The green blogger is back from her long weekend vacation and lost $20 for playing slots. She consoled herself by buying a 50% discounted purse.
Not much news last week probably because of the religious holidays. Watch out for my post about Shell's Eco-marathon this coming weekend! Hopefully there will be lots of exciting news (which I will twitter) as college kids across the Americas compete in Fontana, California, for the most fuel-efficient (and fewer emission) vehicle built by their own hands.
For now here are last week's news roundup:
Green gas from Texas
Clean Energy Fuels signed a 15-year deal for the sale of biomethane produced at the McCommas Bluff landfill in Dallas, Texas. Beginning in April 2009, the biomethane will be sold at fixed prices that increase in 2010 and 2011 and then remain fixed over the remainder of the agreement. Shell Energy North America will act as the purchaser and supply the biomethane to the end-user.
Bayer in hybrid cars
Bayer MaterialScience (BMS) formed a collaboration with Velozzi, a start-up automotive OEM. Velozzi is designing multiple lightweight, plug-in, multi-fuel hybrid electric vehicles that will utilize a number of materials and application technologies from BMS.
More on this post...
April 14, 2009
April 10, 2009
More about green jobs!
Sustainable or not, green jobs are definitely sprouting across the country especially in Washington (according to New York Times blog Green Inc.).The journal Science reported about the endless list of green science jobs in every employment sector whether it's in academia, non-profit, government, quasi-public or within various industries themselves (retail, manufacturing, energy, financial...you name it!).
A new fuel cell player in town
Remember the rumor last year about BASF's big fuel cell investment here in the US?Well, BASF says it is gearing up for the inauguration of its new fuel cell manufacturing plant in Somerset, New Jersey - said to be the world's only facility that can fabricate complete Membrane Electrode Assemblies (MEAs) which is the heart of the fuel cell.
The company says the facility will provide critical components to the renewable energy market under the BASF's Celtec brand.
US anti-chemical campaigns intensify
ICIS News (subscription required) reported on Wednesday about the intensifying anti-chemical attacks from state-legislative and advocacy groups and that according to the American Chemistry Council, it is getting harder for the chemical industry to contest them.Josh Young, ACC director of state affairs spoke at the 2009 Global Chemical Regulations Conference (GlobalChem) that was held in Baltimore early this week.
“Typically, these campaigns will position the issue in terms of children and mothers’ health and focus on one or two products at a time. It is hard to win over a state legislator, get him to do the scientifically correct thing, when his vote will be characterised as ‘anti-children’,” Young said.ACC said that there are already 11 bills pending in eight states to establish green chemistry mandates, 12 bills in 10 states on green cleaning products, and 47 bills in 21 states seeking to ban bisphenol-A (BPA) in consumer products.
April 9, 2009
Soy foam market expands
Although soy chemicals (excluding biodiesel) account for a very small portion of soybean oil consumption, this news regarding expansion of soy-based chemical development is still a very good news for the US agriculture industry.According to the United Soybean Board (USB), soy-based foam made from soybean oil polyol is now being incorporated by more than 30 furniture companies. Cargill and Pittsburgh State University's Kansas Polymer Research Center (KPRC) partnered to develop the first commercial soy-based polyols used in flexible foams for furniture.
April 8, 2009
The price of green jobs? Learn from Spain
The group Western Business Roundtable sent an email yesterday about a Spanish study concluding that for every green job created in Spain resulted in the loss of 2.2 other jobs.The study finds that only one in 10 renewable energy jobs created in Spain were of a permanent nature. Two-thirds consisted of temporary jobs in construction, fabrication and installation jobs; one quarter were positions in administration, marketing and projects engineering; and only one of ten was related to more permanent operations and maintenance of renewable power systems.
The study was prepared under the direction of Dr. Gabriel Calzada, an economics professor at Juan Carlos University in Madrid.
BPA: alternatives and tradeoffs
Thanks to a tweet tip from Safer States, I found this cool report from consulting network Gerson Lehman Group about possible alternatives to bisphenol-A (BPA).According to Michael Brown, president of chemical consulting firm StrategyMark, alternatives such as acrylic, polyester, and polypropylene are worthwhile exploring in a number of applications such as non-packaging water sports bottles, baby bottles, water dispensing bottles, appliance containers (e.g. food processors), etc.
April 7, 2009
On sale in 2010: $1/watt solar
Solar modules can soon be bought for $1 per watt, which will be cheaper than the cost of electricity from grid excluding subsidies.Chinese solar manufacturer QS Solar said it is aiming to sell this cheaper solar module by 2010. Module prices are said to be under pressure since third quarter last year because of oversupply.
Wind energy lifts epoxy demand
Looks like epoxy producers are sticking to the wind energy sector like glue (lol!).I've been hearing several epoxy resin investments floating in the air (ok I gotta stop) and came up with the following announcements from Dow Chemical, Hexion, BASF and Energy Composites.
