new photocatalyst could significantly boost the yield of the chemical reactions they tried. They also demonstrated that unlike existing photocatalysts, their new catalyst can absorb all wavelengths of light.

MIT graduate student Paul Cesana is the lead author of the paper, which appears today in the journal Chem.

High-energy reactions Most catalysts speed up reactions by lowering the energy barrier needed for the reaction to occur.

“In photocatalysis, the catalyst absorbs light energy to go to a much more highly excited electronic state. And through that energy, it introduces reactivity that would be prohibitively energy-intensive if all that were available were ground-state energy,” Schlau-Cohen says.

This is analogous to what plants do during photosynthesis. Plant cells’ photosynthetic machinery includes light-absorbing pigments such as chlorophyll that capture photons from sunlight. This energy is then transferred to other proteins that store the energy as ATP, and that energy is then used to produce carbohydrates.

In previous work on photocatalysts, researchers have used one molecule to perform both the light absorption and catalysis. To

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create their new biohybrid catalyst, the researchers decided to mimic photosynthesis and combine two separate elements: one to harvest light and another to catalyze the chemical reaction.

For the light-harvesting component, they used a protein called R-phycoerythrin (RPE), found in red algae. They attached this protein to a ruthenium-containing catalyst, which has been previously used for photocatalysis on its own.

Working with North Carolina State University researchers led by professor of chemistry Felix Castellano, Schlau-Cohen’s lab showed that the light-harvesting protein could effectively capture light and transfer it to the catalyst. Then, Princeton University researchers led by David MacMillan, a professor of chemistry and a recent recipient of the Nobel Prize in chemistry, tested the performance of the catalyst in two different types of chemical reactions. One is a thiol-ene coupling, which joins a thiol and an alkene to form a thioether, and the other replaces a leftover thiol group with methyl after peptide coupling.

The Princeton team showed that the new biohybrid catalyst could boost the yield of these reactions up to tenfold, compared to the ruthenium photocatalyst on its own.

Chemical synthesis This improved photocatalyst could be incorporated into chemical processes that use the two reactions tested in this study, the researchers said. Thiol-ene coupling is useful for creating compounds used in protein imaging and sensing, drug delivery, and biomolecule stability.

The researchers now plan to try swapping in different light harvesting proteins and catalysts, to adapt their approach for a variety of chemical reactions.

“We did a proof of principle where you can separate light harvesting and catalytic function. Now we want to think about varying the catalytic piece and varying the light-harvesting piece to expand that toolkit, to see if this approach can work in different solvents and in different reactions,” Schlau-Cohen said.

This work was supported as part of the Bioinspired Light-Escalated Chemistry (BioLEC) Energy Frontier Research Center, funded by the U.S. Department of Energy Office of Science.

SUSTAINABLE, BIODEGRADABLE GLITTER – FROM YOUR FRUIT BOWL

Researchers from University of Cambridge have found a way to make sustainable, non-toxic, vegan, and biodegradable glitter from cellulose – the main building block of cell walls in plants, fruits and vegetables – and it’s just as sparkly as the original.

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these materials at scale,” said first author Benjamin Droguet, also from Cambridge’s Yusuf Hamied Department of Chemistry.

Now, researchers from the University of Cambridge have found a way to make sustainable, non-toxic, vegan, and biodegradable glitter from cellulose – the main building block of cell walls in plants, fruits and vegetables – and it’s just as sparkly as the original.

By carefully optimising the cellulose solution and the coating parameters, the research team was able to fully control the selfassembly process, so that the material could be made on a roll-toroll machine. Their process is compatible with existing industrialscale machines.

The glitter is made from cellulose nanocrystals, which can bend light in such a way to create vivid colours through a process called structural colour. The same phenomenon produces some of the brightest colours in nature – such as those of butterfly wings and peacock feathers – and results in hues that do not fade, even after a century.

After producing the large-scale cellulose films, the researchers ground them into particles of the size used for making glitters or effect pigments. The resulting particles are biodegradable, plasticfree and non-toxic. The demonstration of the fabrication process on commercial equipment is an important step towards making the new material available outside the lab.

Using self-assembly techniques that allow the cellulose to produce intensely-coloured films, the researchers said their materials could be used to replace the plastic glitter particles and tiny mineral effect pigments which are widely used in cosmetics. In Europe, the cosmetics industry uses about 5,500 tonnes of microplastics every year.

In addition, the process is far less energy-intensive than conventional methods. When they do not use synthetic polymers, companies often use mica and titanium dioxide combined into an effect pigment. However, titanium dioxide has recently been banned in the EU for food application due to its potential carcinogenic effects, while the extraction of mica often takes place in developing countries that may rely on exploitative practices, including child labour.

litter is the bane of every parent and primary school teacher.

But beyond its general annoyance factor, it’s also made of toxic and unsustainable materials, and contributes to plastic pollution.

The films of cellulose nanocrystals prepared by the team can be made at scale using roll-to-roll processes like those used to make paper from wood pulp. This is the first time these materials have been fabricated at industrial scale. The results are reported in the journal Nature Materials.

“Conventional pigments, like your everyday glitter, are not produced sustainably,” said professor Silvia Vignolini from Cambridge’s Yusuf Hamied Department of Chemistry, the paper’s senior author.

For many years, Vignolini’s research group has been extracting cellulose from wood pulp and transforming it into shiny, colourful materials, which could be used to replace toxic pigments used in numerous consumer products, such as paints and cosmetics.

“The challenge has been how to control conditions so that we can manage all the physical-chemical interactions simultaneously, from the nanoscale up to several metres, so that we can produce

Chemical Today Magazine | December 2021

“Traditionally, effect pigment minerals have to be heated at temperatures as high as 800°C to form pigment particles. When you consider the quantity of mineral effect pigments that is produced worldwide, you realise that their use is harmful to the planet,” said Droguet.

