Attachment(s)
DATE : 2015-04-15
Rocket Lab is a Lockheed Martin-funded startup that dreams of taking small satellites to space for an affordable price -- but it wants to do so using technology quite different than usual. See, the company has revealed that its engine called the "Rutherford" is (1) composed mostly of 3D-printed parts, and (2) uses batteries instead of liquid fuel. It will paired up with the company's Electron launch system, and together they make up the first battery-powered rocket, or so the startup claims. By using lithium polymer batteries (and hence, electricity) to propel the rocket, the company can get rid of all the tubes and pumps needed for systems that use liquid power sources.
In addition, it takes merely three days to print the components of the Rutherford engine out of titanium and other alloys, using an advanced form of 3D printing called "electron beam melting." (If those components are manufactured via traditional means, it will take up to a month instead.) That means Rocket Labs', well, rockets, are lighter, can be manufactured faster and will cost clients less money per launch. In fact, the startup believes it will cost only around $4.9 million to send the 65 feet x 3 feet system to space, carrying a payload that weighs up to 220 pounds. It plans to start ferrying satellites and other payloads out there in 2016.
While intriguing, the Rutherford-Electron rocket is far from being the first one to use electric propulsion. The Dawn spacecraft that's on its way to proto-planet Ceres has an electric engine on board. Plus, NASA is developing a next-gen ion thruster (which, yes, uses electric propulsion) for its future asteroîd mission.
SOURCE Engadget
DATE : 2015-04-10
China’s Shanghai SECCO Petrochemical has achieved on-spec acrylonitrile (ACN) after trial runs at its two new lines in Shanghai, a company source said on Friday.
“Starting from the end of March, we took trial runs at the two new lines each with a capacity of 130,000 tonnes/year one by one at the same site,” the source added.
However, the source declined to disclose the operation rate.
Market sources expect the increment of production at the plant to be less than 20,000 tonnes during April.
SOURCE Icis News
DATE : 2015-04-10
Petrochemical Corporation of Singapore (PCS) will shut its new 100,000 tonne/year butadiene (BD) extraction unit for two weeks from end-May for statutory inspection, according to market sources on Friday.
The new 100,000 tonne/year BD unit started up in May 2014 and is scheduled for statutory inspection in May this year, market sources said.
The company also has a 60,000 tonne/year BD unit, which will run at full rate during this period.
Both the BD units are located at Jurong Island, Singapore.
SOURCE Icis News
DATE : 2015-03-09
On March 21, Bayer CropScience posted a news release in Beijing, themed under “Leading the Future”, to promote the sustainable development of China’s agriculture industry. Bayer CropScience released eight crop protection products for the Chinese market, involving five areas of rice, corn, wheat, vegetable and fruits, cementing its leading position in these fields.
The eight newly introduced brands are Routine Start, seed treatment product used on rice; Qiu Zhi Bao, rice herbicide; Sunato, seed treatment product on corn; Adengo, corn herbicide; Hombre, seed treatment product on wheat; Bacara Forte, cereal herbicide; Luna Experience, fungicide focused on banana and Movento Smart, insecticide used in vegetable. With years of R&D and many experiments, the new products will help farmers increase crop yield, guarantee the health of crops and improve the quality of agricultural products, while at the same time trying best to reduce footprint on the environment.
“Through supplementing and improving existing integrated crop solutions, the new products could solve farmers’ problems in China and better serve customers,” said Cheng Cheng, Head of Marketing, Bayer CropScience China. “A sound agricultural production in China is a vital goal that we spare no effort to achieve.”
“As an innovation-driven company, Bayer has been following the idea of ‘Science for a Better Life’ for more than 150 years”, said He Yuanbo, general manager of Bayer CropScience Greater China. “In addition to answering Chinese government’s call ‘Propelling Agricultural Industry with Advanced Technologies’, we hope that these new products could simplify farming operations for Chinese farmers and improve their lives with better harvest and more earnings.”
Bayer CropScience dedicates to offering integrated crop solutions from seed to harvest for optimal economic efficiency for farmers. The company announced an aggressive plan in the ISF World Seed Congress in Beijing on May 27, 2014, that it increases its R&D spend and will invest Euro 5 billion from 2011 to 2016, about 10% of its sales worldwide.
