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RELEASED ON 25/01/13 (DD/MM/YY)
Today's lithium-ion batteries rely on a liquid electrolyte, the material that conducts ions between the negatively charged anode and positive cathode. But liquid electrolytes often entail safety issues because of their flammability, especially as researchers try to pack more energy in a smaller battery volume. Building batteries with a solid electrolyte, as ORNL researchers have demonstrated, could overcome these safety concerns and size constraints.
"To make a safer, lightweight battery, we need the design at the beginning to have safety in mind," said ORNL's Chengdu Liang, who led the newly published study in the Journal of the American Chemical Society. "We started with a conventional material that is highly stable in a battery system - in particular one that is compatible with a lithium metal anode."
The ability to use pure lithium metal as an anode could ultimately yield batteries five to 10 times more powerful than current versions, which employ carbon based anodes.
"Cycling highly reactive lithium metal in flammable organic electrolytes causes serious safety concerns," Liang said. "A solid electrolyte enables the lithium metal to cycle well, with highly enhanced safety."
The ORNL team developed its solid electrolyte by manipulating a material called lithium thiophosphate so that it could conduct ions 1,000 times faster than its natural bulk form. The researchers used a chemical process called nanostructuring, which alters the structure of the crystals that make up the material.
"Think about it in terms of a big crystal of quartz vs. very fine beach sand," said coauthor Adam Rondinone. "You can have the same total volume of material, but it's broken up into very small particles that are packed together. It's made of the same atoms in roughly the same proportions, but at the nanoscale the structure is different. And now this solid material conducts lithium ions at a much greater rate than the original large crystal."
The researchers are continuing to test lab scale battery cells, and a patent on the team's invention is pending.
"We use a room-temperature, solution-based reaction that we believe can be easily scaled up," Rondinone said. "It's an energy-efficient way to make large amounts of this material."
For information about industry collaboration opportunities, please visit the ORNL Partnerships website at www.ornl.gov/adm/partnerships/index.shtml.
The study is published as "Anomalous High Ionic Conductivity of Nanoporous ß-Li3PS4," and its ORNL coauthors are Zengcai Liu, Wujun Fu, Andrew Payzant, Xiang Yu, Zili Wu, Nancy Dudney, Jim Kiggans, Kunlun Hong, Adam Rondinone and Chengdu Liang. The work was sponsored by the Division of Materials Sciences and Engineering in DOE's Office of Science.
The materials synthesis and characterization were supported by the Center for Nanophase Materials Sciences at ORNL. CNMS is one of the five DOE Nanoscale Science Research Centers supported by the DOE Office of Science, premier national user facilities for interdisciplinary research at the nanoscale. Together the NSRCs comprise a suite of complementary facilities that provide researchers with state-of-the-art capabilities to fabricate, process, characterize and model nanoscale materials, and constitute the largest infrastructure investment of the National Nanotechnology Initiative. The NSRCs are located at DOE's Argonne, Brookhaven, Lawrence Berkeley, Oak Ridge and Sandia and Los Alamos national laboratories. For more information about the DOE NSRCs, please visit science.energy.gov/bes/suf/user-facilities/nanoscale-science-research-centers/. ORNL is managed by UT-Battelle for the Department of Energy's Office of Science.
SOURCE Nanotechnology Now
Today's lithium-ion batteries rely on a liquid electrolyte, the material that conducts ions between the negatively charged anode and positive cathode. But liquid electrolytes often entail safety issues because of their flammability, especially as researchers try to pack more energy in a smaller battery volume. Building batteries with a solid electrolyte, as ORNL researchers have demonstrated, could overcome these safety concerns and size constraints.
"To make a safer, lightweight battery, we need the design at the beginning to have safety in mind," said ORNL's Chengdu Liang, who led the newly published study in the Journal of the American Chemical Society. "We started with a conventional material that is highly stable in a battery system - in particular one that is compatible with a lithium metal anode."
The ability to use pure lithium metal as an anode could ultimately yield batteries five to 10 times more powerful than current versions, which employ carbon based anodes.
"Cycling highly reactive lithium metal in flammable organic electrolytes causes serious safety concerns," Liang said. "A solid electrolyte enables the lithium metal to cycle well, with highly enhanced safety."
The ORNL team developed its solid electrolyte by manipulating a material called lithium thiophosphate so that it could conduct ions 1,000 times faster than its natural bulk form. The researchers used a chemical process called nanostructuring, which alters the structure of the crystals that make up the material.
"Think about it in terms of a big crystal of quartz vs. very fine beach sand," said coauthor Adam Rondinone. "You can have the same total volume of material, but it's broken up into very small particles that are packed together. It's made of the same atoms in roughly the same proportions, but at the nanoscale the structure is different. And now this solid material conducts lithium ions at a much greater rate than the original large crystal."
The researchers are continuing to test lab scale battery cells, and a patent on the team's invention is pending.
"We use a room-temperature, solution-based reaction that we believe can be easily scaled up," Rondinone said. "It's an energy-efficient way to make large amounts of this material."
For information about industry collaboration opportunities, please visit the ORNL Partnerships website at www.ornl.gov/adm/partnerships/index.shtml.