“We believe this product could revolutionise the cosmetics industry by providing a fully sustainable, biodegradable and vegan pigment and glitter,” said Vignolini.

Although further optimisation of the process is still needed, the researchers are hoping to form a spin-out company to make their pigments and glitters commercially available in the coming years.

The research was funded in part by the European Research Council and the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC).

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ACADEMIC R&D

POLYMER DISCOVERY GIVES 3D-PRINTED SAND SUPER STRENGTH

A novel polymer developed at Oak Ridge National Laboratory strengthens sand for additive manufacturing applications. A 6.5 centimeter 3D-printed sand bridge, shown here, held 300 times its own weight.

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esearchers at the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory designed a novel polymer to bind and strengthen silica sand for binder jet additive manufacturing, a 3D-printing method used by industries for prototyping and part production.

The printable polymer enables sand structures with intricate geometries and exceptional strength – and is also water soluble.

The study, published in Nature Communications, demonstrates a 3D-printed sand bridge that at 6.5 centimeters can hold 300 times its own weight, a feat analogous to 12 Empire State Buildings sitting on the Brooklyn Bridge.

The binder jet printing process is cheaper and faster than other 3D-printing methods used by industry and makes it possible to create 3D structures from a variety of powdered materials, offering advantages in cost and scalability. The concept stems from inkjet printing, but instead of using ink, the printer head jets out a liquid polymer to bind a powdered material, such as sand, building up a 3D design layer by layer. The binding polymer is what gives the printed sand its strength.

The team used polymer expertise to tailor a polyethyleneimine, or PEI, binder that doubled the strength of sand parts compared with conventional binders.

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with cyanoacrylate to achieve exceptional strength,” said ORNL’s Tomonori Saito, a lead researcher on the project.

Parts formed with conventional binders are made denser with infiltrate materials, such as super glue, but none have reached close to the performance of the PEI binder. One potential application for the super-strength sand is to advance tooling for composites manufacturing.

Silica sand is a cheap, readily available material that has been gaining interest in automotive and aerospace sectors for creating composite parts. Lightweight materials, such as carbon fiber or fiberglass, are wrapped around 3D-printed sand cores, or “tools,” and cured with heat. Silica sand is attractive for tooling because it does not change dimensions when heated and because it offers a unique advantage in washable tooling.

“To ensure accuracy in tooling parts, you need a material that does not change shape during the process, which is why silica sand has been promising. The challenge has been to overcome structural weakness in sand parts,” said Dustin Gilmer, a University of Tennessee Bredesen Center student and the study’s lead author.

Stronger sand parts are needed to support manufacturing at a large scale and enable rapid part production.

Parts printed via binder jetting are initially porous when removed from the print bed. They can be strengthened by infiltrating the design with an additional super-glue material called cyanoacrylate that fills in the gaps.

“Our high-strength polymer sand composite elevates the complexity of parts that can be made with binder jetting methods, enabling more intricate geometries, and widens applications for manufacturing, tooling, and construction,” said Gilmer.

“Few polymers are suited to serve as a binder for this application.

We were looking for specific properties, such as solubility, that would give us the best result. Our key finding was in the unique molecular structure of our PEI binder that makes it reactive

The novel binder won a 2019 R&D 100 Award and has been licensed by industry partner ExOne for research. The work was sponsored by the DOE’s Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy and used resources supported by DOE’s Office of Science.

Chemical Today Magazine | December 2021

MAKING STRIDES TOWARD AN OFF-THE-SHELF IMMUNE CELL THERAPY FOR CANCER

An engineered HSC-iNKT cell (blue) attacking a human tumor cell.

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mmunotherapies, which harness the body’s natural defenses to combat disease, have revolutionized the treatment of aggressive and deadly cancers. But often, these therapies — especially those based on immune cells — must be tailored to the individual patient, costing valuable time and pushing their price into the hundreds of thousands of dollars.

Now, in a study published in the journal Cell Reports Medicine, University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) researchers report a critical step forward in the development of an “off-the-shelf ” cancer immunotherapy using rare but powerful immune cells that could potentially be produced in large quantities, stored for extended periods and safely used to treat a wide range of patients with various cancers.

“In order to reach the most patients, we want cell therapies that can be mass-produced, frozen and shipped to hospitals around the world,” said Lili Yang, a member of the Eli and Edythe Broad Center of Regenerative Medicine and Stem Cell Research at UCLA and the study’s senior author.

For the study, Yang and her colleagues focused on invariant natural killer T cells, or iNKT cells, which are unique not only for their power and efficacy but also because they don’t carry the risk of graft-versus-host disease.

The researchers developed a new method for producing large numbers of these iNKT cells using blood-forming stem cells, which can self-replicate and produce all kinds of blood and immune cells.

“Our findings suggest that one cord blood donation could produce up to 5,000 doses of the therapy and one peripheral blood donation could produce up to 300,000 doses,” said Yang, who is also an associate professor of microbiology, immunology and molecular genetics and a member of the UCLA Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center. ­­“At this yield, the cost of producing immune cell products could be dramatically reduced.”

Chemical Today Magazine | December 2021

The researchers first used genetic engineering to program the blood-forming stem cells to make them more likely to develop into iNKT cells. Next, these genetically engineered stem cells were placed into artificial thymic organoids, which mimic the environment of the thymus, a specialized organ in which T cells naturally mature in the body. After eight weeks in the organoids, each stem cell produced, on average, 100,000 iNKT cells.

In a lab dish, the hematopoietic stem cell-engineered iNKT cells, or HSC–iNKT cells were significantly better at killing multiple types of human tumor cells — including leukemia, melanoma, lung cancer, prostate cancer and multiple myeloma cells — than the NK cells, the researchers found. Also the HSC–iNKT cells sustained their tumor-killing efficacy after being frozen and thawed, important for an off-the-shelf cell therapy. The researchers are now working to improve their manufacturing methods by moving to a feederfree system.