SOURCE CCR
DATE : 2015-03-09
The global market for acrylic acid witnessed a strong growth over the recent few years owing to enhanced demand from the adhesives and sealants industry. As per Transparency Market Research, the global acrylic market is poised to grow at a positive CAGR of 6.5% between 2012 and 2018.
Acrylic acid has a multitude of applications across industries such as construction. It is also increasingly used in the manufacture of plastics, floor polish, latex products, and paint formulations, among others. The demand for these items will increase with the development of economies around the world. This will in turn boost demand from the global acrylic acid market. However, on the flip side, the growth prospects of the market will be hampered by fluctuating raw material prices. Propylene is the most commonly used raw material in the manufacture of acrylic acid. Volatile prices of propylene will impact the profit registered by acrylic acid manufacturers negatively. Reports suggest that the prices of propylene reached US$1800 per ton in 2011, and are projected to increase further due to the rise in crude oil prices and uneven supply of the same. Stringent regulations imposed in North America and Europe will also adversely affect the growth of the acrylic acid market.
The key derivatives of acrylic acid are glacial acrylic acid, acrylic esters, cyanopolyacrylate, and ammonium polyacrylate. In 2012 almost 51% of the total acrylic acid consumed worldwide was used for producing acrylate esters. However, the acrylate esters market is projected to register the slowest rate of growth over the forecast period. Glacial acrylic acid emerged as the second largest market segment in 2012. It is mainly used in the manufacture of superabsorbent polymers, which in turn is used for manufacturing training pants, feminine hygiene products, and baby and adult diapers. Poly acrylic is also one of the most important application segments for glacial acrylic acid, and is mainly used in mineral processing and water treatment.
The global market for acrylic acid was dominated by Asia Pacific in 2012. The region accounted for 40% of the global demand. Asia Pacific is expected to remain the fastest growing region over the forecast period as well. It is expected to grow at a 6% CAGR between 2012 and 2018. Rapid development of construction activities in emerging economies such as India, South Korea, and China will propel the acrylic acid market in the region. The leading manufacturers profiled by the report include Dow Chemical, Nikkon Shokubai, BASF SE, Formosa Plastics, StoHass Monomer, Rohm and Haas, and Arkema SA.
SOURCE Plastemart
DATE : 2015-04-07
Styrindo Mono Indonesia, a subsidiary of Chandra Asri Petrochemical, restarted its 100,000 tonne/year No 1 styrene monomer (SM) plant in early April and is ramping up output, a company source said on Tuesday.
The unit, located in Merak, was shut since late December 2014 when the company’s cracker had an outage.
The company also operates a 250,000 tonne/year No 2 SM unit at the same location. The plant was restarted in mid-January and has been operating all this time.
The company is the sole producer of SM in Indonesia.
SOURCE Icis News
DATE : 2015-04-02
China’s BASF-YPC has shut its 130,000 tonne/year butadiene (BD) unit following the turnaround of its 740,000 tonne/year naphtha cracker in Nanjing on 1 April, market sources said.
The facility is expected to resume operations on 20 May, market sources said.
SOURCE Icis News
DATE : 2015-03-31
BASF SE, Ludwigshafen/Germany, has decided to exit the current R&D collaboration with Novozymes A/S, Bagsværd/Denmark, and Cargill Inc., Minnetonka, MN/USA, to develop a biobased process for producing 3-hydroxypropionic (3-HP) and acrylic acid from renewable raw materials. BASF joined the collaboration with Novozymes and Cargill in 2012. Novozymes and Cargill have collaborated on the project since 2008 and will continue their work to commercialize bio-based 3-HP and derivatives. The 2 companies have initiated efforts to find a new commercialization partner. The R&D cooperation on bio-based acrylic acid has achieved the technical and business targets. In 2013, the project accomplished the production of 3-HP in pilot scale, and announced the successful conversion of 3-HP to glacial acrylic acid and superabsorbent polymers in September 2014.
SOURCE Chemical Fibers International
DATE : 2015-03-26
Russia-based major SIBUR will start planned maintenance at its acrylic acid (AA) and acrylate esters facility in Dzerzhinsk, Russia, in April, a source from the company confirmed on Friday.
