Polymers Petrochemicals renewability sustainability 22-01-2019 - Arhive
-China – Polyethylene Terephthalate
PET and its chain increase.
PET Bottle grade export 1,050/1,085 $/ton – PET Bottle grade domestic market 8,350/8,450 yuan/ton – PET Filament grade SD domestic market 7,800/7,950 yuan/ton – PET Filament grade BR domestic market 7,800/7,900 yuan/ton
PTA Taiwan 825/835 $/ton – PTA domestic market 6,550/6,650 yuan/ton – MEG $ 620/630 $/ton – MEG domestic market 5,100/5,250 yuan/ton – PX Korea 1,065/1,080 $/ton
POY 150D/48F domestic market 8,450/8,550 yuan/ton – DTY 150D/48F domestic market 10,300/10,400 yuan/ton – PSF domestic market 8,900/9,000 yuan/ton
The circular economy is a golden opportunity. Don’t let it go to waste
At the heart of the Paris Agreement is a goal to keep global temperature rises well below 2˚C. The popular action area is around energy – both energy efficiency and renewable energy. Yet very large opportunities lie elsewhere as well, one of which is being virgin resource-efficient.
Some trends are clear. There will be more people in the world, we will be a more urbanised society over time, urban societies will consume more resources per capita, many resources will be scarce and the environmental cost of creating virgin resources will soon be too much for the planet to bear.
This is why a circular economy is such an appealing concept. It is a new way of life that can help the world adapt to these trends in a climate-friendly way.
IMF downgrades growth in the Russian economy in 2019 to 1.6%
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has worsened its October forecast of economic growth in Russia in 2019 by 0.2 percentage points. – to 1.6%, the estimate of global GDP growth has also been reduced – to 3.5% from 3.7%, according to the January World Economic Outlook (WEO), Interfax reports.
In 2020, the IMF expects global growth by 3.6%, the Russian one – by 1.7%. The forecast for emerging market and developing countries for the current year is also lowered by 0.2 percentage points. – To 4.5%, in 2020, growth will accelerate to 4.9%, the IMF believes.
Crude Oil Prices Trend
Beverages Manufacturers Upping their Sustainability Quotient with PET Preforms
PET is frequently utilized for packaging a wide range of products that include peanut butter, beverages, frozen foods, bakery goods, cosmetics, and others.
Valued for a number of attributes including lightweight, robustness, thermo-stability, cost-effectiveness, transparency, shatter-resistance and recyclability, PET is a superior choice for the packaging sector.
PET preforms, prepared by PET material are being used for producing PET products and can be molded in the desired shape.
PET preforms are gaining popularity as they transform the process of PET manufacturing and offer substantial benefits including flexibility, environmental efficiency, operational efficiency, and cost.
The beverage sector is expected to create major demand for PET preforms. Manufacturers of PET preforms are witnessing majority demand growth for PET preforms owing to the continual consumption of bottled beverages in the developing as well as developed economies.
Moreover, the PET preforms landscape is also expected to be highly influenced by the technological developments that are expected to facilitate better production.
Pervasive plastics vs. tech clothes Pervasive plastics tech clothes
Regarding microplastics in “Welcome to the Plastocene,” (HCN, 11/26/18) and the letter “Patagonia’s plastics” (HCN, 12/24/18), it feels like we’re continuing to jump on the last thing we heard, like it’s our biggest issue, while forgetting about the bigger underlying reasons for the problem. Pervasive plastics tech clothes
Plastics in outdoor clothing is certainly a concern, but it’s dwarfed compared to the general once-through plastic that pervades every aspect of our existence in this modern world of convenience.
Could Brexit mean CRISPR? EU departure presents the UK with a food policy overhaul opportunity
Brexit could present the UK with a unique opportunity to modernize its food regulations, but it should tread carefully in order to remain compliant with EU standards, or risk alienating its own GMO skeptical domestic consumer market.
This is according to Dr. Elinor McCartney, President of Pen & Tec Consulting Group, who spoke to FoodIngredientsFirst in a extensive interview on the current EU regulatory environment.
“There is an opportunity for the UK, if Brexit does go ahead, to overhaul their GMO legislation to allow modern biotechnology to take a more modern approach to safety in the food chain,” the Spanish-based policy advisor notes as an example.
“The two difficulties that this presents relate to how they would trade with the EU, which has different GMO legislation and how UK consumers, who tend to be the same as other EU consumers in their attitudes to GM crops, would respond” she adds.
The Germany-based company is investing $25 million to boost global production capacity for pharmaceutical and medical device packaging films at its manufacturing facility in Louisa County, Va.