The paper’s co–first authors are UCLA doctoral students YanRuide (Charlie) Li and Yang (Alice) Zhao. Additional authors include UCLA professors Dr. Sarah Larson, Dr. Joshua Sasine, Dr. Xiaoyan Wang, Matteo Pellegrini, Dr. Owen Witte and Dr. Antoni Ribas.

The methods and products described in this study are covered by patent applications filed by the UCLA Technology Development Group on behalf of the Regents of the University of California, with Yang, Li, Yu Jeong Kim, Jiaji Yu, Pin Wang, Yanni Zhu, Crooks, Montel-Hagen and Seet listed as co-inventors.

Funding for the study was provided by the National Institutes of Health, the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine, the Concern Foundation, the STOP CANCER Foundation, a UCLA Broad Stem Cell Research Center Rose Hills Foundation Innovator Grant and the Ablon Scholars Program.

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ACADEMIC R&D

CO2 SEPARATION BY SPECIAL MEMBRANES

Chemical engineer Menno Houben developed a new type of membrane that is more successful at removing CO2 from combustion gases under high pressure.

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orldwide, CO2-emissions must be reduced drastically and one way is separation of CO2 from industrial waste streams.

These membranes do not function properly at high pressure conditions however. Chemical engineer Menno Houben found the cause and optimized special membranes that allow separating CO2 at high pressure. He will defend his PhD thesis at the department of Chemical Engineering and Chemistry.

To prevent the worst impacts of climate change, the amount of atmospherical CO2 should be reduced. CO2 could be separated from natural gas and biogas, but also from industrial waste streams, to minimize atmospheric pollution. Diverse polymeric membranes are already developed for this kind of separation. However, these membranes do not function properly at high pressure conditions and therefore PhD-student Menno Houben investigated how a more efficient capture of CO2 could be realized.

Membranes without pores

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Swelling membrane According to Houben, the problems arise from plasticization, the swelling of the membrane due to the absorption of a lot of CO2. At higher pressures in particular, the membrane swells quickly and therefore functions much less well.

In addition, CO2 under high pressure is in the supercritical phase.

In this manifestation, the distinction between gas and liquid phase has disappeared and it has unique properties. Supercritical CO2 only occurs at relatively high temperature and pressure, precisely conditions in which separation membranes quickly plasticize.

Heat treatment Houben investigated the plasticization process at molecular level and found that especially at supercritical conditions, the membrane’s performance is mainly determined by the balance between the liquid properties of CO2 and plasticization.

If you want to separate CO2 using a membrane, you need pressure difference, Houben explained. “At a higher pressure, subsequently more gas will flow through the membrane. You might think of a kind of coffee filter containing microscopic pores, but the membranes we use for gas separation are quite different. They do not contain any pores and are often called dense membranes.”

“We also saw that stable membranes are a lot more resistant to plasticization and so the membrane remains well separated for longer. We obtained these stable membranes in three different ways: by mixing polymers, a heat treatment and by chemically cross-linking the membranes. All methods proved effective, but the membranes that had undergone heat treatment gave the most favorable properties.”

“These membranes can have a very high separation efficiency, but when the gas pressure goes up, problems arise and suddenly they are a lot less efficient. Tricky, because you need high pressure to keep productivity high. And natural gas, for example, is also under a high pressure in the ground.”

“This allowed us to make a stable membrane that works well at high pressures and does not plasticize as quickly. Now admittedly only on a lab scale, but hopefully these insights can start to be used in the development of new stable membranes for high-pressure applications.”

Chemical Today Magazine | December 2021

120-YEAR-OLD REACTION TURNED ON ITS HEAD WITH ENVIRONMENT-FRIENDLY, PASTE-BASED METHOD

(Left) Reaction mixture of magnesium metal and organohalide after one hour of ball milling. (Right) Same process, but with a small amount of organic solvent also added at the beginning.

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group of researchers led by scientists at Hokkaido University have developed a simpler, greener method for producing Grignard reagents—one of the most important and widely used type of reagents in the chemical industry—that drastically cuts down on the use of hazardous organic solvents and could lead to reduced production costs. This new process was reported in Nature Communications, November.

Grignard reagents are an essential ingredient in a common method for creating carbon-carbon bonds, the building blocks of organic molecules. These reagents were discovered 120 years ago, but due to their instability, the conventional production method still used today is carried out in toxic organic solvents and with no exposure to moisture and oxygen. This results in a complicated, delicate, and expensive process that produces environmentally hazardous waste.

Researchers sidestepped these problems by minimizing the amount of organic solvent used and by employing a mechanochemical technique called ball-milling to produce Grignard reagents. The reactants, magnesium metal and organohalides, were loaded into a metal chamber along with a stainless-steel ball. In a key step, a small amount of organic solvent—about one-10th the amount used in conventional methods—was added to the solid reactants. The chamber was then spun for one hour, causing the ball to tumble around and slam into the solid-state reactants, helping them to

Chemical Today Magazine | December 2021

mix thoroughly and react, forming a paste-like Grignard reagent.

Researchers even succeeded in creating new Grignard reagents using organohalides that have poor solubility in organic solvents, which can’t typically be made by the conventional method. Avoiding heavy use of organic solvents allowed the researchers to overcome solubility problems, which opens up a world of new reactions with Grignard reagents prepared from insoluble compounds. It also leads to a major reduction in hazardous waste.

Additionally, it is more difficult for water or oxygen to affect the Grignard reagents when less organic solvent is used. This means that removing water and oxygen from the surrounding air is not required, making the process easier to perform and less costly.

Given the potential economic and environmental benefits, this discovery could have a huge effect on chemical industries.

“With a growing need to address environmental concerns and reduce CO2 emissions, it is important to develop chemical reactions that don’t require organic solvents,” commented associate professor Koji Kubota. “Grignard reagents are arguably the most well-known, commonly used reagents in industry, and so our work could fundamentally change the way a vast number of chemicals are produced at scale, leading to significantly reduced impact on the environment.”