The turnaround is scheduled to begin on 1 April and end in mid-April, the source added.
SIBUR has the capacity to produce 36,000 tonnes/year of butyl acrylate (butyl-A) at the facility, which is based in the eastern industrial area of Dzerzhinsk, Nizhny Novgorod in Russia.
SOURCE Icis News
Date : 2015-03-26
The global PEEK market is projected to grow at a CAGR of 8 to 10% between 2014 and 2020, surpassing US$ 1 bln by 2020, as per Future Market Insights.Europe is largest market for PEEK in terms of value and volume. The largest consumer of aromatic ketone polymers is Western Europe and the U.S., followed by Japan. China and Western European countries are expected to record the highest growth rate collectively during this period. The key players in the global aromatic ketone polymers market include Lions Apparel, Inc., ASTM International, Perfect Polymers, ISMAT, Gharda Chemicals Limited, Solvay Specialty Polymers, Panjin Zhongrun High performance Polymers, JIDA-Evonik High Performance Polymers, Tri Town Precision Plastics, Inc., Caledonian Ferguson Timpson Ltd., Prototype & Plastic Mold Company, Darter Plastics, Inc. and Victrex Polymer Solutions.. By type, the PEEK market is segmented into three : unfilled, carbon filled and glass filled.
Aromatic ketone polymers belong to the family of aromatic hydrocarbons and are also known as Poly Aryl Ether Ketones; abbreviated as PAEKs. PAEKs are thermoplastics that are crystalline in nature and are characterized by good mechanical properties, thermal stability, chemical and solvent resistance, temperature and fire resistance and excellent electrical performance. PAEKs are a group of three aromatic polymers that include – Poly Ether Ether Ketone (PEEK), Poly Ether Ketone (PEK) and Poly Ether Ketone Ketone (PEKK). Aromatic ketone polymers are one of the highest valued high-performance polymers used across several industries. Their high cost is due to their exceptional characteristics, which justify their higher prices.The key driver of the aromatic ketone polymers market is fuel efficiency and affordable manufacturing. Aromatic ketone polymers are compatible with the oils and chemicals with which they are used. They also resist the severe chemical environments of their application areas. PEEK is used engineering applications such as in the fabrication of pistons, pumps, high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) columns, valves, compressors and insulators, owing to its sturdiness.
PEEK is fully recyclable, melts at 343°C and is one of the few plastics compatible with ultra-high vacuum applications. PEEK is finding use in the medical sector for relatively small, yet remarkable applications. It is used as a biomaterial in medical implants such as spinal fusion devices and reinforcing rods. Another major application is in thermal insulation due to its capacity to withstand elevated temperatures. Presently, conventional metal material is being replaced by plastics and with a material such as aromatic ketone polymers, the shift to plastics is bound to happen. In the engineering industry, the demand for high performance polymers, the need for miniaturization as well as innovation is increasing exponentially.
For example, cellphone customers currently want a slim mobile phone that is extremely tough, durable and comes installed with excellent software and numerous applications. While plastic delivers a light, supple and cost-effective and easily adaptable material to the cell phone industry, the software and applications are entirely a different market.
PEEK is the principal type of aromatic ketone polymer that accounts for over80% of the global aromatic ketone polymer production. PEEK finds application in automotive, aerospace, medical, electronics, electrical and industrial sectors.
Carbon fibre-reinforced (CFR-PEEK) composites are used in the manufacture of components used in hip replacement and joint replacement procedures. The scope of application areas for CFR-PEEK is anticipated to widen in the future. Aromatic ketone polymers are creating newer opportunities and will grow in popularity due to the ability of the materials to solve numerous challenging engineering-related problems.
SOURCE Plastemart
DATE : 26-03-26
LG Chem is in plans to shut a styrene monomer (SM) plant for maintenance turnaround.
A Polymerupdate source in South Korea informed that the plant is planned to be shut in April 2015. It is likely to remain off-stream for around one month.
Located at Daesan in South Korea, the plant has a production capacity of 500,000 mt/year.
SOURCE Icis News