Global polyethylene demand boom likely, increasing the sustainability challenge

IT FEELS LIKE several lifetimes ago. If you recall, way back in November-December 2019 Asian variable cost integrated naphtha-based polyethylene (PE) margins turned negative because of the increase in US capacity.

Then in January the following year, deep Asian and Middle East operating rate cuts returned some order to the market. Then, bang, as we all know, the pandemic arrived and turned everything on its head.

The pandemic has, in my view, accentuated trends that were already well underway. I believe this means that the supply-driven downturn that started in late 2019 will not return.Long before coronavirus upended everyone’s lives, PE demand was becoming increasingly divorced from GDP growth because of the shifting nature of end-use demand.

Booming internet sales was, I believe, a major factor behind the split between the growth of the overall economies in the developed world plus China and PE demand.The average product bought online is dropped 17 times because of the large number of people involved in the logistics chain, according to Forbes.

This had led to a surge in demand for protective packaging made not from PE and other polymers such as polypropylene, expandable polystyrene and PET films (I will look at their demand growth prospects in later posts).Despite sustainability pressures, the scale of demand for stuff bought online translated to a lot more consumption of virgin polymers.

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Alpha Chi Sigma is the professional fraternity for those in chemistry and chemical-related fields. The Three Objects of Alpha Chi Sigma: 1. To bind its members with a tie of true and lasting friendship 2. To strive for the advancement of chemistry both as a science and as a profession 3. To aid its members by every honorable means in the attainment of their ambitions as chemists throughout their mortal lives

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Chemical Management

The pandemic, climate change, plastic waste and the great divide: the world in 2025

Article | July 8, 2022

NOBODY SHOULD be surprised that the developing world has fallen behind in the battle to reduce greenhouse gas emissions as the region is a long way from recovering from the pandemic.Evidence to this effect emerged last week in comments made by Fatih Birol, executive director of the International Energy Agency (IEA). “In many emerging and developing economies, emissions are heading upwards while clean energy investments are faltering, creating a dangerous fault line in global efforts to reach climate and sustainable energy goals,” said Birol. At the current rate, carbon dioxide emissions from developing countries largely in Asia, Africa and Latin America are set to increase by 5bn tonnes/year over the next two decades, according to the IEA, as access to power increases.At present, around 785m people worldwide have no access to electricity. There are also 2.6bn people without access to clean cooking options.

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Chemical Management

Demographics are reshaping petrochemicals trade flows, investment patterns and demand

Article | June 29, 2021

TEN YEARS AGO, fellowblogger Paul Hodgesand Ifirst highlighted the leading rolethat changing demographics would play in reshaping petrochemicals supply and demand. We have been emphasising the importance of demographics ever since. Demographics have, of course, always been a critical shaper of economies throughout human history. But during the last 70 years, there have been such major changes in demographics that the study of demographics must be at the very heart of your company’s strategy. The Babyboomer generation in the West led to a surge in demand as the rapid increase in babies born in the 1950s and early 1960s joined the workforce from the 1970s onwards. This helps explain high levels of inflation during that decade because too much demand was chasing too little supply. Another driver of inflation was the Middle East embargos against oil exports to the West because of the West’s support for Israel. Then came the 1990s and first the integration of Eastern Europe into the global economy. This helped dampen inflationary pressures because of the plentiful supply of workers in the east willing to work for low wages in export-focused factories. This reduced the cost of finished goods in the West. Next came Deng Xiaoping’s critically important“southern tour”in the early 1990s and China’s gradual integration into the global economy. China increasingly leveraged its very youthful population to again make cheap goods to export to the West. Hundreds of millions of young people were willing to migrate from the countryside to China’s coastal cities to work in export-focused manufacturing plants. The world began to talk about the “China price” and how it was further depressing global inflation.