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Chemical Today Magazine | December 2021

IT IN CHEMICALS INDUSTRY 5.0

HOW INDUSTRY 5.0 WILL TRANSFORM PROCESS MANUFACTURING AS WE KNOW IT

A new wave of cognitive computing applications and infrastructure, collectively known as Industry 5.0, will transform chemical, pharmaceutical and biotechnology manufacturing, leading to speedy innovations in drug therapies and new drug discovery.

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here is no underestimating the impact that the process manufacturing industry has on society today. Process manufacturing deals with formulas and basic ingredients, as in biotech, pharma and chemical operations (contrasted with discrete manufacturing, which deals with assembled parts and bills of materials). Chemicals are ubiquitous in our automobiles, particularly EVs, and the new light-weight materials used to reduce carbon emissions, windmills and solar panels. On top of this, pharmaceuticals are saving lives with innovative drugs and vaccines.

But in the near future, a new wave of cognitive computing applications and infrastructure, collectively known as Industry 5.0, will transform chemical, pharmaceutical and biotechnology manufacturing, leading to innovations in drug therapies and dramatically accelerating new drug discovery.

Contributions Of Industry 4.0 These new “smart” applications in Industry 5.0 were made possible through computing design innovations and the evolution of the internet of things (IoT), a pillar of Industry 4.0, which describes the wave of industrial automation affecting manufacturing today. With the advent of Industry 4.0, the process industry has been redefined with a wave of intelligent applications consisting mainly of cyber-physical systems, in which applications interact via machine to machine. This evolution has been focused on sensors and data that have radicalized production and brought greater transparency to processes, particularly for a single product or batch.

While their contributions have been many, Industry 4.0 and industrial IoT concepts have their limitations. Traditionally focused on automation, they have only recognized the role of the human factor as simply another component, rather than an integral and creative contributor to the success of the process. Implementing machinery

Chemical Today Magazine | December 2021

has created fewer problems, but when things do not go as planned, the consequences may be greater. Machines can only deliver what they have been programmed to do. People, however, bring innovation and creativity, particularly in solving anomaly situations in complex and hazardous manufacturing processes.

Industry 5.0 Enhances The Human Factor The next step in the evolution of manufacturing processes is the notion of a machine-assisted human. This will involve today’s industrial IoT as well as the nascent industrial AI. Today, artificial intelligence has transformed the science in laboratories and in R&D. Now, these achievements are needed to support processes on the shop floor with powerful cognitive applications — that is, to make data useful for people so that people and machines can work together as teams to build a stronger, more resilient system.

A perfect example of this concept is Boeing’s new Airpower Teaming System. Nicknamed the “Loyal Wingman,” these smart team members are AI-controlled drones that can fly independently or in support of manned aircraft, thus expanding the abilities of military airborne missions. This expansion of human endeavors with machines is enabling a new level of machine-assisted human collaboration that will achieve far more than ever before.

Not just on the horizon, but already being implemented, as in the Boeing example, Industry 5.0 will deliver the recognition and acceptance that is needed to combine the speed and accuracy of technology with the creative and cognitive skills of people. This will promote a more robust and competitive environment. Coexistence opens up many new avenues for exploration, including exciting new job opportunities. For example, people will be even more removed from routine and monotonous tasks and will instead be empowered to use their inherent cognitive skills to bring even greater value to the plant floor.

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Industry 5.0 may even bring the development of new social contracts on the factory floor. While there will be communication between humans and their robots, there will also be the necessity for human-to-human collaboration to share the critical information that ensures resilience, accountability and compliance. For example, human lead operations can respond quickly to adverse events or even major disasters. In the end, people are responsible; machines are not.

Intelligent Plant Process Management This is where a concept like plant process management (PPM) comes into play. Machine data, reconciled with human context, ensures a safe and efficient plant. This requires a well-managed communications process such as PPM, which can be deployed across an enterprise no matter the sophistication levels of their local IoT implementations. A key advantage of PPM is its ability to capture and analyze information at any point in a manufacturing process.

Knowledge is captured from the people in the production process at intervals like shift handover or inspection routines. Digitally captured, this information can be immediately delivered to all constituents in the production process — from the plant floor all along the chain to the upper echelons of the organization, so there is complete transparency for all.

As Industry 5.0 proliferates manufacturing environments, we can expect to see the delegation of far more complex tasks to machines

in production plants as naturally as we say, “Alexa, play music!” at home today. At the same time, people will remain responsible for their manufacturing plants’ performance and held accountable for any and all decisions.

Since the Industry 3.0 wave that began some 40 years ago, manufacturers have chased the dream of the fully automated, lightsout operation. However, due to concerns regarding safety, environment and efficiency, this goal is both elusive and impractical, especially for pharma and chemical operations. The aim should rather be to use technology to enable people to use their natural talents and capabilities to increase productivity. But, in the future, successful manufacturing enterprises will implement technology that enables this humanmachine network together with a high degree of collaboration. This will ensure more transparency, reliability and visibility across all plant functions to help teams better communicate and optimize outcomes.

Human-centric technology that has been designed with people in mind enables organizational teams to improve productivity, cost efficiencies, quality and safety.

For manufacturers to energize the opportunities abundant in 5.0, decentralizing data capture with information and communication models is the foundational platform for success. But, most importantly, change management is best done with all constituents involved in the process — having them participate in decisions will provide a solid basis for buy-in.

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Chemical Today Magazine | December 2021

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IT IN CHEMICALS DIGITAL AGRICULTURE

IMPROVING DIGITAL CAPABILITIES FOR ADVANCED AGRICULTURE

Bayer agronomic expertise and leading digital farming platform, combined with Microsoft Azure, form the foundation for new digital solutions to advance agriculture and adjacent industries.

