Chemical Today July 2016

July 2016 | Volume 1 | Issue 4 | ₹ 200

Chemical Today Connecting World Chemically

LEATHER

FITS IN JUST

RIGHT

22 Expert Viewpoint Pigments Polymers Process Automation

38 Sector View

High Performance Pigments

50 Insights Industry 4.0

NOW ALSO AVAILABLE ON

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FOR YOUR EYES ONLY! When a glossy red car, sporting a glint under the sun, zooms down the road, it’s sure to make many heads turn. And not just cars, youngsters today are constantly looking to make and create style statements with catchy clothes, gadgets, homes, furniture and just about everything around them. The vogue of the season is shiny, glossy and sparkling. And for all this, the pigment industry (responsible for colour) has come a long way.

Along with the glitter and the glaze, pigments today also offer additional properties such as high resistance to heat, light & weather, longer operational life and wide range in colour variation. There is all the more focus on pigments that give superior performance and special effects. From wall paints to plastic furniture to inks used for packaging, pigments are just getting better with time.

To know more about the changing colour preferences and enhanced properties of pigments, read our ‘Sector View’ focusing on high performance and special effects pigments.

In connection with our pigments focus, we spoke to Clariant India and Meghmani Organics featured in our ‘Expert Viewpoint’ section.

The other industry that is constantly changing is the leather industry. Growth of the global leather market is mostly dependent on the market dynamics of the footwear, fashion and automobile industries. To know about the trends in the leather industry, take a look at our ‘Feature’ section.

Abuzz with Industry 4.0 or the fourth industrial revolution chatter, the industry is looking to create “smart factories.” Here the focus of the industry is on automation and data exchange in manufacturing technologies. Some of the prominent solutions it encompasses are cyber-physical systems, the Internet of things and cloud computing.

To know more about the trends and challenges, read what Deloitte has to say about Industry 4.0 and the chemical industry, in the ‘Insights’ section. Also Industry 4.0: Industry in Transition, was the theme of discussion at the ARC Advisory conference held recently in Bangalore. Glance at our ‘Event Coverage,’ to know more about the industry views.

Adding to the topic is our interaction with Eckard Eberle CEO, Process Automation, Siemens AG, who gives an idea as to why digitization is the need of the hour for the chemical industry (Expert Viewpoint).

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

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

Shivani Mody Editor In Chief shivani.m@worldofchemicals.com 3

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CONTENTS

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QUOTES 08 NEWS 10 EVENTS 18 EXPERT VIEWPOINT PIGMENTS 22 PIGMENTS & PESITICIDES 26 28

POLYMERS PROCESS AUTOMATION

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GREEN CHEMISTRY

34

HIGH

SECTOR VIEW HIGH PERFORMANCE PIGMENTS

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PIGMENTS

LEATHER CHEMICALS 30

PERFORMANCE

FEATURE LEATHER CHEMICALS 42 EVENT COVERAGE ARC ADVISORY FORUM 46 INNOVATION COATINGS 48

SECTOR VIEW

INSIGHTS INDUSTRY 4.0 50 LEATHER TRENDS

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REPORT CHROME PIGMENTS

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HIGH PERFORMANCE PIGMENTS 56 PEARLESCENT PIGMENTS 58 POLYMER EMULSION 60 RESPIRATORY PROTECTIVE EQUIPMENT 62 ACADAEMIC R&D 64 ACADEMIC SPEAK 68 NANOEMULSIONS R&D BY YOUNG TURKS 70 LOGISTICS 72 MARKET UPDATES JOBS 74 IT IN CHEMICALS

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WE EXPECT ONGOING ADVANCEMENT, INNOVATIONS IN EFFECT PIGMENTS MARKET EXPERT VIEWPOINT

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TOWARDS A MORE SUSTAINABLE LEATHER INDUSTRY

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CASE STUDY

PRODUCTS 78 EQUIPMENT 84 GLOSSARY 90

GREEN CHEMISTRY Cover Image © Designed and made by Mayya Saliba

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

EDITOR IN CHIEF: Shivani Mody PRINCIPAL CORRESPONDENT: Debarati Das GRAPHIC DESIGNER: Santosh Pradhan MANAGER-SALES & MARKETING: Naveen Suryavanshi FOR ADVERTISING QUERIES: naveen@worldofchemicals.com | advt@ worldofchemicals.com For Subscription services: subscription@worldofchemicals.com

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Published for July 2016.

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

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YOU CAN GET TO KNOW

6

THE TOOLS

TO HANDLE CHEMISTRY visit: www.worldofchemicals.com

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QUOTES

IN THE COMING YEARS, GERMANY IS PREPARING TO IMPLEMENT NEW, STRICTER REGULATIONS TO LIMIT MERCURY EMISSIONS FROM POWER PLANTS, AND TIGHTER EMISSIONS STANDARDS MAY FOLLOW ACROSS EUROPE

SALIM HIOUEL CEMS Product Line Manager, Environmental and Process Monitoring, Thermo Fisher Scientific.

Thomas Deman Global Polyethylene, Marketing Manager, ExxonMobil Chemical.

The flexible food packaging market continues to drive toward more lightweight, yet stronger and more effective solutions

Timothy Knavish Senior Vice President, Automotive Coatings, PPG. The fast-growing automotive sector in China is an area of global focus, especially for companies such as PPG that serve vehicle manufacturers as well as Tier 1 and Tier 2 suppliers

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Chemical Today Magazine | July 2016

Oscar Wezenbeek Managing Director, Marine Coatings business, AkzoNobel.

We are excited about the fast-growing domestic market opportunity in Indonesia.

The country has great maritime potential, with a 54,720 kilometre coastline, inclusive government policy and an opportunity to build a robust shipbuilding industry

John Hanson Sustainability Manager, Personal and Home Care segment, Lubrizol. Developing cleaning products to meet sustainability targets and providing customers with more choices is key to building market growth

Chemical Today Magazine | July 2016

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NEWS

GERMAN RECYCLER HERAEUS’ NEW UNIT TO RECOVER PRECIOUS METALS IN INDIA

H

eraeus, one of the world’s largest recyclers of reforming catalyst, said that it has opened a new facility in Udaipur, India to recover precious metals from spent petroleum catalysts. The new site will be operated via a joint venture between Ravindra Choksi family and Heraeus, and will offer India’s petrochemical industry more capacity and state-of-the-art technology to recycle platinum and palladium in the country.

The plant will offer Indian companies with larger national recycling facilities, with less transport costs easier file processing, faster recycling times and better transparency in the market, improved environmental and social standards and overall improved costing for catalyst recycling.

“The new recycling facility of Ravindra Heraeus in India will allow our customers from the petrochemical sector to receive outstanding catalyst recycling standards in India. We will be the only globally active precious metal company with local recycling capabilities in this very important sector,” said Andre Christl, president, Heraeus Metal Management, the companies precious metal recycling and trading unit.

The joint venture was established in 1994 and is equally owned by the Ravindra Choksi family and Heraeus. “Our Company is specialized in the manufacturing of high-tech precious and specialty metal products and solutions. Ravindra Heraeus’ comprehensive refining services cover various types of precious metal containing material and make us the leading partner for the customer’s business,” said Shailesh Choksi, managing director of the JV. In the 2015 financial year, Heraeus generated total revenue of Rs 881 billion. The company has over 12,500 employees worldwide in more than 100 subsidiaries in 38 countries.

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Chemical Today Magazine | July 2016

SOLVAY, MUBADALA JV BAGS BOEING’S CARBON FIBRE SUPPLY CONTRACT S

olvay SA and Mubadala Development Company, an Abu Dhabi-based investment and development company, said that they have created a new joint venture to deliver advanced composite materials for the empennage and floor beams of Boeing’s new 777X program.

material for the 777X meets several important goals for Boeing, from further advancing aerospace industry development in the UAE to expanding high-quality materials in our supply chain.”

The new company will be located in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and is expected to be operational by 2021. The JV will supply carbon fiber pre-impregnated (prepreg) composite materials to support the 777X needs.

Mubadala will create the JV through its advanced aero structures company, Strata Manufacturing. The JV is in line with the strategic partnership both companies established in 2013 to reinforce the development of the Abu Dhabi aerospace industry and to strengthen the creation of prepreg manufacturing capabilities.

“After close collaboration with Mubadala and Solvay to expand the supply of aerospace composites, Boeing is pleased to be the first customer for their new joint venture in the UAE,” said Ray Conner, president and CEO, Boeing Commercial Airplanes.

“Our commitment to purchase this prepreg

“Together with Solvay, we will further develop our capabilities in advanced composite materials to expand the supply chain and create a materials ecosystem in Abu Dhabi.

The creation of a new manufacturing facility at the Nibras Al Ain aerospace park supports our efforts of delivering on Abu Dhabi’s

Chemical Today Magazine | July 2016

Economic Vision 2030 by developing a regional Aerospace Hub for Abu Dhabi,” said Homaid Al Shimmari, CEO of aerospace and engineering services, Mubadala.

Solvay’s prepreg-technology, consisting of fibre reinforcements pre-impregnated with a resin matrix used in creating a composite part, provides exceptional performance at lower weight compared to metal structures.

The composite content of next-generation aircraft continues to grow as manufacturers of large commercial aircraft like Boeing’s 777X aim to reduce weight, improve fuel efficiency and reduce CO2 emissions.

“Solvay’s teaming up with Mubadala in this essential project in support of Boeing’s growth plans showcases our capabilities in advanced aerospace composite technologies, including primary structure applications,” said Jean-Pierre Clamadieu, CEO, Solvay.

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NEWS

KILBURN ENGINEERING BAGS RS 27 CRORE PROCESS EQUIPMENT ORDER K

ilburn Engineering Ltd, a supplier of process equipment to various industries, has bagged orders worth Rs 27.30 crore for dryers and other equipment.

The company has received two export orders of Rs 14.70 crore and Rs 10.30 crore, respectively. As per the filings with BSE, the company will supply 31.5 TPH fluid bed dryer for polyvinyl chlorde (PVC) and annuli riser skids for onshore shale gas exploration to its overseas client. It has also bagged a domestic order worth Rs 2.30 crore for other drying equipment.

Kilburn Engineering Ltd is one of the leading manufacturers of dryers & process equipment for the chemical, petrochemical, oilfield and food industries. The company is part of the Kolkata-based Williamson MagorGroup Enterprise, which has varied interests in tea, batteries and engineering and controls companies such as Eveready Industries, McNally Bharat Engineering, McLeod Russel India, etc.

Source: Business Standard

LINDE TO INVEST €25 MILLION FOR CAPACITY EXPANSION IN THE PHILIPPINES L

inde Philippines Inc, a member of The Linde Group, said that it will invest PHP 1.3 billion (€25 million) to upgrade its existing air separation unit and add a new nitrogen liquefaction unit (NLU) at its Apalit Pampanga site in the Philippines.

When completed, the site will be able to produce more than 400 tonne per day of liquefied gases and related solutions. The NLU, expected to go on stream by 2018, will support the expansion of Linde’s liquid nitrogen and liquid oxygen capacity.

“This investment demonstrates our long-term commitment to strengthen our supply capabilities and service offerings in order to continue to support the growth of the local manufacturing industries,” said Alexander Coo, managing director, Linde Philippines “The Philippines is an important part of our overall South East Asia business and we want to continue to grow and support the local markets. The economic growth that we have seen in the Philippines in recent years gives Linde the confidence to continue to invest in the country for the future,” said Seck Luan Lim, cluster business head for Singapore, Indonesia and Philippines.

The new NLU facility will leverage The Linde Group’s engineering technical and design expertise.

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Chemical Today Magazine | July 2016

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NEWS THAT MAKES A DIFFERENCE

TOYOTA’S FIRST SPORTS CAR WITH NEW POLYCARBONATE WINDOW

Toyota sports cars Toyota’s special edition 86 GRMN sports car is the first production vehicle to feature a rear quarter window in polycarbonate (PC) material (LEXAN resin) with a proprietary coating solution from SABIC – EXATEC plasma technology.

T

oyota’s special edition 86 GRMN sports cars is the first production vehicle to feature a rear quarter window in polycarbonate (PC) material with a plasma-coat solution designed to deliver the highest level of durability performance.

The car’s rear quarter window is injection moulded with LEXAN resin, an optically clear and lightweight-enabling PC material from SABIC. The window is about 50 percent lighter compared to a conventional glass solution.

Until now, manufacturers have produced rear quarter windows in PC using wet-coat only solutions. Depending on vehicle type and passenger position, wet-coat solutions can meet industry requirements for weather ability and abrasion resistance at that window location. In some cases though, a higher level of performance is required to meet driver visibility needs.

Because Toyota wished to achieve regulatory requirements at a global level, the Japanbased OEM turned to EXATEC plasma technology from SABIC. This flexible glass14

Chemical Today Magazine | July 2016

like coating is deposited on top of a base wet coat to enhance performance. Applying this advanced coating made it possible to meet Toyota’s high quality requirements.

SABIC contributed materials and development expertise to the 86 GRMN window program.

EXATEC plasma coating technology from SABIC can make it possible for PC-glazed windows, where regulations allow for their use, to meet legislated driver visibility requirements.

For the 86 GRMN rear quarter windows, Toyota only focused on the production of a durable, lightweight part, in support of its evaluation of the plasma-coat solution for use on a mass-produced global model.

Toyota’s evaluation of PC glazing technology for use in high volume production vehicles includes work to validate the manufacturing process for plasma-coated parts.

The 86 GRMN rear quarter window is Toyota’s first use of SABIC’s plasma-coat solution for a commercially available vehicle.

For larger PC-glazed surfaces like backlights and sunroofs, weight savings of up to 50 percent can be possible, helping automakers to improve fuel efficiency and lower emissions.

“We are proud to have supported Toyota and its Tier suppliers with this first-to-market, plasma-coated rear quarter window on a very special car,” said Scott Fallon, SABIC’s automotive business leader.

In addition, compared to other material solutions for windows, new combinations of style and function are possible with PC glazing. For example, rear quarter windows can smoothly integrate an aerodynamic spoiler, roof pillar, airflow separators, door handle scallops and even rear lamps.

“No other technology is available today with the same level of durability for PC-glazed windows than this plasma solution. It is a good example of the superior value that we can deliver to today’s automakers as they strive to build light, stylish and well-finished vehicles.”

PPG’S FIBRE GLASS USED TO BUILD WORLD’S FIRST RACE CAR SUSPENSION P

PG Industries said that its TUFROV 4510 and TUFROV 4588 fibre glass roving products are used by a Denver-based manufacturer of thermoplastic composite materials, Polystrand Inc to build a race car featuring the world’s first thermoplastic composite rear suspension.

The Grand Touring Lite (GT-Lite) race car was designed by Jonathan Spiegel, senior engineer, Polystrand. He said the vehicle was built to demonstrate that continuousfiber-reinforced thermoplastic resin is an excellent material for automotive suspension and structural components.

TUFROV 4588 long-fiber thermoplastic (LFT) reinforcement roving was laminated into hybrid interior sandwich panels, which

made the car lighter and safer to drive, and it was used to reinforce the front air splitter, which acts as an aerodynamic aid under the nose of the car.

“There are light-truck and passenger-car suspensions equipped with composite springs, but they have always been made with thermoset resins,” Spiegel explained.

“We believe our car is the first in the world to employ a thermoplastic resin, which offers distinct advantages over thermoset resin, such as faster production cycle times, higher impact resistance, easier recyclability and no VOC (volatile organic compound) emissions during processing.”

Spiegel said he specified TUFROV 4510 continuous-strand fiber glass roving as

reinforcement for suspension components because its excellent tensile strength, flexural modulus and sizing compatibility provide superior mechanical properties and fatigue performance compared to other fiber glass products on the market.

“The collaboration with Polystrand highlights PPG’s commitment to partnering with customers. Aiding customers in the development of groundbreaking technologies allows PPG to add value to their products and strengthen relationships.

We’re dedicated to innovation, both internally and as a strategy for helping customers create new markets for their products,” said Camilo Serrano, PPG global business manager.

PPG (NYSE:PPG) announced that Polystrand Inc., a Denver-based manufacturer of thermoplastic composite materials, used TUFROV® 4510 and TUFROV 4588 fiber glass roving products by PPG to build a racecar featuring the world’s first thermoplastic composite rear suspension. The Grand Touring Lite (GT-Lite) racecar recently competed in a Sports Car Club of America (SCCA) event in Houston.

Chemical Today Magazine | July 2016

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NEWS THAT MAKES A DIFFERENCE

EVONIK TURNS MARINE ANIMALS INTO VEGETARIANS E

vonik scientists’ long-term intention is to turn salmon, shrimp, and other marine animals into vegetarians. They are thus playing an important role in protecting marine resources. To that end, they are looking to replace the fishmeal and fish oil produced from wild-caught fish that is used in feeds. Farmed fish play a key role in providing healthy nutrition for the world’s population.

“Thanks to modern fish farming concepts and our aminoacid products, it is already possible to achieve significant reductions in the proportion of fishmeal used in feeds. Now we’re working on sustainable alternatives to fish oil,” explained Christoph Kobler, who heads the sustainable healthy nutrition product line at Evonik.

According to estimates from the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), some 147 million metric tonne of fish were consumed throughout the world in 2014—over half of which was the product of aquaculture. And demand is rising: in order to be able to feed the growing global population, another 50 million metric tonne will be needed by 2030. Because the oceans are already overfished and the fish catches are stagnating, the UN organization believes that this additional demand can only be met through aquaculture.

Certain fish and crustaceans raised on aqua farms—such as salmon, trout, and black tiger shrimp—are actually carnivores or omnivores. As such, feeds for these animals include fishmeal.

Fishmeal contains important amino acids that the animals need to grow. Some three-quarters of the fishmeal and fish oil produced worldwide are channelled into aquaculture, representing a major strain on marine resources.

In order to turn salmon, shrimp, and other aquatic species into vegetarians—and protect the oceans in the process—it is not enough to substitute fishmeal, an animal source of protein, with soy or another plant-based source. The resulting feeds would not contain the right composition or amount of amino acids such as methionine to meet the animals’ needs. Because their ability to utilize their food would then not be optimal, the animals would have to consume more protein overall and, as a result, would excrete nitrogen-containing metabolites unused. As a consequence, this would waste scarce resources and pollute the water with animal waste beyond what is necessary.

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Chemical Today Magazine | July 2016

Evonik researchers began looking for a solution to this problem nearly ten years ago, developing special amino acids and aminoacid derivatives for fish and crustaceans aimed at making fishmeal largely unnecessary in aquaculture in the future.

Now, after intensive research, there are plans to transfer this success to shrimp. The challenge here is that the feeding behavior and digestive systems of crustaceans like shrimp are entirely different from those of fish. Whereas salmon are predatory fish that snatch up their food the moment it enters the water, shrimp eat their food very slowly from the seabed. As a result, highly water-soluble components leach out of the feed pellets before the shrimp can eat them. In addition, the supplemented methionine has to be present at a certain time—right when amino acids become available from the protein digestion process.

Only Evonik researchers have managed to develop an improved source of methionine that shrimp can consume and metabolize at the right time and in the right amount. This new dipeptide consists of two methionine molecules and does not dissolve readily in water, which prevents it from leaching out of the feed as quickly. The shrimps themselves have to cleave the molecule, and this makes the methionine available for protein synthesis at the same time as the other products of digestion. The company is currently putting its first production facility for the new product into operation in Antwerp (Belgium).

The company’s researchers are now working on replacing fish oil, the second important animal product in fish feed.

“This would mean it would be possible to entirely eliminate the use of marine resources like fishmeal and fish oil in the production of fish feed,” said Kobler.

Evonik is working with DSM Nutritional Products Ltd of Kaiseraugst (Switzerland) to develop an algae-based omega-3 fatty acid product for use in animal feeds. Like people, animals also need a certain amount of this essential, long-chained polyunsaturated fatty acid in their food in order to sustain healthy growth.

In aquaculture, this nutrient has largely come from the fish oil contained in feeds. DSM and Evonik intend to use sustainable biotechnological methods to harness marine algae in the production of omega-3 fatty acids.

visit: www.worldofchemicals.com

IT’S A DIRECTORY OF CHEMICAL

SELLERS & BUYERS 17

EVENTS

02 – 04 August M LAB Location: Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre Organised by: Sphere Exhibits Malaysia Sdn. Bhd. Website: www.sphereexhibits.com.my

11– 12 August FOOD CHEMISTRY & HYDROCOLLOIDS Location: Toronto, Ontario, Canada Organised by: Conference Series LLC Website: http://foodchemistry.conferenceseries.com/

The 13th international exhibition on laboratory equipment, instrumentation & services (MLAB) will showcase the latest technology in laboratory equipment, automation & robotics, scientific Instruments industries.

The conference will focus on the theme “Recent Advancement and Progress in the field of Food Chemistry and Hydrocolloids.” The event will bring together practitioners, industrialists, researchers and educators from around the world who are engaged in the fields of indigenous food products, functional foods, bioactive ingredients, nutritional factors, traditional and alternative medicine, and dietary management, highlight significant developments in research and innovations in agricultural, food, nutritional, pharmaceutical and medical technologies, with an emphasis on health and wellness. The conference will feature a series of presentations and discussions in plenary, concurrent and poster sessions, informal gatherings, and exhibitions.

23 – 24 August CTEF Location: SNIEC, Shanghai New International Expo Center Organised by: Zhenwei Exhibition Co Website: http://www.chinaexhibition.com/ Official_Site/21-78-Zhenwei_Exhibition_ Group.html

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Chemical Today Magazine | July 2016

China (Shanghai International Chemical Technology & Equipment Fair(CTEF) event is focused on the chemical process. The expo will cover topics of chemical technology, equipment, engineering, materials and a lot more.

31 August – 2 September ALL CHINA LEATHER EXHIBITION (ACLE) Location: Shanghai New International Expo Centre Pudong Organised by: APLF Ltd Website: www.aclechina.com

All China Leather Exhibition is known as the premier event for international companies seeking opportunities in China’s huge markets.

The exhibition provides the largest variety of leather, components & accessories, manufacturing equipment and tools, machinery and technology and business services.

12 - 15 September TURBOMACHINERY & PUMP SYMPOSIA Location: Houston, TX Organised by: Turbomachinery Laboratory

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

Website: http: //pumpturbo.tamu.edu/

20 - 22 September WORLD SODA ASH Location: Lisbon, Portugal Organised by: Ihs

The IHS Chemical World Soda Ash Conference & Workshop will present industry insights & analysis and bring together the soda ash industry from around the globe for a time of networking and information sharing.

Website: https://www.ihs.com/events/ world-soda-ash-2016/overview.html

21 – 23 September ICIF CHINA

Location: SECEC - Shanghai Everbright Convention & Exhibition Center Organised by: CCPIT Sub-Council OF Chemical Industry Website: http://www.chinaexhibition.com

ICIF CHINA is a trade show, fair and exhibition for chemical Industry, chemistry, chemical materials and chemical equipment to showcase products such as air products and chemicals, drying equipments, chemical products, petroleum products, printing technology products, electrical equipments, food additive, polymer materials, filter equipments and other related latest technology.

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

Chemical Today Magazine | July 2016

AED focuses on current industry trends and the latest issues facing the heavy equipment industry. Attendees can also gain insights to help succeed and maximize their profit opportunities.

