The Column
It's the chemical industry, distilled.
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Increased supply from China and high natural gas prices in Europe are causing plant closures, and the situation is no different for propylene oxide.
Helium comes from weird places and is used for weird things, but it's supply is being depleted, so on-purpose helium is on the rise.
Making PVDC more recyclable means longer lasting meat or less fines for brands in the EU, but either way it's a good thing.
Evonik and AGAE are replacing alkylphenol ethoxylates with rhamnolipids, but at two different scales and with two different speeds.
Making solvents in Texas that reduce the viscosity of photoresists so that Samsung can add extra thin layers to its fancy 5G chips.
LG Chem's bio-based acrylic acid, enzymatic esterification of fatty acids, and Angola's first urea plant.
Licensing PEF production, using polymers to capture CO2, and making carbon black from tire-based pyrolysis oil.
Cracking ammonia with photocatalysts in South Korea, shutting down a century old Houston refinery, and building more niacinamide capacity.
Decentralizing chlor-alkali production, the molecular recycling of Plexiglas, and trends in eyeglass lens materials.
CO2-based carbonates that are used in lithium-ion batteries, an agreement between a seed designer and a potential SAF producer, and a new plastic sorting plant.
Avantium's CO2-based route to a biodegradable polymer, Exxon's lithium carbonate offtake agreement with LG Chem, and making phosphorus in Japan.
Nylon 6,6 from muconic acid, Vulcan Energy’s geothermal lithium hydroxide plant, and Shell’s new pyrolysis pre-treatment unit.