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ayer announced a strategic partnership with Microsoft to build a new cloud-based set of digital tools and data science solutions for use in agriculture and adjacent industries, bringing new infrastructure and foundational capabilities to accelerate innovation, boost efficiency and support sustainability across value chains.

Agriculture and agribusinesses today benefit from a wide range of digital tools and data-powered insights through platforms like Bayer’s Climate FieldView™ – used today on more than 180 million farming acres across more than 20 countries. Still, there is work to do to optimize the entire food, feed, fuel and fiber value chain and its use of the precious natural resources required to power the planet while ensuring broader efforts to combat climate change. Under the agreement, Bayer will work with Microsoft to co-develop new solutions that address critical industry scenarios such as farming operations, sustainable sourcing, manufacturing and supply chain improvement, and ESG monitoring and measurement.

The companies will do this by developing the go-forward infrastructure for digital farming solutions and data science capabilities. These new solutions and capabilities will be available to businesses – from startups to global enterprises – in agriculture and adjacent industries for use in their own offerings. Bayer will also migrate its digital farming core capabilities to the new infrastructure for its own customer-facing solutions. The partnership builds upon a longstanding relationship between Bayer and Microsoft, and a shared commitment to data privacy, cyber security and customer trust.

“This partnership comes at a unique point in time where increased innovation is sorely needed across the food and fiber value chain,” said Liam Condon, member of the board of management of Bayer AG and president of Bayer Crop Science. “As we cope with an ongoing global

Chemical Today Magazine | December 2021

pandemic, fragile supply chains and the continuing climate catastrophe, status quo will not suffice. We need collaboration, shared vision and action. For those reasons, Bayer and Microsoft are taking action to make a positive impact, both through our own collaboration as well as by offering off-the-shelf infrastructure and digital capabilities for other companies to address the enormous challenges facing our society.”

“As agriculture and technology entrepreneurs and organizations work to advance the security and sustainability of the value chain – supporting farmers at its foundation – collaboration is required,” said Jeremy Williams, head of The Climate Corporation and Bayer Digital Farming Solutions. “Bayer is pioneering digital innovation within agriculture.

Microsoft is setting the standard in trusted, global cloud solutions.

Together, we can innovate and implement as a team to deliver the food, feed, fiber and fuel needed to power our planet.”

“Like every industry, farming and the food sector are undergoing rapid digital transformation, from autonomous tractors, to AI-based digital advisories, and scalable precision agriculture,” said Ravi Krishnaswamy, corporate vice president, Azure Global Industry at Microsoft. “We’re excited to partner with Bayer to accelerate this transformation and unlock even greater agricultural innovation by bringing together datadriven insights with Bayer’s agronomic expertise and the power of Microsoft Azure.”

This partnership is a significant, strategic step forward in accomplishing Bayer’s ambitious target of 100-percent digitally enabled sales in the Crop Science division by 2030 and accelerating its ability to deliver outcomes-based, digitally enabled solutions to customers. Bayer is committed to setting a new standard for the industry in data-driven, digital innovation.

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IT IN CHEMICALS COSMETICS

HOW THE BEAUTY INDUSTRY IS BEING TRANSFORMED BY TECHNOLOGICAL INNOVATION

Using technology innovation, L’Oréal is improving its global performance by providing greater agility and flexibility for the consumer, while simplifying and facilitating the everyday tasks of employees and enabling better ergonomics.

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oday more than ever before, technological innovation is at the heart of the value chain, contributing to L’Oréal’s global performance by providing greater agility and flexibility for the consumer, while simplifying and facilitating the everyday tasks of employees and enabling better ergonomics.

Innovating means relying on the expertise of the teams, accrued over more than 100 years, and on the latest available 4.0 technology with cutting-edge capabilities, to create the most efficient conditions and solutions for employees and consumers.

While technological innovation concerns all fields of an industrial group – research, environment, design, production, digital – it is

also crucial for operations and its performance. It is omnipresent throughout the product value chain, from design to distribution, and in product development and manufacturing.

Innovating in design To speed up product design, the company has equipped its packaging laboratories with the latest 4.0 technologies. For prototype validation during the project phase, operations teams can now design 3D printing models in a few hours (more than 9,200 models created in 2018) and use new virtual simulation tools for drop tests and transport and endurance tests, thus meeting more exacting requirements and enabling a substantial time gain.

Innovating in production In the factories, the technicians and operators controlling packaging lines know exactly what their tools can do and are therefore in the best position to say which technological innovations would be most useful.

Vincent Gregoire, operator, helped create a mobile app to control the packaging line in the Libramont hair colour plant in Belgium.

Innovating in the supply chain To respond to variations in markets and consumer expectations, L’Oréal is automating and optimising the flows in its distribution centres, located in more than 50 countries. Thanks to cutting-edge Industry 4.0 facilities that simplify order preparation, L’Oréal is now able to deliver one order every two seconds, and thus to supply more than 500,000 delivery points all over the planet.

Here too we are introducing the latest 4.0 technologies to boost performance while facilitating the tasks of our employees: in 2018, for example, L’Oréal tested the use of an autonomous drone to compile inventories in its distribution centres. An initial pilot scheme was rolled out in the International Active Cosmetics distribution centre at Vichy, enabling greater agility and better stock management.

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Chemical Today Magazine | December 2021

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JOBS Process Engineer - Hydrocracker

Company: Saudi Arabian Oil Company Date Posted: 07-Dec-2021 Country: NSAUDI ARABIA City: Dhahran

Senior Scientist - Waterborne

Company: Axalta Coating Systems Date Posted: 07-Dec-2021 Country: UNITED STATES City: Minneapolis , MN

Quality Control Analyst Company: F. Hoffmann-La Roche Ltd Date Posted: 07-Dec-2021 Country: UNITED STATES City: Indianapolis, IN

Job Description: Provide support services and troubleshoot any problems that arise with manufacturing.

