🏭 Making plastic clear

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From the condenser:

· Miliken's polypropylene clarifier

· Sumitomo exits the dye business

· MOTD: phosgene

Miliken wants to make PP clear

US-based specialty chemical producer, Miliken, has announced that it will be starting up its new polypropylene (PP) clarifier plant in Blacksburg, South Carolina.

Setting the scene:

PP is made by the polymerization of polymer-grade propylene (which is 99% propylene and 1% propane). After that polymerization, the raw polymer spheres are remelted, blended with other additives (like antioxidants and dyes), and then extruded into pellets. Those PP pellets are then sold to companies who melt and mold the plastic into useful parts.

What's going on here?

Traditionally, PP is an opaque polymer that lacks the same clarity you'd get from polystyrene (PS) or polyethylene terephthalate (PET). This all comes down to crystalline structures. When PP solidifies, it forms large crystals at different rates in different regions (which makes it hazy). Miliken's clarifier is a nucleating agent—so when it's added to PP it creates small crystals everywhere at the same time (which makes it clear). The nucleating agent is a sorbitol-derivative that they market as Millad NX8000. Sorbitol is made from glucose, so you can probably trace that back to corn (in the US).

Zooming out:

Miliken is making more of this stuff because if you can make PP clear, you can replace some of the end uses for PS and PET. We're talking about things like to-go containers and disposable cups. This is important because PP is 30% less dense than PET and is less energy-intensive to produce. That means less plastic waste and less emissions for the same application. It will be interesting to see what cup-makers choose to do if PET with negative emissions hits the market (looking at you, Origin Materials).

Sumitomo has had enough dye

Japanese chemical company, Sumitomo Chemical, has announced plans to exit the dyestuff business.

The context you need:

The dyestuff business refers to the molecules we use to add color to everything. These color molecules have rather intricate structures and are made with complex reactions, but you can trace pretty much all of the main ones back to benzene. This website does a pretty good job providing the types of dyes needed for various textiles (for example, you'd use a disperse dye for PET, and maybe acid dye for Nylon).

Why the exit?

Sumitomo basically said that they have failed to structurally reform the business over the years. They didn't add value to their existing dye, didn't optimize their dye portfolio, and didn't reduce the cost of production. They also said that the maintenance and repair costs of their site in Osaka, Japan are very high.

Bigger picture:

When products are fungible, production plants choose whether or not to operate based on the cost curve. Sumitomo is shutting down their plant and exiting the business because they have the highest costs for dye production compared to everyone else. This is starting to look systemic for Sumitomo as they announced plans to exit the caprolactam business a month ago.

Some more headlines:

• Nutrien announced plans to build a world-scale clean-ammonia project in Geismar

• Asahi Kasei is launching a special polymer for augmented reality displays

• Pertamina and Air Liquide are going to capture CO2 at the Balikpapan refinery

• Covestro started up a new prepolymers production line in Barcelona

• Circa Group and Valmet are teaming up to scale biosolvent production

Molecule of The Day:

Today's MOTD is the most interesting one of all: phosgene.

At low concentrations the smell of phosgene reminds people of freshly cut grass. While that may sound nice, this molecule isn't something to mess with—its use in World War I as a chemical weapon claimed nearly 100,000 lives.

The molecule was named by a Cornish chemist in 1812 when he exposed carbon monoxide and chlorine to sunlight (phos = light and gene = born). Today, the world produces roughly 9 million tons each year primarily by passing carbon monoxide and chlorine gas through a bed of activated carbon.

Instead of thinking of its use as a chemical weapon or grassy smell, try to remember phosgene for its critical role in the production of polyurethanes and polycarbonates. About 80% of all phosgene is used to make the isocyanates that become all of these things. Most of the rest of it is reacted with BPA that is used for this stuff.

Some of the main companies producing all of this phosgene are Covestro, BASF, Yantai Wanhua, and Huntsman.

In case you're interested:

• Book: You need to understand the forces behind the oil industry to understand the chemical industry. Daniel Yergin's The New Map does a great job breaking it down.*

• Podcast: Check out this episode on Dr. Greg Newbloom's career, company, and interest in green chemistry.

• Company History: Ever wondered where all of these big oil companies came from? Read about how Rockefeller's company gave birth to them all.

• Tip: Add Lustre to your browser so you can see price history and reviews before buying anything online.*

The bottoms: