🏭 Connecting fibers with PEI

Good morning. Today’s first story is about how a complicated polymer (that starts with benzene) enables the modern economy (by making fiber optics more affordable). It’s a great example of how we go from raw material to finished product.

From the condenser:

· SABIC's new polymer for fiber optics

· Ammonia production halts in Europe

· MOTD: titanium dioxide

Fiber optics just got a little cheaper

Saudi Arabian chemical company, SABIC, has launched a new grade of polyetherimide (PEI) resin for use as a single-mode fiber optics connector.

For use as a... what?

Fiber optics cables transmit data via photons in glass or polymer fibers instead of via electrons in metal wires. This photon-based route provides better data transmission for higher bandwidths over longer distances. That's especially true for expensive single-mode fibers, which are sort of like the gold standard when it comes to connecting datacenters. And that's where fiber optics connectors enter the scene—by the time that light reaches the end of the cable, it has bounced off the cable walls countless times, and it arrives in a jumbled mess. Fiber optics connectors are just lenses that orient the light you'll find spewing out the end of a fiber optic cable.

Okay, so what's the deal here?

Since single-mode fibers are more susceptible to temperature fluctuations, the connectors used at those end points are always made of glass (which has an extremely low coefficient of thermal expansion). SABIC's new PEI resin, while not as good as glass, is apparently good enough. Plus, as SABIC pitches, the fact that a thermoplastic will suffice means that these connectors will be cheaper, expand design freedom, and reduce the weight of the device.

Taking a step back:

PEI was first developed in the 1970s by General Electric's (GE) polymer business, and it's now available in just about 100 different grades from SABIC (because SABIC bought GE's polymer business in 2007 for nearly $12 billion). For simplicity's sake, you can think of PEIs as being the product of a few monomers: a phenolic anhydride (like BPADA), a phenolic diamine (like ODA and PMDA), and the phenoxide of BPA. All of which can trace the bulk of their roots back to benzene (which was Monday's MOTD, if you want more on the origins of that stuff).

Less ammonia is being made in Europe

Fertilizer producers, CF Industries and Yara, have both announced (here and here) reductions in ammonia production at their European sites.

The context you need:

When you think of fertilizers you need to think of three atoms: nitrogen, phosphorous, and potassium. The latter two (sold as salts or dissolved in solution) come from mineral deposits, and the former (sold as a solution of ammonia or some solid derivative, like urea) comes from the combination of hydrogen and nitrogen. Pretty much all of that hydrogen is produced by steam reforming methane (from natural gas), and pretty much all of that nitrogen is produced by the cryogenic distillation of air.

Okay, so why reduce ammonia production?

The price of natural gas is incredibly high in Europe for two reasons: (1) the region no longer has enough of it underground (RIP to the North Sea), and (2) the region chose not to diversify it's natural gas imports (because Russia's stuff was so much cheaper and more plentiful). So, now that Russia is waging war, the supply of natural gas to Europe has dwindled and prices have shot up. So much so that it would cost CF Industries twice as much to make ammonia themselves as it would to import it.

Zooming out:

When you choose not to make ammonia, you're choosing not to reform methane with steam, which means you also halt the production of CO2. That may sound like a good thing, but it's not that simple—the ammonia is still being produced, just more of it somewhere else, and the CO2 that was produced (when captured) actually has some uses. In this case, CF Industries' shut down means there will be less CO2 locally available to do things like stun animals prior to slaughter and produce dry ice (for food shelf life extension).

Some more headlines:

• ICIS released this map detailing all of the major updates in Europe related to natural gas

• SK Geo Centric and SABIC are investing $150 million to expand POE production

• PPG is going to double its powder coatings capacity in Mexico

• Lummus’ CATOFIN and Novolen Technologies were chosen for a PDH and polypropylene plant

• BASF started-up a new agrochemical production site in Singapore

Molecule of The Day:

Today's MOTD is the one you've been waiting for… titanium dioxide.

This molecule was first produced industrially in 1916 when a company outside of Niagara Falls set up shop. Today, most of the 6 million tons we make each year are done by treating titanium ore with carbon and chlorine.

Titanium dioxide is best known for its ability to make white pigment and accounts for about 70% of all pigment production (but there's much more it can do). The solid powder finds itself primarily in paints, plastics, and paper. We talked about it earlier this week.

The main companies producing all this titanium dioxide includes (but isn't limited to) Chemours, Venator, and Evonik.

In case you're interested:

• Article: If you’ve ever wondered how plastic gets in the ocean this is a good start.

• Product: Does measuring the pH of random liquids sound fun to you? If so, then try out this pH meter.*

• Podcast: Check out this episode on education, talent development, and diversity in the chemical industry.

• Learn: The Column gets its name from the separation unit processes. Check out this course to learn why mass transfer operations are the core of the industry.*

The bottoms:

All views represent those of the author not their employer.