The study is published as "Anomalous High Ionic Conductivity of Nanoporous ß-Li3PS4," and its ORNL coauthors are Zengcai Liu, Wujun Fu, Andrew Payzant, Xiang Yu, Zili Wu, Nancy Dudney, Jim Kiggans, Kunlun Hong, Adam Rondinone and Chengdu Liang. The work was sponsored by the Division of Materials Sciences and Engineering in DOE's Office of Science.
The materials synthesis and characterization were supported by the Center for Nanophase Materials Sciences at ORNL. CNMS is one of the five DOE Nanoscale Science Research Centers supported by the DOE Office of Science, premier national user facilities for interdisciplinary research at the nanoscale. Together the NSRCs comprise a suite of complementary facilities that provide researchers with state-of-the-art capabilities to fabricate, process, characterize and model nanoscale materials, and constitute the largest infrastructure investment of the National Nanotechnology Initiative. The NSRCs are located at DOE's Argonne, Brookhaven, Lawrence Berkeley, Oak Ridge and Sandia and Los Alamos national laboratories. For more information about the DOE NSRCs, please visit science.energy.gov/bes/suf/user-facilities/nanoscale-science-research-centers/. ORNL is managed by UT-Battelle for the Department of Energy's Office of Science.
SOURCE Nanotechnology Now
RELEASED ON 05/01/13 (DD/MM/YY)
South Korea based Taekwang Industrial has reduced operating capacity of its Acrylonitrile (ACN) plant located in Ulsan.
Taekwang is also planning to undertake a maintenance turnaround at the plant in February 2013.
“Due to poor demand in the ACN market and also due to fall in market prices, we have reduced operating rates to 80 percent”, a company official informed fibre2fashion.
He further said that, “The plant will undergo for a maintenance turnaround on February 20, 2013 and is likely to remain shut for a period of 21 days.”
The ACN plant based in Ulsan has a production capacity of 290,000 tons/year.
SOURCE Fibre2fashion
South Korea based Taekwang Industrial has reduced operating capacity of its Acrylonitrile (ACN) plant located in Ulsan.
Taekwang is also planning to undertake a maintenance turnaround at the plant in February 2013.
“Due to poor demand in the ACN market and also due to fall in market prices, we have reduced operating rates to 80 percent”, a company official informed fibre2fashion.
He further said that, “The plant will undergo for a maintenance turnaround on February 20, 2013 and is likely to remain shut for a period of 21 days.”
The ACN plant based in Ulsan has a production capacity of 290,000 tons/year.
SOURCE Fibre2fashion
RELEASED ON 04/02/13 (DD/MM/YY)
China’s Luoyang Petrochemical has started up its new 140,000 tonne/year PP plant at Luoyang, Henan province, a company source said on Monday.
The new plant is producing yarn-grade PP after the start-up on 4 February, the source added.
The company has an 80,000 tonne/year PP plant at the same site.
SOURCE ICIS News - For internal use only
China’s Luoyang Petrochemical has started up its new 140,000 tonne/year PP plant at Luoyang, Henan province, a company source said on Monday.
The new plant is producing yarn-grade PP after the start-up on 4 February, the source added.
The company has an 80,000 tonne/year PP plant at the same site.
SOURCE ICIS News - For internal use only
RELEASED ON 06/02/13 (DD/MM/YY)
The Asia-Pacific region has rapidly emerged as the largest global consumer of cumene over the last decade, thanks to changes in the petrochemical industry, states a new report by industry experts GBI Research.
The new report shows that global cumene demand has increased over the last decade to cater for its increased consumption in the phenol and acetone derivatives market worldwide. End-use industries such as bisphenol-A, polycarbonate and phenolic resins have applications in many industries such as packaging, construction, and pharmaceuticals, and have registered demand growth, increasing demand in turn for the raw material cumene.
Cumene is manufactured from propylene and benzene, byproducts of fossil fuel processing, and the global petrochemical markets have seen many feedstock variations since 2000. The availability of inexpensive crude oil in the Middle East, the abundant availability of coal-based processes in China, and shale gas technology in the US have revolutionized today’s aliphatic industry. These changes in China and the US have reduced the reliance of petrochemicals on lighter naphtha, and this changing feedstock dynamic has impacted on the use of heavier feedstock for aromatics, such as benzene.
The Asia-Pacific region has shown a boom in demand for cumene over recent years, more than compensating for slow growth in North American and European markets. The upcoming construction of more phenol and acetone derivatives plants in Asia-Pacific will cause this trend to continue in the future, and the region is expected to account for 49.1% of global cumene demand by 2020.
Production and demand of cumene has largely been dominated by developed countries, with the global share held by the Asia-Pacific region historically due to the developed Japanese market which held a substantial market share. However, large capacity additions in the form of aromatic plants in China have led to phenomenal growth in recent years. Changes in the petrochemicals market means that aromatics technologies are no longer confined within developed markets, and developing markets are growing at high rates. China, South Korea, Japan and Taiwan contributed a combined 85% share of regional cumene demand in 2011, and BRIC country India is expected to join these countries to majorly contribute to cumene demand growth in the region during the forecast period.