Assist in improving the quality of products and reducing production costs. Inspect and review operating activities and determine production schedules. Perform optimization analysis, forecasts, economic reviews and evaluations on equipment / projects, operations and system operating strategies.

Job Description: Lead technical programs related to product development and customer support within a team environment. Responsible for development and implementation of new product formulations across a range of coating technologies and industrial wood markets, including initial definition with the customer, scale-up with Manufacturing and optimization of performance at the customer site.

Job Description: Participate in the preparation of investigations, summaries and reports. Review data obtained for compliance to specifications and report abnormalities and revise and update standard operating procedures as needed. Resolve technical issues that operators encounter during testing, driving improvements to the process if necessary. Perform non-standard analysis of data using appropriate statistical methods and applications as necessary.

Electrochemist Company: The Lubrizol Corporation Date Posted: 06-Dec-2021 Country: UNITED STATES City: Wickliffe, OH,

Job Description: Invent, synthesize, and develop new chemical products and materials as they relate to energy storage and/or electrochemical manufacturing processes. Perform and interpret the results of electrochemical testing. Develop structure-performance relationships. Perform independent research in a multidisciplinary environment on complex issues.

Analytical Research Chemist Company: Akzo Nobel N.V. Date Posted: 06-Dec-2021 Country: UNITED STATES City: Reading, PA,

Job Description: Apply scientific principles to perform routine analysis and characterization of samples.

Provide immediate, active direct support for production and customer problems, in order to rapidly identify root cause and implement permanent corrective action. Provide guidance and training on test methods and control of equipment to customers and AkzoNobel personnel from other international locations. Oversee and undertake testing projects for internal and external customers.

Urethane Development Chemist/Engineer Company: PPG Industries, Inc. Date Posted: 04-Dec-2021 Country: UNITED STATES City: Cheswick, PA,

Job Description: Contribute toward developing process improvements and new processes for urethane manufacturing at all Aerospace Transparencies locations. Perform routine and unscheduled maintenance on equipment to ensure safe and efficient operation. Ensure consistency to all applicable environmental, health and safety laws, standards, and policies to help eliminate health hazards to prevent work stoppage and time loss due to accidents. Actively maintain awareness and engagement in casting production and downstream manufacturing.

Research Analytical Chemist

Job Description: Develop analytical methods to support progression of the synthetic molecule portfolio.

Evaluate and/or implement new analytical technologies/methods to advance Lilly’s current analytical capabilities for bioproduct testing with a focus on state-of-the-art separation sciences capabilities.

Generate key data and information applying HPLC, UHPLC, GC, and LCMS in collaboration with engineering, chemistry and pharmaceutical scientists.

Company: Eli Lilly and Company Limited Date Posted: 04-Dec-2021 Country: UNITED STATES City: Indianapolis, IN,

Project Engineer Company: Exxon Mobil Corporation Date Posted: 10-Nov-2021 Country: INDIA City: Bengaluru,

Job Description: Responsible for the completion of the assigned work scope consistent with the project’s objectives. Oversee FEED level engineering, procurement and execution planning through to completion and start up. Participate in ITT development, bid evaluation, and contractor selection.

Participate in identification and sourcing and management of long lead equipment. Coordinate development of Project Management System deliverables as well as reviews. Coordinate project issues identification and resolution process. Ensure smooth transitions between project stages, across sites and between key stakeholders.

R&D Technician Company: Ferro Corporation Date Posted: 03-Dec-2021 Country: UNITED STATES City: King of Prussia, PA,

Job Description: Perform laboratory work involving development and scale up of processes for electronic material products as assigned. Batch formulas, process into products, perform applicable tests, create lot records, communicate results and observations to the Engineer/Scientist, and perform any necessary adjustments independently. Participate in the design of experiments and analysis of experimental results.

Understand processes, Vista documentation trail from shop order, plant packs, requisitions of raw materials, lot numbering, specifications, tagging, Certificate of Analysis, shipping, etc.

Website: http://www.worldofchemicals.com/chemical-jobs.html

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Chemical Today Magazine | December 2021

Chemical Today Magazine | December 2021

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PRODUCTS WRITE UP

ASPEN TECH’S NEW SOFTWARE HELPS COMPANIES TRACK SUSTAINABILITY EFFORTS

Aspen Technology Inc has released its newest software aspenONE® V12 giving companies new sustainability models and product capabilities that accelerate digitalization efforts in support of their sustainability initiatives.

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EDFORD, US: Aspen Technology Inc announced the availability of the newest aspenONE® V12 software release. The release, V12.2, gives companies new sustainability models and product capabilities that accelerate digitalization efforts in support of their sustainability initiatives.

The aspenONE® V12 solutions now include more than 50 models, including many that provide insight into where operational efficiencies can be improved upon in support of Scope 1 and 2 CO2 emission reduction targets. Using these models, customers can identify how to reduce emissions across the entire value chain; reduce usage of energy, water and feedstocks; transition to new energy sources like biofuels and hydrogen; and enable the circular economy through processes such as plastics recycling and waste-to-chemicals.

“Meeting CO2 emission reduction milestones in the quest to become carbon neutral requires companies to capture operational efficiencies by leveraging and deploying digital capabilities that deliver the insights needed to quickly and easily make adjustments to stay on track,” said David Arbeitel, senior vice president of product management at AspenTech. “The new release also provides a wide range of usability enhancements across our product portfolio to deliver faster time-tovalue and drive high value business outcomes.”

“AspenTech’s new release shows a commitment to innovation with new software to jumpstart customers’ sustainability programs. By building sustainability into existing software and adding a multitude of new sample models, AspenTech is demonstrating industry leadership in helping customers address material recycling, emissions reduction,

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Chemical Today Magazine | December 2021

hydrogen, carbon capture and bio-based feedstocks,” said Peter Reynolds, principal analyst, ARC Advisory Group.

