🏭 Killing viruses, and plastic

Good morning. The first story is about Solvay's new light stabilizer that protects plastics from UV-C disinfection lamps. Does anyone have any idea about how quickly these plastics are currently degrading from UV-C exposure?

From the condenser:

· UV-C disinfection and Solvay's light stabilizer

· Clariant's catalyst and a biodegradable polymer

· MOTD: propylene oxide

Solvay is protecting plastic from UV-C

Belgian chemical company, Solvay, has developed a new light stabilizer for polyolefins that are exposed to UV-C light.

Light stabilizers 101:

Without stabilizers, polymer chains break down quicker and lose the physical properties that make them so useful (impact strength, tensile strength, elongation, etc.). One way those chains break is by exposure to sunlight. To combat this, the folks that make polyolefins (like polyethylene and polypropylene) typically blend the polymer with some additives that reduce the damage inflicted by sunlight (mostly UV-A and UV-B). Solvay's new additive was developed to do the same thing, but for the higher energy UV-C.

Wait, why UV-C?

In case you hadn’t heard, you can kill the COVID-19 virus (and other things) with UV-C light. This light-based disinfection technique is also degrading useful polyolefins. Solvay wants polyolefin producers (or plastic compounders) to buy this UV-C additive so that they can offer longer-lasting products to customers who intend on exposing their assets to UV-C (think of all the plastic surfaces you may find in a hospital operating room).

Bigger picture:

We often hear about how bad the plastic pollution problem has become. It's important to realize that these additives work to reduce the amount of plastic that must be thrown away (by making sure the plastic lasts longer). That's good for the Earth and for the consumer. Hospitals would rather pay a slight premium for equipment and surfaces that last way longer than have to replace the equipment every few years.

Clariant's catalyst and it's role in PBAT production

Swiss chemicals and catalyst producer, Clariant, has announced that its vanadium phosphorus oxide catalyst will be used by Wanhua at its upcoming maleic anhydride (MAN) plant in Yantai, China.

A little history:

The world makes MAN in two ways: (1) by the vapor-phase oxidation of benzene or (2) by the vapor-phase oxidation of n-butane. The benzene route was the first to be commercialized, and was led by Scientific Design (who used to be partially owned by Clariant) in the post-war period through the late 1980s. The n-butane route came to dominate globally, but most of the plants in China still go the benzene route. This new plant headed to China is going the n-butane route.

Why make MAN?

When we talked about MAN a few weeks ago, we noted that this stuff is mostly used to make unsaturated polyester resins and 1,4-butanediol (aka BDO). BDO is probably most well-known for its use in the production of Spandex, but Wanhua is planning to use that BDO to make polybutylene adipate terephthalate (PBAT). The company expects demand for PBAT to increase in the coming years because the petroleum-based polymer is highly biodegradable (it doesn't need high heat and humidity like PLA).

Zooming out:

The problem with PBAT is that consumers will probably have a hard time accepting that a biodegradable polymer can be made from petroleum. So the main applications for PBAT won't be packaged goods, but probably things like fertilizer bags and fishing nets. Since fishing nets account for roughly 10% of the plastic waste in the ocean there's a lot of opportunity here.

Some more headlines:

• AkzoNobel is building a $20 million decorative paints plant in France

• Solvay is giving its employees big raises to help employees keep up with inflation

• Thyssenkrupp Steel intends on using BP's future low-carbon hydrogen to makes steel

• The global trade of LNG grew by 4.5% in 2021

• One of The Column's readers was featured in a video about molecular recycling

Molecule of The Day:

Today's MOTD is worth telling your friends about, it's propylene oxide.

First produced by Oser in 1861, propylene oxide (PO) was the first chiral molecule detected in space and is occasionally used to pasteurize raw almonds.

Today, the world produces more than 10 million tons of PO each year. About 70% of it is used to make polyether polyols (which become polyurethanes), 20% becomes propylene glycol (to make UPRs and anti-freeze), and the rest mainly becomes propylene glycol ethers (used as solvents).

The production of PO frequently comes with a co-product (here's an introduction to that issue) that depends on the chosen production process. Producers can make PO a few different ways—with the chlorohydrin, peroxidation(PO/SM, PO/TBA), or hydroperoxidation (HPPO and HPCU) process. The two largest companies making this PO are Dow Chemical and LyondellBasell, but there's quite a few other major producers out there as well.

In case you're interested:

• Safety Moment: With winter coming, freezes at chemical plants are inevitable. Learn about how improper winterization can lead to process safety events.

• Podcast: Check out this episode featuring a metallurgy and process development expert.

• 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.*

• Book: How can you expect to understand the chemical industry without knowing its history? Start with Fred Aftalion's introduction.*

The bottoms:

All views represent those of the author not their employer.