ExxonMobil completes acquiring Indonesian lubricant manufacturer

ExxonMobil has completed the acquisition of PT Federal Karyatama (FKT), one of Indonesia’s largest manufacturers and marketers of motorcycle lubricants, from PT Mitra Pinasthika Mustika Tbk and its affiliate.

The acquisition, first announced in April, includes the Federal Oil brand and a 700,000 barrel per year blending plant in Cilegon, Indonesia.

The acquisition of FKT and its distribution network, which is supported by about 40 dealers, 3,200 Federal Oil centers and more than 10,000 retailers in Indonesia, strengthens ExxonMobil’s position in a key growth market and will contribute to building the Mobil lubricant brand in Indonesia.

ExxonMobil will manage both the existing Indonesian Mobil-branded lubricants business and the FKT business.

Read more: ExxonMobil completes acquiring Indonesian lubricant manufacturer

Total partners with Citeo, Saint-Gobain, Syndifrais for polystyrene recycling

Citeo, Total, Saint-Gobain and the French Union of Fresh Dairy Product Manufacturers (Syndifrais) are joining forces to help lay the groundwork for an industrial-scale polystyrene recycling channel in France and to validate its technical and cost feasibility within 18 months.

This is part of the voluntary commitments for the French government’s Circular Economy Roadmap and in line with French and European Union objectives in the area of plastic recycling,

All of the players in the polystyrene consumer packaging value chain are actively seeking a recycling solution that will enable the development of a circular economy for these products. This involves not only collecting the packaging and finding the right technical solutions for recycling it, but also identifying uses for the recycled polystyrene, all while ensuring each step is affordable. It is estimated that 110,000 metric tons of polystyrene packaging is put on the market each year in France.

Developing a collection system

France’s fresh dairy product manufacturers have undertaken to organize, via Citeo, the separation, sorting and preparation of several hundred tons of post-consumer polystyrene from France's extended household waste sorting program. Syndifrais, alongside Citeo, will therefore contribute to the emergence of a recycling channel for polystyrene packaging.

Read more: Total partners with Citeo, Saint-Gobain, Syndifrais for polystyrene recycling

Songwon increases polymer stabilizer prices globally

Songwon Industrial Co Ltd said that prices for its polymer stabilizers products will be raised by up to 15 percent.

The new prices are effective as of 1 July 2018.

Read more: Songwon increases polymer stabilizer prices globally

Cosmetics, personal care to be biggest driver of wax market

Wax Market size is forecast to exceed $10 billion in 2024; according to a new research report by Global Market Insights Inc.

Sturdy growth in cosmetics and personal care industry will be majorly driving wax market demand over the forecast period. Wax has air and water barrier properties, which open up a myriad of applications in various industries such as packaging, cosmetics and adhesives.

The global cosmetics industry is driven by product innovation, the rise of e-commerce and growth in travel retail across the globe. Wax has skincare properties and its flexibility and plasticity facilitates easy application. These properties make wax highly desirable in cosmetics industry.

Increasing product application in packaging sector will also be a key factor for the wax market growth over the forecast duration. The global packaging industry is primarily driven by the BRICS market which accounts for approximately 37% of the global demand. The packaging industry growth in Asia Pacific is mainly a result of increasing consumption of consumer goods, which in turn has driven the need for sophisticated packaging. Increasing consumption levels in Asia Pacific and Latin America can be attributed to the rising disposable income of the middle class in these regions.

Read more: Cosmetics, personal care to be biggest driver of wax market

IIT team's solar powered system can convert plastic into fuel

Scientists from IIT Madras have developed a solar powered system to convert non-recyclable plastic into fuel that can substitute diesel used in generators, furnaces and engines.

The technology - which consists of a mobile unit that can collect and process waste - currently yields around 0.7 liters of fuel oil per kilo gram of plastic, researchers said.

"India produces approximately 15,000 tonnes of plastic waste in a day. Centralized systems for plastic waste management cannot work to effectively deal with this much plastic waste on a daily basis, said Ramya Selvaraj, a research student at the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Madras in Tamil Nadu.

"We thought that if the plastic can't come to the industry, let the industry come to the plastic," Selvaraj said.

The team showcased its project on the occasion of the World Environment Day, hosted by the United Nations (UN) in New Delhi.

The theme of this year’s World Environment Day was "Beat Plastic Pollution".

The conversion of plastic to fuel involves a process called pyrolysis - a thermochemical treatment that exposes the material to high temperature in the absence of oxygen, leading it to go through physical and chemical changes.