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EVENTS

04 – 06 October PIGMENT Location: Cleveland Organised by:Smithers Rapra Website: http://www.smithersrapra.com/ events/conference

20 – 22 October INDIA LAB EXPO Location: Hyderabad International Trade Exposition Centre (HITEX) Hyderabad, India Organised by: MMI India Pvt. Ltd Website: http://www.indialabexpo.com/

01 – 04 November

AEMA

Location:The Hyatt Regency Crystal City, Arlington, Virginia 22202 Organised by: International Bitumen Emulsion Federation Website: http://www.cvent.com/events/2016-international-symposium-on-asphalt-emulsion-technology/event-summary-e888e9101179439f9790158b4fab483b.aspx

05 – 07 December PUMPS & VALVES Location: Oman International Exhibition Centre, Muscat, , Oman Organised by: Global Exhibitions & Conferences LLC Website: http://intexoman.com/index. php?pageid=3

15 – 17 December SNEPAL LAB – THE LAB EXPO Location: Bhrikuti Mandap Exhibition Hall - Kathmandu - Nepal Organised by: S.D. Promo Media Pvt Ltd.,Website: http://www.nepallab.com/

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Chemical Today Magazine | July 2016

Pigment 2016 look to connect the pigment supply chain. The event focuses on the latest applications, technologies and processes. Meet more than 300 + members of the pigment industry and network with people to expand your business.

Analytica Anacon India and India Lab Expo will attract a wide range of attendees from the international as well as Indian manufacturers and distributors. Visitors from research laboratories, universities, government agencies, clinical research laboratories and contract laboratories will also be present. The participants of the event will have the opportunity to meet and interact with industry leaders in the medical & pharmaceutical, scientific instruments industries, increase their brand identity and generate more sales leads

The symposium will embrace research and practice with respect to manufacturing, use and performance of asphalt emulsions. The conference will provide a forum for discussion of leading research work, encourage presentation of case studies demonstrating the implementation of research into practice and foster discussion on producing better performing and cost effective asphalt emulsions.

Pumps & Valves Oman is intended as a widespread showcasing platform for global and regional manufacturers, dealers, distributors and traders to come together and interact with industry leaders. This is a get together for the industry to share science and technology innovation, new products and market trends by displaying their products to local and regional chemical, petrochemical & processing industry, refineries, major oil and gas companies, water and waste water treatment solution providers, pharmaceutical industry and power sectors, to name a few.

Nepal Lab – The Lab Expo is the premier event for sustainable laboratory, scientific, analytical, biotechnology and medical fraternity. Featuring three exhilarating days of unmatched networking opportunities, showcases, and ideal venue to meet and qualify sales prospects from Nepal. The event offers a place for thousands to gather a targeted, qualified audience of active, influential laboratory professionals & trade suppliers.

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EXPERT VIEWPOINT PIGMENTS

We expect ongoing

advancement,

innovations in effect pigments market

Sambit Roy Regional Head - Business Unit Pigments, India, Clariant, speaks about the growing popularity of vivid colours for high performance and special effects pigments. He also gives an idea about the challenges in the pigments industry.

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Chemical Today Magazine | July 2016

BY SHIVANI MODY Global trends in the pigments industry.

Pigments business of Clariant in India.

The global pigments market was valued at $22.86 billion in 2014 and is anticipated to reach $31.98 billion by 2023, expanding at a CAGR of 3.8 percent between 2015 and 2023. Rise in population coupled with increase in per capita income has boosted the consumption of paints and coatings in the building and construction, automotive, and consumer goods industries in the past few years. This, in turn, has generated considerable demand for pigments in paints & coatings, enabling it to be the largest end-user segment in recent times. In the next few years, the per capita consumption of paints and coatings is expected to rise significantly in developed and developing economies, projecting it to be the fastest growing segment of the pigments market during the forecast period. Moreover, rise in global plastics production is estimated to spur demand for pigments in the next couple of years.

Clariant is a leading global provider of organic pigments, pigment preparations and dyes used in coatings, printing, plastics, consumer products and other special applications. Our broad portfolio includes high-performance pigments to meet the exacting demands of the automotive, architectural and plastics industries as well as colourants used in ink jet. Our products have a reputation for technical performance and quality owing to the decades of experience in the industry and our global and regional technical service centers.

Clariant proactively ensures its products meet international standards and strives for being at the forefront of environmental, health and safety performance.

Growing automotive industry and rising construction activities in Asian countries such as China, India, Singapore, Thailand, and Malaysia have fueled demand for pigments in the paints and coatings industry.

China is projected to be the major consumer of pigments by 2023, followed by India.

Middle East, Africa and Latin America are anticipated to be potential markets for pigments in the coming years.

Pigments industry in India.

A key trend witnessed in the recent past is the migration of manufacturing capacity from the West to low-cost countries in the Asia-Pacific region. India is expected to be the second-largest market in terms of demand for organic pigments.

In India, it is the organics, which are growing the fastest and, traditionally, India has dominated in the green and blue colour space. India is clearly the dominant player in the organic green pigments and has captured a considerable market share in the blue pigments. Rise in disposable income and education, increasing urbanization, development of the rural market and launches of many innovative products is expected to support the growth of the industry.

The main end users of pigments in India are printing inks, plastics, rubber, paints and coatings. Among inorganic pigments, consumption of carbon black was estimated 790,000 tonnes and titanium dioxide consumption stood at approximately 2,50,000 MT per year in 2014-15.

High performance pigments (HPP) and special effect pigments, such as metallic and pearlescent, are used as automotive coatings and are currently a nascent market in India.

Chemical Today Magazine | July 2016

Some of the recent development for the pigments business of Clariant in India: • In September 2014, Clariant in India doubled the capacity of pigment preparations at our production facility in Roha, South-east of Mumbai • In March 2015, Clariant in India acquired Lanxess’ pigments preparations portfolio in Nagda. The new manufacturing facility situated in Nagda, Madhya Pradesh is a leading supplier of aqueous carbon-black dispersions and is located 700 km N-E of Mumbai and with close proximity of Grasim, one of our leading customers in this segment.

• In June 2015, Clariant announced its specialized range of innovative and ecofriendly pigments and pigment preparations offering low VOC (LVOC) attributes, Infrared (IR)-reflective properties and super-transparent colourant solutions to cater to the unmet needs of regional customers across several market segments of the paints & coatings industry • At our Cuddalore site, we are targeting a capacity expansion of 25 percent, which will also serve the export market

Focus on innovation and sustainability efforts.

Clariant in India believes that by continuous monitoring of evolving industry trends and customer requirements, we are able to provide our customers with innovative and technologically advanced solutions. Over the years our success is largely attributed to adapting our products to suit customer needs.

This has been aptly demonstrated by our regional application lab that enables customers to co-design specific solutions according to their requirements and our Regional Innovation Center (RIC) enables us to identify new customer needs and work in sync to develop innovative and effective molecules.

Furthermore, sustainability is an integral part of the way we work to build a competitive advantage through differentiation; support profitable growth and create added value for stakeholders. For us, sustainability means to bring in balance environmental, social and economic performance. Sustainability enhances innovative ways to do our business. We have set up a Sustainability Council that nurtures sustainable practices of the company in a holistic manner.

Evaluating the global challenges and mega trends, this committee sets the long and mid - term group goals to initiate projects and activities in the field of sustainability.

Clariant is committed to Responsible Care ®, an initiative by the chemical industry and several such initiatives like the Global Product Strategy and the United Nations Global Compact. Clariant is also one of the top European chemical companies that is part of Dow Jones Sustainability Indices.

Challenges in the inorganic and organic pigments.

Organic pigments have a superior environmental profile in comparison to inorganic pigments (and to some dyes) and provides a wider range of bright colours that are used in coatings, plastics, printing inks and special applications. Organic pigments are now experiencing an encouraging growth, resulting from a trend toward adopting more premium, high performance pigments and the continual displacement of heavy metal-based inorganic pigments such as lead chromate & cadmium.

The latest data on global market trends including the Indian market on pigment consumption shows inorganic pigments is the slowest growing segment since last five years. This is primarily due to the continued phasing-out of toxic heavy metal type inorganic pigments coupled with the growing popularity of vivid colours with special effects. Most of the paint & plastic manufactures have replaced lead chrome and cadmium pigments with most opaque organic pigments in combination with nontoxic inorganic pigments, without affecting their market.

However, favourable opportunities exist for certain types of non-toxic inorganic pigments, such as Mixed Metal Oxide (MMO) also known as Complex Inorganic Color Pigments (CICP), eg Bismuth Vanadate (PY184), PY53. These complex inorganic pigments offer superior light fastness as well as chemical and weather resistance, along with excellent gloss retention, heat stability in full shade and all reductions.

As per latest market projections there is a substantial increase in consumption of these pigments as an alternate to lead and cadmium based pigments.

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In India, several manufacturers and specialty chemical producers have stopped the consumption of toxic lead and cadmium based inorganic pigments, in view of the health & safety hazards it involves.

Clariant, being a responsible and environmentally conscious company that strictly practices Green Chemistry principles, has stopped manufacturing the lead based pigments decades ago.

Rising demand for high performance, special effects pigments High Performance Pigments (HPP): Worldwide high-performance pigment (HPP) consumption is expected to grow by 4 percent in both volume and value over the next five years, although rising oil and raw materials prices, coupled with the current economic condition are significant challenges for the high-performance pigments market. Nevertheless, in the longterm demand for HPPs will continue to grow, especially in some important markets such as the coating and plastics segments and end-user markets, non-impact printing (NIP) and electronics.

Much of this growth is bolstered by the increase in demand for cleaner, brighter colours with high resistance properties. However, with stiff competition in the market, and entrance of new players, pricing remains under pressure, allowing for the use of HPPs in new applications. In the future, favourable regulations will further open a window of opportunities and have a positive impact on the HPP business development.

With Asia being the largest regional market, emerging economies too will play a pivotal role in the growth story of high performance pigments (HPP).

Special Effect pigments: Special effect pigments are used in a broad range of application for decorative and functional purposes in systems like paints, plastics, printing inks and cosmetics.

With their distinctive application of optical impressions such as eyecatching effects, angle-dependent interference colours, pearl luster, or multiple reflection, they are indispensable in many application systems. Effect pigments show several advantages in decorative and functional applications in comparison to extended films, eg, the broad variety of achievable optical effects, the ease of incorporation in all relevant application systems, the possibilities to blend pigments with other colourants, and the impression of “vivid” colour effects.

Effect pigments consist either of substrate-free pigments or of layered structures. There has been comprehensive advancement in recent years especially for the substrate-based types, eg, multilayers on mica or pigments based on alumina, silica and glass flakes.

Pigments with structured surfaces like the diffractive types belong also to the actual developments.

In the future, we expect ongoing advancements and innovations in the effect pigments market. A course of new development is that the effect pigments are offered not only as free-flowing powders, but also in the form of preparations (granulates, chips, pastes, colour concentrates). These preparations contain the pigment in high concentration. In addition to the pigment, the preparations consist of binder components or binder mixtures based on solvent or waterborne systems. The advantages of such pigment–binder combinations have for example better pigment dispersibility, nondusting introduction of the pigment in the application system, optimized wetting behaviour, or improved colour effects in the final products. Another important research field is the improvement of optical and non-optical performance by better flake orientation and better pigment–binder interaction.

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Chemical Today Magazine | July 2016

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

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EXPERT VIEWPOINT PIGMENTS & PESTICIDES

Goal of every industry is to be eco-friendly

Ashish Soparkar

Managing Director, Meghmani Organics Limited, opens up about the global trends in the pigments industry and ways in which pesticide industry is looking for a transformation with focused chemicals.

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Chemical Today Magazine | July 2016

BY SHIVANI MODY Global trends in the pigment Industry The trends are towards technological developments to match the increasing demand for digital ink. There is also a growing demand for high performance pigments and for environmental friendly products among the end user industry. For instance, instead of oil based pigments, people are moving towards water based pigments as oil is a nuisance for the environment. So end users want user friendly pigments that are less dusty and easier to handle, etc. These trends are more prevalent in developed countries and less enforced in developing countries.

But ultimately, the entire world will be moving in this direction.

Technology development in titanium dioxide, iron oxide and carbon black pigment The market share of carbon black is the largest in Asia with over 37 percent and shows a growth rate of around 3-4 percent per annum. The growth rate of titanium dioxide is around 3-4 percent per annum and iron oxide is growing at a rate of over 4 percent with major markets in Asia, America and the Middle East due to the growing construction industry.

should kill only the insect around the rice grain and not the rice itself. And after killing the insects, it should disintegrate and not harm the consumers.

formulated pesticides and raise our share considerably in India. We definitely aim to grow from a Rs 80 crores business to Rs 250 crores in the next 3 years.

Challenges faced by pigment and pesticide industry

Strategic steps to take the pigments business forward

These industries face almost similar challenges including – increasing environmental regulations, unhealthy competition from unorganised sector, volatility in raw material prices and the global overcapacity. The cost of most of the raw materials is affected by the crude prices.

And with globalization of supplier and customer base, many pigment companies are getting vertically integrated. So the free customers available for selling pigments are getting reduced. These are the challenges in pigment and the pesticide industry.

We manufacture blue crude and valuedadded blue pigments. In future, instead of selling blue crude which is sold as low valueadded product, we want to convert all our blue crude to value-added products.

Meghmani business strategies for pigments and pesticides

Growth potential for these pigments

Meghmani Organics Limited is one of the leading pigment manufacturer in blue and green in the world and we hold around 8 percent of global market share. We have three manufacturing plants- two for blues and one for green, and we export to over 75 countries even for the most critical and demanding applications.

Coatings, construction and packing ink hold a major potential. Packing industry is growing a big way and is showing a two digit growth. Today every product or item is sold with proper packaging. These packages need to be printed well for the identification and hence pigments play an important role.

Our pesticides business is still not as big as our pigments business. We are a vertically integrated pesticides manufacturer. We make the basic chemicals, pesticide intermediates, and technical guide pesticides from which we even make formulation. All in all, we cover the entire value chain.

In construction, the use of plastic doors, plastic fittings are rising and hence pigments play an important role in painting and colouring. Also, new trends in paint application are encouraging the growth of pigments.

The global pesticides market is around $55 to 60 billion. Hence there is a lot of scope for Meghmani to grow. In pigments, we have achieved a leading position in blue and green. From here the growth can be a little difficult.

Overall, the pigment industry will grow with the growth of population. It will also grow with the increase in disposable income, the rising standard of living and the growth in packaging industry.

Growth strategy for pesticides business

Trends in the pesticides industry Even in pesticides industry, people want more environmental friendly products with lesser mortality dose. The products should be easy to apply, with targeted effect. For instance, the pesticide applied on rice crop

Chemical Today Magazine | July 2016

In the pesticides business, we want to focus on the type of relationships where we get into contract manufacturing with multinationals. It will be very difficult to set up a manufacturing plant outside India. However we have plants available in India and we can serve multinationals from our manufacturing facility in India.

We also want to expand our products with

Focus on research and development All our manufacturing sites have its individual R&D centres to cater to the needs of each plant. We have a Government of India’s science department approved laboratory at one of our site, and we are working towards a GLP certification. It will be a feather in our cap. We spend about 2 percent of our turnover on R&D. Our main aim is to develop products with better applications.

We also try to improve our environmental load and reduce waste. In agrochemicals too, we follow the same along with doing several researches in collaboration with various agriculture universities across the country like agrochemical universities in Vallabh Vidhyanagar, Junagadh in Gujarat, others in Andhra Pradesh, Kolkata etc.

Improving new product development and pipeline In pigments, we have gone for very highend 15.4 blue pigments which are used for fibre grade, auto refinish, digital inks etc, which can take higher load of inks and dispersions. In pesticides, we are currently trying to redefine our products, however the new products need to come from the large multinationals, and from there we can manufacture and optimize the process.

Green chemistry or sustainability – the road ahead We look into individual reactions and try to see that the conversion is better. That way the product is better and wastage comes down. Then the wastage goes through pollution control treatment in plants, approved by the state’s pollution control board, so that all discharge meets every regulatory requirement. At the same, we put emphasis on planting trees in every free space available. We have planted more than 50,000 trees in all our premises all together.

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EXPERT VIEWPOINT POLYMERS

Making the world a lighter place

BY DEBARATI DAS Tell us about the journey of Covestro and the changes that the organization went through since it started functioning as an independent entity from Bayer MaterialScience.

The transition has been a big change for Covestro. Earlier, it used to be an umbrella company of Bayer where we were a part of the overall business. Bayer was into CropScience, HealthCare and MaterialScience, and all the businesses had their own functioning with different strategy and vision.

However, in September 2014, Bayer AG announced its plans to focus on its life sciences businesses and that Bayer MaterialScience would be floated as an independent entity at the stock market, which eventually came to be known by the name - Covestro.

The simultaneous change ushered in by this decision was in the company’s mission and values. Covestro’s mission is to make the world a brighter place through its sustainable solutions and innovations that are more eco-sensitive.

Ajay Durrani

Country President, India and Managing Director, Covestro (India) Private Limited, talks about the ways in which polyurethane is becoming an integral part of technological advancements to make light-weight automobiles, laptops & gadgets, aeroplanes & wind turbines. The opportunities that polyurethane offer are endless.

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Chemical Today Magazine | July 2016

The core values of Covestro rest on the 3Cs - Curious (asking the right questions), Courageous (taking courageous decisions to make us successful), and Colourful (respecting opinions and bringing diversity in the organization). In fact, the name (Covestro) has been coined over the three core principles of the company: COllaboration, inVEStment and STROng. We believe in being a collaborative, investment-driven organization that helps us to be strong in whatever we do.

What kind of growth do you see in the polymer industry in the next decade?

Polymer is a diversified industry. The market for basic polymers such as LDPE, HDPE, polypropylene etc. is growing at the rate of 20 per cent in India. However, Covestro deals with very high-end polymers like polyurethane, polycarbonate etc.

We strive to ensure that each polymer is different from the other, and therefore, each solution has a varying growth rate in different industries. The three core sectors for Covestro in India are automotive, electronics and construction. These industries are on an exponential growth trajectory due surge in demand for the efficient and ecosensitive products.

Tell us about the innovations that Covestro has bought into the automotive industry and the electronic industry in India.

Globally, automotive light-weighting is serious point of deliberation for OEMs. The endeavour is to reduce the weight of the car by 20 to 25 kgs which can improve the fuel economy. Covestro manufactures polymer composite solutions that helps reduce the overall weight of the car. For instance, stepney covers were earlier made of certain wood stocks. Our products have reduced its weight by 25 to 30 percent.

In addition, manufactures are constantly working on potential opportunities to use polymers in headliner, bumper beam, boot space, battery, gear shift adaptor, seat assembly etc. Utilisation of polymers in both interiors and exteriors of the automobile offers myriad opportunities for innovation. Other than automotive, electronics is another fastest growing sector in India and we have innovative solutions for manufacturing mobile covers, laptop covers etc.

Tell us the ways in which Covestro is working in the area of reducing energy consumption of buildings and constructions.

Over 40 percent of world energy is consumed by buildings. It is imperative for the construction industry as well as materials industry to look at various innovative ways to reduce the energy consumption.

One way to do this is by insulating buildings to improve their energy efficiency. Studies suggest that proper insulation can save at least 20 percent of the energy consumption. Panels made of polyurethane are one of the most efficient insulating materials. For constructions where panel insulation is difficult to achieve, foam-based applications can be utilized. These applications significantly reduce the energy consumption inside the building. The polycarbonate sheets from Covestro are light-weight, transparent and multiwall, and hence are being adopted in a major way for combining architecture and insulation.

Recently, Covestro made Asia’s first polyurethane rotor blade for wind turbines in China. Can you tell us more about the solution?

The solution uses our composite materials which significantly reduces the weight of the rotor blade. These solutions are apt for industries where weight is one of the critical factors. The blades are fabricated through a special process using polyurethane resin and glass fibre fabric. Further, application of coatings, composites and foam solutions from Covestro can bring down the weight of the rotor blades and increase its energy generation efficiency.

What are the other trends that polyurethane or the polycarbonate industry will witness in future?

IT or information technology is witnessing a very rapid and significant transformation. Solutions are being developed to reduce overall weight of a laptop while keeping the dynamic strength of particular applications intact. The second biggest trend witnessed is in the healthcare and electronics sectors. The use of drones, for instance, is rising which requires very light-weight material. Energy sector, particularly, renewable energy is another potential area where our solutions can be used to build light weight solar panels, etc.

Tell us about the ongoing/upcoming innovative projects of Covestro As mentioned, we are working on ultra-light-weighting solutions for the electronics as well as healthcare and energy sectors. Our latest path-breaking solution is the use of CO2 to manufacture polyols.

This solution will initially be used to manufacture polyurethane foam mattresses. In future, the solution could be adopted for various applications across industries. This project is unique because it actually reduces the burden of carbon dioxide in the society and is in line with the organization’s motto to make the world a brighter place.

What is the future dynamics of Covestro?

Innovation is in Covestro’s DNA and we will continue to use it to create solutions which will make the world a brighter place with sparkling solution. Our focus will be to participate in solutions which are sustainable and transformational. So whichever industry would seek materials for increased efficiency, we will be ready to contribute with a solution.

THE EASIER WAY YOU CAN SERVICE

CHEMICALS

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EXPERT VIEWPOINT LEATHER CHEMICALS

India will be the future leader in leather chemical market

R M Uthayaraja

chief operating officer (LC), Balmer Lawrie & Co Ltd extensively delves into the changing dynamics of the leather industry. He also talks about the latest trends in the leather chemicals market which will drive the industry in the future.

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What are the global trends in leather chemicals and leather processing industry?

The leather chemicals market is segmented into three types: tanning & dyeing, beam house chemicals and finishing chemicals.

Leather chemicals market is growing with a CAGR 7.64 percent globally and will reach $7,963 million by 2019. Tanning and dyeing chemicals hold a major share in the leather chemicals volume and the trend is projected to continue till 2019.

In terms of value, the market size of finishing chemicals is the largest for the leather chemicals. Asia Pacific is dominating the leather chemicals market and it is projected to hold the major market size by value by 2019. As Chinese economy is not showing encouraging trend, India will lead in leather chemical market in future.

Discuss the latest advancement in leather chemicals.

The present trend is that of eco-friendly chemicals and green chemicals adhering the REACh norms. Fatliquor has excellent light fastness, antifogging, good weather ability and low fat loading.

Beam house is the alternate to lime & salt, with reduction of water in process, pickle free tanning, metal free tanning, new tanning method through THPS (TetraHydrokisPhosphoniumSulphate) tanning.

In re tanning and dyeing, there is more modified vegetable based tanning and low percentage of dye loading. In finishing process, water based finishing, low film thickness, low VOC and NPM free polyurethane are the major trends.

Which sectors have growth potential in emerging markets?

There is a potential; market in: • Vegetable based fatliquor, low percentage of fat loading in the Leather with high degree of light fastness property.

• Modified vegetable based syntan.

• Pickle free Tanning • Metal free tanning • Low TDS syntan

Mention the key market drivers for growth of the leather chemicals market.

The major factors that will drive the market are: • Ecofriendly & green chemicals reducing

Chemical Today Magazine | July 2016

the pollution load and reducing the usage of water, and • Quality products with competitive pricing.

In what ways are regulations and policies impacting the growth of leather chemicals industry?

