Prnewswire | August 26, 2020
The Chemical Activity Barometer (CAB), a leading economic indicator created by the American Chemistry Council (ACC), rose by 2.5 percent in August on a three-month moving average (3MMA) basis following a 3.0 percent gain in July. On a year-over-year (Y/Y) basis, the barometer was down 6.1 percent in August. The unadjusted data show a 1.8 percent gain in August following a 1.5 percent gain in July and a 4.1 percent gain in June. The diffusion index rose from 41 percent to 59 percent this month – the first time since January that it has been above 50 percent. The diffusion index marks the number of positive contributors relative to the total number of indicators monitored. The CAB reading for July was revised upward by 1.08 points and that for June was revised upward by 0.77 points.
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Medical | August 27, 2020
Scientists at the U.S. Department of Energy's Ames Laboratory have discovered a metal-free carbon-based catalyst that has the potential to be much less expensive and more efficient for many industrial concerns, including manufacturing of bio- and fossil fuels, electrocatalysis, and fuel cells. At their most fundamental, these industry processes involve splitting strong chemical bonds, like hydrogen-hydrogen, carbon-oxygen, and carbon-hydrogen bonds. Traditionally this has been accomplished with catalysts that use transition or precious metals, many of them expensive and low in natural abundance -- like platinum and palladium.
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CHEMICAL MANAGEMENT
ExxonMobil | February 25, 2022
ExxonMobil has completed its first commercial sale of certified circular polymers, using its Exxtend™ technology for advanced recycling of plastic waste. The purchaser is Berry Global, a leading provider of innovative packaging and engineered products, which will use the circular polymers to manufacture containers for high-performance food-grade packaging on a mass balance approach.
“We are scaling up our advanced recycling capabilities around the world to manufacture more circular products for our customers. Our Exxtend technology helps us meet the growing demand for certified circular polymers, particularly in food contact applications where plastic products provide key sustainability benefits.”
Karen McKee, president of ExxonMobil Chemical Company
Exxtend™ technology helps expand the range of plastic materials that society recycles, while maintaining the performance of products over multiple recycling loops. Product quality and performance of the certified circular polymers are identical to polymers produced from virgin raw materials, increasing the variety and number of customer applications.
“We have ambitious sustainable packaging goals that include achieving 30 percent circular content across our fast-moving consumer goods packaging by 2030,” said Tarun Manroa, chief strategy officer of Berry Global. “Advanced recycling can help our customers meet their sustainability goals and accelerate the move to a more circular economy. Collaboration across the value chain is critical to achieving this.”
The initial sale of certified circular polymers is based on plastic waste processed at ExxonMobil’s advanced recycling facility at its integrated site in Baytown, Texas. The facility began operations in 2021 and has already processed more than 4 million pounds of plastic waste.
The operation in Baytown will be among North America’s largest advanced plastic waste recycling facilities with a capacity to recycle 30,000 metric tons of plastic waste per year when its expansion is complete later this year. Leveraging ExxonMobil’s existing assets, the company’s advanced recycling capabilities can be rapidly scaled to process a wide range of plastic waste. To help meet the growing market demand for certified circular plastics, ExxonMobil plans to increase its annual advanced recycling capacity to 500,000 metric tons, or approximately 1 billion pounds, by year-end 2026 across multiple sites globally.
The company has obtained certifications through the International Sustainability and Carbon Certification Plus (ISCC PLUS) process for several of its facilities including Baytown. ISCC PLUS is widely recognized by industry as an effective system to certify the circularity of products based on advanced recycling using mass balance attribution of plastic waste.
About ExxonMobil
ExxonMobil, one of the largest publicly traded international energy companies, uses technology and innovation to help meet the world’s growing energy needs. ExxonMobil holds an industry-leading inventory of resources, is one of the largest refiners and marketers of petroleum products, and its chemical company is one of the largest in the world. To learn more, visit exxonmobil.com, the Energy Factor and Carbon capture and storage | ExxonMobil.
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