Global demand for cumene grew from 8,607,235 tons in 2000 to 12,394,375 tons in 2011, and is expected to grow at a Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 4.2% to reach to 17,988,934 tons in 2020.
SOURCE ChemEurope
The Asia-Pacific region has rapidly emerged as the largest global consumer of cumene over the last decade, thanks to changes in the petrochemical industry, states a new report by industry experts GBI Research.
The new report shows that global cumene demand has increased over the last decade to cater for its increased consumption in the phenol and acetone derivatives market worldwide. End-use industries such as bisphenol-A, polycarbonate and phenolic resins have applications in many industries such as packaging, construction, and pharmaceuticals, and have registered demand growth, increasing demand in turn for the raw material cumene.
Cumene is manufactured from propylene and benzene, byproducts of fossil fuel processing, and the global petrochemical markets have seen many feedstock variations since 2000. The availability of inexpensive crude oil in the Middle East, the abundant availability of coal-based processes in China, and shale gas technology in the US have revolutionized today’s aliphatic industry. These changes in China and the US have reduced the reliance of petrochemicals on lighter naphtha, and this changing feedstock dynamic has impacted on the use of heavier feedstock for aromatics, such as benzene.
The Asia-Pacific region has shown a boom in demand for cumene over recent years, more than compensating for slow growth in North American and European markets. The upcoming construction of more phenol and acetone derivatives plants in Asia-Pacific will cause this trend to continue in the future, and the region is expected to account for 49.1% of global cumene demand by 2020.
Production and demand of cumene has largely been dominated by developed countries, with the global share held by the Asia-Pacific region historically due to the developed Japanese market which held a substantial market share. However, large capacity additions in the form of aromatic plants in China have led to phenomenal growth in recent years. Changes in the petrochemicals market means that aromatics technologies are no longer confined within developed markets, and developing markets are growing at high rates. China, South Korea, Japan and Taiwan contributed a combined 85% share of regional cumene demand in 2011, and BRIC country India is expected to join these countries to majorly contribute to cumene demand growth in the region during the forecast period.
Global demand for cumene grew from 8,607,235 tons in 2000 to 12,394,375 tons in 2011, and is expected to grow at a Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 4.2% to reach to 17,988,934 tons in 2020.
SOURCE ChemEurope
RELEASED ON 06/02/13 (DD/MM/YY)
LG Chem is likely to shut operations at its styrene monomer (SM) plant.
Located at Yeosu in South Korea, the SM plant has a production capacity of 500,000 mt/year.
The plant will be taken off-stream for a maintenance turnaround in March-April 2013 and will remain shut for around one month, according to a Polymerupdate source in South Korea.
SOURCE Polymer Update
LG Chem is likely to shut operations at its styrene monomer (SM) plant.
Located at Yeosu in South Korea, the SM plant has a production capacity of 500,000 mt/year.
The plant will be taken off-stream for a maintenance turnaround in March-April 2013 and will remain shut for around one month, according to a Polymerupdate source in South Korea.
SOURCE Polymer Update
RELEASED ON 06/02/13 (DD/MM/YY)
Formosa Plastics Corp. (FPC) is likely to shut operations at its ethylene vinyl acetate/ low density polyethylene (EVA/LDPE) swing plant.
Located at Mailiao in Taiwan, the swing plant has a production capacity of 72,000 mt/year.
The swing plant will be taken off-stream in the first week of March 2013 for safety inspections and will remain shut for 3-4 weeks, according to a Polymerupdate source in Taiwan.
SOURCE Polymer Update
Formosa Plastics Corp. (FPC) is likely to shut operations at its ethylene vinyl acetate/ low density polyethylene (EVA/LDPE) swing plant.
Located at Mailiao in Taiwan, the swing plant has a production capacity of 72,000 mt/year.
The swing plant will be taken off-stream in the first week of March 2013 for safety inspections and will remain shut for 3-4 weeks, according to a Polymerupdate source in Taiwan.
SOURCE Polymer Update
RELEASED ON 06/02/13 (DD/MM/YY)
Yeochun Naphtha Cracking Center (YNCC) is likely to shut operations at its butadiene extraction unit.
Located at Yeosu in South Korea, the unit has a production capacity of 240,000 mt/year.
The unit will be taken off-stream for a maintenance turnaround in May 2013 and will remain shut for around one month, according to a Polymerupdate source in South Korea.
SOURCE Polymer update
Yeochun Naphtha Cracking Center (YNCC) is likely to shut operations at its butadiene extraction unit.
Located at Yeosu in South Korea, the unit has a production capacity of 240,000 mt/year.
The unit will be taken off-stream for a maintenance turnaround in May 2013 and will remain shut for around one month, according to a Polymerupdate source in South Korea.
SOURCE Polymer update
RELEASED ON 05/02/13 (DD/MM/YY)
The unnerving capability of lithium-ion batteries to catch fire emerged as headline news last month, when Boeing was forced to ground its futuristic 787 Dreamliner fleet after two batteries caught fire. But the next generation of lithium-ion batteries promises to be safer, and a few are already starting to be used in real-world situations in the power grid, electric vehicles, and gadgets.