In today’s scenario, leather chemical industry must have sustainable business model with innovative technology products to face the stringent Eco and ReaCh norms. Leather industry is a byproduct of meat industry.

Because of leather industry, meat industries environmental norms are controlled. Since it is a byproduct industry, it has its own environmental issues. Overall, we need to find ways to come up with new products to reduce the environmental issues.

Also, the industry needs some more industry friendly policies like Make in India campaign which is showing some rays of hope for this industry to grow.

What are the challenges in the leather chemicals industry?

This industry has all categories of manufacturers- small, medium and large.

Hence, different categories have different issues. For small industries, consistency in quality products, while for medium and large manufacturers, cost is the major issue.

As leather chemical business is performance oriented, companies have to invest in technical service centres and customer friendly technical service to cater to their immediate needs.

Another major and common issue for all categories is the handling of effluents.

Reduction of TDS, alternate to chrome tanning, economical way for preservation of hides and skins and reduction of the usage of water in the process are the other necessities that the industry requires.

Give us an overview about Balmer Lawrie & Co Ltd. Balmer Lawrie is one of the premier corporate entities in India since 1867. BL is a 150 years old company with highly diversified multi locational conglomerate with its corporate headquarters in Kolkata.

It is a public sector unit under the ministry of petroleum and natural gas. BL has two verticals -manufacturing and service businesses. Balmer Lawrie had entered into the Leather Chemicals business in 1983 with the technology of Central Leather Research Institute, Chennai. Over the years, many new products and formulations were added with the help our inhouse R&D team.

We have huge product basket comprising of many varieties of synthetic Fat liquors and

synthetic tanning agents, beam house and finishing chemicals.

Company is certified by BVQI for ISO 9001:2000, ISO 14001:2004, OHSAS 18001:1999. Apart from this it is registered as a member in Leather working group (LWG), UK. It is the first leather chemical industry operating with the state of art zero liquid discharge (ZLD) plant.

Balmer Lawrie is looking at continuously expanding its product range and improving its service network through innovative research, sensitivity to the customers’ requirements and concern for the society and environment. The company is committed to its role of a “Responsible Partner” in the new age leather industry.

Elaborate on your focus regarding R&D and innovation related to the leather chemicals.

We extensively work on fatliquor based on renewable source, metal free tanning, more eco-friendly syntans like modified vegetable, developing new surfactants that can enhance fatliquor performance, etc.

We are in the process of technology upgradation with our engineering consultancy team to improve the existing products reaction efficiency.

Tell us about your new product development.

We are putting in more focus on developing green chemicals like Faliquor on vegetable base with less loading & maximum light fastness. In syntan, formaldehyde free syntan and more modified vegetable based syntan are being worked upon. We are also working on metal free tanning process.

What is the future growth strategy for Balmer Lawrie & Co Ltd? We want to become a full-fledged leather chemical company with the addition of finishing chemicals and complete range of beam house chemicals in our product basket.

In future we will focus more on our export to Asia Pacific, African and Latin American countries.

There is a growing inclination towards sustainability in the chemical industry. How are you focusing on sustainability in your business?

We focus on green chemicals for sustainability and are trying to reduce the total quantity of chemicals required in leather processing with lesser usage of water & emphasis on carbon footprints.

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EXPERT VIEWPOINT PROCESS AUTOMATION

Get digitize, Get smart!!

Eckard Eberle

CEO, Process Automation, Siemens AG, explains the way in which digitization has become the need of the hour for the chemical industry to make their processes, faster, smarter and flexible.

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What are the global trends related to digitalization for the chemical industry?

Digitalization corresponds to the procedure undertaken by companies from the chemical industry continuing to optimize production processes, including material and information flows, and achieving the following objectives: Greater productivity and more innovations by shortening the design and engineering stage and so reducing the time-to-market, greater flexibility while maintaining the necessary stability in running production, alongside a high degree of availability and efficiency of both plants and processes irrespective of maintenance and service times.

Today, these business objectives are combined with the overall trend towards digital transformation, such initiatives as Internet of Things (of the Industrial Internet Consortium (IIC) more in the US) or Industry 4.0. (driven in Europe and Germany) or Made in China 2025.

Digitalization is not only the blanket networking of devices and data, or adding digital functionality to existing products. It is moreover the need to keep the chemical plant and the data state-of-the-art in a socalled digital twin due to ongoing changes, and to use “as is” instead of “as build” data.

The best usage of the data volume provides then information of relevance for decisionmaking, called smart data instead of big data.

Which are the areas/processes that are seeing increased adoption of digitalization in the chemical industry?

The digital transformation has long been under way in the chemical industry: machines are already checking in over cell phones or tablets to book service technicians for their next maintenance, the location of trucks and associated delivery times for material supplies can be determined in precise detail, and plant operators are able to remotely operate and monitor production plants around the world from an operations control center.

We see digitalization in a lot of support processes, engineering, simulation, services and analytics of plant data - less in core processes, but that may change.

Digitalization can change value and supply chains from supplier to end customer, and there are more and more initiatives of modularization in equipment modules or plant sections.

Chemical Today Magazine | July 2016

Explain the attitude of the chemical industry to adopt digital change.

The chemical industry is not forefront but due to long plant lifecycles there is the need of managing changes and lots of data.

This industry knows the constraints for competitiveness, for know-how protection, and to cope with aging personnel, and it will innovate.

Also, digital transformation stands for a fundamental change in the corporate culture and in business processes, so chemical companies will develop a roadmap to digitalization.

Tell us about the concept of ‘Management of datas.’

Digitalization is initially the convergence of the virtual and real worlds over a customer’s entire value chain. It encompasses all the phases of a plant’s life cycle and the use of automation technologies or IT technologies to enhance overall efficiency.

For that we offer life cycle service contracts, and services. ‘Management of datas’ is generating information and knowledge and not only managing data. Many products already feature built-in intelligence and our digitalization services offer scope for the optimization of assets, for example the energy data from drive trains, on the basis of our Sinalytics technology platform.

Plant Data Services also supply control loop-based analytics over the control system to improve performance or increase transparency and efficiency. They enable production processes to be adapted to framework conditions such as energy costs or market prices. An ever-increasing number of services and reports are also being offered over the web or cloud. For this, we offer Mindsphere – Siemens Cloud for Industry, a comprehensive low-cost data hosting platform.

What is the challenge for the chemical industry while stepping into digitalization?

Chemical industry has the need to achieve greater productivity, flexibility and efficiency through digitalization. During the lifecycle of a plant, immense data is generated. The companies have concerns in loosing this valuable, sometimes proprietary data, and therefore develop competencies, digital strategies, including IT, plant control, personnel, etc.

How does Siemens understand digitalization for the chemical industry?

The trend towards digitalization will continue to gather momentum in the

chemical industry. We are ideally prepared to join our customers along the way towards IIC or Industrie 4.0, and set out a roadmap for digitalization. We see us a reliable partner and facilitator.

What are the solutions the company provides for chemical companies to master digitalization in their assets?

We offer solutions along the entire value chain in the fields of digitalization, automation and electrification.

Digitalization paves the way for integrated engineering, integrated operations and integrated plant management across the entire life cycle. Our portfolio based on the Totally Integrated Automation and Totally Integrated Power technology platforms and on Integrated Drive systems means that we are ideally prepared to face the challenges of the digital transformation.

A shared database overarching the entire lifecycle of a plant from the planning phase through commissioning, operation and maintenance up until the next upgrade or modernization process which is available across every facility reflects what we term the digital twin of an actual plant.

This digital twin is fed by our products such as Comos for integrated plant management, Simit simulation software for rapid commissioning and the process control system Simatic PCS 7 with their libraries.

In addition, a wide-range of components from industrial controls to sensors or actuators supply the process data required for diagnostics and condition monitoring from the field.

What is important is for this data volume to be processed to provide information of relevance for decision-making, for instance using the Operations Intelligence Software XHQ, which allows alternative courses of action to be illustrated on the basis of suitable evaluations and views, or Preactor for order planning and modification of production sequences on the basis of current information. Together with our Lifecycle, IT, plant data and security services this turns big data into smart data.

What needs to be done to get an asset more and more digitalized?

First of all to start the digital transformation, management attention, i.e. a declared intension and roadmap “to go digital” of the chemical company is needed. Systems, tools, technology and services will follow, complemented by fast bus systems, stable and secure communication, as well as security concepts to store data, maybe somewhere in the cloud.

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GREEN CHEMISTRY

TOWARDS A MORE SUSTAINABLE LEATHER INDUSTRY

C

hemical company Stahl and PUM are joining forces with the objective to contribute to the development of the leather industry in developing countries. Aimed at improving sustainable business results, promoting self-help capacity and increasing local employment, the ultimate goal is to combat poverty. Expert technicians working for Stahl will contribute their skills, knowledge and network in order to create a more sustainable leather segment in selected regions in Africa, Asia, Latin America and Eastern Europe.

A PUM Netherlands senior expert (PUM) is a non-profit organization founded by Dutch employers’ organization VNO-NCW in 1978.

PUM supports small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) in developing countries by deploying senior experts (all volunteers) for repetitive short-term advisory missions on the work floor. By sharing their knowledge over time these senior experts take the entrepreneurs to the next level, improving their business performance and creating paths for sustainable growth and job creation.

PUM serves 2,000 SMEs per year in 70 countries and 80 industries, through hundreds of partners and within programmes financed by the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs and other donors.

“PUM also advises SMEs in the leather sector, but since the leather sector has been 34

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disappearing from the Netherlands in recent years, we have had fewer senior experts with knowledge of the leather process at our disposal. By partnering up with Stahl this will be history,” Thijs van Praag, CEO at PUM, explained.

there, they will work with the tanneries in question on specific projects that require the technical skills and service they can offer.

The missions are advisory in origin and the goal is improved business operations and CSR.

Stahl believed that sustainability and transparency in the supply chain can be achieved through intense collaboration with its partners. The company employs leather experts from all around the world and is more than willing to deploy them for PUM projects. Joining forces with PUM offers Stahl a great opportunity to make a positive difference on a global scale,” said Michael Costello, director of sustainability at Stahl.

By partnering up with PUM, Stahl makes its knowledge internationally available with a view to promoting the sustainability of the leather sector and improving the quality of leather. Beyond this immediate goal, Stahl also believes that linking small and medium sized companies in developing countries to experienced professional experts can help combat poverty.

With its innovative power, expertise and range of technical solutions, Stahl is able to deliver best in class solutions and services. “By cooperating with such a strong organization and its partners we believe we can secure a better and more sustainable future for thousands of people,” Costello continued.

Worldwide leather industry more sustainable Projects involving Stahl and PUM are to be carried out in numerous countries in Africa, Asia, Latin America and Eastern Europe.

Employees of Stahl work on a voluntary basis on specific missions that involve traveling to an appointed country. Once

BIONIC LEAF TURNS SUNLIGHT INTO LIQUID FUEL

T

he days of drilling into the ground in the search for fuel may be numbered, because if Daniel Nocera has his way, it’ll just be a matter of looking for sunny skies.

Nocera, the Patterson Rockwood professor of energy at Harvard University, and Pamela Silver, the Elliott T. and Onie H. Adams professor of biochemistry and systems biology at Harvard Medical School, have co-created a system that uses solar energy to split water molecules and hydrogen-eating bacteria to produce liquid fuels.

The paper, whose lead authors include postdoctoral fellow Chong Liu and graduate student Brendan Colon, is described in a paper published in Science.

“This is a true artificial photosynthesis system,” Nocera said. “Before, people were using artificial photosynthesis for watersplitting, but this is a true A-to-Z system, and we’ve gone well over the efficiency of photosynthesis in nature.”

While the study shows the system can be used to generate usable fuels, its potential doesn’t end there, said Silver, who is also a founding core member of the Wyss Institute at Harvard University.

“The beauty of biology is it’s the world’s greatest chemist - biology can do chemistry we can’t do easily,” she said. “In principle, we have a platform that can make any Chemical Today Magazine | July 2016

downstream carbon-based molecule. So this has the potential to be incredibly versatile.”

Dubbed “bionic leaf 2.0,” the new system builds on previous work by Nocera, Silver, and others, which - though it was capable of using solar energy to make isopropanol faced a number of challenges. Chief among those, Nocera said, was the fact that the catalyst used to produce hydrogen - a nickel-molybdenum-zinc alloy - also created reactive oxygen species, molecules that attacked and destroyed the bacteria’s DNA. To avoid that, researchers were forced to run the system at abnormally high voltages, resulting in reduced efficiency.

“For this paper, we designed a new cobaltphosphorous alloy catalyst, which we showed does not make reactive oxygen species,” Nocera said. “That allowed us to lower the voltage, and that led to a dramatic increase in efficiency.”

The system can now convert solar energy to biomass with 10 percent efficiency, Nocera said, far above the 1 percent seen in the fastest-growing plants. In addition to increasing the efficiency, Nocera and colleagues were able to expand the portfolio of the system to include isobutanol and isopentanol. Researchers also used the system to create PHB, a bio-plastic precursor, a process first demonstrated by professor Anthony Sinskey of MIT.

The new catalyst also came with another advantage - its chemical design allows it to “self-heal,” meaning it wouldn’t leach material into solution.

“This is the genius of Dan,” Silver said. “These catalysts are totally biologically compatible.”

Though there may yet be room for additional increases in efficiency, Nocera said the system is already effective enough to consider possible commercial applications, but within a different model for technology translation.

“It’s an important discovery - it says we can do better than photosynthesis,” Nocera said.

“But I also want to bring this technology to the developing world as well.”

Working in conjunction with the First 100 Watts programme at Harvard, which helped fund the research, Nocera hopes to continue developing the technology and its applications in nations like India with the help of their scientists.

In many ways, Nocera said, the new system marks the fulfillment of the promise of his “artificial leaf,” which used solar power to split water and make hydrogen fuel.

“If you think about it, photosynthesis is amazing,” he said. “It takes sunlight, water, and air - and then look at a tree. That’s exactly what we did, but we do it significantly better, because we turn all that energy into a fuel.”

35

GREEN CHEMISTRY

WOOD COMPONENTS

TO BOOST THE QUALITY OF FOOD PRODUCTS

X

ylan, fibrillated cellulose and lignin are wood-derived polymers that could be used for improving the texture and reducing the energy content of food products. According to VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland, wood-derived ingredients could be utilised in the manufacture of products such as yoghurt, baked goods and meat products.

The food industry is continuously looking for new, natural ingredients that improve the quality of food products and promote consumers’ health. Studies conducted by VTT have shown that xylan, fibrillated cellulose and lignin have properties that make them stand out from traditionally used ingredients.

Hemicellulose as texture enhancer Xylan, a hemicellulose extracted from birch pulp, could be used as texture enhancer in yoghurt. Compared to conventional manufacturing techniques, VTT’s studies showed that xylan improved the smoothness of yoghurt.

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Chemical Today Magazine | July 2016

The texture was also more stable: no separation of water from the yoghurt gel was observed in the tests. VTT tested xylan in yoghurt at concentrations of 1.5 percent and 3 percent. Enzymatically hydrolysed xylan worked better at the lower concentration. In addition, xylan breaks down slowly in the in vitro colon model and therefore unlikely causes flatulence, in contrast to commonly used fructans.

Fibrillated cellulose as thickening agent Another exciting wood-derived ingredient for modifying texture is fibrillated cellulose, which is produced by wet-grinding cellulose fibre. It is particularly useful for its ability to bind water at low concentration and form a web-like gel.

Fibrillated cellulose could be utilised as thickening and stabilising agent for instance in fermented dairy products, such as yoghurt. In VTT’s in vitro digestion model it has also been observed that fibrillated cellulose binds free bile acids, which is an indication of potential cholesterol lowering effect in the human body.

Lignin in emulsions and foams As technology develops, increasingly sophisticated ingredients can be extracted from wood, and even lignin could be a candidate for a new food additive. The surface-active properties of lignin could be utilised to prepare emulsions (mixtures of water and oil) and foams with improved texture. Lignin could also be used to reduce oxidation in food products.

VTT tested lignin in the manufacture of muffins: In addition to giving muffins a fluffier texture, lignin proved to be a surprisingly efficient substitute for whole eggs and egg yolks. Lignin also functioned as emulsifier in mayonnaise and supported juiciness in a meat product.

Regulatory issues Some wood-derived ingredients, such as xylitol, microcrystalline cellulose and carboxymethylcellulose have been used as food additives already for decades. The approval of new types of wood-derived ingredients for use in food products is governed by food additive or novel foods legislation. Approval requires proving the safety of ingredients by means of impartial scientific evidence.

CHEMISTS LEAD BREAKTHROUGH IN CARBON CAPTURE

S

cientists from the University of York have developed an innovative new green method of capturing carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions from power stations, chemical and other large scale manufacturing plants.

Starbons, made from waste biomass including food peelings and seaweed, were discovered and first reported 10 years ago by the York Green Chemistry Centre of Excellence. Using these renewable materials provides a greener, more efficient and selective approach than other commercial systems of reducing emissions.

Current widespread methods of carbon capture, such as amine treating, use liquid solutions for the treatment of emissions from chemical plants and refineries.

However, these are expensive to run and require a lot of input energy compared with a relatively low output.The synthetic makeup of Starbons, which contains pores, results in the absorption of up to 65 percent more CO2 than other methods.

Starbons are also more selective in capturing CO2 when mixed with nitrogen, with results showing a capture rate of 20:1 rather than 5:1 - four times more selective than other methods.

Chemical Today Magazine | July 2016

The materials also retain their CO2 absorption and selectivity in the presence of water, and have extremely fast rates of CO2 absorption and desorption.

Such enhanced properties for carbon capture, in a material that is sustainable and low-cost to make, holds significant potential for helping to reduce emissions from many manufacturing plants and power stations in the UK and around the world.

Professor Michael North, professor of green chemistry at the University of York, said: “This work is of fundamental importance in overturning established wisdom associated with gas capture by solids. It defies current accepted scientific understanding of the efficiency of carbon-capturing CO2, and has the potential to be of significant commercial and governmental value in helping the UK meet its CO2 emissions reduction promises.

Professor James Clark, head of York’s Green Chemistry Centre of Excellence, said: “The high CO2 adsorption, high selectivity, rapid kinetics and water tolerance, combined with the low cost and ease of large scale production from waste biomass, gives Starbons great potential. We hope to offer the product as a commercial capture agent for separating CO2 from chemical or power station waste streams.”

37

SECTOR VIEW HIGH PERFORMANCE PIGMENTS

COLOURS:

HUES & SHADES

TAKE A SHINY TURN

All around us we see cars with glossier metallic finish; wall paints which are also weather durable; and regular plastic chairs which dorn a regal look and feel.

Colours are no longer just hues or shades but there is more to it. High performance pigments, stand true to its name and is delivering the extra ‘performance’ for the industry with every brush stroke.

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Chemical Today Magazine | July 2016

BY DEBARATI DAS

C

olours are an integral part of life and have indisputably become an important factor in every industry to appeal to its buyers. Not just the hues, but today colours also need to qualify various other criteria such as texture, longevity, resistance to heat and light etc to be in sync with the changing market demand.

While the pigments industry is catching up to these requirements, high performance pigments (HPP) is garnering special attention from various industries due to its striking characteristics.

The hunt for newer, trendier shades and textures on walls, automobiles and clothes has made the pigments industry shake up and scale new heights.

The global demand for pigments amounts to almost 9.7 million tonnes, as analyzed by Ceresana, the market research company. The global pigments market is anticipated to reach $31.98 billion by 2023, expanding at a CAGR of 3.8 percent between 2015 and 2023, as per a recent report by Transparency Market Research.

The global pigments market is dominated by Asia Pacific, which alone accounted for more than 40 percent volume share in 2014. Rising demand from major end-user segments especially the automotive industry along with increasing construction activities in countries such as China, India, Singapore, Thailand, and Malaysia has further fueled the demand for pigments. As per reports, China will be the major consumer of pigments by 2023 while Middle East & Africa and Latin America are the anticipated potential markets for pigments in the near future.

Pigments have become an important part of various industries including paints and varnishes, plastics, construction material, glass and ceramics, printing inks, paper, textiles, cosmetics and various others. While inorganic pigments, like titanium dioxide, iron oxide, carbon black and chromium, compounds dominate the industry; the demand for safe and environment friendly colours are raising the popularity of organic pigments as well.

Specialty pigments like classic organic, metallic, fluorescent, phosphorescent and luminescent, with its improved performance and visual effects have also shown a steady growth. This segment is also projected to be the fastest growing product segment due to increasing consumer preference for high performance pigments with attractive aesthetic features. Increased consumption of metallic pigments in decorative paints and coatings is likely to fuel demand for specialty pigments in the next few years. The rising awareness and use of nanoparticles is also expected to create lucrative opportunities in the global pigments market.

Growing demand The industry’s interest on HPP has risen due to its superior properties when compared to its conventional counterparts. These pigments have high resistance to heat, light & weather, enhanced fastness, chemical resistance and longer operational life giving them an edge over other pigments and broadening their usage and applications across multiple industries.

© BASF

Coatings, plastics, cosmetics and inks are some of the key applications where HPP market has seen significant growth. While coatings accounted for over half of the

39

SECTOR VIEW HIGH PERFORMANCE PIGMENTS global demand in 2014, automotive coating dominated in this segment. HPP is widely being preferred for automotive coatings, which has further witnessed a boost due to the exponential growth in automotive sales that has increased the demand for superior and high quality automotive coatings. The increasing customer needs and demands for high-end automobiles are playing a key role in positively shaping HPP’s market growth.

Plastic is anticipated to witness a strong growth in the near future while the global personal care industry also holds opportunities for the HPP market to grow. However, applications such as inks will witness a sluggish growth due to rapid digitization across the globe but developments in the ink jet printing technology are expected to strengthen the HPP demand in the ink industry. Rising stringency in food regulations has hampered the market growth in food pigments segment.

However, high performance pigments are emerging as the safer alternatives to conventional pigments in food packaging.

According to Grand View Research, the global HPP market, which was worth $4.17 billion in 2014 is expected to reach $6.32 billion by 2022. Growing automotive coatings demand is presumed to play a key role in positively shaping the market growth over the forecast period.

Even though, developing regions of Asia Pacific are showing signs of becoming potential markets, the high-performance pigment production is still dominated by European, US and Japanese companies.

The global HPP market was dominated by Europe with demand share exceeding 30 percent in 2014 due to a varied demand from multiple industries in the region. The European automotive industry has also shown signs of recovery, which will further strengthen the regional HPP demand. In North America, the HPP market is primarily driven by the automotive coatings and the recovering automotive industry is expected to strengthen the HPP market again.

Developing regions are more price sensitive than developed regions. However, emerging markets of Asia Pacific and Latin America will witness rapid demand growth. Asia Pacific is expected to witness the highest growth of 6 percent from 2015 to 2022.

The growing automotive industry in China, India, Thailand and Indonesia is expected to boost the demand for HPP in this region.

Inorganic high performance pigments dominated the product segment with demand share exceeding 60 percent of the global market in 2014. However, organic high performance pigments are expected to witness a faster growth due to the fast changing customer buying patterns and favourable regulatory scenario.

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Chemical Today Magazine | July 2016

Challenges Faced Due to its superior characteristics over traditional pigments high performance products are priced much higher when compared to their conventional counterparts. This price disparity is likely to be a key challenge for a price sensitive market. Further, volatile raw material prices also pose threats to the industry’s growth.