Last month, Dow Chemical's Dow Epoxy System (DES) established an on-the-ground manufacturing facility in China by utilizing a state-of-the-art site from another Dow business. DES will also start producing blends in a Dow Epoxy site in South Korea. The investments target two key markets - wind energy and infrastructure in Asia.
1Q 2009 cleantech investment drops
Market research firm Cleantech Group reported that venture investment in the clean technology sector fell 41% to around $1 billion for the first quarter of 2009 compared to the 4Q '08.“We knew the numbers were coming down. Capital markets overall have dropped the past two quarters and cleantech as a subset is not immune to that,” said Brian Fan, Cleantech Group senior director of research. “We didn’t record a single $100 million deal. That’s very unusual. We haven’t seen that for several years.”North America accounted for 68 percent of the 1Q09 investment total, while Europe and Israel accounted for 28 percent, China for 2 percent and India for 1 percent.
April 6, 2009
Ethanol update: The good and the bad
THE GOOD NEWS:
A new report from the International Energy Agency said that greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions savings from corn ethanol production and use have more than doubled between 1995 and the projected level in 2015.
The report said that GHG reductions have grown from approximately 26% in 1995 to over 39% today while projected GHG reductions from ethanol will reach nearly 55% in 2015 with the advent of new technology, process efficiencies and improved yields.
[Graph from US Department of Energy]
More on this post...
A new report from the International Energy Agency said that greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions savings from corn ethanol production and use have more than doubled between 1995 and the projected level in 2015.
The report said that GHG reductions have grown from approximately 26% in 1995 to over 39% today while projected GHG reductions from ethanol will reach nearly 55% in 2015 with the advent of new technology, process efficiencies and improved yields.
[Graph from US Department of Energy]
The darker side of solar
You know why traditional chemical manufacturing processes are considered very energy efficient these days? Because they have been doing these processes for decades.This cannot be said for newer manufacturing methods such as solar panel production, according to Massachusetts Institute of Technology professor Timothy Gutowski.
"The seemingly extravagant use of materials and energy resources by many newer manufacturing processes is alarming and needs to be addressed alongside claims of improved sustainability from products manufactured by these means," he says.Professor Gutowski said the inherent inefficiency of current solar panel manufacturing methods could drastically reduce the technology's lifecycle energy balance, "that is, the ratio of the energy the panel would produce over its useful lifetime to the energy required to manufacture it."
Africa's lions poisoned by pesticide
I was horrified by last week's CBS' Sixty Minutes report (see video below) about lions in Kenya being poisoned by cattle herders and ranchers using the insecticide Furadan.Furadan is currently manufactured by US chemical company FMC for crop protection. FMC said it has stopped all Furadan sales in Kenya since May last year but reporters from 60 minutes said they can still find Furadan in several Kenyan Agro-Vets stores shelves. The show said Furadan are being sold in neighboring countries (where lions are also disappearing).
Weekly News Roundup
This week, ICIS Chemical Business featured India and for my part wrote an article about India's well-known plant - castor - which has been and still is one of the most promising raw material for chemical use. You can read about my interview with Dow Chemical India, BASF, Arkema as well as US castor oil derivatives distributors Alnor Oil and Acme Hardesty.
Also watch out for my incoming article on April 27 about new industrial and chemical use of fats and oils (e.g. grease, tallow, vegetable oils - particularly soy). For now, here are this week's news roundup:
Dow Corning's new solar center
Dow Corning selected JinCheon, Korea as the site for further expansion of its solar business with the development of a second Solar Solutions Application Center. The facility will enable engineers and scientists to work with customers to develop, evaluate, and pilot materials solutions used to manufacture solar panels. The Center is scheduled to open in late 2009 and pilot production equipment could come online by early 2010.
Dow carbon capture collaboration
Dow Chemical and power generation company Alstom are collaborating in the design and construction of a pilot plant to capture carbon dioxide from the flue gas of a coal-fired boiler at the Dow-owned facility in South Charleston, West Virginia, USA. The pilot plant is expected to be operational by 3Q 09.
More on this post...
Also watch out for my incoming article on April 27 about new industrial and chemical use of fats and oils (e.g. grease, tallow, vegetable oils - particularly soy). For now, here are this week's news roundup:
Dow Corning's new solar center
Dow Corning selected JinCheon, Korea as the site for further expansion of its solar business with the development of a second Solar Solutions Application Center. The facility will enable engineers and scientists to work with customers to develop, evaluate, and pilot materials solutions used to manufacture solar panels. The Center is scheduled to open in late 2009 and pilot production equipment could come online by early 2010.
