Plastic petrochemicals oil bioplastics 29-12-2018 - Arhive

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Oil Watchers See $70 a Barrel in 2019 as Recession Fears Fade

The world’s biggest banks are reckoning on a rebound in oil prices next year as fears of a recession prove misplaced.

The Brent benchmark will average $70 a barrel in 2019, almost a third higher than its price on Thursday, according to a Bloomberg survey of oil analysts. Futures in London and New York plunged this quarter, with volatility soaring in its final week as crude tracked gyrations in equity markets.

“We could even see something similar to a V-shaped recovery next year, on two very important conditions,” said Michael Cohen, head of energy and commodities research at Barclays Plc in New York. “One, that the reduction in OPEC exports leads to a reduction in inventories. And two, that we don’t see a further deterioration in macroeconomic conditions.”

Darkening Outlook

The recent weakness in financial assets has been led by a darkening outlook for the global economy amid prolonged trade dispute between the U.S. and China, and as the U.S. Federal Reserve embarks on tightening monetary policy.

While the ensuing retreat in oil prices has brought relief to consumers, it’s battered the shares of companies like Exxon Mobil Corp. and BP Plc, as well as the economies of producers like Saudi Arabia.

Plastic petrochemicals oil bioplastics

The Ban On Plastic Was Bound To Happen – NEPA

Peter Knight, chief executive officer of the National Environment and Planning Agency.

The ban on plastic was inevitable, said chief executive officer of the National Environment and Planning Agency (NEPA) Peter Knight.

Speaking at a Gleaner Editors’ Forum last week, Knight pointed to the European Union as one example where bold steps were taken to ensure that legislation was in place to ban single-use plastics.

Come January 1, Jamaica will implement a ban on certain single-use plastic products and Styrofoam packaging.

Plastic petrochemicals oil bioplastics

Peter Knight chief executive officer of the National Environment and Planning Agency

OSHeN Active Launches Bamboo-Based Activewear Line

OSHeN Active’s ultra-comfortable and eco-friendly activewear line offers studio-to-street style not made from plastic

OSHeN Active announced today the launch of its high performance “not from plastic” activewear line. OSHeN’s revolutionary, ultra-comfortable, eco-friendly trademarked bamboo fabric provides unparalleled strength, compression and flexibility while staying true to the brand’s commitment to ocean conservation.  OSHeN’s first collection for the athletic and style conscious man and woman is available online at https://www.oshenactive.com/.

Headquartered in Marina Del Rey, OSHeN is disrupting the sports apparel industry with sustainable studio-to-street styles that are so breathable and soft, you will want to eat, sleep, work, and live in OSHeN.

Plastic petrochemicals oil bioplastics

Moral Fiber seeks to close the textile loop through innovative recycling

Akshay Sethi has a vision: he wants to revolutionize fashion by recycling polyester to create a sustainable fibre that can be reused eternally. But this ambitious vision is only part of an even bigger plan: to do the same for all plastics.

His Moral Fiber company has developed a three-step chemical process that can extract polyester from mixed blend materials to create a new yarn, billed as the world’s first textile product made entirely from old clothing. The equipment needed for this transformation can fit into a small shipping container, making it easy to deploy.

For now, the process is being tested in a pilot plant in Los Angeles but next year, Sethi hopes to be able to start sending the “box” to countries with growing middle classes and high levels of consumption and waste so that they can recycle clothing and produce Moral Fiber as well.

Plastic petrochemicals oil bioplastics

New Products: Solvay releases Technyl-branded polymers

Solvay Performance Polyamides introduced new advanced Technyl-branded polymer solutions to address the growing need for personal protection and systems safety for the automotive industry.

A whole family of electro-friendly low-corroding materials has been developed to meet the needs of car manufacturers. The range comprises six Technyl and Technyl Star grades offering reliable purity based on dedicated formulation and clean compounding.

The firm said two of these grades use bio-based, eco-friendly Technyl eXten technology for applications needing high temperature combined with glycol resistance. The range will be commercially available in early 2019.

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Cefic ‘optimistic’ about EU chemical industry growth in 2019 Comments Email  Print

The European chemicals manufacturing sector is set for a mini-rebound next year, according to industry association Cefic.

In a statement, Cefic said it was “cautiously optimistic” about prospects for 2019, with an anticipated growth of 0.5 percent year-on-year. This, it said, would mark a recovery from 2018, when production declined by 0.5 percent compared to 2017.

The organization linked the decline to “higher oil prices, lower demand from the automotive sector, and unusually low water levels in European rivers, which caused transportation delays.”

Plastic petrochemicals oil bioplastics

New Fiber Could Be the Foundation for Futuristic Smart Garments

Self-assembling silver tubes might someday wire up your clothes.

Designers of smart garments have a vision: that we’ll come to use electronics woven into the clothes we wear not just as dazzling new ways to express ourselves, like the light-up prom dress that went viral in 2017, but as extensions of our digital lives that could collect biometric data or even grant wearers superhuman senses.

The problem is that today’s old-fashioned textiles are already the result of thousands of years of innovation, and versions that incorporate wearable computing tech need to be just as hardy. Smart garments will have to be resilient in the face of everything from wash-and-fold to sweaty workouts, not to mention as long-lasting as a trusty t-shirt.

Plastic petrochemicals oil bioplastics

US shale oil gives Middle East producers a headache

Light oil pumped in US shale fields is increasingly making its way to Asia, undercutting sales by the likes of Saudi Arabia

The US oil industry is delivering a one-two punch to Middle East producers already reeling from a collapse in prices.

A tussle is playing out in the market for so-called light oils, which have a lower sulphur content and are less dense than heavier varieties. When processed, these grades typically yield a higher amount of fuels such as gasoline and naphtha. And now, US supplies are weighing on prices for such crudes as well as fuels made from them.

Plastic petrochemicals oil bioplastics

Year in review: Lanxess says goodbye to Arlanxeo

Suppliers are key in helping rubber product manufacturers find new innovations and many of them made a big impact in 2018. We take a look back at some of the year’s major developments.

Lanxess A.G. didn’t wait long to bail on its synthetic rubber joint venture with Saudi Arabian Oil Co.

In August, the firm sold its 50 percent share of Arlanxeo to its joint venture partner, Saudi Aramco, for about $1.62 billion. Lanxess said it will use the proceeds to strengthen its financial basis and reduce its net debt.

The firm called the rubber business “volatile,” and in recent years had been shifting its focus to other, more stable, markets—specifically chemicals and additives. The addition of Chemtura Corp. and Chemours Clean and Disinfect business have helped it achieve such a shift, but it also caused the firm’s net-debt to balloon back to $3.05 billion through the first six months of 2018.

Plastic petrochemicals oil bioplastics

A seaweed-eating microbe could help transition to sustainable plastic

A team of scientists at Tel Aviv University have developed a non-toxic bioplastic polymer that could help facilitate a much-needed shift away from toxic plastics. The sustainable alternative is derived from a marine microorganism that feeds on seaweed and does not require many resources to produce.

According to the United Nations, around 90 percent of marine pollution is plastic waste. Scientists have been working for many years to come up with feasible and environmentally friendly replacements for petroleum-based plastics.

Dr. Alexander Golberg of TAU’s Porter School of Environmental and Earth Sciences is the study’s lead author.

Plastic petrochemicals oil bioplastics