Due to the rising preference for HPP by the end user industry, the competition among the industry participants has gone up which has resulted in companies taking strong measures to reduce manufacturing costs and yet provide superior quality products.

Small and niche players are focusing on increased usage of specialized pigments, such as thermochromic pigments and daylight fluorescent pigments which is also impacting the use of high-performance pigments.

Growing concerns over environmental issues is also a major challenge for pigment suppliers as stricter environmental regulation, especially related to water and industrial waste treatment, is also hampering the growth of this industry However, rapid technological innovation for superior products with enhanced properties will offer abundant opportunities to lower the cost of HPP positively impacting the market’s growth and development.

Among many characteristics, the most important attribute of high performance pigments is its eco-friendliness. The growing concern about environment safety and the overall health security of consumers, the industry to so slowly shifting away from harmful pigments and embracing vibrant yet safe pigments giving high performance pigment a wider arena to spread its hues.

Trending Hues The industry is working towards new elements that can be added in the pigments.

Here are some of the trends, which are catching up in the market: Metallic sheen: The automotive industry is the major drive behind the pigments industry. While the global trend is towards synthetic, metallic blue, silver and white hues; BASF launched its collection of 65 colours called Parallax, with a concept that objects appear shifted or changed when viewed from different angles. BASF, in its collection has tried to combine the concepts of digitized life and the physical world.

For instance, ASMR Blue - an intense metallic blue, representing the physical world combines with a digital look and feel with a materialized metallic effect. “To continue to grow and develop their business, our customers need a diverse selection of pigments and global expertise,” said

Alexander Haunschild, senior vice president, global pigments business, BASF. Resistance: Aerospace coatings have to perform under the harshest environments with wide variations of climatic changes including heat, cold, rain and extreme ultraviolet (UV) exposure, contact with fuels, chemicals and abrasion on a daily basis.

High performance pigments not just excel in challenging conditions but they also meet other extremely critical coating parameters required by aviation industry such as dry film thickness and overall light-weight coatings weight. In an industry where every milligramme of weight makes a huge impact, thick layer of paint on a plane can lead to extra weight and thus higher fuel costs.

HPP products for aerospace provide high performance and value in coatings.

High durability: Coatings in industrial application needs high durability pigments. Sun Chemical’s DIC brand high performance pigments, Fastogen Super, offers variety of shades in bright colors with high chemical and heat resistance, high colour value, high purity, opaque grades for added hiding power and excellent light and weather fastness. These coatings are also applicable in appliance, container and general industrial coatings.

Cooling effect: Not just colour; pigments today also display heat-reflecting properties.

Ferro has a range of such pigments called the Cool Color™ which has a range of commercial applications such as coil and other coatings, automotive applications, vinyl siding, cool roofing and plastics, where the pigment reduces solar heat and saves energy. The infrared reflecting pigments when used in houses can lower the surface temperature by 10°C and near surface air temperatures by 1.6°C. Apart from the construction sector, there is a strong demand in the automotive market as well where the reflective coatings on car shells, seats, dashboards and leather upholstery can to prevent excessive heat.

Merck also has a line of pigment, Iriotec® which has its applications in the printing and plastics industries. The portfolio includes product lines from heat-reflecting, conductive pigments, laser pigments and granules for marking plastics and print products. This makes lettering on keyboards and bottle tops fast and precise with laser marking. Merck’s new range of ceramic pigments, Thermaval™, is a pearlescent pigment for the high-temperature range which can retain colour when used in ceramic glazes at cost-efficient single firing temperatures beyond 1,100°C. “By contrast, Thermaval™ pigments withstand high temperatures without losing their high colour intensity. They also exhibit a completely new, intensive sparkle,” said Carsten Handrosch, deputy head of R&D decorative pigments, Merck.

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FEATURE LEATHER CHEMICALS

GUCCI SHOES OR

ARMANI SUITS:

LEATHER FITS IN JUST

RIGHT

© Designed and made by Rachel Freire and Alexandra Groover

Be it shoes, jackets or purse… leather has never been out of fashion.

But to be in vogue, leather has constantly undergone a change in the way it is treated.

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Chemical Today Magazine | July 2016

The growth of the global leather market is largely dependent on the rise and fall of the footwear, fashion and automobile industries.

The good news however, is that the need for good shoes will never end; fashion has its way of making itself a necessity rather than a luxury; and what is a good car without appealing upholstery!! Thus, leather too, has wriggled in to remain an integral part of these industries.

international regulations like ISO, REACH etc, as per a recent report by Persistence Market Research. China’s leather shoe market is growing at a CAGR of around 12.4 percent annually which has helped boost the leather chemicals market. Also, leading global manufacturers of leather chemicals are simultaneously expanding their production capacity in Asia Pacific to keep up with the growing demand.

This rising demand for various leather products such as apparels, footwear, garments, furniture and automotive upholstery has positively impacted the leather industry. It has also led to the way in which leather is treated in order to align itself with new age requirements. Traditional leather chemicals have made rapid advances to make leather products more appealing, steadfast and eco friendly. The global leather chemicals market is expected to reach $8.19 billion by 2020, according to a report by Transparency Market Research.

Increasing level of disposable income in North America and Europe has led people to invest in fashionable trends and luxury products like garments, footwear and others product. This has not just encouraged the fashion industry to come up with product innovations with leather but also new chemicals to make better quality leather.

Leather chemicals are essential in different stages of leather production to enhance the appearance of the product along with better water resistance, flexibility and heat resistance. The rising demand from footwear and automotive markets is constantly driving the growth of the leather chemicals market.

The main focus of leather chemicals however is to bring about less harmful chemical substitutes, align the production process with the stringent environmental regulations, make leather products long lasting and bring in an appealing richness of leather in the end-products.

Leather chemicals market is broadly classified into beamhouse chemicals, tanning and dyeing chemicals, and finishing chemicals. Tanning and dyeing chemicals hold the largest share in this market and the increasing demand for leather products in countries including Brazil, India and China will further boost the market for leather tanning and dyeing chemicals.

Chemicals such as cyanides, calcium hydroxide and amines are increasingly being used to protect leather from decomposing and increasing the durability of the material.

In beamhouse operations, chemicals such as swell regulating agents, biocides, chromium sulfate, soda ash and formic acid are used in the leather production process.

Geographically, Asia Pacific (APAC) dominates the global leather chemicals market with growing footwear and automotive industries in APAC region as the primary factor. This has also in turn boosted the leather chemicals market in the region.

Asia Pacific’s dominance in leather chemicals market will majorly be supported by India in coming years with its compliance with many Chemical Today Magazine | July 2016

Technological advancement Not just fashion and footwear, leather is also extensively used in athletic and military products. In such cases, leather has to meet high precision levels while performing in challenging conditions. Due to this, leather has always faced challenges from other materials to have high durability and abrasion resistance properties.

Technological advances are working towards beating these odds.

Some recent trends in the leather industry are as follows: Micro and nano particulates: The use of micro and nano particulates is taking the industry in its stride due to its abrasion resistance and improved innovation in chemical compound that offers improved color, look and feel better leather with superior water resistance and improved finish adhesion. Nano particulates are extremely hard materials, yet small enough to cover a huge surface area without detriment to other technical properties or the feel of the leather. These particles enhance the resistance to abrasion of leather surface so much so that the wearer cannot notice any change in the feel or movement of the leather. They also permanently bond with the leather to enhance its life. This technology is expected to take the leather chemical market in its stride.

Bio-polymers for leather tanning: Lanxess recently developed a new class and range of genuine re tanning agent, Levotan X-Biomer, an alternative to synthetic re tanning agents. This technology effectively utilizes biopolymers for a more sustainable production of high quality leather. The products are based on biodegradable polymers, which are produced from renewable raw materials and specifically functionalized for re tanning applications in a biologically engineered process. Thus, the Levotan X-Biomer technology enables the production of wet blue leather that fulfills

the requirements demanded of leather.

“To become increasingly independent from fossil fuel based raw materials, the incremental substitution of petroleumbased chemicals is one of the key challenges for the leather industry in the years ahead.

Lanxess is a driving force behind the formulation of advanced leather chemicals derived from renewable resources,” said Arun J, head – business unit leather, Lanxess India.

The technology also reduces the re tanning effluent load. Also, since it is based on organic components, it can easily be degraded by microorganisms in the effluent treatment benefiting tanners from a more efficient COD elimination in their waste water.

Organic leather: Research shows that conventional leather tanning has a disastrous effect on human health creating ecological imbalance. The industry is abuzz with a new type of leather known as the organic leather which is free from chrome, metal, formaldehyde, sodium sulphide, glutaraldenhyde and sulphuric acid which are usually used in regular tanneries.

These chemicals are a huge challenge to environment pollution as well.

“Standard leather production methods allow toxic chemicals, surface treatments, compounding and grain correction, which can cause environmental damage and remove the true sensual qualities of leather,” said Ilona Ludewig-Mack, founder Natureally Organic Leather.

Organic leather hides are leathers that come from organically raised cattle, which are treated using natural materials to cure, preserve and tan leather. These natural biodegradable tanning materials include bark tannins, plant tannins, lime or smoke.

The tanning process takes anywhere between 5 weeks to 12 months while regular chrome tanning takes less than a week.

Although a time consuming and strenuous process, organic leather is catching up in the industry.

Alternative leathers: Even though leather is the most popular material for footwear, but it also has implications on environmental footprint. Designers are constantly working on new ways of tanning and finishing.

Not just that, the industry is working on discarded parts of animals to put them in use, like the stomach of cattle. More sustainable fish leather is a new entrant into the market where fish skins, which is considered a waste in the fishing industry, is being used.

Eco Leather: Given the rising concern over killing animal, alternatives are being derived from plants. Eco-leather is made with natural fibre such as flax or cotton mixed with palm, corn, soybean and other plant 43

FEATURE LEATHER CHEMICALS oils that are laminated together in layers to create a material that looks and feels similar to animal hides. Many other forms of plantbased leather are being worked upon to make it more sustainable.

A UK-based company, Ananas Anam, developed an innovative, natural and sustainable non-woven textile, Pinatex, made from pineapple leaves fibre. The long fibre are extracted by a process called decortication and the fabric made out of it bonds together without knitting or weaving.

This material is strong, versatile, breathable, soft, light, flexible, and can be easily printed on, stitched and cut. This eco-friendly alternate material perfectly fits as a substitute for leather, which is becoming more scarce and expensive. The material can effectively be used in fashion and accessories, furnishings and upholstery in cars and aeronautic. According to Dr Carmen Hijosa, creator of Pinatex and CEO of Ananas Anam, globally, 40,000 tonnes of pineapple waste is produced annually which is either burnt or left to rot. “Pineapple leaves contain one of the finest cellulose fibre in existence. So, I thought, why not use this to make leather alternative?”

Indian leather finds its place in major markets such as the US, UK, Germany, Italy, Hong Kong, UAE, Spain, France, Netherlands, China, Vietnam and Belgium. These 12 countries together account for nearly 75 percent of India’s total leather & leather product exports.

However, the Indian leather industry witnessed a 7 percent fall in the fiscal year 2015-16 due to unfavorable global market conditions.

The Council for Leather Exports however foresees a potential for the exports to grow by 12 to 14 percent in 2016-17.

The government’s ‘Make in India’ campaign is further expected to give the necessary boost as leather industry has been selected among the 25 sectors chosen to be a part of this campaign. The key target under this initiative is to make this a $27 billion industry by 2020.

The Indian Leather story

The way forward

The leather industry is of vital importance in the Indian economy with massive potential for employment, growth and exports alike. India is the second largest producer of leather footwear and garments in the world and the fifth-largest exporter of leather goods and accessories globally.

The overall change in lifestyle, coupled with increasing per capita income of individuals across the globe, fast changing fashion trends, growth in tourism industry, are just some of the key reasons which will ensure that the demand for high quality leather goods never fade from the market.

© Designed and made by NAE Vegan 44

According to government data, India exported leather and leather products worth $2,653.64 million in 2015. Among the various items exported, footwear holds a major share of about 45 percent in India’s total leather & leather product exports, followed by leather goods & accessories (22 percent), finished leather (21 percent), leather garments (9 percent) and saddlery & harnesses (3 percent).

Chemical Today Magazine | July 2016

45

EVENT COVERAGE ARC ADVISORY FORUM

CONFLUENCE OF GLOBAL INNOVATIVE TECHNOLOGY Global technological providers gave an insight on ways in which the industry is achieving manufacturing excellence with Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT).

BY DEBARATI DAS

I

ndustry leaders recently got together to discuss the “Industry in Transition: Navigating the New Age of Innovation,” at the 14th India Forum organized by the ARC Advisory Group. The two-day forum saw enthusiastic participation from both the process and discrete industries. Held on 7 & 8 July, in Bengaluru, India, the forum built a common platform for end users, technology solution providers and global industry thought leaders from across the country.

Industry 4.0: Industry in Transition The global manufacturing is going through a revolution with Industry 4.0 and Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) taking the global industry in its stride. With all this, the industry is moving towards digitized automation to bring in greater flexibility, better maintenance and optimizing the overall manufacturing output.

Among other things, the industry is utilizing artificial intelligence at a dynamic level for asset management, proactive maintenance, asset performance modeling, advanced data visualization and transforming the entire industrial ecosystem.

“The world is changing around us and this change is gaining momentum. Companies are transforming and imbibing digital transformation. There are some traditional industries that have not changed for decades. But even these process plants have to transform themselves,” said Andy Chatha, president, ARC Advisory Group, in a video presentation.

“Most of the chemical and process plants are over 20 years old, their assets are even older, their performance is aging and it is difficult to upgrade these plants. We really need a whole new generation of technologies, like open systems, to upgrade these plants. The future is all about smart machines, and we have to start working towards achieving that,” he added.

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Chemical Today Magazine | July 2016

At the forum, while global technology solution leaders delved into the latest technological advancement, which is changing the manufacturing scenario across the world, Indian manufacturers ideated into the ways in which these global solutions can be deftly amalgamated into the Indian manufacturing environment.

“In today’s market place, innovation is the buzzword. But innovation is not just confined to product changes, it encompasses innovations all level of value chain from shop floor to the end user. It is about becoming collaboratively networked enterprises, managing disperse interests of technology, engineering and resources. Only those companies which can navigate through all information and technology and implement them effectively will remain successful,” said G Ganapathiraman, country manager, ARC Advisory Group, India.

“The forum was structured to disseminate this information and technology effectively and provide end users, solution providers and decision makers an opportunity to network and get the overall view of the market. The forum focused on information and how it facilitates the dissemination of new technologies across all industry verticals,” he further added.

As a common concern, the forum had an array of industry sectors discussing the dire need for Indian companies to be a part of this global transition towards Industry 4.0.

“The industry today, wants to maximize the throughput. Instead of efficiency we are looking for profitability. Process timing is changing to the decision-making timing and collaboration is replacing individualization. Instead of eliminating humans from the shop floor or the production units we are empowering them with technology.

Chemical Today Magazine | July 2016

This is the new way of working,” said B R Mehta, sr vice president, Reliance Industries Ltd. “The industry is looking for open systems with which we can see and operate an entire plant on an ipad. However, many plants still do not even have automation and proactive maintenance in place, which is hampering their growth. These digital technologies are the need of the hour to keep you ahead of times,” added Mehta.

As Achyuta Ghosh, head of research, NASSCOM, made a remark in his talk, “An industry in transition opens up lot of avenues for innovation;” the forum was abuzz with the various types of digital transformation that is being integrated in the industrial system today.

Companies such as Seimens, Bentley, ABB, Mitsubishi Electric, STEAG, OSIsoft, Bosch, discussed the latest technologies in the global market steering industries towards Industry 4.0 and deftly incorporating this transformation in existing systems.

Various other Indian companies such as Reliance, Ace Micromatic, NTPC etc gave a clear insight regarding the difficulties faced while implementing these new age technologies in their systems. But the benefits gained in the overall process management and production optimization with these technologies made it worthwhile.

Anne-Marie Walters, industry marketing director, Bentley Systems, in her interaction with Chemical Today said that although India is still in the phase of incorporating automation in the production units, the country is a promising region to fast integrate IIoT in their systems and be at par with the global trends in the near future.

All in all, the 14th India Forum got all decision-makers to put on their thinking caps and look to ‘implement’ a difference in their companies moving forward.

47

INNOVATION COATINGS

THE ART OF INNOVATION: Application Reader Technology (ART) device quantifies paint feel, helps manufacturers understand consumer preferences for architectural paints.

BY K ABRAHAM VAYNBERG

W

hile paint colour is an important consideration for paint chemists and design professionals, paint application “feel” is key for those doing the painting.

Paint producers understand that the ease or difficulty of rolling out the paint can form a lasting impression on consumers and strongly influence their perceptions of product quality.

Paint application feel describes how it feels to roll paint onto a surface. Typically, a trained evaluator relies on experience to characterize subjective impressions of a paint rollout.

Despite the experience of the evaluators, tests evaluating paint application feel have been limited in accuracy and reproducibility.

And, because they rely on the evaluators’ judgement, they also can be subjective. To objectively quantify aspects of paint feel, Ashland scientists invented a device called 48

Chemical Today Magazine | July 2016

the Application Reader Technology™, or ART device. The patent-pending ART device consists of an infrared camera and a force transducer incorporated between the extension pole and the roller. It is portable and can be used on any substrate, so Ashland can assist manufacturers on site.

The ART of paint The ART device objectively measures the parameters that comprise paint application feel. Unlike subjective evaluation techniques, the ART device generates and records quantitative spatial and force data in real time during a paint rollout. The data enables formulators to better understand differences in paint formulations and to tailor formulations to specific customer preferences for paint feel. To determine an objective measure of paint feel, technicians first roll paint in several directions onto a smooth wall. The ART device captures the

details of each paint stroke, speed of roller movement, the work of rolling and the normal and shear forces generated during the rollout process. The weight of the paint applied, painting time and distance are also recorded.

Using these measurements and in-house developed software, the ART device calculates the total work of rolling, which is expressed in W, the general designation for work, expressed as J, for Joules; average speed of rolling, normalized work of rolling; and average painting force.

These factors reflect how the paint feel affects how one paints. Changes in paint formulation also change the rollout process. By recording spatial and force data generated during application, the ART device identifies the changes resulting from paint formulation differences, and provides information and insight into

consumer preferences. The parameters of paint application feel also serve as a baseline to help coatings manufacturers maintain consistency in their formulations.

that because DIY paints have longer open times and were preferred by the participants over contractor paints that the correlation was circumstantial.

Proving the ART device

The data showed a weak positive correlation between personal preference and ICI viscosities, suggesting that higher ICI measurements positively affect consumer preference. Further, the data showed only weak statistical correlations between personal preference and rheological characteristics of the paints.

Ashland scientists recently completed a study using the ART device, in which 11 participants tested 16 commercially available architectural paints. Half the paints were geared for contractors, half for do-it-yourselfers (DIY).

To perform the study, the participants painted on drywall divided into four 7.5 ft x10 ft sections. Using 9 in (inch) rollers, they painted each section with a single paint. At the end of each paint application, the participants filled out an evaluation form. They agreed or disagreed to varying degrees to statements about such aspects of their painting experience as ease of transfer from roller to wall, roller pickup, reworking, quality and personal preference.

The ART device digitally recorded the painting process, recording the position of the roller as a function of time, along with the forces exerted during the painting process.

The collected data was used to calculate dips of the roller to load paint; paint applied (by weight, measured by scale), roller strokes, distance rolled, painting time, roller velocity, average pressing force and effort.

This study also sought to determine the paint perception attributes that most impact overall preference. As expected, quality and personal preference were the most highly correlated, followed by reworking and wet film appearance. Roller pick-up showed a strong correlation with personal preference, but the lowest correlation among the parameters.

Paint characterizations and correlations The 16 paints were characterized according to KU, ICI and Brookfield viscosities, sag, leveling and open time. There were no differences in KU viscosities between contractor and DIY paints. ICI viscosity, leveling and open time were higher in DIY formulations than in the contractor paints.

Applied paint properties, such as leveling or ICI viscosity, are common parameters for formulating paints. So, Ashland researchers looked at how these parameters correlate with consumer preference. They didn’t find many positive correlations. The data from correlations between the average personal preference and various applied paint properties showed that only open time correlated positively with personal preference. Open time measures how long a paint remains usable in an open can, and thus fluid enough to allow the painter to fix imperfections during painting. It is possible Chemical Today Magazine | July 2016

Personal preference vs. ART device data Unlike applied paint characteristics and rheology data, ART device data showed stronger statistical correlations with personal preference. The data showed a strong negative correlation between personal preference and the total number of dips and length rolled. The negative correlation indicates the fewer roller dips into the paint required to cover the test wall and the shorter the distance rolled, the more likely a consumer will like the paint.

The number of strokes, painting time, effort and average velocity all showed significant negative correlations with personal preference. The correlations indicate consumers like fewer strokes, shorter painting time and less effort. And when they like a paint, they may paint slower.

Summing up Paint rheology and applied paint characteristics each produced only weak correlations with personal preference, and therefore are not independent indicators of consumer preference. The ART device, by contrast, produced a number of statistically significant and strong correlations between ART device-measurable parameters and personal preference. The strong correlations validated the ability of the ART device to predict consumer preference. Paint manufacturers can use data generated by Ashland’s ART device to predict which paints consumers are most likely to prefer.

What’s more, they can use ART device data to help adjust paint properties to respond to consumer preferences.

As Ashland’s study demonstrated, paints that require the least number of dips per given substrate size, the least distance to roll, the fewest strokes, the shortest time to paint with the slowest velocity and the least effort will most likely be preferred by end users.

And for the architectural coatings market: the painters in Ashland’s research preferred the DIY paints over the professional grades geared for contractors.

Author K Abraham Vaynberg is a Research Scientist at Ashland Specialty Ingredients, Ashland Inc, Wilmington, Delaware, US.

Ashland Drives Innovation with More Novel Technologies That Enable Better Paint Formulation In addition to the ART device, Ashland is developing several new tools to help manufacturers quantify coating additives performance, evaluate and improve ingredient choices, streamline production processes and formulations, and more efficiently develop new products for market.

“Our new technologies are helping paint producers take validation to the next level,” said Prachur Bhargava, Ashland global marketing manager, coating specialties. “Our customers get consistent and quantifiable results so they can make more informed, fact-based decisions and choose raw materials with confidence.”

Robust and precise measurement systems are critical for assessment of paint performance, new product development and benchmarking formulations against competitive products, said Bhargava. The paint industry, though, has long relied on qualitative and subjective evaluation and measurement to improve product quality, whether it be related to surface characteristics, paint feel (as described in the main article), application or stability. Ashland’s new technologies, Bhargava said, generate quantifiable and reproducible data to help formulators more precisely characterize paint properties and to improve their formulations.

Ashland uses the LumiSizer™, a software-controlled optically assisted centrifuge, to accelerate stability assessment of emulsions, liquid-liquid and solid-liquid dispersion type foam control additives, and complex polymer-based formulations such as nonionic synthetic associative thickeners. This accelerated stability test accurately reflects and measures the long-term stability of the additives in a much shorter time frame. “The LumiSizer is a good predictive tool to determine long-term stability,” said Bhargava.

