Polymers Petrochemicals Circular Economy 17-01-2019 - Arhive
-China – Polyethylene Terephthalate
PET is steady, while its chain is weak.
PET Bottle grade export 1,000/1,045 $/ton – PET Bottle grade domestic market 8,000/8,100 yuan/ton – PET Filament grade SD domestic market 7,600/7,700 yuan/ton – PET Filament grade BR domestic market 7,550/7,650 yuan/ton
PTA Taiwan 815/825 $/ton – PTA domestic market 6,250/6,400 yuan/ton – MEG $ 615/625 $/ton – MEG domestic market 5,000/5,100 yuan/ton – PX Korea 1,045/1055 $/ton
POY 150D/48F domestic market 8,050/8,200 yuan/ton – DTY 150D/48F domestic market 10,050/10,150 yuan/ton – PSF domestic market 8,800/8,900 yuan/ton
‘An option for the future’: Corbyn on second Brexit referendum – video
Labour leader says he does not know how he would vote if another vote was held
‘An option for the future’: Corbyn on second Brexit referendum – video
Jeremy Corbyn has declined to support calls for a second referendum, insisting that it is an option that can only be considered in the long term.
The Labour leader also said that if there was another referendum, he did not know how he would vote.
His comments will offer little comfort to growing numbers of Labour MPs who are calling for a so-called people’s vote.
Barry Gardiner, the shadow international trade secretary, has just been on the Today programme. He took issue with something John Humphrys, the Today presenter, said earlier, about Jeremy Corbyn not having a position on Brexit. Labour does, Gardiner said.
Gardiner also complained about the radio news headlines at 8.30am featuring Tony Blair saying Corbyn should be meeting Theresa May to discuss Brexit (ie, a line critical of Corbyn), but not feature Blair saying a no-deal Brexit should be taken off the table (a line supportive of Corbyn).
Consumer activity in Asia on the MEG market declined on the eve of Lunar New Year celebrations, which will begin in the first week of February, according to ICIS .
The limited MEG consumer offers in the region were at around USD622-625 per ton, CFR Chinese main ports (CMP) compared to the sellers USD625-630 per ton, CFR CMP.
On January 11, the MEG price in Asia was USD622-626 per ton, CFR CMP.
The offers of buyers were insufficient, as buyers were in no hurry to buy on the eve of a long vacation.
Crude Oil Prices Trend
The Future Of Plastic Lies In Its Reinvention As Bioplastics
The future of plastic lies not in its complete demise but in its reinvention as bioplastics.
The amount of plastic we produce to package consumer goods, especially fast moving consumer goods (FMCG) — packaged foods, beverages, toiletries — has reached an unprecedented level. We are draining our planet to produce these packages: plastics are made from fossil fuels and 8% of the worlds annual petroleum production is converted into making plastics.
On top of the environmental repercussions of the production process, most plastics produced for packaging FMCG are not recyclable, and even if they are, we don’t recycle them. Only 14% of plastic packaging gets collected for recycling which then goes through a sorting process and in the end, only 5% of all plastic is reintroduced to the production cycle.
Rensselaer team develops a microfluidics-assisted technique to produce macroscopic graphene fibers
Researchers at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute have developed a new microfluidics-assisted technique for developing high-performance macroscopic graphene fibers. Graphene fiber have potential applications in diverse technological areas, from energy storage, electronics, optics, electro-magnetics, and thermal conductors, to structural applications.
The team explained that It has been historically difficult to simultaneously optimize both the thermal/electrical and the mechanical properties of graphene fibers. However, the Rensselaer team has demonstrated their ability to do both.
More organic produce consumers are pushing back against the use of plastic in packaging, but will it matter?
Gene Versteeg, produce sales manager at Market of Choice, Eugene, Ore., said consumers at his store are have expressed preference for other options besides plastic for organic produce — which acounts for half of the store’s produce.
“This year especially it’s the most vocal I’ve ever heard people be about it,” he said “We have organic salads in the plastic clam shells and plastic bags, but we also have them in bulk (salad) bar where people can either use one of our recyclable bags or bring their own bag and they can buy in bulk.”
Texprocess: Full range of technologies for textile processing
Automation, individualisation, customisation and sustainability. The range of technologies at the coming Texprocess is more comprehensive than ever.
Four months before its start, the leading international trade fair for the processing of textile and flexible materials is almost booked up.
Trade visitors from the fashion and clothing industry, upholstered-furniture manufacturers and all processors of textiles will find at Texprocess, from 14 to 17 May 2019, an even broader range of machinery and methods for processing textile and flexible materials.
Once again in its level of bookings Texprocess is exceeding the results of the previous event.
Israeli discovery overcomes need for fertile soil and fresh water in the creation of eco-friendly bioplastics by using saltwater seaweed
Everyone knows plastic is bad for the environment. That’s why bioplastics – plastics made from renewable sources like plants or old waste – were invented. But these bioplastics can’t be created everywhere since the plants they use require fresh water, a scarce resource in many countries.
One such country is Israel, which does not have a surplus of fresh water. Other countries suffering from the same problem are China and India, whose size and resulting plastic consumption is very bad news for the planet.
This is the problem researchers from Tel Aviv University wished to resolve by developing bioplastic polymers derived from microorganisms that feed on seaweed. These can be bred in salty seawater without impinging on scarce freshwater resources.