Six-year-old startup Seeo — backed by Vinod Khosla, Google Ventures (GOOG), and others—has installed its first battery system to act in storing energy in conjunction with a solar panel system developed by SunEdison (WFR), according to Seeo Chief Executive Officer Hal Zarem, whom I interviewed last week. The solar battery installation is in a trial for now, but it’s a sizable one, on the level of kilowatts and tens of kilowatts, explains Zarem. For comparison’s sake, the Nissan LEAF (7201) uses a 24-kilowatt-hour battery, while an average cell phone will use 2,000 to 3,000 milliamp-hour batteries (far smaller than a kwh of capacity).
Batteries, such as the one Seeo has installed for SunEdison’s solar system, can act as storage for the energy produced by solar panels so that when the sun goes down (or behind a cloud) the battery can then offer up the stored power. Utilities, building owners, and even homeowners are starting to see the benefits of having battery storage systems connected to solar systems because power can become far more smooth and reliable. Likewise, solar installer SolarCity (SCTY) has been working with Tesla’s (TSLA) batteries to sell a home battery system with its solar panels in certain markets.
So what makes Seeo’s batteries safer? It largely involves improvements to the electrolyte, or the medium that shuttles lithium ions back and forth between the cathode and the anode to charge and discharge the battery. Traditional lithium-ion battery electrolytes are mostly made of liquids, while Seeo is using a solid, dry polymer-based electrolyte that feels like plastic to the touch.
The polymer is non-flammable and when combined with lithium foil used as the anode, the battery can be ultra-light weight and also have a high-energy density (the amount of energy that can be stored per a given weight). During an interview at Seeo’s headquarters last week, I picked up and compared two battery packs—one made by Seeo, and one using traditional lithium-ion batteries. The Seeo battery felt about three times lighter.
If traditional lithium-ion batteries are overcharged, they can have a danger-zone margin of error of about 20 percent above the battery’s max voltage, explains Zarem. In contrast, Seeo batteries have a margin of error zone 100 percent over the voltage. Nor will the batteries burst into flames when penetrated, as can occur during a car crash.
Seeo isn’t the only company working on solid electrolytes for batteries. This is a growing field for innovation, and startups such as Sakti3 and Imprint Energy are working on the technology, as are researchers at Oak Ridge National Laboratory.
Seeo has just started commercializing its technology and working with customers to test its batteries. The company has built a pilot production line at its headquarters in Hayward, Calif., where it can make 4 megawatt hours worth of batteries using such traditional manufacturing machines as coaters. I toured the pilot line last week and the team is indeed churning out small levels of Seeo batteries.
To get to the next level of manufacturing, which involves hundreds of Mwh—the kind of products that could start to change the game for solar energy storage or electric vehicles—Seeo plans to build a new factory this year in the U.S., somewhere close enough to the Hayward site for easy collaboration. It could be built in Hayward, says Zarem.
Seeo may have to raise funds to get such a plant built and probably has already started doing it, though Zarem declines to comment. That might prove difficult in 2013 after so many advanced battery companies such as A123 Systems (AONEQ) struggled in 2012. Seeo wants eventually to build a larger plant, probably outside of the U.S., in a low-cost manufacturing region, says Zarem.
Along with Google Ventures and Khosla Ventures, Seeo also has backing from Chinese firm GSR Ventures and from Presidio Ventures, a fund managed by Japanese giant Sumitomo . Clearly, Seeo has strategic connections in overseas markets.
SOURCE Business Week
The unnerving capability of lithium-ion batteries to catch fire emerged as headline news last month, when Boeing was forced to ground its futuristic 787 Dreamliner fleet after two batteries caught fire. But the next generation of lithium-ion batteries promises to be safer, and a few are already starting to be used in real-world situations in the power grid, electric vehicles, and gadgets.
Six-year-old startup Seeo — backed by Vinod Khosla, Google Ventures (GOOG), and others—has installed its first battery system to act in storing energy in conjunction with a solar panel system developed by SunEdison (WFR), according to Seeo Chief Executive Officer Hal Zarem, whom I interviewed last week. The solar battery installation is in a trial for now, but it’s a sizable one, on the level of kilowatts and tens of kilowatts, explains Zarem. For comparison’s sake, the Nissan LEAF (7201) uses a 24-kilowatt-hour battery, while an average cell phone will use 2,000 to 3,000 milliamp-hour batteries (far smaller than a kwh of capacity).
Batteries, such as the one Seeo has installed for SunEdison’s solar system, can act as storage for the energy produced by solar panels so that when the sun goes down (or behind a cloud) the battery can then offer up the stored power. Utilities, building owners, and even homeowners are starting to see the benefits of having battery storage systems connected to solar systems because power can become far more smooth and reliable. Likewise, solar installer SolarCity (SCTY) has been working with Tesla’s (TSLA) batteries to sell a home battery system with its solar panels in certain markets.
So what makes Seeo’s batteries safer? It largely involves improvements to the electrolyte, or the medium that shuttles lithium ions back and forth between the cathode and the anode to charge and discharge the battery. Traditional lithium-ion battery electrolytes are mostly made of liquids, while Seeo is using a solid, dry polymer-based electrolyte that feels like plastic to the touch.
