ABB, Sabic sign agreement to drive chemical industry innovation

ABB Limited and Sabic have signed a new global cooperation agreement to focus on strategic framework for healthy development of high-technology industries and potential technology ventures across the world.

Strengthening their existing relationship at strategic and working levels enables them to use their combined experience to develop next-generation solutions for a market currently growing at 16 percent per annum.

The Home of Innovation is a Sabic growth initiative. This undertaking combines marketing, innovation and technology to create demand and grows business on a local, regional and global level. It connects Sabic with industry-leading companies to identify market needs and develop the groundbreaking solutions that answer them. 

The memorandum of understanding (MoU) was signed by Sabic’s Uwaidh Al-Harthi, executive vice president of innovation & business development, and Peter Terwiesch, president, industrial automation division and member of the group executive committee of ABB Limited.

This partnership gives Sabic greater access to ABB’s integrated industrial internet offering and cloud infrastructure. This technological platform, which is known as ABB Ability and is proven across a wide range of technologies and industries, makes it easier for companies to harness the power of industrial data to improve decision-making.

“This agreement is an important step in achieving Sabic's passion to support the national transformation program, and Saudi Vision 2030. ABB’s deep technology expertise will play a formative role in nurturing this technological development," said Al-Harthi.

Read more: ABB, Sabic sign agreement to drive chemical industry innovation

ExxonMobil Corporation said that it is providing $1 million for the humanitarian relief effort in Papua New Guinea to assist communities affected by a powerful earthquake and aftershocks in the country’s Highlands area.

ExxonMobil is assisting national and international aid agencies and relief organizations with rapid response community assessments. The company is sourcing tarpaulins, water purification tablets, water containers, food and other humanitarian supplies, and is working with essential service providers to pre-position and distribute resources to areas in the greatest need. ExxonMobil is also helping to re-establish reliable communications, providing phones to relief agencies and organizing community meetings.

Read more: ExxonMobil donates $1 mn for earthquake relief efforts in New Guinea

AkzoNobel to use watermark technology developed by FiliGrade

AkzoNobel Speciality Chemicals has agreed to use watermark technology developed by FiliGrade, one of the winners of the 2017 Imagine Chemistry challenge - a program through which the company collaborates with startups, scale-ups and scientists.

The technology provides an invisible watermark for packaging; this can be read with a digital camera, identifying both the material used and details about the manufacturer and contents. This helps with the challenge of sorting of plastics and therefore enhances the recycling of packaging, and also to confirm the authenticity of the packaged product to prevent counterfeiting. The first application in AkzoNobel Specialty Chemicals will be in high-density polyethylene containers, improving their identification and traceability.

FiliGrade was recognized in the ‘revolutionizing plastics recycling’ challenge category of the 2017 edition of Imagine Chemistry. They received dedicated support from the innovation team of KPMG and startup specialists ICOS Research to develop their business case and route to market.

Read more: AkzoNobel to use watermark technology developed by FiliGrade

Plastic made from plants may solve waste problem

Plastics are incredibly useful materials with extremely diverse properties, allowing a multitude of different applications that benefit our lives. But, with marine plastic debris estimated to reach 250 million tonnes by 2025, governments across the globe are starting to think about how to overcome this significant problem.

The majority of plastics are made using oil-based materials, meaning that, by their chemical nature, many plastics have no oxygen content. This makes them very difficult for common bacteria to break them down if they enter the environment.

Over the past few decades, the concept of using bio-based materials as a resource rather than oil-based materials has gained momentum. These natural, bio-based materials can easily be broken down into smaller chemical building blocks – called “platform molecules” — which in turn, can be used to make other useful chemicals, including plastics.

Read more: Plastic made from plants may solve waste problem

Corrosion Technology Forum 2018

A two-day conclave on Corrosion Technology Forum, will focus on corrosion problems in chemical & process industry by galaxy of national & international experts, organized by Worldofchemicals.com & the society for surface protective coatings India.


Get vital information here: Corrosion Technology Forum 2018

Innovative oduor management for functional polyster textiles

SANITIZED AG presents a new unique dimension to odour-management for functional polyester textiles. The newly developed wash-resistant Sanitized® Odoractiv 10 has a dual-action effect: on the one hand, it prevents the bacteria from docking on the textile, and on the other, it adsorbs odours whilst the garment is being worn. The underlying technology that has been further developed was awarded the Swiss Technology Award. Goodbye, permastink!

Manufacturers of functional polyester textiles from all over the world face the same challenge: freshly washed garments develop an unpleasant odour even after a short wearing period. The cause of this undesirable effect is not the human perspiration itself, but the bacteria that break down the perspiration. This process of decomposition generates the characteristic sweet, pungent smell. Once the bacteria, or the odour molecules, have penetrated into the surface of the polyester textile, they remain there permanently. Machine wash cycles and special detergents will never completely eliminate them. The bacterial colonization produces a biofilm on the polyester, which not only causes unpleasant odours but also has a negative impact on the properties of the material.

Surface modulation with anti-adhesive properties

This is exactly where the new, dual-action technology from SANITIZED AG comes into play: the surface of the textile is "coated" with Sanitized Odoractiv 10 in the padding process. This creates a protective film on the surface of the textile. The bacteria use this anti-adhesive protective film as the basis for latching onto the garment. The bacteria can, therefore, be completely washed out in a normal wash cycle, consequently preventing any biofilm from forming. An anti-adhesion test method was developed in cooperation with EMPA to prove this Wash Effect.

The second advantage: Sanitized Odoractiv 10 has a high adsorbing effect. Odours are "trapped" and removed during a normal wash cycle. The new product is the result of a technology that has been further developed and was awarded the Swiss Technology Award. The odour adsorption is identified using GC-MS.

As the product manager at SANITIZED AG, Urs Zihlmann, succinctly puts it: "Sanitized Odoractiv 10 marks the end of permastink in polyester textiles."

Sanitized Odoractiv 10 can be combined with other Sanitized products, in particular with products based on zinc pyrithione. The treatment does not influence the feel of the final treated textile.

Read more:Innovative oduor management for functional polyster textiles

SDK to establish new aluminium centre at Kitakata plant, Japan

Showa Denko KK (SDK) has decided to newly establish aluminiumproduct evaluation centre at its Kitakata plant (Japan), this will be the company’s main base to develop and produce cast and forged aluminium products.

As a laboratory subordinated to the institute for integrated product development, business development centre, in order to accelerate development of aluminium alloy materials.

The demand for aluminium alloys for automotive parts is expected to show steady growth. To respond to such demand for light-weight aluminium parts for automobiles, SDK produces and sells Shotic continuously cast aluminium stick, products forged from Shotic, large-sized aluminium extrusions, and cooling devices for power semiconductors used in electric vehicles.

Shotic especially has homogeneous and fine metal structure, which is realized by SDK’s proprietary continuous casting technology and shows high strength under high temperature, high abrasion resistance, and high corrosion resistance.

Read more: SDK to establish new aluminium centre at Kitakata plant, Japan