In addition to sustainability models, the new release includes a range of product enhancements and capabilities designed to provide intuitive usability, faster time-to-value and collaboration across the value chain.

These include: - Aspen GDOTTM for Olefins – Optimize an entire olefins site with closed-loop dynamic optimization that improves energy efficiency, reduces CO2 emissions and maximizes profitability. An intuitive flowsheet environment simplifies model building, deployment and maintenance and aligns planning with operations to optimize production.

- Aspen Production Execution Manager (APEM) – Execute work orders faster, achieve consistent, high product quality, and maintain regulatory compliance. The new APEM Mobile web application provides mobility and an intuitive touchscreen experience that ensures efficient, accurate execution and high-speed performance with 5X faster optimized workflows.

- Aspen Supply Chain Management (SCM) Insights – Collaborate cross-functionally with stakeholders across the supply chain, within one flexible environment, designed to digitally operationalize monthly Sales & Operations Planning (S&OP) / Integrated Business Planning (IBP) processes to deliver high value business outcomes.

- Aspen UnscramblerTM – Gain faster, more insightful analysis through new capabilities to preprocess and manipulate batch data, including significant speed improvements for faster analysis of big datasets.

PRODUCTS

Three new matting agents based on precipitated silica E

vonik’s Coating Additives Business Line is expanding its well-known ACEMATT® product line with three particularly efficient and universally applicable matting agents based on precipitated silica: The fine-particle products ACEMATT® OK 390 and ACEMATT® HK 390, and the particularly versatile silica ACEMATT® HK 520. The main applications are coatings for plastics, for example on laptops or smartphones, and wood coatings, for example on parquet flooring, tabletops or kitchen countertops. In wood applications especially, it is visually very appealing to see the grain showing through the transparent coating. In automotive interior applications, such as dashboards and trim, the matting silica also provides a glare-free matte surface.

Contact: Evonik Industries AG Rellinghauser Strasse 1-11 45128 Essen, Germany Tel: +49 201 177-01 Email: thomas.lange2@evonik.com Web: www.evonik.com

Single Granule - complete nutrition solution for onion farmers S

martchem Technologies Ltd (STL), a Deepak Fertilisers And Petrochemicals Corporation Ltd (DFPCL) subsidiary, launched its fertilizer – ‘CROPTEK’ for onion growers under its flagship brand Mahadhan. ‘Mahadhan Croptek’ is the foremost brand for onion progressive farmers who use secondary nutrients and micronutrients in Maharashtra and Karnataka. It is the first and unique crop-specific crop nutrition solution having essential primary, secondary and micronutrients required by the onion crop. Mahadhan Croptek’s single granule provides all the essential nutrients of an NPK fertilizer with Zn, B, Mg, S and micronutrients. Studies show that it provides an additional 10-12 percent yield for an onion farmer, while saving up to 20 percent of his fertilizer cost Contact: Smartchem Technologies Limited Mahadhan, No. 93, Sai Hira Apartments, Survey Number 2, Magarpatta City, Mundhwa, Pune 411036, India.

Tel No: +91 20 6645 8145 E-Mail: manish.gupta@dfpcl.com Web: http://smartchem.co.in/

Chemical Today Magazine | December 2021

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New sustainable high-performance plastic L

ANXESS is increasingly turning to “circular” and bio-based raw materials. The latest product is Durethan BLUEBKV60H2.0EF. 92 percent of the raw materials used in this easy-flowing compound have been replaced with sustainable alternatives. The brand label identifies products that either consist of at least 50 percent circular (recycled or biobased) raw materials, or whose carbon footprint is at least 50 percent lower than that of conventional products. One of the raw materials used in the production of this polyamide-6-based high-performance plastic is cyclohexane from sustainable sources – meaning cyclohexane that is either bio-based, recycled bio-based or produced by means of chemical recycling.

Contact: Lanxess AG Kennedypl. 1, 50679 Koln, Germany Tel: +49 221 88850 Email: lanxess-info@lanxess.com Web: https://lanxess.com

Innovative varnish solutions to enhance resistance of printed labels S

un Chemical introduced new range of durable UV varnishes for enhancing the label resistance of HP Indigo digitally printed pressure-sensitive labels for products such as personal care, household, chemical, beverage and pharma applications. The new range of varnishes was specifically formulated to provide adhesion to HP Indigo ElectroInk and has been designed to provide high levels of mechanical durability on HP Indigo printed labels. The solution delivers mechanical, chemical, water and thermal resistance withstanding vigorous bottle-to-bottle scuffing test, making the range the ideal choice for ensuring high durability, and in some instances offering a cost-effective and benefit from sustainability advantages alternative to cumbersome lamination processes.

Contact: Sun Chemical Corporation 35 Waterview Boulevard Parsippany, NJ 07054-1285, USA Web: www.sunchemical.com

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Chemical Today Magazine | December 2021

EQUIPMENT Miniflex XPC suited for routine quality control operations

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igaku Corporation introduced MiniFlex XpC X-ray diffractometer (XRD) which has been optimized for highthroughput quality control applications in industrial environments, bringing lab quality performance to the manufacturing floor.

Primarily designed for the cement industry, it is also suited for applications in pharmaceuticals, batteries and production of other materials where it can be integrated into online production workflows. To meet the demands of quality control in industry, the MiniFlex XpC provides rapid and accurate analyses, quickly identifying variations in composition. Speedy analysis is made possible by combining a specifically designed X-ray source and large area.

Contact: Rigaku Corporation 3-9-12, Matsubara-cho Akishima-shi, Tokyo 196-8666, Japan Tel: +81 3-3479-0618 Email: info-gsm@rigaku.co.jp Web: www.rigaku.com

Process solenoid valve for gas and liquid applications

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he valve specialist GEMU is optimizing the GEMU M75 process solenoid valve for gas and liquid applications, thereby increasing process reliability in production plants. Water hammers can therefore be clearly reduced, which increases product service life as well as plant reliability. Dynamic and static pressure forces are compensated for by the innovative double bellows principle.