The polymer is non-flammable and when combined with lithium foil used as the anode, the battery can be ultra-light weight and also have a high-energy density (the amount of energy that can be stored per a given weight). During an interview at Seeo’s headquarters last week, I picked up and compared two battery packs—one made by Seeo, and one using traditional lithium-ion batteries. The Seeo battery felt about three times lighter.
If traditional lithium-ion batteries are overcharged, they can have a danger-zone margin of error of about 20 percent above the battery’s max voltage, explains Zarem. In contrast, Seeo batteries have a margin of error zone 100 percent over the voltage. Nor will the batteries burst into flames when penetrated, as can occur during a car crash.
Seeo isn’t the only company working on solid electrolytes for batteries. This is a growing field for innovation, and startups such as Sakti3 and Imprint Energy are working on the technology, as are researchers at Oak Ridge National Laboratory.
Seeo has just started commercializing its technology and working with customers to test its batteries. The company has built a pilot production line at its headquarters in Hayward, Calif., where it can make 4 megawatt hours worth of batteries using such traditional manufacturing machines as coaters. I toured the pilot line last week and the team is indeed churning out small levels of Seeo batteries.
To get to the next level of manufacturing, which involves hundreds of Mwh—the kind of products that could start to change the game for solar energy storage or electric vehicles—Seeo plans to build a new factory this year in the U.S., somewhere close enough to the Hayward site for easy collaboration. It could be built in Hayward, says Zarem.
Seeo may have to raise funds to get such a plant built and probably has already started doing it, though Zarem declines to comment. That might prove difficult in 2013 after so many advanced battery companies such as A123 Systems (AONEQ) struggled in 2012. Seeo wants eventually to build a larger plant, probably outside of the U.S., in a low-cost manufacturing region, says Zarem.
Along with Google Ventures and Khosla Ventures, Seeo also has backing from Chinese firm GSR Ventures and from Presidio Ventures, a fund managed by Japanese giant Sumitomo . Clearly, Seeo has strategic connections in overseas markets.
SOURCE Business Week
RELEASED ON 04/02/13 (DD/MM/YY)
India's agriculture sector must be reformed if it is to double food production over the next five years, India’s president has told a conference in Delhi.
For complete article, please click here
SOURCE Food Navigator Asia
RELEASED ON 06/02/13 (DD/MM/YY)
The UK could have around 1.6 million hydrogen-powered vehicles on the roads by 2030, according to a joint government and industry study.
The UKH2Mobility project has this week predicted that an established market for fuel cell electric vehicles (FCEVs) could support annual sales of around 300,000 and reduce UK annual total vehicle CO2 emissions by three million tonnes in 20 years' time.
[...]
SOURCE http://www.businessgreen.com
The UK could have around 1.6 million hydrogen-powered vehicles on the roads by 2030, according to a joint government and industry study.
The UKH2Mobility project has this week predicted that an established market for fuel cell electric vehicles (FCEVs) could support annual sales of around 300,000 and reduce UK annual total vehicle CO2 emissions by three million tonnes in 20 years' time.
[...]
SOURCE http://www.businessgreen.com
RELEASED ON 29/01/13 (DD/MM/YY)
Italian synthetic rubber producer Versalis is forming a partnership with agricultural-based biomaterials firm Yulex Corp. to develop and produce guayule-based biorubber that it expects one day will yield elastomers suitable for tire production.
The partnership will cover the processing chain from crop science to biorubber extraction to the construction of a biomass power station, the firms said without disclosing financial details or a development timetable.
Versalis, a subsidiary of Italy's Eni S.pA. oil and petrochemicals group, will develop materials for various applications, starting with consumer and medical specialty markets but with an eventual target of optimizing the process for materials suitable for tire production.
Versalis, formerly knonw as Polimeri Europe, intends to launch an industrial production complex in southern Europe dedicated to the partnership.
The partnership will leverage Phoenix-bsed Yulex's core competencies, including crop science and biorubber extraction technologies, to boost Versalis' bio-based portfolio, the partners said. Versalis sees guayule-based rubber as a "supplementary business opportunity and an increased commercial offering."
Guayule (Parthenium argentatum) is a renewable, non-food crop that requires little water usage, no pesticides, allowing it to be grown in arid climates. It is considered an alternative source of natural rubber because of its latex-allergy-friendly properties.
"The partnership with Yulex is strategic to Versalis," said Versalis CEO Daniele Ferrari, "considering concerns over the forecasted scarcity in the butadiene market and volatility of this chemical, which in turn causes long-term pressure on the price of products like synthetic rubber.
Partnering with Yulex represents Versalis' commitment to entering the global market as a major green chemistry player, Mr. Ferrari said.
"All of our green chemistry partnerships aim to enhance Versalis' bio-based portfolio and will feed oil-based production chains with high-performance intermediates from renewable feedstocks, in particular in the elastomers business."
Yulex President and CEO Jeff Martin called Versalis "an ideal global partner" because of its ability to "rapidly scale and commercialize processes.
"Together, through our shared vision of expanding green chemistry,we can accelerate the positive impact that guayule-based biorubber high-value products have on the environment, human health and sustainable global growth."