Digital Optical Imaging with a high-magnification digital microscope enables scientists to analyze foam and surface defects in wet and dry films.

Using digital optical imaging, scientists can identify hydroxyethylcellulose (HEC) and titanium dioxide (TiO2) grit, roller spatter, dirt and surface defects. Digital optical imaging yields quantitative measurements that eliminate subjectivity and improve differentiation between test paints.

Roller pattern plays a critical role in coating appearance and the visual perception of a paint’s hiding ability.

Current evaluation methods are qualitative, and thus subjective. 3-D surface profilometry is based on an axial chromatism technique. Software quantifies various surface roughness parameters and correlates them with roller pattern.

Finally, Ashland has developed a new rheologybased method to measure open time and generate reproducible results. A tribology attachment measures torque as the paint dries. The time of the torque jump is a measure of open time.

“We are establishing these evaluation methodologies and technologies at our global Centres of Excellence to serve our customers worldwide,” said Hilbert Esselbrugge, global technical director, coatings and construction. “Further, we and our customers cooperate and share development ideas on a global basis.”

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INSIGHTS INDUSTRY 4.0

INDUSTRY 4.0

AND THE CHEMICALS INDUSTRY

© Mimi Potter / Fotolia.com

Ringvorlesung Catalyzing transformation through operations improvement and Sommersemester 2016 business growth

By Stefan Van Thienen, Andrew Clinton, Monika Mahto & Brenna Sniderman

INDUSTRIE 4.0

Improving business operations: Productivity With more than 20 million people employed management and control, and virtual plant and risk and annual sales of $5 trillion, the global commissioning. Beyond these traditional chemicals industry serves as the backbone applications, the company completely Improving business operations manifests of many end-market industries such as automated the production of liquid soaps in two ways: improving productivity and Industrie 4.0 wird als and die vierte industrielle Revolution bezeichnet und in Industrieunternehmen, agriculture, automotive, construction, at its smart pilot plant Kaiserslautern. Prozesse zu den Lieferanten und Kunden und reducing werden. risk. Im Rahmen dieser basiert im Kern auf extrem flexiblen Produktionsprozessen bis hin zu auch rechtliche Aspekte berücksichtigt pharmaceuticals. ChangesLosgröße in the1. chemicals Once a user places4.0 anmüssen order for a customized Zur erfolgreichen Realisierung von Industrie Ringvorlesung werden Konzepte zu Industrie 4.0 durch Experten aus neben ofProduktionsprozessen zahlreichethe andere Prozesse im Wissenschaft und WirtschaftWhile vermittelt. the productivity of chemicals industry — such as the rise the fourth soap, radio-frequency identification plants can industrial revolution, or Industry 4.0 Termin: — Freitags tags von attached to – Ort: theIBW-Gebäude, soap containers 10:00 - 12:00 Uhr HS 115, Herbert-Lewin-Str. 2, 50931 Köln be improved by various smart manufacturing are thus likely to have a ripple15.effect on a in die inform und Einführung Thematik the equipment on the production Partner techniques, reducing risk zu Köln involves managing supply chains and innumber of other industries. 22.04.2016 PD Dr. Agnes Koschmider, line viaUniversität wireless network connections 29.04.2016 Produktentwicklung im Zeitalter von Industrie 4.0 house operations to respond to changing about theConsulting desired composition of the Prof. Dr. Christof Ebert, Vector Services GmbH Industry 4.0 brings together a number of customer needs and to improve safety and soap and enabling mass 06.05.2016 Industrial Analytics und Big Datapackaging—thus in Industrie 4.0 digital and physical advanced technologies Dr. Daniel Jeffrey Koch, Fraunhofer-Institut IAIS quality. customization without human involvement.

20.05.2016 Das Internet der Dinge to form a greater physical-to-digitalProf. Dr. Gregor Schiele, Universität Duisburg-Essenthese More importantly, technologies Smart manufacturing: Marrying IT to-physical connection—and it can 27.05.2016 Geschäftsmodelle für Industrie 4.0 & Internet der Dinge are SAP now potentially transform the chemicals and OT to improve productivity Timothy Kaufmann, AG advanced enough that they can integrate with companies’ core 03.06.2016 Vonand Modellbasierter Entwicklung bis zumchemicals Digitalen Zwilling industry by promoting strategic growth Dr. Markus Pfeil, Head of Research der TWT Science & Innovation Also known as “smart factory,” smart conversion and marketing processes to streamlining operations.

10.06.2016 Event-driven Architecture und Complex Event Processing: Basistechnologien für Industrie 4.0 manufacturing combines information digitally transform operations and enable Prof. Dr. Christian Janiesch, Universität Würzburg technology (IT), such as the IoT, artificial The time is ripe for such a transformation: “smart” supply chains and factories as well as 17.06.2016 SmartFactory OWL als Beispiel für Industrie 4.0 intelligence, and advanced analytics, with Dr. Olivernew Niggemann, Fraunhofer-Institut IOSB-INA Advanced technologies relevant toProf.the business models.

24.06.2016 Automatisierungstechnik für die Industrie 4.0 operations technology (OT), such as additive chemicals industry—such as the Internet of Prof. Dr. Michael Weyrich, Universität Stuttgart What can Industry 4.0 do for manufacturing, advanced materials, and Things (IoT), advanced materials, additive 01.07.2016 Arbeit und Qualifikation in der digitalen Produktion robotics. This process can benefit chemicals Prof. Dr. Hartmut Hirsch-Kreinsen, Technische Universität Dortmund chemicals? manufacturing, advanced analytics, artificial 08.07.2016 Industrie Gestaltungs-, Analyse- und Bewertungsoptionen companies in several ways: intelligence, and robotics—together have 4.0 – Betriebswirtschaftliche Organizations focused on business Prof. Dr. Robert Obermaier, Universität Passau reached a level of cost and performance that 15.07.2016 IT-Sicherheit und Industrie 4.0 can use Industry 4.0 technologies operations • Predictive asset management: By Dr. Harald Schöning, Head of Research der Software AG enables widespread applications. primarily to improve productivity and combining the continuous feed of data reduce risk, while those focused on growth For example, BASF is using Industry 4.0 collected from sensors with smart Universität zu Köln Wirtschaftsinformatik und Informationsmanagement agnes.koschmider@kit.edu can– Seminar applyfür Industry 4.0 to build incremental – equipment, applications in its deployment ofKontakt: connected plant operators are able to revenue or generate wholly new income systems and advanced analytics models evolve from reactive repairs to predictive streams. for predictive asset management, process maintenance.

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Chemical Today Magazine | July 2016

• Process management and control: Industry 4.0 technologies such as real-time analytics and automated control actions bring together the digital and physical realms, thereby enabling greater control over batch consistency and quality.

• Energy management: Industry 4.0 technologies such as soft or virtual software sensors can help improve energy efficiency.

• Safety management: Connected technologies can help companies in continuously monitoring products, byproducts, as well as any waste generated, thereby reducing production risks.

• Production simulation: By using technologies such as 3D visualization and virtual reality, plant operators can train staff, be prepared before plant operations start, and benefit from prognostics.

Supply chain planning: Predicting changes to reduce operational risk Industry 4.0 helps chemicals companies plan their supply chains in two ways: • Supply chain visibility: By monitoring chemicals in transit, chemicals companies are able to better manage their supply chain planning. Further, several players in the supply chain — ranging from transport operators to technology providers —can work toward a common business objective.

• Demand forecasting: Chemicals companies can achieve capacity optimization through demand forecasting and responsive scheduling. By doing so, they can identify demand indicators, and expand or contract their production capacities accordingly.

• Growing the business: Incremental and new revenue The transformational plays Industry 4.0 offers related to business growth lie on two ends of the value chain.

Research and development: Developing new products to expand revenue R&D is perhaps the most critical stage in the value chain: It shapes not only how the products will be manufactured but also informs subsequent improvements.

Because R&D demands heavy investment, chemicals companies are looking at big data and other tools to predict the outcome

of an investment. In the field of material genomics, for example, advanced analytics helps researchers use the available data to understand the chemical properties of available materials, and consider possible combinations in order to develop new materials with desired properties for specific customers.

Technologies relevant to this transformation include: • Additive manufacturing for testing or developing new products • Advanced analytics for selecting materials • 4D printing for developing advanced materials

Smart products and services: Making products intelligent and creating new data services Advanced technologies such as the IoT could allow chemicals companies to add intelligence to their existing products and deliver better customer service. In addition, chemicals companies could complement their traditional pay-by-the-ton revenue model by offering value-added data services.

By forward-integrating into their customers’ operations, chemicals companies can deliver value propositions and even build new business models.

sequence that brings together capabilities in different domains—required for a digital transformation. The layers in this structure begin with technology integration, data management, and advanced analytics, which in the physical realm are manifested in the form of digital interfaces that are used to drive digital capabilities and, finally, the strategic imperatives of the business.

Climbing the pyramid: Where to start As chemicals organizations seek to build an Industry 4.0 solutions architecture, the following actions might help them: • Start with what you know or do best: Use organizational agility to absorb changes in mature chemicals processes, traditional products, and supply chain operations where there is good visibility, then move onto relatively newer, more complex applications.

• Enable a cross-functional Industry 4.0 team: The competencies required in the architecture sit in different business functions, and hence it is important that chemicals executives create a crossfunctional team to focus on Industry 4.0 opportunities.

• New revenue models by forwardintegrating into customers’ operations

• Build and be a part of a pervasive ecosystem: Companies need to build diverse capabilities in big data infrastructure, management, integration, validation, and analytics to be able to deploy Industry 4.0 applications. This requires chemicals companies to partner with technology vendors, analytics providers, and universities, among others, to manage operations at each layer.

The solutions layer architecture: Enabling Industry 4.0 technologies and capabilities

• Manage your cyber risk: With greater interaction with ecosystem partners, chemicals manufacturers should focus on a risk management policy and technologies.

Products and services in this transformation include: • Product recommendations for chemicals applications • Data services to augment existing revenues

In Industry 4.0, data play a key role in connecting IT and OT. However, it is difficult for organizations to know where to focus and what to prioritize, or even what capabilities should be put in place, to achieve their specific objectives.

A structured series of capabilities, or a solutions layer architecture, can help executives plan and implement Industry 4.0 technologies. The goal of this architecture is to enable the company to build a digital DNA—the underlying

Industry 4.0 will likely impact the way chemicals companies operate and grow their businesses, as they shift away from the pay-by-the-ton revenue model to provide value-added products and services to their customers. How fast and well companies perform will depend on the decisions they take today and the initiatives they commit to for the coming years. As changes in chemicals affect related industries, time is of the essence: Industry 4.0 is no longer a topic of the future.

Authors Stefan Van Thienen is a partner and leader of the Chemicals and Specialty Materials sector at Deloitte Belgium.

Andrew Clinton is a senior manager in the Supply Chain and Manufacturing Operations practice at Deloitte Consulting NA. Monika Mahto is an assistant manager with Deloitte Services India Pvt Ltd, affiliated with Deloitte’s Center for Integrated Research.

Brenna Sniderman is a senior manager with Deloitte Services LP, affiliated with Deloitte’s

Chemical Today Magazine | July 2016

Center for Integrated Research.

51

INSIGHTS LEATHER TRENDS

TRENDS

NEW COLOUR L

IN LEATHER

anxess AG, a world-leading manufacturer of leather chemicals, is unveiling leather trends for the upcoming 2017/18 season.

The articles it is presenting reflect the future of leather fashions in terms of colour, structure, haptics and overall appearance.

At the company’s own competence centre for upper leather in Santa Croce sull’Arno, Tuscany, Italy, the company technicians and designers are busy creating future fashion collections 18 months in advance. After an inspiration phase, they choose the colours that are to characterize the leather collection.

In the next step, company experts develop the corresponding leather articles and recipes, and then present them to customers individually. This approach enables tanneries to prepare for implementation of these trends. They also are provided with valuable, practical application tips.

The major trends for the Fall/Winter season 2017/2018 are: Autunno Rosa with bright red and pink tones, Transizione Verde, dominated by the color green, Paesaggi Invernali with a variety of color tones, and Scuro de Inverno, with primarily dark tones.

52

Chemical Today Magazine | July 2016

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53

REPORT CHROME PIGMENTS

GLOBAL INDUSTRY ANALYSIS AND FORECAST - 2015 TO 2021 The current market for chrome pigments is largely dominated by China followed by North America and other countries across globe

C

olour pigments are broadly classified in two segments: organic and inorganic colour pigments. The market for inorganic colour pigments is further divided based on their source as iron oxide, cadmium based pigments, chrome pigments and several others. Chrome pigments are largely derived from lead compounds and have a range of properties such as high colour strength, high solubility, highly concentrated and non reactive making chrome pigments apposite for applications such as paints and coatings, inks, plastics, rubber, detergents and soaps, ceramics and polishes. The market for chrome pigments was initially dominated by North America and other developed regions; however there is shift in global trend largely due to increased environmental regulations over inorganic pigments.

The current market for chrome pigments is largely dominated by China followed by North America and other countries across globe. Countries present in Asia Pacific such as India, Indonesia and Vietnam are expected to have a stable or upward trend for chrome pigments principally due to the low cost of chrome pigments and non-stringent environmental regulations in the region. Chrome pigments require large number of minerals for their preparation. Industrially they are prepared through precipitation of lead salts with chromate or bi-chromate solution; however toxic heavy metal such as lead is obtained as a waste or byproduct.

Chrome pigments with their properties such as high colour strength make them suitable in applications such as paints and coatings.

The global requirement of paints and coatings in architectural paints and corrosion paints has shown an upward trend in recent years. The reason behind this upward trend is rapid urbanization and other infrastructural upgrades. Thus, it would help the market of chrome pigments to flourish in emerging economies. Chrome pigments also find their application in printing inks, plastics, rubber and textiles mainly due to their property of stability and color fastness. Growth of these sectors will boost the requirement for chrome pigments.

The market for chrome pigments in terms of product segment can be divided as light yellow chrome pigment, middle chrome

pigment, primrose chrome pigment, lemon chrome pigment and scarlet chrome pigment (molybdated orange). Each of these chrome pigments find several applications based on their properties. Lemon chrome pigment, which is greenish yellow in colour and contains sulphate content of around 20 to 40 percent is used in diverse industrial segments but mainly as a painting reagent.

Excellent weather resistance properties make lemon chrome pigment suitable in coatings and PVC leather.

Lead chromate, which contains negligible traces of sulphate is industrially known as scarlet chrome pigment. It finds application in printing inks and paints. Middle chrome pigment has a reddish yellow hue and monoclinic structure. With its weather resistance properties, it is extensively used in coatings and PVC leather. Primrose chrome pigment is pale yellow in colour. It has lead sulfate content of around 44 to 55 percent and its major application includes paints and inks.

The properties of chrome pigments make them suitable in several applications.

However, the formation of lead, as a residual toxic during the production of chrome pigments, makes them vulnerable to available substitutes. The current market volume for chrome pigments in developed regions is phasing out owing to the increasing use of organic pigments and other non-toxic color pigments.

The increased environmental regulations across several regions have led to drop in requirement of these pigments. On other hand, the market for chrome pigments is anticipated to show a steady growth in BRIC nations and other developing nations in Middle East chiefly due cheaper cost of these pigments and non-stringent environmental regulations. China has been the largest market of the chrome pigments owing to its increased demand for coatings and paints used in various industries and the trend is expected to continue into the forecast period.

Some of the major companies operating in the chrome pigments market are BASF SE, Berger Paints India Limited, Kansai Nerolac Paints Limited, Akzonobel NV, E I Du Pont De Nemours & Company Inc and Lanxess AG among others.

Source: Persistence Market Research

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Chemical Today Magazine | July 2016

© glamourbylexi 55

REPORT HIGH PERFORMANCE PIGMENTS

MARKET

ANALYSIS AND

FORECASTS TO 2022

Growing automotive coatings demand is presumed to play a key role in positively shaping the market growth over the forecast period.

© High-performance pigment the largest end-use sector, by some margin, is coatings. Source: Ho Weihao - Fotolia.com 56

Chemical Today Magazine | July 2016

Industry Insights The global High Performance Pigments market (HPP) was worth $4.17 billion in 2014. Growing automotive coatings demand is presumed to play a key role in positively shaping the market growth over the forecast period.

As the name suggests, high performance pigments are characterized by superior properties when compared to their conventional counterparts. These superior characteristics include high resistance to heat & light, enhanced fastness and longer operational life, making them useful for various applications across multiple industries.

Automotive coatings are a key application and hence it critically influences the high performance pigment demand. The rise in automotive coatings demand owing to increased automotive sales in the recent past has had a positive impact on their demand. Industry participants have been taking several key strategic initiatives such as capacity expansion and introducing superior high performance products with an aim to serve the customer’s increasing needs.

However, such high performance products are priced much higher when compared to their conventional counterparts. Such price disparity is anticipated to remain a key challenge for market participants over the forecast period. Volatile raw material prices are also expected to pose threats to industry profitability.

Developed countries are expected to witness rapid growth in demand over the forecast period across numerous industries. Such robust growth prospects promise ample growth opportunities to the industry participants in the near future.

Technological innovation related to superior

products with enhanced properties is also estimated to offer abundant opportunities for market growth and development.

US High Performance Pigments Market revenue by product, 2012 - 2022 (USD Million)

Product Insights High performance pigments are categorized into organic and inorganic based on their origin. Organic pigments are derived from natural sources and contain carbon chains and carbon rings. These can be further classified into synthetic and natural segments. Synthetic ones are derived from petroleum products while the natural ones are derived from plant and animal sources.

Inorganic pigments, which are usually precipitated metallic salts, are not carbon based. The inorganic pigments dominated the global industry in the recent past and are presumed to continue their dominance over the forecast period. However, organic pigments have been penetrating the market at a rapid pace and presumed to experience a much higher growth rate compared to inorganic products.

Emerging markets of Asia Pacific and the Middle East are characterized by high inorganic pigment demand in the recent past while developed regions such as Europe and North America have displayed high demand for organic pigments.

Application Insights The key applications for HPP market include coatings, plastics, cosmetics, and inks.

Coatings emerged as the leading application segment and accounted for over half of the global demand in 2014. Automotive coating is a key application under coatings segments, followed by other applications such as industrial and decorative coatings.

Plastic is presumed to witness strong growth over the forecast period. However, applications such as inks are anticipated to witness sluggish growth owing to factors such as rapid digitization in both developed as well as developing regions.

Stringent regulations related to food contact applications are expected to hamper further market growth, particularly for inorganic pigments.

Regional Insights Europe dominated the global HPP market with demand share exceeding 30 percent in 2014. Vast demand from multiple industries can be attributed to such dominance by the region. Developed regions are less price sensitive when compared to developing regions. Such a trend has resulted in developed regions dominating the global market in the recent years.

European automotive industry has also shown signs of recovery, which are expected to further strengthen the regional high performance pigment demand. North American market is primarily driven by the growth of automotive coatings in the US, which is expected to remain a major market for key industry participants.

Emerging markets of Asia Pacific and Latin America are estimated to witness rapid demand growth over the forecast period.

Rapid expansion of automotive industry in China, India, Thailand and Indonesia is expected to lead growth for the regional market. Concerns remain for the Brazilian economy, which still remains soft.

Competitive Insights The global high performance pigments market was characterized by a few major companies in the past led by BASF, Clariant and Ciba. These three companies used to enjoy their patented high performance pigment technologies. However, that scenario has completely changed and numerous new industry participants have emerged in the global platform.

Companies have been taking certain strategic initiatives to increase their production capacity and enhance their product portfolio to cater to the growing demand, particularly in the developing regions. Prominent industry participants include Sun Chemical, Clariant, BASF, Ferro, Vijay Chemical Industries, Meghmani Pigments, Sudarshan Chemical Industries Ltd, Voxco Pigments and Chemicals Pvt Ltd, Horsta Chemicals Zhuhai Co Ltd, Heubach, DIC Corporation, Trust Chem and Eckart GmbH, Merck Performance Materials and Lansco Colors.

Source: Grand View Research Inc

Chemical Today Magazine | July 2016

57

REPORT PEARLESCENT PIGMENTS

GLOBAL ANALYSIS AND

OPPORTUNITY ASSESSMENT 2015–2025 Sales of multilayer pigments to dominate the market

P

earlescent pigments are manufactured by coating the laminar substrate with metal oxide. Pearlescent pigments are produced by natural as well as synthetic methods. Natural pearl pigments make use of natural mica as a substrate material, whereas synthetic pearl pigments makes use of silica, alumina and synthetic mica as substrate material. Even though natural pearlescent pigments account for the major market share in terms of consumption, the use of synthetic pearlescent pigments is rapidly gaining traction as compared to the natural pearlescent pigments. Besides, production of synthetic pearlescent pigment tailored for specific end user requirements is a more feasible process as compared to natural pearl pigments, which gives it an edge over its counterpart.

These pigments have unique optical properties and are semi-transparent in nature. These pigments find application in automotive paints, architectural and decorative paints, plastic, paints & coatings and printing, among others.

Market Dynamics Increasing preference for aesthetics finishes in passenger cars, coupled with the growth of the automobile and construction industry is one of the major drivers for growth of the global pearlescent pigments market.

Pearlescent pigments are widely used in the automotive paints and coatings industry, which thereby is anticipated to drive their demand over the forecast period.

Stringent government regulations are expected to adversely impact growth of the global pearlescent market significantly over the forecast period. Over the last few years, some small and medium-scale companies have exited the pearlescent pigment market due to the high costs involved in ensuring regulatory compliance. Apart from this, cost of pearlescent pigments is relatively high in developed regions of North America and Western Europe as opposed to Asia Pacific, where pearlescent pigment is available at a relatively cheaper price, due to low cost of

labour and wide availability of raw materials such as natural mica.

Key players involved in the manufacturing of pearlescent pigments are shifting their focus from natural mica based pigments to customized synthetic pearlescent pigments, and are in the process of shifting their production base from developed economies to developing economies of Asia Pacific, considering economies of scale Increasing demand from automotive industry demanding vehicles with different colours, preference for application of pearlescent pigment on food packaging products to provide attractive appearance and rising application of pearlescent pigments in digital printing for quality dispersion and improved viscosity and consistency are some of the other trends observed in the global pearlescent pigment market It is observed that there is an increasing application of borosilicate or glass flake pearlescent pigments in cosmetics such as lip gloss. Use of glass flake pearlescent pigment in lip products has been significantly higher than in other cosmetics over the last five years.

Product Type Analysis On the basis of product type, the global pearlescent pigment market is segmented into natural pearl pigment, synthetic pearl pigment and glass flake pearl pigment. The natural pearl pigment segment has been estimated to account for the largest market value share of 67.2 percent in 2015 and is expected to remain dominant till the end of forecast period. Revenue contribution of the synthetic pearlescent pigment segment is anticipated to increase at the highest CAGR of 4.5 percent over the forecast period

Structure Type Analysis On the basis of structure type, the global pearlescent pigment market is segmented into substrate-free, monolayer and multilayer pearl pigment. The multilayer

segment accounted for the largest market value share in 2014 and is expected to remain the most dominant segment in the market till the end of forecast period.