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Chemical Management

Organic Catalyst Boasts Big Benefits

Article | July 13, 2021

An enzyme-mimicking catalyst opens a new route to important organic molecules such as glycolic acid and amino acids from pyruvate, report researchers in Japan. Moreover, the new catalyst is cheaper, more stable, safer and more environmentally friendly than conventional metal catalysts used in industry, they note, adding that it also displays the high enantioselectivity required by the pharmaceutical industry. “On top of these advantages, our newly developed organic catalyst system also promotes reactions using pyruvate that aren’t easily achievable using metal catalysts,” says Santanu Mondal, a PhD candidate in the chemistry and chemical bioengineering unit at Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology (OIST) Graduate University, Okinawa, Japan, and lead author of a study recently published in Organic Letters. “Organic catalysts, in particular, are set to revolutionize the industry and make chemistry more sustainable,” he stresses. The researchers use an acid and an amine mixture to force the pyruvate to act as an electron donor rather than its usual role as an electron receiver (Figure 1). Effectively mimicking how enzymes work, the amine binds to the pyruvate to make an intermediate molecule. The organic acid then covers up part of the intermediate molecule while leaving another part that can donate electrons free to react to form a new product. Currently, the organic catalyst system only works when reacting pyruvate with a specific class of organic molecule called cyclic imines. So, the researchers now are looking to develop a more-universal catalyst, i.e., one that can speed up reactions between pyruvate and a broad range of organic molecules. The challenge here is to try to make the electron-donating intermediate stage of pyruvate react with other functional groups such as aldehydes and ketones. However, different catalysts create different intermediates, all with different properties. For example, the enamine intermediate created by the researchers’ new reaction only reacts with cyclic imines. Their hypothesis, currently being investigated, is that creation of other intermediates such as an enolate, if possible, would achieve a broader pyruvate reactivity. In terms of cost, the researchers note that a palladium catalyst used in similar reactions is 25 times more expensive than their organic acid — which also is made from eco-friendly quinine. In addition, they believe scale-up of the process for industrial use definitely is possible. However, the researchers caution that the current amine-to-acid-catalyst loading ratio of 1:2 probably would need to be optimized for better results at a larger scale.

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Chemical Management

Petrochemical buyers, after a very difficult pandemic, can gain from China-driven deflation

Article | May 6, 2021

BUYERS OF polypropylene (PP) and other polymers and petrochemicals have had an incredibly difficult pandemic. Firstly, the converters and brand owners expected doom and gloom last March. At the time it seemed logical to expect a cratering of demand as the global economy pretty much imploded. Just looking at forecasts for GDP, parallels were drawn with the Global Financial Crisis when collapses in growth led to a cratering of polymers demand. The US is a good example where PP demand declined by 12% in 2008 over 2007. Demand then fell by a further 5% in 2009 over 2008.But what we all missed was the complete dislocation of polymers and petrochemicals demand from GDP. As economies registered historic declines, consumption went up. PP demand went through the roof, firstly for food packaging and hygiene applications.Then consumption for the durable goods made from PP also smashed through the rafters as we bought white goods (PP is used to make components of washing machines), consumer electronics (PP is used to make some electronic components) and carpets (PP fibres are used here).

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Alpha Chi Sigma Fraternity

Alpha Chi Sigma is the professional fraternity for those in chemistry and chemical-related fields. The Three Objects of Alpha Chi Sigma: 1. To bind its members with a tie of true and lasting friendship 2. To strive for the advancement of chemistry both as a science and as a profession 3. To aid its members by every honorable means in the attainment of their ambitions as chemists throughout their mortal lives

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Chemical Management

Syzygy Plasmonics Signs Strategic Investment Agreement with Mitsubishi Heavy Industries

PR Newswire | October 12, 2023

Syzygy Plasmonics announced today that it has reached a strategic investment agreement with Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Ltd. (MHI), executed through Mitsubishi Heavy Industries America, Inc. (MHIA). The agreement formalizes ties between Syzygy and MHIA, giving the global multinational engineering and manufacturing technology company greater insight into Syzygy's strategic priorities and an opportunity to support Syzygy's business execution plans. "MHIA has been making moves to establish themselves as one of the leaders in the energy transition," said Syzygy Chief Executive Officer Trevor Best. "Formalizing our relationship with them shows their commitment to helping scale cutting edge technology and opens up new avenues for Syzygy and MHIA to work together as we commercialize our industrial decarbonization platform." Syzygy Plasmonics Syzygy Plasmonics is a deep-decarbonization company. It builds reactors that use light instead of heat to electrify chemical manufacturing and power a cleaner, safer world. Utilizing technology licensed from Rice University and advanced engineering, Syzygy is commercializing a universal photocatalytic reactor platform. When powered with renewable electricity, this tunable technology is designed to reduce both cost and emissions from many different chemical reactions. Starting with solutions designed to consume greenhouse gases and produce low- and zero-emissions hydrogen, the company's mission is to create a world where chemicals, fuels, and fertilizer are low cost, carbon neutral, and accessible to everyone. Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Group Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Group is committed to building a business that contributes to realizing a decarbonized society while investing in and collaborating with various partners with innovative technologies. This investment will help Syzygy Plasmonics to accelerate commercialization and continue its development of innovative alternative technologies, particularly those that contribute to the hydrogen ecosystem and CO2 ecosystem. Going forward, MHI will continue to enhance and diversify its solutions portfolio, providing its customers with alternative decarbonization technologies to reach their net zero goals.