Milan-based Versalis is considered one of the world's largest synthetic rubber producers, with 2012 global sales of 6.1 million metric tons. It is building a biorefinery in Porto Torres, Sardinia, Italy, in a joint venture with Novamont S.p.A.
SOURCE Yulex Official Press Release
Italian synthetic rubber producer Versalis is forming a partnership with agricultural-based biomaterials firm Yulex Corp. to develop and produce guayule-based biorubber that it expects one day will yield elastomers suitable for tire production.
The partnership will cover the processing chain from crop science to biorubber extraction to the construction of a biomass power station, the firms said without disclosing financial details or a development timetable.
Versalis, a subsidiary of Italy's Eni S.pA. oil and petrochemicals group, will develop materials for various applications, starting with consumer and medical specialty markets but with an eventual target of optimizing the process for materials suitable for tire production.
Versalis, formerly knonw as Polimeri Europe, intends to launch an industrial production complex in southern Europe dedicated to the partnership.
The partnership will leverage Phoenix-bsed Yulex's core competencies, including crop science and biorubber extraction technologies, to boost Versalis' bio-based portfolio, the partners said. Versalis sees guayule-based rubber as a "supplementary business opportunity and an increased commercial offering."
Guayule (Parthenium argentatum) is a renewable, non-food crop that requires little water usage, no pesticides, allowing it to be grown in arid climates. It is considered an alternative source of natural rubber because of its latex-allergy-friendly properties.
"The partnership with Yulex is strategic to Versalis," said Versalis CEO Daniele Ferrari, "considering concerns over the forecasted scarcity in the butadiene market and volatility of this chemical, which in turn causes long-term pressure on the price of products like synthetic rubber.
Partnering with Yulex represents Versalis' commitment to entering the global market as a major green chemistry player, Mr. Ferrari said.
"All of our green chemistry partnerships aim to enhance Versalis' bio-based portfolio and will feed oil-based production chains with high-performance intermediates from renewable feedstocks, in particular in the elastomers business."
Yulex President and CEO Jeff Martin called Versalis "an ideal global partner" because of its ability to "rapidly scale and commercialize processes.
"Together, through our shared vision of expanding green chemistry,we can accelerate the positive impact that guayule-based biorubber high-value products have on the environment, human health and sustainable global growth."
Milan-based Versalis is considered one of the world's largest synthetic rubber producers, with 2012 global sales of 6.1 million metric tons. It is building a biorefinery in Porto Torres, Sardinia, Italy, in a joint venture with Novamont S.p.A.
SOURCE Yulex Official Press Release
RELEASED ON 04/01/13 (DD/MM/YY)
Japan-based Sumitomo Chemical will permanently wind up the operations of an ethylene plant at its Chiba Works in Ichihara, Chiba, in or before September 2015, following a decline in domestic demand for ethylene derivatives.
"The move is expected help the company consolidate its domestic and global petrochemical business."
The ageing of the ethylene plant and its falling competitiveness in terms of energy efficiency, as well as maintenance and repair costs, have contributed to the closure, which is set to take place at the time of the next periodic shutdown maintenance of the Chiba Works.
The move is expected help the company consolidate its domestic and global petrochemical business, by reducing costs and increasing lines of higher value-added products.
Sumitomo is planning to secure required ethylene and other basic petrochemical feedstock, by increasing purchases from its joint venture company Keiyo Ethylene.
Commenced in January 1970, the plant at Chiba Works has an ethylene production capacity of 415,000 tonnes per annum (tpa), while Keiyo Ethylene has production capacity of 768,000 tpa (a year with no periodic shutdown maintenance).
Maruzen Petrochemical holds a 55% stake in Keiyo Ethylene, while Mitsui Chemicals and Sumitomo Chemical own 22.5% each.
SOURCE Chemicals Technology
Japan-based Sumitomo Chemical will permanently wind up the operations of an ethylene plant at its Chiba Works in Ichihara, Chiba, in or before September 2015, following a decline in domestic demand for ethylene derivatives.
"The move is expected help the company consolidate its domestic and global petrochemical business."
The ageing of the ethylene plant and its falling competitiveness in terms of energy efficiency, as well as maintenance and repair costs, have contributed to the closure, which is set to take place at the time of the next periodic shutdown maintenance of the Chiba Works.
The move is expected help the company consolidate its domestic and global petrochemical business, by reducing costs and increasing lines of higher value-added products.
Sumitomo is planning to secure required ethylene and other basic petrochemical feedstock, by increasing purchases from its joint venture company Keiyo Ethylene.
Commenced in January 1970, the plant at Chiba Works has an ethylene production capacity of 415,000 tonnes per annum (tpa), while Keiyo Ethylene has production capacity of 768,000 tpa (a year with no periodic shutdown maintenance).
Maruzen Petrochemical holds a 55% stake in Keiyo Ethylene, while Mitsui Chemicals and Sumitomo Chemical own 22.5% each.