Revenue contribution of the substrate-free pearlescent pigment is anticipated to expand at a sluggish growth rate of 1.7 percent over the forecast period

Application Analysis On the basis of application, the global pearlescent pigment market is segmented into automotive paints, paints & coatings, personal care, plastics, printing and others (architecture, decorative paints, home appliances and textiles). In 2014, the automotive paints application segment was the largest contributor in terms of value, accounting for 39.5 percent market share, while the paints & coating segment dominated in terms of volume.

Wide application of pearlescent pigment in premium and luxury class passenger cars, couple with increasing demand for vehicles with different colours, is one of the key reasons expected to drive demand for pearlescent pigments in automotive paints application. On the other hand, the cosmetics and printing segments, together, accounted for more than 20 percent value share of the market in 2014, and are anticipated to register a health growth rate of 3.9 percent and 3.8 percent, respectively, over the forecast period, particularly in view of the rising demand for pearlescent pigments in cosmetics and food packaging products.

Regional Analysis Regionally, the global pearlescent pigment market is segmented into Asia Pacific Excluding Japan (APEJ), North America, Latin America, Western Europe, Eastern Europe, Middle East & Africa and Japan.

In 2014, Western Europe, followed by North America, were the largest markets for pearlescent pigment. In terms of growth rate, APEJ is anticipated to be the most lucrative market over the forecast period.

Source: Future Market Insights

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Chemical Today Magazine | July 2016

59

REPORT POLYMER EMULSION

GLOBAL

ANALYSIS AND OPPORTUNITY

2015–2025 The government regulatory norms for protection of environment will boost the global polymer emulsion market by the end of 2025

E

mulsion can be well-defined as the process of mixing of two liquids with difference in their densities (oil-water).

Polymer emulsion is done by the process of emulsion polymerization in which the emulsification of a monomer is done in the presence of water and a surfactant, especially sodium stearate. The most common monomers used in the process of emulsion polymerization are styrene, acrylonitrile, butadiene, acrylate ester and methacrylate ester.

Polymer emulsions are the specialty polymers, which are used in the manufacturing of specialty chemicals such as adhesives, paints and coatings, offset inks, paper & paperboards, textiles, and construction chemicals. Polymer emulsion production process is an environmental friendly process, which produces polymers with high molecular weight and very lean volatile organic compounds. Polyvinyl acetate based polymer emulsion products have a significant impact on the industries such as adhesives, paints and coatings.

Drivers & Restraints The growth in global polymer emulsion market is primarily driven by factors such as the rise in the number of industrial applications of polymer emulsion such as paints and coatings, adhesives, paper and textile. From the economical and safety point of view the polymer emulsion based paintings and a coating are flame resistant and is likely to propel the global polymer emulsion market over the forecast period.

The regulatory norm of the government for the protection of environment is another driving force, which will boost the global polymer emulsion market by the end of 2025. Considering the fact that the polymer emulsion polymers comply with the regulatory norms set by the government, global polymer emulsion market is set to accelerate. Low capital requirement for setting up manufacturing units is one of the parameter driving the global polymer emulsion market. On the other hand, increasing cost of raw material is acting as a restraint in the growth of global polymer emulsion market throughout the forecast period.

Segmentation On the basis of product type, the global polymer emulsion market is segmented into Acrylic Styrene Butadiene Latex Vinyl Acetate Polymers

Polyurethane Dispersions Others (hybrid epoxy, silicon etc.)

On the basis of application, the global polymer emulsion market is segmented into Adhesive & Sealants Paints & Coatings Paper & Paperboard Others On the basis of end use industry, the global polymer emulsion market is segmented into Building & Construction Chemicals Automotive Textile & Coatings Others Region-wise Outlook The global polymer emulsion market is geographically distributed into seven key regions, which include North America, Latin America, Western Europe, Eastern Europe, Asia-Pacific, Japan and Middle East & Africa. Increasing demand from the end use industries like building & construction, paints and coatings and automotive in emerging economies of Asia-Pacific regions like China, India and Indonesia will fuel the global polymer emulsion market throughout the forecast period.

Among developed Western Europe countries such as Germany, painting and coating along with adhesive application had the highest consumption of polymer emulsion in 2014.

Eastern Europe region for polymer emulsion is anticipated to grow at a healthy CAGR in the next few years. In North America, US dominated the global polymer emulsion market. Rapid growth in automotive industry coupled with construction sector in the Latin American region will favour the polymer emulsion market growth by the end of 2025. Middle East & Africa is anticipated to witness a steady CAGR in the global polymer emulsion market. The upsurge in the number of industries coupled with increasing initiative in infrastructure development in this region is likely to fuel the growth of polymer emulsion market during the forecasted period.

Key Players Key players in the global polymer emulsion market include 3M, The Dow Chemical Company, BASF SE, H B Fuller, Scott Bader Company Ltd, Celanese Corporation and Apotex industries Ltd amongst others.

Source: Future Market Insights 60

Chemical Today Magazine | July 2016

visit: www.worldofchemicals.com

Connecting World Chemically

61

REPORT RESPIRATORY PROTECTIVE EQUIPMENT

ANALYSIS AND FORECASTS TO 2022 Rising concerns towards employee health & safety along with increasing industrial fatalities are anticipated to drive market growth Industry Insights

Product Insights

Global respiratory protective equipment market size was valued at $4,822.4 million in 2014. Rising concerns towards employee health & safety along with increasing industrial fatalities are anticipated to drive market growth over the forecast period.

RPE such as air-purifying respirators (APR) and supplied air respirators are used in industries to ensure the safety of employees against inhaling harmful dust, fumes, vapors, or gases. APR emerged as a leading respiratory protective equipment product segment covering over 55 percent revenue share in 2014. This segment is anticipated to witness growth on account of rising demand, particularly in mining, petrochemical, and oil & gas sector.

Safety standards by regulatory agencies including Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) mainly in North America and Europe are anticipated to have a positive impact on market growth. Strict regulations for threshold levels have been set

by Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and World Health Organization for employees in healthcare sectors worldwide.

Fumes, heat and radiation emitted during industrial process pose health risks such as cancers, pulmonary diseases, skin irritation and loss of vision. Over the recent past, there has been a lot of inspection from organizations and HSE agencies to improve safety standards in industries. Technological advancements coupled with innovations for enhancing product life of RPEs is further estimated to impact positively industry expansion over the next seven years.

The Middle East, Central & South America, and Asia Pacific are expected to experience high growth in the RPE market over the forecast period on account of increasing construction and infrastructure projects in these regions, thereby creating immense opportunities for the respiratory protective equipment industry.

Major factors driving the industry may be attributed to new applications within industries, which require RPE with enhanced quality material and design. Increasing requirement for technologically advanced products and multi-purpose respiratory products is expected to drive innovations in the industry.

Rapid industrialization in developing economies such as those in South America and South-East Asia is expected to impact positively skilled labor requirements. This factor is anticipated to raise RPE demand in near future.

US respiratory protective equipment market revenue estimates and forecast, by product, 2012-2022 (USD Million)

Supplied air respirator accounted for over 40 percent of market share in 2014 and is anticipated to witness high growth over the next seven years. Supplied air respirator is used in place of APRs, where a higher degree of respiratory protection is required.

End-Use Insights Industrial was the largest end-use segment accounting for 18.1 percent in 2014. Growing automotive and metal fabrication industries in emerging economies such as India, China and Brazil is anticipated to augment product demand over the forecast period.

Oil & gas end-use segment for respiratory protective equipment is expected to grow at a CAGR of 7.6 percent from 2015 to 2022.

Healthcare is anticipated to be the fastest growing end-use segment for respiratory protective equipment in future on account of growing concern for occupational diseases and deaths in construction and mining industries.

Regional Insights North America was the largest regional respiratory protective equipment market accounting for 30 percent in 2014. Stringent regulatory scenario coupled with growing employee awareness towards personal safety may be attributed to high penetration in the region. Strict safety legislations for asbestos mining coupled with rising employee/worker awareness towards personal safety in a majority of the industries is expected to drive regional demand over the next seven years.

Asia Pacific is anticipated to witness the highest growth over the forecast period and is expected to account for over 18 percent of the global revenue by 2022. Increasing construction spending along with growing transportation and oil & gas industries in the region particularly in economies of China, India, Indonesia and Vietnam is estimated to raise RPE demand over the foreseeable period.

Central & South America and the Middle East & Africa are anticipated to witness significant growth owing to the growth of several end-use industries and implementation of various OSHA regulations in companies within the regions.

Competitive Insights Major companies operating in this industry include 3M Co, Delta Plus, Uvex Safety Group, Alpha Pro Tech, DuPont, MSA Safety, Ansell Ltd, Bulwark Protective Apparel and Kimberley-Clark.

These companies have partnered with distributors for enhancing their market penetration in various regions. They have also offered products on e-commerce platforms that cater to various highrisk activities including metal forming, asbestos removal, waste remediation, rescue operations and chemical handling.

Source: Grand View Research Inc 62

Chemical Today Magazine | July 2016

63

ACADEMIC R&D

TUNABLE EMULSIONS

TO BRING

BREAKTHROUGH IN FOOD, PERSONAL CARE INDUSTRY

The new properties in emulsions have potential to form stable interfacial nanofibre networks with stable, or more conventional surfactantlike, monolayers.

A

team of researchers from the University of Strathclyde believe that their biocompatible and biodegradable emulsions, which can also be tuned and tailored as per the need of the application, could have a huge impact on food, cosmetics and personal care industries.

Emulsions, the stabilized mixtures of oil and water, are the basis of many products. However, the currently used emulsions are based on lipids extracted from natural sources and their properties are not always ideally suited to their applications. Therefore, there is a need for emulsifiers that can be tuned, or tailored, to match the application for which they are used but are also biocompatible and biodegradable.

The research team discovered a new way to create emulsions with tunable properties, based on very simple biological molecules.

Formed from a small number of amino acids – the building blocks of proteins – in a specific sequence, the research group’s emulsions showed potential to form stable interfacial nanofibre networks with stable, or more conventional surfactant-like, monolayers.

“The computational methods applied in this case allow us to rapidly distinguish between the differing ability of the 8,000 different tripeptides to form emulsions,” said Dr Tell Tuttle, from Strathclyde’s pure and applied chemistry department.

“In particular, these methods can be used to identify peptides that are able to form emulsions with differing stabilities and within different environmental conditions before any experiments are carried out – leading to savings in both time and cost,” he added further.

The work was supported by ESPRC and food ingredients manufacturer Macphie of Glenbervie. “This is a very exciting project to be involved in as it has a tremendous bearing on what we do as a company due to the wide use of emulsifiers, stabilizers and gellators across our product range, which includes sweet and savoury sauces, dressings and batters required to make cakes and muffins,” said Paul McKnight, senior research & development manager, Macphie of Glenbervie.

These produce emulsions that are biodegradable to alpha amino acids, which are recognized as safe for use in food and drugs. Their sequence tunability enabling to match specific applications will further allow academic and commercial groups to fine tune the properties of pastes, creams and gels.

Because there are nearly 8,000 possible sequences of amino acids in tripeptides, the team used both experimental and computational methods to narrow down the particular combination of amino acids that would form the appropriate structures.

With this research, the team is investigating possible applications in food, cosmetics and personal care products.

“All of this leads us to retain a technology-leading market edge position with fully sustainable sourced material. The insight and direction we were able to give to the project through a food industry perspective, from material functionality requirements to the end use application of them, has helped focus the direction of the project and assist in the definitions required to tune the peptides to the necessary performance attributes,” said Tuttle.

“The goal was to determine viability, look at the scalability potential and industrial usage – that is certainly something which is now achievable and within reach,” said Tuttle.

Along with Tuttle, a scientist at City University New York’s Advanced Science Research Centre (ASRC), professor Rein Ulijn, who is also WestCHEM professor of nanochemistry at Strathclyde is involved in the project.

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Chemical Today Magazine | July 2016

BUILDING NEXT-GEN BATTERIES WITH PIGMENT ELECTRODES Researchers find Prussian blue and Prussian blue analogues as suitable electrodes for calcium ion batteries. (a) Dischargecharge profiles of a Prussian blue analogue electrode in a calciumbased organic electrolyte (b) Cycled capacities with dischargecharge capacity ratio (Coulombic efficiencies)

Crystal structure of Prussian blue and its analogues

R

esearchers at Toyohashi University of Technology are working towards making the right electrode for calcium ion batteries (CIBs), which have attracted attention as the next-generation batteries to replace lithium ion batteries (LIBs).

The theoretical capacity of CIBs is twice that of LIBs and this doubled capacity can be explained by the difference between monovalent and divalent ions. In addition, CIBs possess advantages such as a lower cost and higher safety because calcium is more abundant than lithium and because CIBs have a higher melting point than LIBs. However, there is one major obstacle to the application in CIBs. Assistant Professor Tomohiro Tojo (left), Professor Yoji There is no suitable electrode material in which calcium ions can be Sakurai (center), and Student Yosuke Sugiura (right). inserted and extracted reversibly because of the relatively large ionic radius of calcium ions (112 pm) as compared to that of lithium ions reversible capacities of 40–50 mAh/g at a low current density; the Coulombic efficiencies, which are defined as the ratio of the amount (76 pm). of insertion (discharge) and extraction (charge) of calcium ions, were In this study, Tomohiro Tojo and his colleagues at the Department observed to have a constant value of 90% after the 3rd cycle. The of Electrical and Electronic Information Engineering, Toyohashi researchers investigated the reason for the high reversibility using University of Technology, employed Prussian blue (PB) and Prussian X-ray diffraction (XRD) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). blue analogues (PBAs) as CIB electrodes because they possess large The reversibility is explained by the durable structure of the PBAs and sites for inserting and extracting large-sized ions, using PBAs as an their excellent charge balance during the insertion and extraction of electrode material, the electrochemical behaviors of sodium ions calcium ions. corresponding to the radius of calcium ions have been examined in organic and inorganic electrolytes. These reports have shown Captions: (a) Discharge-charge profiles of a Prussian blue analogue reversible insertion and extraction of sodium ions into and from electrode in a calcium-based organic electrolyte PBA structures. (b) Cycled capacities with discharge-charge capacity ratio (Coulombic efficiencies) Caption: Crystal structure of Prussian blue and its analogues The research team investigated the electrochemical performance of several PBA electrodes in order to determine whether calcium ions in an organic electrolyte exhibit reversible or irreversible insertion and extraction into and from the crystal structure. They found Chemical Today Magazine | July 2016

The researchers proposed that Prussian blue (PB) and Prussian blue analogues (PBAs) as feasible electrode materials for CIBs, even though additional investigation is needed in order to enhance the reversible capacities still further.

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ACADEMIC R&D

MELANIN PIGMENT

CAN HOLD THE SECRET TO MAKE BATTERIES Ever imagined that the pigments that define skin tone can also light up the world?

M

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Carnegie Mellon University. “The voltage signals we received are consistent with what you would observe if you believe that the tetramer is the correct structural model.”

elanin is best known as the pigment that dictates our skin tones, but it is found just about everywhere-in our brains, in our hair. It is even found in cuttlefish.

But as abundant as melanin is, its exact macromolecular chemical structure is surprisingly not well understood.

mechanical engineering and co-author of the study, Carnegie Mellon University. “You could take any number of these pieces and mix and match them, even stack them on top of each other. So the question we tried to answer was, which of these arrangements is the most stable?”

Though researchers have extensively studied the chemical structure of individual melanin molecules for more than 70 years, relatively little is known about the molecular building blocks that form complex melanin pigments.

But a team of researchers from Carnegie Mellon has discovered that the chemical structure of melanin on a macromolecular scale exhibits, amongst other shapes, a fourmembered ring, i.e. a chemical structure that may be conducive to creating certain kinds of batteries based on natural melanin pigments.

There are several possible configurations for melanin with each having a different function depending on its chemical structure. When these molecules bind to form a macromolecular structure or a polymer, these polymers can be arranged to create a potential battery material. Based on the readings that the researchers gained from their experiment, they discovered that a tetramer structure, a four-membered ring composed of larger molecules, appears to be consistent with the structural model of melanin macromolecules.

“So this was surprising to us: that we could take this material from biology, and it could function potentially as a very good cathode material.”

“Functionally, different structures of melanin have quite different chemistries, so putting them together is like solving a jigsaw puzzle, with each molecule a puzzle piece,” explained Venkat Viswanathan, assistant professor of

“Only the tetramer structure had the correct number of exposed nitrogens to bind with the sodium,” said Chris Bettinger, associate professor of materials science and engineering and biomedical engineering,

The team also includes Young Jo Kim, postdoctoral researcher in materials science engineering and Jay Whitacre, professor of materials science and engineering and of engineering and public policy.

Chemical Today Magazine | July 2016

The research team was able to discover the tetramer structure of melanin by using it as a battery’s cathode. However, in doing so, they also discovered that melanin exhibits a two-voltage plateau characteristic of normal battery materials, while outputting a surprisingly high voltage.

“The voltage we got out was high-comparable to what you would get for the best sodiumbased cathode materials we would use in a battery,” said Viswanathan.

ANCIENT PIGMENT

COULD HELP SOLVE MODERN CRIME An ancient Egyptian blue pigment can also act as a near-infrared luminescent fingerprint dusting powder.

F

orensic researchers from Curtin University along with conservation scientists from the Indianapolis Museum of Art (IMA) have found an ancient Egyptian pigment, which can be used as a dusting powder to reveal traditionally tricky fingerprints in modern forensics.

The team demonstrated that micronised Egyptian blue pigment, a vivid and longlasting pigment used in painted artefacts dating back millennia, also acts as a nearinfrared (NIR) luminescent fingerprint dusting powder – providing a safe and simple way to reveal latent fingerprints on highly patterned and reflective surfaces.

Ancient Egyptian mask showing Egyptian blue pigment.

© Indianapolis Museum of Art.

Professor of forensic and analytical chemistry and member of the Nanochemistry Research Institute within Curtin’s department of chemistry, professor Simon Lewis, said that the detection of latent fingerprints was still a critically important task for forensic investigators, helping to establish evidence of contact between the criminal, the victim and/or the crime scene.

“The most common approach to detecting latent fingerprints has been the use of dusting powders made from white, black or fluorescent powders that provide contrast against the surface,” said Lewis. “However, there remain many highly patterned and/ or reflective surfaces that continue to prove troublesome, making it hard to see fingerprints.

“An alternative approach is to use dusting powders that exhibit near-infrared luminescence, which is invisible to the eye.

Such powders can highlight ridge detail while avoiding interference.”

Fellow researcher Dr Gregory Smith, from the IMA, has used NIR imaging to locate Egyptian blue pigment on ancient artefacts for more than a decade.

“I had always wanted to investigate Egyptian blue for fingerprints because it exhibits strong photoluminescence in the NIR region,” Smith said. “It is also nonhazardous and very stable, with painted artefacts dating back several thousand years still showing strong NIR luminescence.”

Chemical Today Magazine | July 2016

Egyptian blue, also known as cuprorivaite, is the earliest known synthetic pigment. It was first prepared in ancient Egypt before 3200BC and was used extensively until the 4th Century CE, when its synthesis was apparently forgotten.

“The secret of how to make it was lost after the Roman Period, but then rediscovered in the 19th Century,” said Smith.

Professor Lewis said the researchers compared commercially available fingerprint powders and micronised Egyptian blue pigment for their ability to reveal fingerprints on a range of surfaces.

They then used an inexpensive white light source to illuminate the prints and a slightly modified, consumer digital camera to photograph them.

The prints dusted with Egyptian blue glowed brightly in the NIR under the white light, consistently outperforming the commercial powders on patterned and reflective surfaces.

“We found that the Egyptian blue could consistently develop the latent fingerprints, revealing good ridge detail in the NIR region,” Lewis said.

He added that further studies using a wider range of surfaces and fingerprint donors were required to establish the operational usefulness of the powder.

“The exciting thing about this is it enables us to detect fingerprints on surfaces that have been traditionally problematic with conventional powders,” said Lewis.

“It also represents that intersection between art and science, where we can go backwards in time to find potential solutions for challenges into the future.”

The paper, Micronised Egyptian blue pigment: A novel near-infrared luminescent fingerprint dusting powder, has been published in the journal Dyes and Pigments.

Others involved in the research included Benjamin Errington, Curtin Honours student and Glen Lawson from Curtin’s department of physics, astronomy and medical radiation science.

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ACADEMIC SPEAK NANOEMULSIONS

THE BIGGER ROLE OF

NANOEMULSIONS

Ankur Gupta explains the use of nanoemulsions in pharmaceuticals, food industry and how the unique properties of nanoemulsions can make smart foods.

Gupta is a PhD Candidate (2012-2017) in chemical engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Cambridge, MAÂ 68

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In brief, give us an idea about your research.

they have -high surface area, robust stability, tunable rheology, relatively simple synthesis, easy scale-up, easy route to advanced material synthesis and diverse applications.

I am currently working on the formation and applications of nanoemulsions. We have recently published series of articles where we proposed a scaling on controlling and predicting the droplet size of nanoemulsions.

We are focusing on the application of nanoemulsions in pharmaceutics and food industry.

The challenges however are that nanoemulsions require advanced microscopy for visualization, lack of techniques to create completely monodispersed nanoemulsions, and they require relatively large amount of surfactant for synthesis.

Techniques involved in nanoemulsions formulation methods.

Factors affecting the stability of nanoemulsions.

Nanoemulsion synthesis can be divided into two broad categories: high-energy methods and low-energy methods. Highenergy methods require significant energy input ( W/kg) where droplets break and become small due to shear forces. Highenergy methods include high pressure homogenizer (also known as microfluidizer) and ultrasonicator, both of which are commercially available.

Due to the small size of nanoemulsion droplets, the stability of nanoemulsions is dominated by Ostwald ripening i.e. increase in size of bigger droplets at the expense of smaller droplets. The following factors affect the stability:

Low-energy methods required lower energy input ( W/kg, achievable using a magnetic stirrer) where low interfacial tension of the system is exploited to create small droplets.

Low energy methods include emulsion inversion point (also known as phase inversion composition) and phase inversion temperature.

Materials used in formulating nanomaterials.

For nanoemulsions, typically one needs oil, water and surfactant(s). Nanoemulsions can either be oil-in-water (O/W) or water-inoil (W/O). Formulation of nanoemulsions using low energy methods requires a careful choice of surfactant since low interfacial tension is required for generating small droplets without significant energy input.

Since O/W nanoemulsions are more common in literature, I will share the common oil phases and surfactant used for O/W nanoemulsions: Oil phases: • Alkanes such hexadecane

as

decane,

dodecane,

• Food oils such as corn, orange, peanut • Aromatics such as toluene, xyelene, anisole • Complex organic oils such as mineral oil Surfactant phases: • Ionic surfactants such as SDS, CTAB • Non-ionic surfactants such as Tween, Span, Brij

Explain advantages and the major challenges of nanoemulsions.

The advantages of nanoemulsions are that

Chemical Today Magazine | July 2016

• Solubility of the oil phase • Interfacial tension (dependent on choice of surfactant) • Temperature • Diffusivity of dispersed phase (affected by the choice of surfactant) • Polydispersity of the droplet size distribution •Other factors surfactants etc.

such

as

additives,

co-

Trapped species method is a well-known method to make nanoemulsions stable against temperature and time. In trapped species method, insoluble oil is mixed with the dispersed phase to reduce the solubility and hence quenching the Ostwald ripening rate.

How can nanoemulsion be effectively used in various sectors such as food additives, paints & surface coatings, waste-water treatment, cosmetics, antimicrobial cleaning agents?