This creates a low-density fuel oil by breaking down the polymer chain of plastic at the temperature of 350- 500 degrees Celsius. This oil can be used as a substitute for diesel to power generators, furnaces and engines.

Read more: IIT team's solar powered system can convert plastic into fuel

BP to acquire UK’s largest electric vehicle charging company

BP plc said that it has entered into an agreement to purchase Chargemaster, the UK’s largest electric vehicle (EV) charging company. Chargemaster operates the UK’s largest public network of EV charging points, with over 6,500 across the country. It also designs, builds, sells and maintains EV charging units for a wide range of locations, including for home charging.

“Bringing together the UK’s leading fuel retailer and its largest charging company, BP Chargemaster will deliver a truly differentiated offer for the country’s growing number of electric vehicle owners,” Tufan Erginbilgic, chief executive, BP Downstream.

“At BP we believe that fast and convenient charging is critical to support the successful adoption of electric vehicles. Combining BP’s and Chargemaster’s complementary expertise, experience and assets is an important step towards offering fast and ultra-fast charging at BP sites across the UK and to BP becoming the leading provider of energy to low carbon vehicles, on the road or at home,” added Erginbilgic.

Upon completion of the transaction, Chargemaster employees will continue to be employed by BP Chargemaster or its subsidiaries. BP Chargemaster will operate as a wholly-owned BP entity.

Read more: BP to acquire UK’s largest electric vehicle charging compan

BASF increases prices for bismuth vanadate pigments globally

BASF said that it will increase prices for bismuth vanadate pigments and preparations based on this chemistry by up to 15 percent worldwide.

Read more: BASF increases prices for bismuth vanadate pigments globally

ExxonMobil announces progress on methane emissions reduction program

ExxonMobil subsidiary XTO Energy Inc has reduced methane emissions from its operations by 9 percent since 2016, demonstrating significant progress in its methane emissions reduction program and other initiatives.

Of that amount, a reduction of close to 4 percent, or more than 7,200 metric tons of methane, was achieved through XTO’s voluntary program and other operational improvements, XTO President Sara Ortwein said at the World Gas Conference in Washington. Across ExxonMobil operations, the reduction equates to a 2 percent reduction.

Through its continued efforts, XTO will contribute to ExxonMobil’s measures to reduce methane emissions across its worldwide operations by 15 percent by 2020.

In 2017, XTO implemented a methane management program to mitigate emissions associated with its operations. The program includes a commitment to phase out high-bleed pneumatic devices over three years, extensive personnel training, research and facility design improvements for new operations.

Read more: ExxonMobil announces progress on methane emissions reduction program

KBR bags PMC services contract for Oman LNG’s power plant project

KBR Inc (KBR) has been awarded a project management consultancy (PMC) services contract by Oman Liquefied Natural Gas LLC (Oman LNG). For a new 120 MW gas engine power plant which is aimed to reduce fuel gas consumption and greenhouse gas emissions while maintaining LNG production at Oman LNG's existing LNG plant in Sur, Oman.

Under the terms of this reimbursable contract, KBR will provide PMC services to assist Oman LNG in the selection and management of the successful EPC contractor for the project in Oman over a three-year period.

KBR is a recognized leader in LNG with over 40 years of continuous experience and depth of capability, know-how and engineering talent that is unmatched in the industry.

Read more: KBR bags PMC services contract for Oman LNG’s power plant project

Dye Sublimation Inks to meet quality, deep colour demands

DuPont™ Artistri® Brite P5003 is a fabric pre-treatment product for application onto dark colored cotton t-shirts that enable efficient and consistent printing combined with bright, wash resistant color prints, while Artistri® P5010 is developed for use with white cotton and polyester shirts. P5003 and P5010 offer improved wash fastness, white ink setup productivity and tunnel dry performance.

Read more: Dye Sublimation Inks to meet quality, deep colour demands

UV Offset Inks for Luxury Folding Carton Applications

Sun Chemical has launched a new UV offset ink that was developed to make sophisticated graphics look stunning and vibrant on high-end luxury folding cartons while at the same time providing the longer-term shelf appeal brand owners require.

The new ink system, SunCure® Aspire UV, has been formulated to exhibit immense color transparency to help create vivid color graphic

Read more: UV Offset Inks for Luxury Folding Carton Applications

Textile impregnation product for garments, fabrics water repellent consumers

OrganoClick AB has launched OrganoTex® which is a textile impregnation product for consumers used for making garments and fabrics water repellent. It is a Spray-On product that is applied by hand or as a Wash-In product that is applied in a washing machine.

