Petrochemicals CarbonFiber Compounds 03-09-2020 - Arhive
Petrochemicals CarbonFiber Compounds
-Crude Oil Prices Trend
-Stora Enso plans to build pilot facility for bio-based packaging foam
Sweden-based packaging firm Stora Enso will build a pilot facility for producing ‘Cellufoam by Stora Enso’ – a lightweight, fibre-based foam material for protective packaging and cushioning.
Bio-based foams are renewable and recyclable and can be used in packaging, for example, to replace oil-based polymer foams which are widely used today. The pilot plant will be located at Stora Enso’s Fors Mill in Sweden.
Cellufoam by Stora Enso is a sustainable packaging material and it further increases Stora Enso’s opportunities to replace fossil-based materials with renewable and recyclable materials. The initial target application for Cellufoam will be the protective packaging of fragile products, for example in consumer electronics.
Showa Denko (SDK; TSE:4004) obtained a license to process industrial waste, and started to accept used plastics which were crushed and molded.
Since 2003, SDK’s Kawasaki Plant, which is located in Kawasaki City, Kanagawa Prefecture, has been operating “plastic chemical recycling business,” a business to recycle used plastics as raw materials for chemicals under the provisions of Containers and Packaging Recycling Law. SDK calls this business “Kawasaki Plastic Recycling (KPR).”
We gasify used plastics under high temperature, and decompose them to the level of molecules. Then gasified plastics are converted into hydrogen (low-carbon hydrogen) and carbon dioxide (CO2). Petrochemicals CarbonFiber Compounds
We use low-carbon hydrogen as raw material to produce ammonia, and CO2 as raw material to produce dry ice and carbonated drinks.
-Coronavirus pandemic shakes up supply fundamentals for US plastic recycling
The US plastics recycling industry is struggling to regain its footing as the coronavirus pandemic upended its business model, potentially leaving many recyclers at risk of shutting down, reported S&P Global. Petrochemicals CarbonFiber Compounds
When the pandemic prompted widespread shutdowns in late March and April, millions of workers left office buildings to work from home, cutting off sources of bulk supply of plastic bottles – made from polyethylene terephthalate (PET) – from businesses.
Since lockdowns began, large consumer beverage brands have seen significant declines in away-from-home volume sales. The dearth of sporting events, concerts and other crowd-heavy gatherings, as well as closures or limited operations of bars and restaurants, have slashed bottled drink purchases across the US. Additionally, at-work sales remain sluggish as well since many offices have yet to return to capacity, if at all.
For instance, Coca Cola reported in early April a 25% year-on-year decrease in away-from-home sales, translating into a heavy decline in on-the-go packaging demand. As some economies slowly began to reopen, those sales volumes recovered 10% by June, bringing the total second quarter company losses to 16% on the year.
-OPEC trims 2020 oil demand, sees doubts about 2021 on virus fallout
World oil demand will fall more steeply in 2020 than previously forecast due to the coronavirus and there are doubts about next year’s recovery, OPEC forecast, potentially making it harder for the group and its allies to support the market, reported Reuters.
World oil demand will tumble by 9.06 million barrels per day (bpd) this year, the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries said in a monthly report, more than the 8.95 million bpd decline expected a month ago. Petrochemicals CarbonFiber Compounds
Oil prices have collapsed as the coronavirus curtailed travel and economic activity. While some countries have eased lockdowns, allowing demand to recover, fear of new outbreaks has kept a lid on prices and OPEC expects this to persist.
-DOMO Chemicals launches PEEK solution to replace PAI
DOMO Chemicals has expanded its THERMEC range of enhanced polymers, with the introduction of a cost-efficient product based on PEEK, blended with a solid polymeric lubricant.
The new solution has been specially developed to replace polyamide-imides (PAI), without impacting performance. Petrochemicals CarbonFiber Compounds
THERMEC K is an innovative experimental product that has been developed at DOMO’s Mumbai-based laboratory in India. The solution is suitable for numerous industrial applications, including bushings and bearings, aerospace parts, pump and valve components, medical instrument parts and food processing machinery components.
Tushar Parida, Country manager India at DOMO, said: “Generally speaking, the mechanical properties of PAI are higher than those of PEEK-based parts, due to the different types of polymers the material contains.
-European Bioplastics: EU should consider benefits of bioplastics
The European Commission (EC) is currently revising the Essential Requirements for Packaging as part of the amendment of the EU Packaging and Packaging Waste Directive (PPWD). They relate to the manufacturing and composition of packaging, its reusable and recoverable nature as well as to the minimisation of hazardous materials.
These requirements, and the associated harmonised standards, have not changed much since their introduction in 1998 and consolidation in 2015 respectively.
The EC has therefore concluded to update them in order to improve the packaging design, particularly in relation to the lack of recyclability of many packaging formats.
The policy landscape has evolved significantly since the PPWD first established the requirements, further contributing to this ambition. Petrochemicals CarbonFiber Compounds
For example, the 2018 revision of the PPWD included, in addition to a revision of the recycling targets for packaging waste, a mandate for the Commission to examine “the feasibility of reinforcing the essential requirements”.
-Not all carbon emissions are equal?
I’ve been following the Biogenic CO2 Coalition for the past year which was formed by several agricultural trade groups to persuade the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to refrain from regulating CO2 emissions from the use of annual crops the same way as CO2 from fossil fuels. Petrochemicals CarbonFiber Compounds
For clarification, biogenic CO2 emissions, according to the EPA’s definition, are emissions from a stationary source directly resulting from the combustion or decomposition of biologically-based materials other than fossil fuels.
According to the Coalition, the EPA needs to prioritize regulatory reform clarifying that biogenic CO2 emissions from processing and use of agricultural feedstocks (such as corn, soybeans, oilseeds and farm residues) are not pollutants subject to regulation under the Federal Clean Air Act. The removal of this unnecessary regulatory burden would reportedly open opportunities for the development of renewable products, rural economies and the broader bioeconomy while maintaining environmental protections. The agricultural sector in the USA is reportedly poised to invest billions of dollars to develop the potential of the bioeconomy if only EPA would remove the threat of unwarranted regulatory burdens.
-The EU project trying to solve a plastic packaging conundrum
Andrej Kržan, BioComPack‐CE Project Co‐ordinator has worked on environmental solutions for plastic waste for more than two decades.
The problem is, packaging combining plastic and paper is difficult to later recycle.
So what are the challenges in Central Europe right now and how can we implement more sustainable packaging in real life? Petrochemicals CarbonFiber Compounds
Andrej outlines the issue:
“Plastics and paper are commonly used together and they make great products. But they then create a problem at the end of the life of the product, for the waste. We either can’t recycle them or it is difficult to do and this is a very real limitation to the circular economy we are trying bring about.
-New report suggests UK plastics reprocessing capacity needs to double by 2022
RECOUP’s update of its UK Household Plastic Packaging Sorting and Reprocessing Infrastructure Report 2020 and Covid-19 Impact Report, highlights previous challenges relating to capacity, investment and legislative changes are to be impacted further due to the global pandemic. Petrochemicals CarbonFiber Compounds
The 2020 report provides context around the design of a new tax on the production and import of all plastic packaging that doesn’t include at least 30 per cent recycled content.
The report highlights how the UK’s infrastructure to sort plastic packaging to the required quality and reprocess this material needs to increase in order to handle the additional demands created by both the recycled content target and also to service ambitious commitments by brand leaders to increase circular and environmentally sustainable manufacturing. However, outlined in RECOUP’s Covid-19 Impact Report ), with the impact of Covid-19, the UK’s plastic recycling infrastructure is challenged further.
-Americhem acquires Danish compound and masterbatch maker Controlled Polymers
Americhem said that Controlled Polymers will “seamlessly integrate” with its engineered compounds division to create a full range of offerings for customers in the medical plastics and other industries.
Materials supplier Americhem Inc. has acquired Controlled Polymers, a Ribe, Denmark-based manufacturer of customized compounds and masterbatch for the medical industry and other industries. Petrochemicals CarbonFiber Compounds
The financial terms of the deal have not been disclosed.
In a Sept. 1 statement, officials with Americhem said that Controlled Polymers will “seamlessly integrate” with Americhem and its engineered compounds division to create a full range of offerings for customers in the medical plastics and other industries.
“Controlled Polymers has developed a specialized portfolio of products integral to many medical device and healthcare applications, including a particular strength in the hearing aid industry,” the statement said.
Petrochemicals CarbonFiber Compounds