O/W nanoemulsions have enormous potential in food additives since high surface area of nanoemulsion allows the transport of hydrophobic nutrients through dissolution in the oil phase in an overall aqueous medium. For instance, significant research has been done on incorporating betacarotene and circumin as food addivities in O/W nanoemulsions.

The rheology of nanoemulsions can be easily tuned depending on the droplet size.

For instance, for the same droplet size, nanoemulsions can be tuned from being viscous to elastic. Thus, they are attractive for cosmetics industry as they provide a range of rheological properties that can have a better skin-feel. Similarly, nanoemulsions have potential for paint and coating industry as the rheology can be tuned without changing the composition.

Nanoemulsions can also provide an easy route to transport chemicals that are hydrophobic in nature and thus find applications in antimicrobial cleaning agents.

Effectiveness of nanoemulsions when compared to macroemulsions and microemulsions.

Macroemulsions are larger emulsions with droplet sizes on the range of 10 um – 10mm and thus are susceptible to destabilization mechanisms such as coalescence and creaming. Further, they do not have a large surface area. On the other hand, due to their small size, nanoemulsions provide robust stability and high surface area.

Microemulsions, unlike their name suggests, are equilibrium systems with droplet size on the order of 10nm. Thus, though they have high surface area, due to their thermodynamically stable property, they are susceptible to changes in temperature, pH and composition. On the other hand, nanoemulsions are kinetically stable system and possess robust stability against temperature, dilution and pH.

Role of nanoemulsions in making of smart foods.

Nanoemulsions have enormous potential in making smart foods. Since we can make nanoemulsions with oil volume fraction as high as 40%, a large quantity of hydrophobic nutrients such as beta-carotene and circumin can be supplied in an aqueous medium. Further, nanoemulsions possess robust stability and thus have a longer shelf-life. Research has shown that one can stabilize nanoemulsions with biocompatible surfactants. Further, it is easy to add color into nanoemulsions by using oils with different colors.

Currently nanoemulsions also play a vital role in the field of nanotechnology.

Nanoemulsions can help in nanotechnology research as they provide an excellent route for nanoparticle synthesis, and developments of advanced materials such thermo-reversible gels. Further, nanoemulsions are an excellent model system for colloidal study due to abundant deformable surface area.

Most challenging issues in your area of research.

The most challenging issue in nanoemulsion research is the actual visualization of nanoemulsions since they cannot be observed through usual microscopes. Thus, detailed characterization has to be relied on advanced microscopy techniques such as SANS and cryo-TEM.

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R&D YOUNG TURKS

DEVELOPING INNOVATIONS IGNITING THE NEXT GENERATION OF STEM STUDENTS TESTING EFFICIENCY OF ETHANOL AS ANTIBACTERIAL AGENT Nivatha Balendra, 18, is a recent graduate of Marianopolis College and resides in Montreal, Quebec. Nivatha’s research is focused on the efficiency of Ethanol as an antibacterial agent and the feasibility of Isopropanol as a safer, more effective alternative. Her research garnered her numerous accolades over the two years. She won the Gold award along with several special awards.

For Nivatha, the entire process was a discovery, there was always something unexpected or greater than she had thought would happen. Initially she collected soil samples from her backyard and near the St. Lawrence River, hoping to screen for Pseudomonas fluorescens group bacteria. After screening for this particular group via several identification tests, Nivatha had to determine which of the samples were actually effective in clearing and ingesting oil particles. Essentially, she discovered that 3 of her samples were not only efficient at emulsifying the oil layer through its biosurfactant (lipid) production, but equally able to ingest oil particles. Through certain DNA sequencing results, she was also able to determine that these same samples belong to possibly new species of bacteria, in which case Nivatha’s bacterial species would continue to be named after her.

In all, this project undoubtedly presents an eco-friendly and efficient solution to clearing oil spills, which are devastating causes of water pollution.

Nivatha is extremely excited for this opportunity and is looking forward to presenting her research here. She is currently working on the DNA sequencing of the 3 bacterial samples in order to determine its identity and is aiming to publish her results soon. She continues to work at the INRS under Dr Eric Deziel and will be conducting genetic work related to her project at the McGill University and Genome Quebec Innovation Centre.

RESEARCH TO UNDERSTAND GOOD VERSUS BAD IMPACTS OF FOLIC ACID Abhishek Chakraborty along with his mentor, Dr Ashim Bagchi of the St Boniface Research Centre (Winnipeg) has pursued extensive experimental research about Folic Acid - a supplement, which is fortified into many daily foods in several countries including Canada. Abhishek’s findings demonstrated the many negative impacts that over-dosage of the supplement folic acid is capable of. In his research, Abhishek also developed procedures by which such negative impacts could be mitigated. His research has contributed to resolving the long and extensive debate about the good versus bad impacts the supplement folic acid has on the health of individuals.

Abhishek is a two-time gold medalist (2011/2014) as well as a two-time silver medalist (2012/2013) of the national Canada-Wide Science Fair. He has also won first place at the 2012 Sanofi BioGENEius Challenge Manitoba, the Health Challenge Award at Canada-Wide Science Fair 2011, platinum at the 2011 Youth Encouraging Sustainability Showcase, and the Best Overall Project award at the 2012 Manitoba Schools Science Symposium. He has published his research in the Canadian Young Scientist Journal and his research has also garnered attention from several media outlets including the Montreal Gazette and the Winnipeg Free Press.

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LOGISTICS MARKET UPDATES

RSA-TALKE AND DOW SIGN SUPPLY CHAIN CONTRACT Dow and RSA-TALKE strengthen their supply chain solutions partnership in the Gulf region.

Dubai to play an increasingly important role in international chemical logistics.

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n affiliate of The Dow Chemical Company and RSA-TALKE signed a contract for the storage of chemical products that will be manufactured by Dow from various production sites globally. With this joint venture for chemical logistics RSATALKE will receive and store Dow products in their specialized chemical warehouses in Dubai. These warehouses are located at the Aerotropolis also known as Dubai South.

RSA-TALKE’s complex at Dubai South has been designed to store chemicals and petrochemicals to the highest international standards. The company – a joint venture of Dubai-based RSA Logistics and the German TALKE Group – caters to the demand of customers from the chemical and petrochemical industries in the Gulf region.

RSA-TALKE. “We have worked hard in the past couple of years to create top quality facilities based on the highest international standards and the journey continues with the very recent opening of our integrated chemicals hub in Jebel Ali free zone,” said Abhishek Ajay Shah, managing director, RSA Logistics and director, RSA-TALKE. Ihab Elia, associate director of logistics and international trade, Dow Middle East and Africa said: “Dow clearly sees the Middle East as a core region in their total business model, whether for local production or as part of their global supply chain. RSA-TALKE will play an integral part in Dow’s growth story, as we progress and drive to ensure we work with world class service providers with the right focus on safety, value, and quality.”

“The signing of this significant agreement with Dow has again confirmed the interest “This partnership is not new but an expansion of our customers in our strategy of providing on the trust built and established between a full service portfolio for chemical logistics our entities through historic and current in Dubai,” explained Richard Heath, director, operations. We look forward to achieve Middle East & USA, TALKE and director, 72

Chemical Today Magazine | July 2016

further successes in the future,” he added.

The recent inauguration of a large container terminal for chemical goods in the Jebel Ali free zone (JAFZA) rounds off RSA-TALKE’s total concept. “With the integrated chemical hub, designed around ISO-tank container storage and complemented by associated services, we are proud to complete the picture as far as a full range of services is concerned,” said Abhishek Ajay Shah.

“We can now handle liquids and solids, hazardous and non-hazardous, packaged or bulk to support chemical manufacturers in the whole of the Gulf region.”

The United Arab Emirates and the countries of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) are regarded as key markets for the chemical industry, with Dubai as an increasingly important logistics centre.

The Emirate of Dubai is seen as a significant hub for the export of chemicals from the region to Africa, India and the Far East.

UNIPETROL

CONSTRUCTS LOGISTICS

FACILITY FOR NEW POLYETHYLENE UNIT The Czech petrochemical corporation Unipetrol, a subsidiary of Polish ORLEN group, has awarded TALKE a contract for the engineering and construction of a logistics facility at its location in Litvinov. The value of the signed agreement amounts to 700 million CZK. The contract is part of new polyethylene unit project (PE3), the biggest investment in the history of the Czech petrochemical industry. The overall PE3 project costs are estimated at 8.5 billion CZK. “The investment in to new polyethylene unit will help to contribute to greater integration of the petrochemical and refining production of Unipetrol Group and will enable us to reach out for new industrial segments, including cosmetic or packaging industry. It will increase our storage needs for polyethylene granules.

To ensure efficient storage and expedition of additional polyethylene volume produced by the new PE3 unit, we decided to build new modern logistics terminal at Litvinov chemical site,” said Marek Switajewski CEO and chairman of the board of directors of Unipetrol.

“We feel honoured that Unipetrol has entrusted us with this project,” said Christoph Grunert, director logistics, Europe,

TALKE. “It is not only our biggest European construction project to date, the assignment proves our strategy true, to support the chemical and petrochemical industries with highquality logistics consulting, design and engineering – along with our transport and logistics operations.”

Unipetrol named TALKE as general contractor for the construction of a logistics facility to handle and package an annual volume of 270,000 tonnes of polyethylene type HDPE granules.

The project includes the construction of a battery of 40 storage silos with a total capacity of 16,000 tonnes, the extension of an existing packaging hall, the installation of suitable machinery for bag filling, pallet packaging and truck loading. Also, the pneumatic conveying system for the transfer of product from the production site to the storage silos as well as new offices.

The entire concept of the logistics facility originates from a study previously executed by TALKE. It will be realized under an engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contract with completion planned for the first quarter of 2018. The new polyethylene unit is being built under Ineos license. Its construction was commenced in the beginning of June 2016.

LATVIA, CHINA DRAFT

COOPERATION MEMORANDUM FOR TRANSPORT, LOGISTICS

Latvian Transport Minister Uldis Augulis (Greens/Farmers) and Ning Jizhe, Vice-Chairman of China’s National Development and Reform Commission, have approved a draft memorandum on comprehensive Latvian-Chinese cooperation in transport and logistics that is to be signed during the 16+1 summit of the heads of government of China and 16 Central and Eastern European countries in Riga in November this year, according to the Latvian Transport Ministry information.

Under the memorandum of cooperation, Latvia and China will cooperate in development of ports, improvement of port infrastructure, attraction of investments and development of industrial parks. The talks on the memorandum began in February this year when Ning Jizhe visited Riga.

Augulis said that signing of the memorandum will give Latvian and Chinese companies a chance to find mutually fruitful cooperation opportunities and achieve practical results in the nearest future.

“We will have a common vision of specific steps towards long-term cooperation in transport and logistics which will significantly contribute to the Latvian economic growth in the Chemical Today Magazine | July 2016

future,” the Latvian transport minister said.

During the meeting with Chinese Transport Minister Yang Chuantang, Augulis said that Latvia had made a lot of effort over the last ten years to develop its special niche in provision of transport and logistics services in Eurasia. Transit services account for 10 percent of Latvian GDP and, as a strategically important sector, enjoys great support from the Latvian government.

“We can be a strategic partner to China through active participation in One Belt One Road initiative. At the same time, Latvia due to its geographic location is the largest natural cargo reloading center in the region, therefore we have to work together to strengthen connectivity throughout Eurasia and stabilize its leading position in the Baltic region,” the Latvian transport minister said.

The Chinese transport minister confirmed his country’s willingness to cooperate with Latvia and voiced appreciation of the Latvian Transport Ministry’s efforts to strengthen cooperation. Latvia and China have common interests in development of pragmatic cooperation between the governments and companies of both countries.

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JOBS

PhD Student Internship / Industrial Post-Doc (PDT Group) Company: Air Products and Chemicals Inc Date posted: 22 June 2016 Country: US City: Allentown

Senior Analytical Chemist Company: Lubrizol Corporation Date posted: 01 July 2016 Country: US City: King of Prussia

Job description: The position will be in the Process Data Technology (PDT) group, which is a part of Products, Technology, and Operational Excellence: an R&D organization focused on research and development of improved chemical processes and cycles, increased productivity, as well as the scale-up and commercialization of new products, utilization of plant and business data to determine how to optimally operate different production assets and businesses, executing on productivity initiatives focused on both batch and continuous processes: cycle time improvements, cost reductions.

Website: http://bit.ly/29DQ3oX

Job description: The individual will provide technical guidance, solve problems, and make a hands-on contribution from R&D method development through GLP/ GMP method validation and transfer in a fast-paced CRO/CMO environment.

This position requires a chemist with expertise and demonstrated abilities in the development and application of analytical methods. The majority of the work is laboratory based and the ability to perform analytical tests within the laboratory and interpret and communicate the results is critical. The Senior Analytical Chemist will work independently, manage their own projects and provide guidance and training for junior analytical chemists.

Website: http://bit.ly/29vVDsp

Industrial Minerals Chemist Company: Solvay Date posted: 02 July 2016 Country: US City: Stamford

Job description: Solvay is seeking exceptional applicants to fill a chemist/ engineer position for duration of 12 months. This individual will have responsibility as a technical contributor in the Industrial Minerals Research and Innovation group. The candidate should independently design and execute experiments for various industrial minerals research projects, work collaboratively with peers, project team members, and customers towards successful project completion, actively demonstrate positive safety behaviours and practices.

Website: http://bit.ly/29pUzTP

Analytical Chemist Company: Monsanto Company Date Posted: 03 July 2016 Country: US City: St. Louis

Job description:The position is focused on performing chemical characterization measurements on plant tissue samples and formulations. The primary techniques used in this work include liquid chromatography (UPLC), gas chromatography (GC), liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS) and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS). Monsanto scientists are conducting research and development across multiple scientific disciplines to revolutionize plant breeding, biotechnology and crop protection chemistries.

The Chemical Analytics Program provides analytical chemistry support for all phases of Monsanto’s Chemistry product pipeline. The R&D Analytics Platform within the Chemical Analytics Program is responsible for providing analytical chemistry support for the discovery and development of agricultural products.

Website: http://monsanto.info/1q4rfpS

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Chemical Today Magazine | July 2016

Technical Service Chemist Company: Evonik Date posted: 07 July 2016 Country: US City: Mexico

PhD Polymer Chemist Research & Technology Company: Eastman Chemical Company Date posted: 07 July 2016 Country: US City: Martinsville

Process Engineer / Chemical Engineer for Process Development (m/f) Company: BASF SE Date posted: 07 July 2016 Country: Germany City: Ludwigshafen

Job description: This position’s roles and responsibilities include planning, execution and reporting of laboratory projects as assigned by the Group Leader, assistance in product recommendations and delivery of presentations and training to customers and distributor. The candidate will be responsible for communication with global laboratories on project and other technical matters, testing of products in coating and ink formulations supplied by customers, perform laboratory projects with the aim of promoting old and new products and the development of new market areas, provide technical support for production and toll manufacturing.

Website: http://bit.ly/29EV5zO Job description: The person we are seeking should have a minimum of 3 years experience in research and development of polymeric materials. Experience in coatings, pressure sensitive adhesive formulations, radiation cured polymeric systems such as hard coats and/or adhesives for packaging or other flexible material is required. This role will work with the senior staff in the development of products and/or processes as they relate to coatings including adhesives, hard coats and colourants for flexible film applications.

Website: http://bit.ly/29u6x22 Job description: The basis of our competencies at chemical and process engineering is a broad spectrum of process engineering. In this position, you will develop cost-effective and sustainable new production methods for the field of petrochemicals, oxidation products and raw materials changes. In the process, you will be entrusted with test planning and evaluation from the lab scale up to the pilot plant scale. This role requires a degree and a doctorate in process engineering, chemical engineering, technical or physical chemistry, on which the candidate should have earned above-average results and amassed solid experience in the field of process development. The person should also be interested in new methods and market trends.

Website: http://on.basf.com/29oS05G

Chemical Operator I Company: Merck KGaA Date posted: 08 July 2016 Country: US City: Haverhill

Chemist Associate Hygiene Company: H B Fuller Date posted: 09 July 2016 Country: China City: Guangzhou

Job description:The chemical operator’s responsibilities include small-scale chemical handling, proper identification, labeling, handling and disposal of hazardous waste in the assigned work area(s), effectively trains new operators in safe chemical handling/operations and test containers in accordance to standard operating procedures.

Website: http://bit.ly/29y7Pud Job description: This position is based in Guangzhou lab, reporting to technical manager - hygiene, developing new product or tweaking formula to meet customers or marketing requirements and help sales team to grow business.

The candidate conducts and/or participates in research projects within a scientific specialty, responsible for meeting research goals within time and budget constraints, organizes the development findings, draws conclusions and creates a summary report. He/she should regularly communicate with internal technical teams, including global and regional R&D, sub-lab team.

Website: http://bit.ly/29GXE4K

Research Scientist Kilolab Company: Syngenta Date posted: 09 July 2016 Country: India City: Goa Chemical Today Magazine | July 2016

Job description:The role is to independently prepare and execute routine tasks including making suggestions for problem solving, supervise and maintain procedures, equipment, biomaterials and facilities according to defined guidelines. The person is responsible for organization of own laboratory work (may include ordering laboratory supplies and equipment) and 2 - 3 years of relevant experience in organic chemical industry Website: http://bit.ly/29vY3Yc 75

IT IN CHEMICALS CASE STUDY “The Amulet tools have enabled us to develop operational analytics, dashboards, and reports, which help us effectively plan, monitor and control our integrated water supply system.”

Steve McMichael, Manager Network & Production Planning, South Australia Water

South Australia Water Saves AUD 3 Million in Energy Costs Using Bentley Software Amulet Provides Invaluable Forecast Data to Water Authority Regarding Water Usage and Movement Transforming the way water is distributed South Australia is the driest state in the driest inhabited continent on earth. In fact, only 4 percent of the province receives more than 500 millimeters of rain each year. The River Murray, which flows for over 2,500 kilometers, is South Australia’s only major river.

Fast Facts • The Adelaide area is comprised of sixteen water supply zones, six major water treatment plants, and nine reservoirs.

• There are 26,000 kilometers of water mains in the state, of which 8,900 kilometers are in metropolitan Adelaide.

• A 25-year historical database of weather was used to predict long-term planning.

ROI • Predict short-term hourly and daily demand levels and long-term capital planning in seconds • Saved AUD $3 million in energy costs in the 2013-2014 financial year • Further AUD $400,000 saved in network expenditure over six months • Reduced reaction times

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Chemical Today Magazine | July 2016

Adelaide and the surrounding area can experience prolonged periods of drought, the last of which prompted the building of a high capacity desalination plant and a north-south interconnecting pipeline within South Australia that, for the first time, allowed South Australia Water (SA Water) to distribute water almost anywhere in its network at any time in previously unachievable ways. What it couldn’t achieve successfully was predicting demand and optimizing water movement accordingly.

This new desalination plant and the ongoing investment in telemetry equipment caused SA Water to look for more benefits, including increased analytical and decisionmaking capabilities to enhance the management of its network and optimize water usage. Bentley’s Amulet was chosen as the commercial operational intelligence platform. It consisted of three separate systems (rolled out in stages), and provided SA Water with the ability to combine IT and operational data to predict water usage, distribution, and electricity usage.

Three separate decision support tools were deployed in stages: the Demand Forecasting tool, the Distribution Optimization tool, and the Energy Portfolio Management (EPM) system. These combined systems saved SA

Water AUD 3 million in energy related costs by predicting tariff increases and moving water accordingly.

IT-OT convergence to maximize performance One of the main objectives for SA Water was pulling information from both the operational side and the information technology side in real time. Bringing them together has resulted in huge benefits, including improving performance, enhancing the understanding of interrelationships, and enabling better decision making.

Amulet was selected for the role of operational intelligence platform for its real-time ability to connect and capture data from a wide variety of sources, perform complicated calculations and analysis, and for its impressive range of visualization components.

Data collected from the operational side was previously stored in SCADA systems and fed to an OSIsoft PI system, which was then accessed through Amulet. Real-time monitored sensor data is transmitted from the reservoirs, water treatment plants, valves, flow meters, and pumps spread across the extensive pipeline network. To maximize optimization, multiple sources of data from internal and third-party information systems was combined to aid predictions for the Demand Forecasting tool.

The value of forecasting demand and usage The Demand Forecasting tool is a model that predicts demand in network zones at

different time frames specified by the user.

It predicts short- and long-term demand – from hourly and daily forecasts up to annual strategic long-term capital forecasts. To make smarter predictions against actual water levels, more data from IT needed to be made available, especially when considering the many variables SA Water had to take into account, such as: • Population distribution and growth; • Operational activity; •Temperature and rainfall data (weather data streams from Bureau of Meteorology includes current and short term forecasts, as well as 25-year historical database for longterm planning); • Water restrictions, usage, and demand patterns; and • Weather patterns and events.

Amulet’s powerful calculation and analytics engine combined all data from these sources and provided detailed predictions on demand, helping operators to plan for every eventuality. As well as a predictive tool, the Demand Forecasting tool continuously monitors current conditions across the network, as near to real time, on the Network Status Display dashboard, embedded within the Amulet system. This allows operators to respond to problems as soon as they arise.

Making sure demand meets supply The next phase in the development was to integrate the Demand Optimization tool.

This tool is used to optimize the availability and the movement of clean water around the network to demand areas in a timely and cost-efficient manner. It calculates how to deliver the water by calculating costs, determining what pumping stations to use, what pumps are needed, and so on.

The Demand Optimization tool specifically designed third-party products to extract

the data from Amulet to produce the sophisticated optimization analytics. These analytics are required to take the output of the Demand Forecasting tool to develop a live hydraulic model that determines water pressures and flows throughout the network.

Load shedding leads to reduced costs By identifying how much water to move, where it is to be distributed, and what valves and pumps need to be used across the network, the next logical step for SA Water was to determine the most cost-efficient time to carry out the movements. As with the Demand Optimization tool, the Energy Portfolio Management system also relied on the forecasts to maximize its analytics and gain more benefits. The system was used to predict and track electricity prices and determine when it should turn off pumps, shed load, and avoid high prices.

SA Water changed from purchasing its electricity supply from a fixed price to a fluctuating price based on the spot market.

In order to make the most of the potential savings involved, SA Water used Amulet to look at the spot market, predict prices, and allow SA Water to set pumping schedules accordingly for transferring water across the network. Using Amulet’s Data Collection Framework to initially pull in forecast data published from the Australian Energy Market Operator (AEMO), SA Water applies risk-based calculations to the data and extends it further into a long-term forecast. The data is then sent back to other systems to help SA Water produce its pumping schedules. Alarms and reports also help manage pricing.

reliability to Adelaide’s customers. The hydraulic model allows SA Water to cut response times by 90 percent by quickly identifying problems (e.g., a broken water main), and apply a workaround solution.