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Chemical Management

LBB Specialties Announces Principal Partnership with Viscofan

PR Newswire | October 25, 2023

LBB Specialties (LBBS), a leader in specialty chemicals and ingredients distribution in North America, announces a new partnership with Viscofan DE, a global leader in collagen manufacturing. LBB Specialties will be Viscofan's preferred partner in the United States for their portfolio of premium collagen hydrolysates, including COLLinstant® and COLLinstant LMW®. "Viscofan has over 90 years of experience in the collagen market. We are excited to bring this expertise to our customer base, as these products meet global consumer demand for highly bioavailable ingredients with a major advantage over traditional collagen formulas," said Mike DeGennaro, Senior Vice President of LBB Specialties Food & Nutrition. Viscofan DE is the center of excellence for collagen products within the Viscofan group. Viscofan applies proprietary technologies and standardized extraction methods to process collagen from bovine skin for the development and industrial-scale production of novel collagen ingredients and biometrics. "LBB Specialties' technical expertise and dedicated commercial team is uniquely positioned to expand our innovative offerings in the US nutraceutical market," said James Murray, Business Manager at Viscofan. "Their existing portfolio of high-quality ingredients for health and wellness applications is the perfect complement to our COLLinstant® product line of collagen peptide alternatives." About LBB Specialties LBB Specialties is a leader in North American specialty chemicals and ingredients. It is a diversified supplier serving end-markets including care, food & nutrition, industrial specialties, and life sciences. LBB Specialties generates approximately $500 million in revenue annually and employs more than 110 commercial team members.

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Chemical Management

Sapio Sciences Unifies Small- and Large-Molecule Discovery on a Single Platform

Business Wire | October 10, 2023

Sapio Sciences, the science-aware™ lab informatics platform, today announced the launch of the Sapio Chemistry solution, which unifies small-molecule and large-molecule discovery workflows on a single platform. Built on the same no-code platform as Sapio’s existing large-molecule discovery electronic lab notebook solution, Sapio Chemistry enables scientists to draw insights across all their organization’s discovery experiments. See Sapio’s new Chemistry solution for yourself in this exclusive webinar on October 11, 2023 - register here. “Many organizations are still running decades-old electronic laboratory notebooks (ELNs) and other software for capturing chemical synthesis experiments and registering small molecules,” said Kevin Cramer, president and CEO of Sapio Sciences. “Large-molecule and small-molecule discovery have traditionally been managed on disparate systems, creating artificial islands that impede scientific collaboration and decision-making. Sapio is excited to give biopharma organizations the opportunity to consolidate all their chemistry experiments on a modern, unified lab platform.” Sapio Chemistry is designed to facilitate collaboration among chemistry teams and their colleagues in analytical core facilities and screening labs, including contract research organizations. Advanced, chemically intelligent search built into Sapio Chemistry makes up-to-date project data easily accessible to the entire team. Out-of-the-box, configurable templates simplify the capture and sharing of chemistry experiments, including the reaction, reagents, solvents, and products through to registering synthesized compounds, batches, and lots and requesting assays. Sapio Chemistry also includes advanced capabilities for sample and inventory management, leveraging the strong sample-handling features built into the Sapio platform. Sapio Chemistry includes the latest science-aware™ functionality from Sapio, offering the first-ever lab triple-play solution of ELN, laboratory information management system (LIMS), and Jarvis scientific data cloud all in one. Science-aware means the system unifies data and works the way scientists do with built-in tools for managing, visualizing, and analyzing data to make life in the lab simple. About Sapio Sciences Sapio Sciences' mission is to improve life in the lab — because science is complex, Sapio makes technology simple. Sapio is a global business offering an all-in-one science-aware™ lab informatics platform combining cloud-based LIMS, ELN, and Jarvis data solutions. Sapio serves some of the largest global and niche brands, including biopharma, CROs and clinical diagnostic labs across NGS genomic sequencing, bioanalysis, bioprocessing, stability, clinical, histopathology, drug research, and in vivo studies.

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Chemical Management

Syzygy Plasmonics Signs Strategic Investment Agreement with Mitsubishi Heavy Industries

PR Newswire | October 12, 2023

Syzygy Plasmonics announced today that it has reached a strategic investment agreement with Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Ltd. (MHI), executed through Mitsubishi Heavy Industries America, Inc. (MHIA). The agreement formalizes ties between Syzygy and MHIA, giving the global multinational engineering and manufacturing technology company greater insight into Syzygy's strategic priorities and an opportunity to support Syzygy's business execution plans. "MHIA has been making moves to establish themselves as one of the leaders in the energy transition," said Syzygy Chief Executive Officer Trevor Best. "Formalizing our relationship with them shows their commitment to helping scale cutting edge technology and opens up new avenues for Syzygy and MHIA to work together as we commercialize our industrial decarbonization platform." Syzygy Plasmonics Syzygy Plasmonics is a deep-decarbonization company. It builds reactors that use light instead of heat to electrify chemical manufacturing and power a cleaner, safer world. Utilizing technology licensed from Rice University and advanced engineering, Syzygy is commercializing a universal photocatalytic reactor platform. When powered with renewable electricity, this tunable technology is designed to reduce both cost and emissions from many different chemical reactions. Starting with solutions designed to consume greenhouse gases and produce low- and zero-emissions hydrogen, the company's mission is to create a world where chemicals, fuels, and fertilizer are low cost, carbon neutral, and accessible to everyone. Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Group Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Group is committed to building a business that contributes to realizing a decarbonized society while investing in and collaborating with various partners with innovative technologies. This investment will help Syzygy Plasmonics to accelerate commercialization and continue its development of innovative alternative technologies, particularly those that contribute to the hydrogen ecosystem and CO2 ecosystem. Going forward, MHI will continue to enhance and diversify its solutions portfolio, providing its customers with alternative decarbonization technologies to reach their net zero goals.