Germany-based packaging supplier Klöckner Pentaplast will invest US$25 million to expand global production capacity for pharmaceutical and medical device packaging films at its manufacturing facility in Louisa County, Va.
The Virginia Economic Development Partnership worked with Louisa County to secure the project for Virginia, which included a US$300,000 performance-based grant from the Virginia Investment Performance program, an incentive that encourages capital investment by existing Virginia companies.
Klöckner Pentaplast is also eligible to receive sales and use tax exemptions on manufacturing equipment.
Foreign investors to drive changes to green packaging, says report
Business Bureau,
FOREIGNinvestorspressureand the urge to outwit competition willdriveIndianconsumergoods and pharma companies to change product packing to more environmentally sustainable alternatives in two years, says a report.The mandated changes in local laws like Maharashtras plastic ban have raised awareness in the few years and we can also lookatapressurefromconsumers infuture,BankofAmericaMerrill Lynch said in a weekend report. Plastic is a big issue for FMCG (fast moving consumer goods) and pharma sectors as they depend on it for packaging, and will only get bigger in the couple of years, the American brokerages research analyst Sameer Chopra said.
He explained that as per global norms, many funds are mandatedtoinvest25percentoftheir funds in companies which are sensitivetotheneeds of theplanet and also confirm with the best normsoncorporategovernance. Citing the case of plastic ban in Maharashtra, he said more such regulatory or Government actions can be in the offing which willlead companies to have some alternativesinplaceaheadofany actual action.
Teysha Technologies unveils ‘breakthrough’ in bio-degradable bio-plastics.
“Teysha Technologies (picture courtesy of Teysha Technologies).Until now, strategies to reduce plastic pollution have relied on changing human behaviour, such as encouraging recycling and banning certain plastic items like carrier bags.”
Teysha Technologies, a UK-based bioplastics startup, has developed a new polymer technology that it claims could help to reduce plastic pollution.
According to the company, the natural polycarbonate platform it has developed can create fully biodegradable substitutes for existing petroleum-based plastics.
There is a way to use marine bacteria to protect steel from corrosion by seawater, according to new research from China.
Scientists at the Shanghai Maritime University and the South China Sea Institute of Oceanology at the Chinese Academy of Sciences induced lasting anticorrosion properties in a species of marine bacteria.
Marine corrosion is a significant worldwide problem. It damages economies and undermines safety.
The Marine Corrosion Forum, which is based in the United Kingdom and also has overseas members, estimate the impact at around 4 percent of gross national product.
Typical treatments include chemical and electrochemical methods. However, these are often expensive and not kind on the environment.
Saipem has been awarded two new offshore contracts from Saudi Aramco for $1.3 billion
Saipem has been awarded two EPIC contracts (Engineering, Procurement, Installation, Construction) assigned by the client Saudi Aramco for a total amount of approximately $1.3 billion as part of the Long Term Agreement for offshore activities in Saudi Arabia, renewed in 2015 and in force until 2021.
These two contracts refer to, respectively, the development of offshore fields in Berri and Marjan, located in the Arabian Gulf, which are among the most important offshore fields in the Region.
Using work clothes made with eco-friendly fabrics brings benefits to the environment by significantly reducing energy usage, emissions and waste. Klopman, the leading company in Europe in the production of fabrics for workwear, defines 5 reasons to choose eco-friendly workwear in companies.
Klopman, a leading European producer of workwear fabrics, has defined 5 reasons why a company should choose work garments produced with environmentally friendly fabrics.
“Klopman is strongly aware of the importance of promoting the circular economy and sustainability in the textile sector. It has therefore created a very innovative green range – made of recycled plastic bottles, wood pulp, organic cotton or cotton certified according to Faitrade or BCI (Better Cotton Initiative) standards – to improve the conditions of producers in developing countries,” the company said in a press statement today.
Global economy to slow in 2019 as Brexit, trade waruncertainties unfold – IMF
The global economy’s expansionwill slow down in 2019 as downside risks likean uncertain Brexit or trade tensions unfold,the International Monetary Fund (IMF) said onMonday.
The Washington-basedbody lowered its GDP growth forecasts, comparedto its previous World Economic Outlook(WEO) published in October,in which it had also cut forecasts.
The global economy is expected to expand by3.5% in 2019 and 3.6% in 2020, 0.2 and 0.1percentage points lower than in the Octoberforecast (see bottom table for main regions andcountries).
The IMF remains concerned that the end of a90-day truce in the US-China trade war comingto an end on 1 March could put the globaleconomy under further strain as “raisingharmful barriers” to trade could destabilisethe economy further.