Dow carbon capture collaboration
Dow Chemical and power generation company Alstom are collaborating in the design and construction of a pilot plant to capture carbon dioxide from the flue gas of a coal-fired boiler at the Dow-owned facility in South Charleston, West Virginia, USA. The pilot plant is expected to be operational by 3Q 09.
April 3, 2009
Rhodia recycles polyamide
We've heard about Teijin's recycling programs ECOPET (PET bottle recycling to polyester) and ECOCIRCLE (used polyester products recycling).
Now, France-based specialty chemical company Rhodia is developing its own recycling technology with mountaineering equipment company Millet. The two companies plan to launched a recycling project that will recycle used mountain climbing rope into engineering plastic materials for the manufacture of mountain sports equipment.
More on this post...
Now, France-based specialty chemical company Rhodia is developing its own recycling technology with mountaineering equipment company Millet. The two companies plan to launched a recycling project that will recycle used mountain climbing rope into engineering plastic materials for the manufacture of mountain sports equipment.
A new breed of financial market
Amid the current mess the financial industry is in, democratic congressman Chris Van Hollen of Maryland thinks this is the right time to create an independent, tax-exempt US-owned bank that will provide a range of green financing support.The Congressman introduced last week the Green Bank Act of 2009 that would fund clean energy and energy efficiency projects within US. The bank will have an initial capital of $10 billion through the issuance of Green Bonds by the Department of Treasury, with a maximum authorized limit of $50 billion in Green Bonds outstanding at any one time.
He emphasized that it will operate at the highest levels of efficacy, accountability and transparency. Depends on who's going to handle the bank I'd say...remember Madoff??
April 2, 2009
The world's first corn cob ammonia plant
Farmers who were struck high with fertilizer price in the past 12-24 months might cheer at this news about California-based SynGest planning to construct the world's first corn biomass-based ammonia plant in Menlo, Iowa.The SynGest Menlo plant will use 150,000 tons/year of Iowa corn cobs to produce 50,000 tons/year of bio-ammonia, enough to fertilize 500,000 acres of Iowa corn farm, says CEO Jack Oswald. Production is expected to begin in 2012.
Huntsman on a green hunt
Huntsman is busy churning out eco-friendly chemicals... maybe to make the company more attractive to other "potential" buyers after being dumped by Hexion?
(Ok I admit I've been busy watching reruns of the recent "The Bachelor" so Huntsman folks, pls. don't sue me LOL!)
Last month, Huntsman launched three new products: a bio-based glycerine carbonate, an enzyme-based textile bleaching solution in partnership with Genencor, and a new repellent and soil release finishes for the textile industry.
More on this post...
(Ok I admit I've been busy watching reruns of the recent "The Bachelor" so Huntsman folks, pls. don't sue me LOL!)
Last month, Huntsman launched three new products: a bio-based glycerine carbonate, an enzyme-based textile bleaching solution in partnership with Genencor, and a new repellent and soil release finishes for the textile industry.
March list of new green chemicals
March saw quite a lot of new green chemicals and Huntsman seems to lead the pack. That is why I have a separate post for them.
As for the rest, here they are in no particular order:
1. Rohm and Haas microbial control - Rohm and Haas introduced KATHON™ CF 400 microbicide, a new concentrated, metal-free formulation for microbial control. KATHON™ CF 400 is targeted toward the water treatment industry to prevent or remedy fouling in cooling towers or air washers.
2. Dow specialty surfactants - Dow Chemical launched in Europe its ECOSURF EH specialty surfactants, a new generation of high performance, readily biodegradable surfactants designed for use in hard surface cleaning, textile processing, inks, paints and coatings, and agricultural chemicals.
More on this post...
As for the rest, here they are in no particular order:
1. Rohm and Haas microbial control - Rohm and Haas introduced KATHON™ CF 400 microbicide, a new concentrated, metal-free formulation for microbial control. KATHON™ CF 400 is targeted toward the water treatment industry to prevent or remedy fouling in cooling towers or air washers.
2. Dow specialty surfactants - Dow Chemical launched in Europe its ECOSURF EH specialty surfactants, a new generation of high performance, readily biodegradable surfactants designed for use in hard surface cleaning, textile processing, inks, paints and coatings, and agricultural chemicals.
April 1, 2009
Sears to sell Teijin's eco suits
At Teijin's press conference in New York yesterday, the Japanese chemical company announced that big US retailer Sears has partnered with them and will start selling on May 15 (in 500 stores) a washable business suit made from Teijin's Eco-A-Wear fabric.The fabric is composed of 54% recycled polyester, 42% wool and 4% stretched spandex. Teijin's recycled polyester by the way is made from used polyethylene terephtalate (PET) bottles. According to them it took 25 2-liter bottles to make one suit.
Sears will sell the jacket for $175 and the trousers for $75, which is not a bad price at all (according to the guys that I asked around and the gurus from a textile magazine).
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