SOURCE Chemicals Technology
RELEASED ON 31/01/13 (DD/MM/YY)
Ube Industries is pushing ahead with two projects to strengthen its business in battery materials, whose core products are separators and electrolytes, under its upcoming medium-term management plan, to start in fiscal 2013. It also intends to study the establishment of an overseas production base for lithium-ion-battery separators in Asia, Europe or the US, under the plan.
The first project is the addition of a second domestic production facility for the company's dry-process polyolefin separators for rechargeable lithium-ion batteries. The facility in its Sakai plant in Osaka Prefecture is scheduled to begin production in early fiscal 2013, joining existing production in its Ube plant in Yamaguchi Prefecture. The goal is to raise the total annual output capacity to 200 mn m2 in a phased manner.
The second project is the production of films coated with inorganic fine particles to serve as separators with higher heat resistance and other beneficial properties than non-coated films. Ube Maxell, a joint venture, is to start production by the end of 2013 in Kyoto Prefecture.
Ube Industries adopted a strategy for its separator business that concentrates on applications in the lithium-ion batteries of hybrid electric vehicles and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles, rather than electric vehicles. According to a company official, because its separator production capacity is still fairly small, and hybrid electric vehicles are proving more popular than the others, the company is enjoying higher capacity utilization than its rivals that focused on electric vehicles and PHEVs.
Even though demand for electric-vehicle lithium-ion batteries has yet to take off, the market for medium- to large-sized lithium-ion batteries, mainly for automobiles, is expected to expand. The two projects are in anticipation of demand for these batteries' separators exceeding supply in the near future.
Ube Maxell was formed in 2011 as a joint venture with Hitachi Maxell with the aim of combining Ube Industries' expertise in separator production and Hitachi Maxell's film-coating technologies to develop high-performance films to use as separators in high-end applications. The new Sakai plant, which is located in a prefecture adjacent to Kyoto, will supply the joint venture with material for the coated films.
SOURCE Japan Chemical Web
Ube Industries is pushing ahead with two projects to strengthen its business in battery materials, whose core products are separators and electrolytes, under its upcoming medium-term management plan, to start in fiscal 2013. It also intends to study the establishment of an overseas production base for lithium-ion-battery separators in Asia, Europe or the US, under the plan.
The first project is the addition of a second domestic production facility for the company's dry-process polyolefin separators for rechargeable lithium-ion batteries. The facility in its Sakai plant in Osaka Prefecture is scheduled to begin production in early fiscal 2013, joining existing production in its Ube plant in Yamaguchi Prefecture. The goal is to raise the total annual output capacity to 200 mn m2 in a phased manner.
The second project is the production of films coated with inorganic fine particles to serve as separators with higher heat resistance and other beneficial properties than non-coated films. Ube Maxell, a joint venture, is to start production by the end of 2013 in Kyoto Prefecture.
Ube Industries adopted a strategy for its separator business that concentrates on applications in the lithium-ion batteries of hybrid electric vehicles and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles, rather than electric vehicles. According to a company official, because its separator production capacity is still fairly small, and hybrid electric vehicles are proving more popular than the others, the company is enjoying higher capacity utilization than its rivals that focused on electric vehicles and PHEVs.
Even though demand for electric-vehicle lithium-ion batteries has yet to take off, the market for medium- to large-sized lithium-ion batteries, mainly for automobiles, is expected to expand. The two projects are in anticipation of demand for these batteries' separators exceeding supply in the near future.
Ube Maxell was formed in 2011 as a joint venture with Hitachi Maxell with the aim of combining Ube Industries' expertise in separator production and Hitachi Maxell's film-coating technologies to develop high-performance films to use as separators in high-end applications. The new Sakai plant, which is located in a prefecture adjacent to Kyoto, will supply the joint venture with material for the coated films.
SOURCE Japan Chemical Web
RELEASED ON 29/01/13 (DD/MM/YY)
Qatar's sovereign wealth fund plans to spend half of the $10 billion it expects to invest in Malaysia on a petrochemicals complex aimed at transforming the Southeast Asian nation into a global hub for the oil and gas trade.
The Pengerang Integrated Petroleum Complex in the southern state of Johor is expected to help Malaysia compete with neighbouring Singapore to become the region's top petrochemical hub.
"We are in discussions about this. We may invest up to $5 billion in the next three to four years into petrochemical projects here [in Pengerang]," Qatar Holding vice chairman Hussain Ali Al Abdulla told reporters in Kuala Lumpur on Tuesday.
"Qatar Holding's total investment exposure to Malaysia will eventually exceed $10 billion in various sectors," he added.
Pengerang is expected to accumulate 170 billion ringgit ($55.84 billion) in investments by the time it begins operations in 2016. The complex includes the 60-billion-ringgit Petronas Refinery and Petrochemicals (RAPID) project by state-owned oil firm Petroliam Nasional.
Qatar Holding will spend 2 billion ringgit ($656.92 million) to build a luxury Harrods-brand hotel in the city center. The hotel is jointly developed by Jerantas Sdn Bhd, linked to Malaysia's sixth-richest man Syed Mokhtar Al Bukhary.
Qatar Holding spent 100 million ringgit last year to establish itself as a cornerstone investor in agricultural commodities firm Felda Global Ventures Holdings Bhd.