OrganoTex® Spray-On and Wash-In has been developed during several years and have been designed to give good water repellancy, yet being biodegradable.

Read more: Textile impregnation product for garments, fabrics water repellent consumers

Washable Conductive Inks, Coatings for Wearable Printed Electronics

Creative Materials introduced its new 127-48 series of conductive Inks and coatings that are designed for manufacturing printed electronic circuits on washable textiles. These products have proven to be among the best performing products of their kind in the industry and are able to withstand a minimum of 50 machine wash and heated dryer cycles.

Read more: Washable Conductive Inks, Coatings for Wearable Printed Electronics

Devan launches natural technology to make textiles free from pet allergens

Devan Chemicals has recently launched a technology to make textiles free from allergens shed by cats and dogs. Purissimo is a probiotic-based solution and therefore completely natural. The technology was inspired by their experience with Purotex, a successful allergen reduction solution that has been used in bedding for more than ten years.

Purissimo

Purissimo is a natural technology, inspired by Devan’s years of experience with Purotex, a very successful allergen reduction technology that is being used in the bedding industry for more than ten years. With a significant reduction in the house dust mite population of more than 99 percent, Purotex has proven to be an effective, preventive strategy for reducing allergic diseases related to house dust mites.

But, unfortunately allergies are not limited to beds and house dust mites alone, and so Devan started exploring what further could be done to reduce health problems related to allergic reactions. After months of testing, the company came out with a solution for allergies triggered by pets such as cats (cat allergen Fel d 1) and dogs (dog allergen Can f 1). Test results show a significant reduction of 92,8 percent on the amount of cat hair allergen Fel d1 found in treated samples. The technology is based on probiotic bacteria and therefore, completely natural.

Read more: Devan launches natural technology to make textiles free from pet allergens

BASF submits regulatory filing for two new herbicides

BASF SE has started the global registration initiatives for two new herbicide active ingredients. The company submitted the regulatory dossier for Luximo herbicide in the European Union (EU) and in Australia and for Tirexor herbicide in Australia as well.

These steps are important milestones in expanding BASF’s global herbicide portfolio. The two compounds have demonstrated excellent performance against a broad range of difficult-to-control grasses and broadleaf weeds and are expected to help growers worldwide successfully safeguard their crops while managing the ongoing challenge of herbicide resistance.

Luximo is the breakthrough herbicide at the heart of complete grass weed management programs. The active ingredient provides pre-emergence, residual control against a broad range of grasses, including difficult-to-control blackgrass and ryegrass in winter cereals. The molecule boasts a novel mode of action that controls grasses that have developed resistance. With no known cross-resistance, Luximo strengthens existing integrated weed management systems for sustainable resistance management.

Tirexor is a new protoporphyrinogen oxidase (PPO) inhibitor herbicide offering the unique capability to control PPO-resistant weeds including tough-to-control pigweed and ragweed species. The new herbicide is fast-acting, with foliar effects that can occur in as little as one day.

Read more: BASF submits regulatory filing for two new herbicides

Sumitomo, BASF submits Pavecto fungicide registration in EU

Sumitomo Chemical and BASF SEsaid that under an existing joint development framework, Sumitomo Chemical has submitted a registration application in the EU for the novel fungicide compound with the ISO common name metyltetraprole. The fungicide, discovered by Sumitomo Chemical, will be trademarked as Pavecto.

The compound belongs to a group of fungicides known as Quinone outside Inhibitors (QoI), and with the chemical structure tetrazolinone, represents novel chemistry in this group. Pavecto differs from existing QoI fungicides because it controls pathogens that have developed resistance towards strobilurin fungicides currently available on the market.

Read more: Sumitomo, BASF submits Pavecto fungicide registration in EU

Greener blue jeans

Who doesn’t like blue jeans? They’re practically wrinkle-proof. The indigo dye that provides their distinctive color holds up to detergents, but ages into that soft, worn look. No wonder the average American wears jeans four days a week. No wonder it’s a $66 billion a year industry, with three billion pairs of jeans manufactured each year.

Indigo is one of the oldest dyes used for coloring textiles. Commercial synthesis of indigo dye replaced the plant source around 1900. Today, the jean industry uses about 40,000 tons of indigo a year. But there is a dark side. Industrial synthesis of indigo from petroleum is a “dirty” chemical process. Chemical production of indigo into an effective dye requires a chemical that becomes toxic to fish and some other aquatic life. And when sent to waste water treatment plants, it severely corrodes the piping.