Read More

Chemical Management

LBB Specialties Announces Principal Partnership with Viscofan

PR Newswire | October 25, 2023

LBB Specialties (LBBS), a leader in specialty chemicals and ingredients distribution in North America, announces a new partnership with Viscofan DE, a global leader in collagen manufacturing. LBB Specialties will be Viscofan's preferred partner in the United States for their portfolio of premium collagen hydrolysates, including COLLinstant® and COLLinstant LMW®. "Viscofan has over 90 years of experience in the collagen market. We are excited to bring this expertise to our customer base, as these products meet global consumer demand for highly bioavailable ingredients with a major advantage over traditional collagen formulas," said Mike DeGennaro, Senior Vice President of LBB Specialties Food & Nutrition. Viscofan DE is the center of excellence for collagen products within the Viscofan group. Viscofan applies proprietary technologies and standardized extraction methods to process collagen from bovine skin for the development and industrial-scale production of novel collagen ingredients and biometrics. "LBB Specialties' technical expertise and dedicated commercial team is uniquely positioned to expand our innovative offerings in the US nutraceutical market," said James Murray, Business Manager at Viscofan. "Their existing portfolio of high-quality ingredients for health and wellness applications is the perfect complement to our COLLinstant® product line of collagen peptide alternatives." About LBB Specialties LBB Specialties is a leader in North American specialty chemicals and ingredients. It is a diversified supplier serving end-markets including care, food & nutrition, industrial specialties, and life sciences. LBB Specialties generates approximately $500 million in revenue annually and employs more than 110 commercial team members.

Read More

Chemical Management

Sapio Sciences Unifies Small- and Large-Molecule Discovery on a Single Platform

Business Wire | October 10, 2023

Sapio Sciences, the science-aware™ lab informatics platform, today announced the launch of the Sapio Chemistry solution, which unifies small-molecule and large-molecule discovery workflows on a single platform. Built on the same no-code platform as Sapio’s existing large-molecule discovery electronic lab notebook solution, Sapio Chemistry enables scientists to draw insights across all their organization’s discovery experiments. See Sapio’s new Chemistry solution for yourself in this exclusive webinar on October 11, 2023 - register here. “Many organizations are still running decades-old electronic laboratory notebooks (ELNs) and other software for capturing chemical synthesis experiments and registering small molecules,” said Kevin Cramer, president and CEO of Sapio Sciences. “Large-molecule and small-molecule discovery have traditionally been managed on disparate systems, creating artificial islands that impede scientific collaboration and decision-making. Sapio is excited to give biopharma organizations the opportunity to consolidate all their chemistry experiments on a modern, unified lab platform.” Sapio Chemistry is designed to facilitate collaboration among chemistry teams and their colleagues in analytical core facilities and screening labs, including contract research organizations. Advanced, chemically intelligent search built into Sapio Chemistry makes up-to-date project data easily accessible to the entire team. Out-of-the-box, configurable templates simplify the capture and sharing of chemistry experiments, including the reaction, reagents, solvents, and products through to registering synthesized compounds, batches, and lots and requesting assays. Sapio Chemistry also includes advanced capabilities for sample and inventory management, leveraging the strong sample-handling features built into the Sapio platform. Sapio Chemistry includes the latest science-aware™ functionality from Sapio, offering the first-ever lab triple-play solution of ELN, laboratory information management system (LIMS), and Jarvis scientific data cloud all in one. Science-aware means the system unifies data and works the way scientists do with built-in tools for managing, visualizing, and analyzing data to make life in the lab simple. About Sapio Sciences Sapio Sciences' mission is to improve life in the lab — because science is complex, Sapio makes technology simple. Sapio is a global business offering an all-in-one science-aware™ lab informatics platform combining cloud-based LIMS, ELN, and Jarvis data solutions. Sapio serves some of the largest global and niche brands, including biopharma, CROs and clinical diagnostic labs across NGS genomic sequencing, bioanalysis, bioprocessing, stability, clinical, histopathology, drug research, and in vivo studies.

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