SOURCE The National
Qatar's sovereign wealth fund plans to spend half of the $10 billion it expects to invest in Malaysia on a petrochemicals complex aimed at transforming the Southeast Asian nation into a global hub for the oil and gas trade.
The Pengerang Integrated Petroleum Complex in the southern state of Johor is expected to help Malaysia compete with neighbouring Singapore to become the region's top petrochemical hub.
"We are in discussions about this. We may invest up to $5 billion in the next three to four years into petrochemical projects here [in Pengerang]," Qatar Holding vice chairman Hussain Ali Al Abdulla told reporters in Kuala Lumpur on Tuesday.
"Qatar Holding's total investment exposure to Malaysia will eventually exceed $10 billion in various sectors," he added.
Pengerang is expected to accumulate 170 billion ringgit ($55.84 billion) in investments by the time it begins operations in 2016. The complex includes the 60-billion-ringgit Petronas Refinery and Petrochemicals (RAPID) project by state-owned oil firm Petroliam Nasional.
Qatar Holding will spend 2 billion ringgit ($656.92 million) to build a luxury Harrods-brand hotel in the city center. The hotel is jointly developed by Jerantas Sdn Bhd, linked to Malaysia's sixth-richest man Syed Mokhtar Al Bukhary.
Qatar Holding spent 100 million ringgit last year to establish itself as a cornerstone investor in agricultural commodities firm Felda Global Ventures Holdings Bhd.
SOURCE The National
RELEASED ON 04/02/13 (DD/MM/YY)
The zero-emission Hyundai ix35 Fuel Cell has been awarded the prestigious FuturAuto award at this year’s Brussels Motor Show.
The ix35 Fuel Cell is the first mass-produced, hydrogen-powered fuel-cell vehicle commercially available.
The award, in its 12th year, celebrates technological innovation in the automotive industry and is selected by a respected panel of journalists from the Belgian Automotive Press Union.
Hyundai Motor Europe senior vice-president Allan Rushforth said the company believed hydrogen was the fuel of the future.
‘‘It demonstrates the same benefits in terms of range and refuelling as an internal combustion-powered vehicle, but emits no harmful emissions, only water,’’ Mr Rushforth said.
‘‘Hyundai will continue to invest in the promotion of hydrogen and the growing refuelling infrastructure, to help create a society with sustainable energy supply and zero-emission road transportation.’’
Series production of Hyundai’s ix35 Fuel Cell vehicle will start at the company’s Ulsan manufacturing plant in Korea this month, making Hyundai the first automaker to begin commercial production of a hydrogen-powered vehicle.
Hyundai plans to manufacture 1000 units of the hydrogen-powered ix35 Fuel Cell vehicles by 2015, targeted predominantly at public sector and private fleets.
Hyundai has already signed contracts to lease the ix35 Fuel Cell to municipal fleets in Denmark and Sweden.
Hyundai’s third-generation fuel-cell vehicle, based on the ix35 compact SUV, is equipped with a 100 kW fuel cell stack and two hydrogen storage tanks, with a total capacity of 564 kg. This amount of stored hydrogen allows the ix35 Fuel Cell to travel 588 km on a single refuel. Maximum speed is 160 km/h, and it can reliably start in temperatures as low as -25°C. The energy developed is stored in a 24 kW lithium-polymer battery.
SOURCE Country News through Factiva News
The zero-emission Hyundai ix35 Fuel Cell has been awarded the prestigious FuturAuto award at this year’s Brussels Motor Show.
The ix35 Fuel Cell is the first mass-produced, hydrogen-powered fuel-cell vehicle commercially available.
The award, in its 12th year, celebrates technological innovation in the automotive industry and is selected by a respected panel of journalists from the Belgian Automotive Press Union.
Hyundai Motor Europe senior vice-president Allan Rushforth said the company believed hydrogen was the fuel of the future.
‘‘It demonstrates the same benefits in terms of range and refuelling as an internal combustion-powered vehicle, but emits no harmful emissions, only water,’’ Mr Rushforth said.
‘‘Hyundai will continue to invest in the promotion of hydrogen and the growing refuelling infrastructure, to help create a society with sustainable energy supply and zero-emission road transportation.’’
Series production of Hyundai’s ix35 Fuel Cell vehicle will start at the company’s Ulsan manufacturing plant in Korea this month, making Hyundai the first automaker to begin commercial production of a hydrogen-powered vehicle.
Hyundai plans to manufacture 1000 units of the hydrogen-powered ix35 Fuel Cell vehicles by 2015, targeted predominantly at public sector and private fleets.
Hyundai has already signed contracts to lease the ix35 Fuel Cell to municipal fleets in Denmark and Sweden.
Hyundai’s third-generation fuel-cell vehicle, based on the ix35 compact SUV, is equipped with a 100 kW fuel cell stack and two hydrogen storage tanks, with a total capacity of 564 kg. This amount of stored hydrogen allows the ix35 Fuel Cell to travel 588 km on a single refuel. Maximum speed is 160 km/h, and it can reliably start in temperatures as low as -25°C. The energy developed is stored in a 24 kW lithium-polymer battery.
SOURCE Country News through Factiva News