Jeans manufacturers are interested in finding a cleaner route to produce the iconic dye. Berkeley bioengineering professor John Dueber has studied the chemical steps plants use to naturally make indigo, and he thinks he has found an environmentally green way for the industry to churn out the dye without use of the toxic compound.

When plant leaves are healthy, a chemical precursor to indigo, called indican, is caged within a sugar molecule and isolated from the rest of the cell in an organelle. Only when leaves are damaged is indican released from this compartment. The sugar protective cage is removed, allowing a chemical change that makes indigo. Green leaves turn blue.

Dueber’s lab very recently identified the plant enzyme that is essential for adding the protective sugar cage. They plan to insert its gene into bacteria. Hundreds of gallons of the harmless bacteria growing in fermentation tanks would churn out indican, held within the sugar’s molecular embrace. Later, outside the cell, a second enzyme could remove the protective glucose cage, triggering the final chemical transition to indigo. The result: environmentally cleaner jeans.

Read more: Greener blue jeans

Organic printing inks may restore sight to blind people

A simple retinal prosthesis is being developed in collaboration between Tel Aviv University in Israel and LiU. Fabricated using cheap and widely-available organic pigments used in printing inks and cosmetics, it consists of tiny pixels like a digital camera sensor on a nanometric scale. Researchers hope that it can restore sight to blind people.

Researchers led by Eric Glowacki, principal investigator of the organic nanocrystals subgroup in the Laboratory of Organic Electronics, Linkoping University, have developed a tiny, simple photoactive film that converts light impulses into electrical signals. These signals in turn stimulate neurons (nerve cells). The research group has chosen to focus on a particularly pressing application, artificial retinas that may in the future restore sight to blind people.

The Swedish team, specializing in nanomaterials and electronic devices, worked together with researchers in Israel, Italy and Austria to optimise the technology. Experiments in vision restoration were carried out by the group of Yael Hanein at Tel Aviv University in Israel. Yael Hanein’s group is a world-leader in the interface between electronics and the nervous system.

The results have recently been published in the prestigious scientific journal Advanced Materials.

Photoactive material

The retina consists of several thin layers of cells. Light-sensitive neurons in the back of the eye convert incident light to electric signals, while other cells process the nerve impulses and transmit them onwards along the optic nerve to an area of the brain known as the “visual cortex”. An artificial retina may be surgically implanted into the eye if a person’s sight has been lost as a consequence of the light-sensitive cells becoming degraded, thus failing to convert light into electric pulses.

The artificial retina consists of a thin circular film of photoactive material, and is similar to an individual pixel in a digital camera sensor. Each pixel is truly microscopic – it is about 100 times thinner than a single cell and has a diameter smaller than the diameter of a human hair. It consists of a pigment of semi-conducting nanocrystals. Such pigments are cheap and non-toxic, and are commonly used in commercial cosmetics and tattooing ink.

Read more: Organic printing inks may restore sight to blind people

Researchers to develop greener parts for transport industry

University of Portsmouth researchers are at the forefront of a drive to develop environmentally-friendly materials from agricultural waste for use in the automotive, marine and aerospace industries.

A team from the University’s School of Engineering are producing and developing lightweight materials from farming leftovers (agriculture biomass) – a process that could provide significant environmental benefits.

The sustainable composite materials are produced from flax, hemp, jute and waste biomass date palm fibres to provide parts like car bumpers and door linings – mainly non-structural components. Using natural plant fibres for composite manufacturing has the potential to provide farmers with extra income and reduce C02 emissions from the burning of waste.

“We are working to address the key challenges of using natural reinforced composites for structural and semi-structural applications such as internal engine covers, seat back and roof structures, among others.

“The impact of this work would be extremely significant because these lightweight alternatives could help reduce the weight of vehicles, contributing to less fuel consumption and fewer C02 emissions. The sustainable materials can be produced using less energy than glass and carbon fibres and are biodegradable, therefore easier to recycle,” said Dr Hom Nath Dhakal, who leads the Advanced Materials and Manufacturing (AMM) Research Group at the University.

Dr Dhakal and his team have been working closely with industry to address these problems and test the strength and viability of parts made from the sustainable materials. These test results are compared to that of hybrids of the natural materials with more traditional glass and carbon fibres. The AMM Research Group has been working in collaboration with researchers from various institutions from around the world.

Read more: Researchers to develop greener parts for transport industry