Direct benefits attributed to these tools include: • Reduction in the number of repair and shutdown issues escalated to significant or major events • Reduction in the overall risk of major water supply shut down events • Improved water security • Realization of full asset capacity to allow for capital deferral benefits • Supporting continuous improvement in the areas of: 

Customer complaints



Timeliness of response to customer complaints



Water infrastructure reliability



Timeliness of water service restoration

Project summary Organization: South Australia Water Solution: Water and Wastewater Location: Adelaide, South Australia Project Objective: 

Predict demand and optimization of water across the network



Improve analytical and decision making capabilities regarding new infrastructure and reduce operational costs



Converge IT and operational data for short and long term planning

Benefits achieved Integrating the decision support tools into a comprehensive suite represents a “world’s first” in terms of realizing the benefits of actively optimizing water supply and

Products used: Amulet

Happy Valley Resevoir.jpg- “One of the many connected reservoirs across the SA Water network.”

Chemical Today Magazine | July 2016

77

PRODUCTS

ROYAL DRAGON GOLD, MAGENTA PIGMENTS FOR AUTO, HIGH-END

INDUSTRIAL MARKETS

B

ASF’s new Lumina® Royal Dragon Gold EH 0908 is a highly chromatic green gold interference mica pigment that offers the highest lightness and strongest sparkle in styling for golds and greens. It extends the color space potential of high chroma shades for architectural, print packaging, plastics, consumer, electronics, kitchen and major appliances, sporting goods, cosmetic and personal care packaging, wall coverings and other specialty applications.

The two new quinacridone-based Cinquasia® Magenta pigments targeted for the automotive, refinish and high end

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Chemical Today Magazine | July 2016

industrial markets. Cinquasia® Uniflow Magenta EH 4555 is a highly chromatic, transparent, blue side Pigment Red 202 with 20+ percent higher tint strength than existing pigments. Cinquasia® Uniflow Magenta EH 4505 is an even more highly chromatic, yellow side transparent magenta.

These next generation pigments allow formulators to achieve highly saturated and chromatic red, violet and blue shades.In addition, both pigments exhibit excellent flow behaviour that allow for higher pigment loads in most solvent-borne and water-borne paint systems.

Contact: BASF Corporation 26701 Telegraph Road, Southfield, Michigan 48034, USA Tel: (248) 948-2067 Fax: (248) 948-2101 Email: tanja.molitor@basf.com/andrea. huang@basf.com Web: https://www.basf.com

Chemical Today Connecting World Chemically

UV-FLUORESCENT PIGMENT PASTE FOR LIQUID SILICONE RUBBER

W

acker introduced silicone pigment paste ELASTOSIL® Color Paste FL UV Fluorescent designed for the fluorescent marking of addition-curing silicone rubber. Silicone molded parts or coatings pigmented with the new paste shine a deep blue-violet when irradiated with UV light. Silicone processors can utilize this property to develop computer-controlled quality control systems in manufacturing. The new product is a pourable, translucent pigment dispersion that appears a pale yellow colour in daylight. It contains an organic pigment that is highly fluorescent under ultraviolet light. This pigment is excited to emit light at a wavelength of 365 nanometres, emitting blue-violet light with a wavelength of 430 nanometres. The high effectiveness of the pigment means that generally only 0.5 to 2 percent of the pigment paste is required to provide the silicone rubber with a fluorescent marking. Cured rubber products pigmented with ELASTOSIL® Color Paste FL UV Fluorescent only differ from non-pigmented cured products in their UV fluorescence. This makes the pigment paste a suitable UV marker for liquid silicone rubbers and other addition-curing silicone rubber compounds.

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

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

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

Contact:

launches and press releases for inclusion in the

Wacker Chemie AG Hauptverwaltung, Hanns-Seidel-Platz 4, 81737 Munchena, Germany Tel. +49 89 6279-0/+49 89 6279-1601 Email: florian.degenhart@wacker.com Web: http://www.wacker.com

magazine.

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

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

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

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PRODUCTS

NEW EFFECT RUBY RED PIGMENT

FOR FOOD USE

M

erck announced the launch of a new pearlescent effect pigment of the next generation. Candurin速 NXT Ruby Red is the first silica-based effect pigment approved for food use. Its intensive red, strong mass tone and superb stability make it a mineralbased and non-artificial dye alternative. The new effect pigment Candurin速 NXT Ruby Red is an insoluble combination of silica and iron oxide. With a medium particle size of 5 to 50 micrometers, it displays excellent light, temperature and pH stability. Candurin速

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Chemical Today Magazine | July 2016

NXT Ruby Red imparts a distinctive finish to diverse products such as chocolate or baked goods, chewing gum or candies, fruit gums or other sweets.

It also gives ice cream and beverages an unmistakable, irresistible glitter. Combined with excerpts or aromas of red fruits, it visually boosts the taste sensation. Candurin速 NXT Ruby Red can also be used to highlight special properties of food supplement tablets and capsules so as to underscore the value of the products.

Contact: Merck KGaA Frankfurter Strabe 250, 64293 Darmstadt, Germany Tel.: +49 (0) 6151 72-0 Fax: +49 (0) 6151 72-2000 Email: service@merckgroup.com Web: http://www.merckgroup.com

AQUA PELLET ALUMINUM PIGMENT FOR INKS, INDUSTRIAL COATINGS

S

ilberline’s new SILBERCOTE Aqua Pellet for inks and industrial coatings is a nonleafing, low-dusting, low VOC aluminum granule pigment that offers manufacturers proprietary passivation technology in a pellet form. It is available in small to large custom particle sizes and is compatible in waterborne systems. Aqua Pellet contains less than 1.5 percent residual solvent, which allows for lower VOC inks and coatings to be formulated. This flexible pigment is

Chemical Today Magazine | July 2016

easily dispersed in water, alcohol or glycol ethers and offers excellent gassing stability in waterborne inks and coatings. Because no solvent is required, it is safe, provides ease of handling and customer container cleanup, which allows for 100 percent consumption.

No residual paste is left in the container.

The granule provides excellent adhesion, aesthetics and high pigment concentration, making it an economical solution for customer’s next project.

Contact: Silberline 130 Lincoln Drive, Tamaqua, PA 18252, USA Tel: 570-668-6050/ 800-348-4824 Fax: 570-668-0197 Email: faym@silberline.com/ serfasss@ silberline.com Web: https://www.silberline.com 81

PRODUCTS

ADD COLOUR TO SILICONE ROOF COATINGS

WITH NEW HIGH QUALITY PIGMENTS

A

POC®, a division of Gardner-Gibson Inc, introduces EZ Blend colourants, high quality pigments designed especially for on-site tinting of silicone coatings. Offered in eleven custom colours, EZ Blend is manufactured to support tinting of APOC Armor Flex Silicones and non-APOC silicone brands. This formulation supports the tinting of APOC Armor Flex #585 White Silicone for light colours and Armor Flex Deep Tint Base for dark colours. EZ Blend can even be used with most other brands of silicone on the market. Colours offered include Pacific Sand, Glacier Gray, Barn Red, Terra Cotta, Walnut Brown, Patina Green, Hunter Green, Colonial Blue, Harbor Blue, Safety Yellow and Black.

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Chemical Today Magazine | July 2016

Contact: APOC 4161 East 7th Avenue, Tampa, FL 33605, USA Tel: (813) 248 2101 Fax: (813) 248 6768 Email: yrubenzer@gardner-gibson.com Web: https://www.apoc.com

UNIQUE LOW FOAM EMULSIFIER ADDITIVE FOR METALWORKING

A

fton Chemical launched PolartechŽ EA 700, a Low Foam Emulsifier Additive that delivers best-in-class low foam performance in severe machining conditions, when compared to commonly used metalworking emulsifiers. With exceptional emulsion stability even in extreme conditions and its ability to minimize separation, Polartech EA 700 helps extend the fluid life far beyond normal expectations-resulting in lower costs and higher productivity. Polartech EA 700 is a proven product that has been thoroughly researched and rigorously tested, and is supported with Afton’s specialized expertise to maximize value to their customers.

Contact: Afton Chemical Corporation 500 Spring Street, Richmond VA 23219, USA Tel: +1 804-788-5800 Email: lauren.ereio@aftonchemical.com Web: https://www.aftonchemical.com

Chemical Today Magazine | July 2016

83

EQUIPMENT

New analyzer for ultra-sensitive industrial trace gases measurement

A

BB announces a new online, continuous laser process analyzer that performs highly sensitive, accurate, precise and rapid measurements of trace gases. Applications include refining, petrochemical, chemical, power, pharmaceutical and other industries.

Called the LGR-ICOSTM Model 950 process analyzer, the new instrument uses ABB’s patented Off-Axis Integrated Cavity Output Spectroscopy (OA-ICOS) technology. This cavity enhancement absorption technique extends the effective optical path length to multiple miles to greatly improve sensitivity to trace gases such as H2S, CH4, CO2, CO, O2, HCL, NH3, HF, C2H2, H2O and others.

The real-time analyzer provides fast, highly sensitive measurements over a wide dynamic range with no cross-interference from other background and matrix gases. The LGR-ICOS analyzer is simple to use, starts up in minutes, requires no field calibration and has minimal preventative maintenance requirements. It requires no consumables, columns, carrier gases, fluids, or chemical scrubbers.

A simplified sample conditioning system reduces complexity and maintenance cost.

Contact: ABB Ltd Thomas & Betts 970 McLaughlin Avenue, San Jose, 95122, California, USA

Tel: +1 408 292 4025 Email: contact.center@us.abb.com/robert.mapleston@us.abb.com Web: http://www.abb.com

Mass spectrometer analyser for fast gas processes T

he Hiden HPR-20 QIC TMS Transient Mass Spectrometer system is specifically configured for analysis of fast gas reaction processes operating through a broad pressure regime from 2 bar down to a low 100 mbar. Applications include flash-heating studies, respiratory analysis, sorption/desorption rate monitoring and assessment of gas/ surface interaction kinetics. The compact benchtop system features the Hiden 3F/PIC series triple-filter quadrupole for optimum sensitivity, species identification and contamination resistance. The fast digital detector system provides a wide dynamic range through 7 continuous decades with a sampling rate capability in excess of 500 data points per second. Individual gaseous species may be selected and monitored within 6 milliseconds, with pulse profile resolution (5 percent to 95 percent peak height) in just 60 milliseconds. Sampling from the process is via an inert quartz-lined heated interface, process gases being exposed to quartz and platinum surfaces prior to analysis to maintain sample integrity. The APSI soft ionisation operating mode minimises ion fragmentation for simplification of complex mass spectra.

Contact: Hiden Analytical 420 Europa Boulevard, Gemini Business Park, Warrington, WA5 7UN, UK 84

Chemical Today Magazine | July 2016

Tel: +44 (0) 1925 445225 Fax: +44 (0) 1925 416518 Email: info@hiden.co.uk Web: http://www.hidenanalytical.com

UHPLC system for high-speed applications, exceptional performance

T

hermo Scientific Vanquish UHPLC platform, the new Thermo Scientific Vanquish Flex Binary UHPLC system adds a binary solvent delivery option in the 1000 bar (15,000 psi) performance range. The system is built for high-speed, fast gradient applications and the Vanquish platform’s inherent outstanding retention time reproducibility. The Vanquish Flex Binary UHPLC system is the solution for laboratories performing qualitative and quantitative LC or LC-MS analysis that need to increase sample throughput. Ease-ofuse and innovative technologies that are robust by design are making UHPLC widely accessible and enable easy and effective method transfer from established systems and applications. The Vanquish Flex Binary System features a binary high-pressure gradient pump with 2 x 3 solvent channels and low gradient delay volume capable of delivering high flow rates of up to 8 mL/min. The entire system provides biocompatible flow path, Smart Inject using intelligent sample pre-compression, selectable thermostatting modes and a unique range of detection capabilities.

Contact: Bruker Nano GmbH Am Studio 2D, 12489 Berlin, Germany

Tel: +49 30 670990-0 Fax: +49 30 670990-30 E-mail: info.bna@bruker.com/ michael.mueller@bruker.com Web: www.bruker.com

A new level of performance in Raman microscopy B

ruker launched the compact research grade Raman microscope SENTERRA II replacing the successful former model SENTERRA. The SENTERRA II defines a new level of performance and user friendliness in its class of compact Raman microscopes. Due to its high sensitivity and flexibility the it is well suited for advanced Raman microscopic applications. With its compact size and easy to use interface it is also a very efficient tool for fast and reliable results in the industrial laboratory. The SENTERRA II provides again permanent wavelength calibration using the well proven SURE_CAL technology. The central innovation of the SENTERRA II is its new powerful capability for confocal Raman imaging and mapping. The main markets for the SENTERRA II range from material science such as polymers, pharmaceutical and novel nano-materials to life science such as cell and tissue biology, and to classical areas of forensics, art and geology.

Contact: Bruker Nano GmbH Am Studio 2D, 12489 Berlin, Germany Chemical Today Magazine | July 2016

Tel: +49 30 670990-0 Fax: +49 30 670990-30 E-mail: info.bna@bruker.com/ michael.mueller@bruker.com Web: www.bruker.com 85

EQUIPMENT

Two-in one UV analyzers measure ammonia, nitrate or COD E

CD’s CA-6 UV Analyzer Family provides a highly accurate, reliable and economical on-line sampling system that’s designed with UV absorption sensor technology to monitor harmful pollutant parameter levels. The CA-6 Analyzer’s sensors are available in multiple parameter measurement ranges: Ammonia from 0-10 mg/L or 0 to 1000 mg/L; Nitrate from 0-30 mg/L, 0-100 mg/L, or 0-250 mg/L and COD 254 nm from 0-200 mg/L or 0-20,000 mg/L. To measure Ammonia, a reagent is added to the liquid sample and converts the ammonia to gas for measurement by the CA-6’s UV sensor with a fast Fourier transform algorithm that provides a measurement equivalent to the level of Ammonia. In measuring the Nitrate found in turbid, organic rich waste water, the CA-6 UV’s advanced self-cleaning design relies on the strong absorption of UV light by the chromophore N-O, which again is according to Beer-Lambert’s Law. For the measurement of COD 254 nm, the CA-6’s sensor detects UV light absorption by unsaturated organic molecules at the 254 nm wavelength.

Contact: Electro-Chemical Devices (ECD) 1500 North Kellogg Drive, Anaheim, California 92807, USA

Tel: +1-714-695-0051/+1-800-729-1333 Fax: +1-714-695-0057 Email: sales@ecdi.com Web: http://ecdi.com

New efficient high-pressure pump for a powerful performance K

SB Aktiengesellschaft, Germany launched its Movitec 125 pumps, complementing its current range of vertical highpressure pumps. The multistage centrifugal pumps are designed for fluids such as water, coolants, condensate and mineral oils. They are ideal for industrial recirculation and fire-fighting systems, cooling water circuits and washing plants as well as for boosting pressure in general process applications, for example. The engineers behind the new pump sets put special emphasis on achieving outstanding hydraulic efficiencies. The efficiency of a pump with a full impeller diameter is greater than 80 percent. The type series handles flow rates of up to 192 cubic metres per hour (at 60 Hz) at heads of up to 125 metres. The permissible fluid temperature ranges from -20 °C to +120 °C. As standard, the new pump sets are driven by 2-pole IE3 motors of 15 to 45 kW. The new Movitec 125 pump sets are available in eight sizes with different numbers of stages.

Contact: KSB Aktiengesellschaft Johann-Klein-Strabe 9, 67227 Frankenthal, Germany 86

Chemical Today Magazine | July 2016

Tel. +49 6233 86-0 E-mail: info@ksb.com Web: https://www.ksb.com

Self-regenerating purifier for chromatography gases A

synt has introduced GasTrap gas purifiers for analytical laboratories using Gas Chromatography (GC), High Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC) or Mass Spectrometry (GC/ MS) instrumentation. Available in optimised models for Helium, Hydrogen, Nitrogen and pure air – GasTrap gas purifiers dramatically reduce the levels of contaminants, enhance the purity of lower grade helium, and help ensure instrument stability, reproducibility as well as lowering running costs. Laboratory gases for GC, HPLC and GC/MS are typically supplied in pressurised cylinders that contain trace impurities. Even with speciality high purity gas supplies trace contaminants of up to 20ppm Oxygen, Water, Carbon Dioxide, Neon and Argon are present which increase proportionately as the cylinder pressure drops. Unlike disposable gas filters that are time consuming, costly and cannot remove gases such as Neon, Argon or Nitrogen, based upon patented Pressure Swing Adsorption (PSA) technology – GasTrap gas purifiers remove all of contaminant trace gases and self-clean every cycle.

Contact: Asynt Unit 29 Hall Barn Road Industrial Estate, Isleham, Cambridgeshire, CB7 5RJ, UK

Tel: +44 (0)1638 781 709 Fax: +44 (0)1638 781 706 Email: sales@asynt.com/enquiries@asynt.com Web: http://www.asynt.com

New programmable 5-position stirring hot plate T

orrey Pines Scientific Inc announces its new EchoTherm™ Model HS65 Programmable Digital Stirring Hot Plate with 5-Stirring Positions for use in chemical, pharmaceutical, environmental, biochemical, and other laboratories where reproducible, accurate, hands-off sample preparation and experimentation are a must. With the EchoTherm™ Model HS65, programming is done through the front panel membrane switch and full-functioned custom liquid crystal display. The unit can store 10 programmes in memory of as many as 10 steps each where each step is a temperature, temperature ramp rate (if wanted), stirring speed and time. Each stirring position can be set to the same speed or to individual speeds. Non-programmed operation can be done as well. Heater plates are 12” (30.5 cm) x 12” (30.5 cm) white, solid ceramic glass for excellent chemical resistance and quick heating. The plate surface can be heated from ambient to 400°C. Stirring speed is 100 to 1500 rpm and controlled by optical coupler to 10 rpm.

Contact: Torrey Pines Scientific, Inc. 2713 Loker Avenue West Carlsbad, CA 92010, USA Chemical Today Magazine | July 2016

Tel: 760-930-9400/866-573-9104 Fax: 760-930-9480 Email: info@torreypinesscientific.com Web: http://www.torreypinesscientific.com 87

EQUIPMENT

New level sensors for corrosive fluids, difficult environments H

ayward Flow Control announces the release of the new HLS Level Sensor line. The HLS is a highly accurate level sensor that is not affected by foaming, waves or head space vapors. With a complete CPVC housing and construction, the HLS is ideal for corrosive fluids and environments where metals cannot perform. The HLS Level Sensor measures hydrostatic pressure and converts the reading to an analog 4-20mA signal, which can be displayed on a wide range of indicating transmitters or taken directly into a PLC. Additional accessories and options from Hayward for the HLS Series include the Moisture Protection Volume, NEMA 4X Enclosures, Ceramic Sink Weights for high specific gravity fluids and the new HLST200 Indicating Level Transmitter with configuratable display and separate temperature channel. Typical applications or installations include but are not limited to, waste and water treatment, chemical storage, transfer and processing, sump level control, cooling towers, chlorination systems, aquatic and animal life support systems, and metal plating / surface finishing.

Contact: Hayward Flow Control One Hayward Industrial Drive, Clemmons, NC 27012, USA

Tel: 1.888.429.4635 Fax: 1.888.778.8410 Email: hflow@hayward.com Web: http://www.haywardflowcontrol.com

Vacuum controller provides easy control of vacuum sources K

NF Neuberger, Inc. announces the VC 900 vacuum control unit is designed to integrate with any diaphragm vacuum pump or house vacuum source, making operation of laboratory vacuum applications simpler, safer, and more consistent and reliable. The VC 900 vacuum control unit consists of two components; an interface controller that allows users to input settings and see the resulting performance values, and an operating unit which regulates the pump’s vacuum level based on interface controller inputs, via an integrated pressure sensor, vacuum valve, and ventilator valve. Lab personnel can operate the VC 900 vacuum controller using the touch display and rotary/push knob, or via PC by using the mini USB interface. The features are it has simple control of vacuum application, is compatible with any laboratory diaphragm pump or house vacuum sources, has four operating modes and is easy-to-use, touch display with intuitive having smart interface.

Contact: KNF Neuberger Inc. Two Black Forest Road, Trenton, NJ 08691-1810, USA

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Chemical Today Magazine | July 2016

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GLOSSARY PAGE NO 3M Co 60, 62 ABB Ltd 47, 84 Afton Chemical Corporation 83 Air Products and Chemicals Inc 19,74 Akzonobel NV 09, 54 Alpha Pro Tech 62 Ananas Anam 44 Ansell Ltd 62 APOC 82 Apotex industries Ltd 60 ARC Advisory Group 03, 46 Ashland Inc 48 Asynt 87 Balmer Lawrie & Co Ltd 30 BASF SE 39, 50, 60, 75, 78 Bayer MaterialScience 28 Bentley Systems 47, 76 Berger Paints India Limited 54 Boeing 11 Bosch 47 Bruker Nano GmbH 85 Bulwark Protective Apparel 62 Carnegie Mellon University 66 Celanese Corporation 60 Central Leather Research Institute 30 Clariant 57 Clariant India 03, 22 Covestro 28 Curtin University 67 Delta Plus 62 DIC Corporation 57 Dow Jones 23 DSM Nutritional Products Ltd 16 DuPont 62 E I Du Pont De Nemours & Company Inc 54 Eastman Chemical Company 75 Eckart GmbH 57 Electro-Chemical Devices (ECD) 86 ESPRC 64 Eveready Industries 12 Evonik 16, 75 ExxonMobil Chemical 08 Ferro 40, 57 Genome Quebec Innovation Centre 70 Grand View Research 40, 62 H B Fuller 60, 75 Harvard University 35 Hayward Flow Control 88 Heraeus 10 Heubach 57 Hiden Analytical 84 Horsta Chemicals Zhuhai Co Ltd 57 Kansai Nerolac Paints Limited 54 Kilburn Engineering Ltd 12 Kimberley-Clark 62 KNF Neuberger Inc 88 KSB Aktiengesellschaft 86 Lansco Colors 57 Lanxess AG 54

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Chemical Today Magazine | July 2016

PAGE NO Leather working group 30 Linde Philippines Inc 12 Lubrizol Corporation 09, 74 Marianopolis College 70 McGill University 70 McLeod Russel India 12 McNally Bharat Engineering 12 Meghmani Organics Limited 26 Meghmani Pigments 57 Merck KGaA 75, 80 Merck Performance Materials 57 MIT 35, 68 Mitsubishi Electric 47 Monsanto Company 74 MSA Safety 62 Mubadala Development Company 11 NASSCOM 47 Natureally Organic Leather 43 Occupational Safety and Health Administration 62 OSIsoft 47, 76 Persistence Market Research 43, 54 Polish ORLEN group 73 Polystrand Inc 15 PPG Industries 08, 15 PUM 34 Ravindra Choksi Family 10 RSA-TALKE 72 SABIC 14 Scott Bader Company Ltd 60 Siemens AG 03, 32 Silberline 81 Solvay SA 11, 74 South Australia Water 76 St Boniface Research Centre 70 Stahl 32 STEAG 47 Sudarshan Chemical Industries Ltd 57 Sun Chemical 40, 57 Syngenta 75 TALKE 73 The Dow Chemical Company 60, 72 The Linde Group 12 Thermo Fisher Scientific 08 Torrey Pines Scientific, Inc 87 Toyohashi University of Technology 65 Toyota 14 Transparency Market Research 39, 43 Trust Chem 57 Unipetrol 73 University New York 64 University of Strathclyde 64 University of York 37 Uvex Safety Group 62 Vijay Chemical Industries 57 Voxco Pigments and Chemicals Pvt Ltd 57 VTT Technical Research Centre 36 Wacker Chemie AG 79 Williamson MagorGroup Enterprise 12

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