Textechno to collaborate with the AZL and their partners to drive innovation in composite testing and to further advance excellence in lightweight production.
Textechno (Mönchengladbach, Germany), designer and manufacturer of precision test equipment and systems for fibrts, yarns and rovings in textile and composite applications, has announced its partnership with the AZL, Aachen Center for Integrative Lightweight Production. Textechno says it will be working in close cooperation with the AZL and their partners to drive innovation in composite testing and to further advance excellence in lightweight production. The company says it is looking forward to closer contact and networking activities with polymer producers and multinationals, such as carbon or glass fiber producers or resin manufacturers.
Insipid conditions prevailed on the cotton market on Monday as traders stayed to the sidelines awaiting announcement of mini-budget on Jan 23rd.
Trading activity remained almost negligible as buyers are dwelling on the hope that the upcoming mini-budget would be tax-free after Finance Minister Asad Umar assured the business community the other day.
Nouryon and Itaconix sign supply agreement for bio-based polymers
Nouryon (formerly AkzoNobel Specialty Chemicals; www.nouryon.com) will expand its offering to customers in the detergents market through a supply agreement with bio-based polymers maker Itaconix Corp. (Stratham, N.H.; www.itaconix.com).
Under terms of the agreement, Itaconix will produce and supply polymers with chelating properties that Nouryon will market to customers in household, institutional, and industrial detergent and cleaner applications. In addition, the companies will work together to transition many of Itaconix’s current detergent customers to Nouryon.
It is the first supply agreement resulting from a joint development agreement signed by the companies in 2017 to explore opportunities for polymers made from bio-based itaconic acid using Itaconix’s technology.
In attempting to get across the importance of the EU textiles and clothing industry to its overall economy, Lutz Walter, director of innovation and skills at industry association Euratex, noted that the list price of a new Airbus A350-900 wide-body jet airliner is around EUR 275 million.
“This means that the EU exports of textiles and clothing outside the block alone in 2016 were the equivalent of purchasing 175 of the Airbus planes, and closer to 350 at the usual discount, so we shouldn’t be so modest about our achievements,” he said, speaking at a press conference in Frankfurt on January 9th for the upcoming Techtextil and Texprocess 2019 shows.
In case you hadn’t noticed, what with the steady background thrum of the U.S. auto industry having just wrapped up its fourth-strongest sales year on record — while at the same time stressing over whether sales are facing a pending drop — the global auto industry has taken a big shine to electric vehicles.
And the shockwave is hitting automakers, parts suppliers at nearly every tier level and materials companies.
Researchers Test PLA CaC03 Composite Materials to Make 3D Printed Splints
In a paper entitled “Novel PLA-CaCO3 Composites in Additive Manufacturing of Upper Limb Casts and Orthotics—A Feasibility Study,” a group of researchers looks at 3D printing to treat upper limb injuries, which are, they say, “among the most common injuries worldwide.” While bone fractures are traditionally treated with plaster casts, new treatments have been used experimentally, including 3D printing to create a cast personalized to the patient’s needs.
The researchers tested three different materials’ potential for use in 3D printed casts; two of those materials were new. They used unique filaments from Hungarian company Filamania. These composite materials were compared to standard PLA polymers. The composites were made from PLA mixed with fine CaCO3 powder. First made by designer Carmen Brio a few years ago this type of material has interesting properties.
After better auto sales than expected in 2018, what will 2019 bring?
FCA Automotive Reid Bigland, who heads up the Ram brand for FCA Automotive, introduces the 2019 Ram Heavy Duty lineup at the North American International Auto Show.
The release of much of the official U.S. economic data for the month of December has been delayed due to the government shutdown, but we have more than enough evidence to indicate that December was a pretty good month overall for the motor vehicle industry. Preliminary reports show that for the third straight month, the seasonally adjusted, annualized rate for U.S. light vehicle sales in December was greater than 17.5 million units.
The stronger-than-expected performance in the fourth quarter pushed the annual sales total for 2018 very close to, and maybe just a bit over, the total from 2017. This means that total vehicles sales (domestic plus imports) have exceeded 17 million units for four straight years.
Bio Based Polyethylene Terephthalate (Bio PET) Market 2019-2024
PETE is the most common thermoplastic polymer resin of the Bio Based Polyethylene Terephthalate (Bio PET) family and is used in fibres for clothing, containers for liquids and foods, thermoforming for manufacturing, and in combination with glass fibre for engineering resins.
BASF announces official exit from bio-plastics JV with Avantium.
“bottlesI confirm that BASF notified Avantium of its exit from their joint venture (JV) Synvina effective 15 January 2019.”
The bio-plastics industry will be disappointed at the news that chemicals giant BASF has confirmed exclusively to Bio-Based World News that it has pulled out of its Synvina joint venture (JV) with Dutch renewable chemicals company Avantium today. BASF’s exit centres around a disagreement over an investment deadline for the project.
The Synvina deal was formed in 2016 to commercialise the YXY technology developed by Avantium. The YXY technology catalytically converts plant-based sugar into FDCA (furandicarboxylic acid) and plastics, such as the new polymer PEF (polyethylenefuranoate). FDCA can be applied to many sectors including the food packaging, textile fibres, and automotive industry.