As a result, the new valve with the very compact coil can be used for processes with an operating pressure of up to 6 bar. The fast operating times make the valve particularly suitable for dosing steps in mixing technology, whether in the chemical industry, water treatment, washing and cleaning installations or electroplating.

Contact: GEMU Gebruder Muller Apparatebau GmbH & Co. KG Fritz-Muller- Strasse 6-8 74653 Ingelfingen-Criesbach, Germany Tel: +49-79 40 - 123 0 Email: info@gemue.de Web: www.gemu-group.com

Adding ultra-high accuracy in humidity and temperature sensor

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ensirion launched two new versions of its fourth-generation humidity sensors. The SHT41 and SHT45 offer further improved humidity and temperature accuracy specifications, setting the new market and technology standard. The SHT4x series offers unmatched price-performance ratio. Tape and reel packaging, combined with its suitability for standard SMD assembly processes, make the SHT4x series ideal for high-volume applications. The exceptionally small size delivered in a robust DFN housing enables integration into challenging designs while meeting the highest reliability demands, as demonstrated by the JEDEC JESD47 qualification.

Contact: Sensirion AG Laubisruetistrasse 50 8712 Stafa, Switzerland Tel: +41 44 306 40 00 Email: info@sensirion.com Web: www.sensirion.com

Improve monitoring and additional control functionality for field devices

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ROHNE introduced the new SHD 200 control unit. It can be used with any 4…20mA/HART field device for monitoring of process parameters and additional control functionality in various industries. The SHD 200 features two programmable relays for status output, system alarm or limit switch functionality. By combining the input and output options, SHD 200 can be used for basic control applications: examples are displaying static and differential pressure with limit switch valve opening function in DP flow applications, simple dosing in pH value control applications or control of heating and cooling processes using the temperature values/ temperature difference of two temperature sensors.

Chemical Today Magazine | December 2021

Contact: KROHNE Messtechnik GmbH Ludwig-Krohne-Str. 5 47058 Duisburg, Germany Tel: +49 203 301 4511 Email: j.holtmann@krohne.com Web: https://krohne.com

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New tank cleaning nozzle for pharmaceutical applications

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lfa Laval revolutionizes tank cleaning for the hygienic fluid handling industries. The new Alfa Laval PlusClean® tank cleaning nozzle sets a new standard for the food, dairy, beverage, pharmaceutical, home and personal care industries.

Its unprecedented 100 percent tank cleaning coverage and up to 80 percent savings in water and cleaning media, provides a more sustainable and competitive alternative to traditional cleaning methods. The unique design of the new Alfa Laval nozzle delivers 100 percent cleaning coverage in shadow areas that other nozzles miss. In addition, there’s no risk of contamination which enables unmatched performance, well-suited for these demanding industries.

Contact: Alfa Laval Corporate AB Rudeboksvagen 1 SE-226 55 Lund, Sweden Tel: +46 46 36 65 00 Email: alfa.laval@alfalaval.com Web: www.alfalaval.com

Flow Meter for highly accurate and reliable flow measurement

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W-Lake Company introduced a Water Inline (WIN) Ultrasonic Flow Meter for highly accurate and reliable flow measurement of cooling water, condensing water, and water/glycol solutions. Designed for process cooling applications including industrial cooling circuits, the WIN Ultrasonic Flow Meter has no moving parts for long-term reliability and low maintenance costs.

By incorporating two wetted ultrasonic transducers that face each other directly in the flow tube, the ultrasonic flow meter reduces wear associated with moving parts and maximizes signal strength.

An innovative flow tube design simplifies installation in limited straight runs and ensures no obstruction in the flow path.

Contact: AW-Lake 2440 W. Corporate Preserve Dr. #600 Oak Creek, WI 53154 USA Tel: 414.574.4300 Email: info@aw-lake.com Web: https://aw-lake.com

New modular filter for battery chemical processes

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etso Outotec has launched a new modular filter to its Dual Media (DM) filter product family. The compact Metso Outotec DM1000 polishing filter is particularly suitable for removing and recovering organic compounds and solids in small stream feeds in battery chemicals processes. The DM1000 can be used as a traditional electrolyte filter in the extraction processes as well as for feed flow purification before crystallization in the metal crystallization processes. The benefits are it provides low energy consumption, it provides efficient recovery of organic compounds back to process and also provides quick and safe site installation as the filter comes ready assembled on a mounting skid.

Contact: Metso Outotec Corporation PO Box 1220, FI-00101, Helsinki, Finland Tel: +358 20 484 100 Web: www.mogroup.com

New carbon dioxide single-gas monitor

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acurco Gas Detection introduced new Carbon Dioxide single-gas monitor. The AimSafety by Macurco PM150-CO2 is a low maintenance, rechargeable portable single-gas monitor that protects workers by providing exposure detection for carbon dioxide in many different applications. A three-tier alarm system warns the user of the presence of unsafe gas levels with audible, visual, and vibrating alarms. AimSafety by Macurco Gas Detection portable gas detection solutions combine innovation, ease-ofuse, fast response time, and data aggregation to help workers and organizations provide better safety, and workplace toxic threat protection, which helps increase revenue and productivity.

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Contact: Macurco Gas Detection 3601 N St Paul Ave, Sioux Falls, SD 57104, USA Tel: (877) 367-7891 Email: info@macurco.com Web: https://macurco.com

Chemical Today Magazine | December 2021

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CHEMICAL TODAY English Monthly RNI: KARENG/2016/71454 Registered/KRNA/BGE -1148/2017-2019 Licensed to Post without prepayment License No. PMG BG/WPP-362/2017-19 Posted at Bangalore PSO 560026 on 7th or 11th or 13th of every month. Total No of pages 78 Date of Publication: 7th of every month.

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