Chancellor of Washington University Visited OKCHEM

On October 17, Mr. Mark Wrighton, Chancellor of Washington University in St. Louis, and Mr. Bill Xu, Director of the China Office, visited OKCHEM headquarter office in Hangzhou. Mr. Kevin Xu, OKCHEM President and EMBA alumnus of the Washington University, and Ms. Gloria Kong, OKCHEM Vice President, warmly welcomed the two guests and had an in-depth communication with them about the development and innovations of OKCHEM, US talent training system and the future school-enterprise cooperation. 1.    About OKCHEM Development After showing the two guests around our Global Research Center and the Internet Operation Dept. in Hangzhou office, Mr.Kevin, talked about our technical innovations and the company development in the recent years through the aspects of company strategy, chemical industry layout, corporate culture, talent training, etc. And Ms. Gloria further introduced our cooperation with globally renowned university and research institute. Both of the two gentlemen were impressed with the rapid development of OKCHEM. 2.    US Talent Training System Talents are always the driving force of a company development and education plays a vital role in the talent training system. Washington University in St. Louis is a research-focusing university, and attaches great importance to the scientific research to improve its academic standing. Since its establishment  in 1853, 25 Nobel Prize winners (four of them won the Nobel Prize in chemistry) have studied or engaged in the  teaching and research work of the university. Mr. Mark emphasized that cultivating students' innovative thinking is far more important than imparting specific knowledge and skills. So, the U.S universities  encourage students to fully display their innovative ideas and discover their potentials by providing strong funding supports to the researches. 3.    School-Enterprise Cooperation In terms of the school-enterprise cooperation, Mr. Mark expressed his expectations that more and more elite alumni could create jobs for the society like the founder of OKCHEM, and encouraged the chemical talents to join the innovative companies like OKCHEM, to create more value for the chemical industry and alma mater   About Washington University in St. Louis Located in St. Louis, Missouri of the United States, Washington University in St. Louis  is the first and most famous Washington University in the history of the United States. The university was ranked 14th in the world in 2014 by the  US News and World Report, overtaking the Cornell University, Brown University, and many other "ivy league" universities. The university has seven academic divisions: Arts & Sciences, Brown School, Olin Business School, Sam Fox School of Design & Visual Arts, School of Engineering & Applied Science, School of Law, and School of Medicine. About OKCHEM okchem.com is a professional B2B platform for chemical business, and also a chemical supply chain with 14 overseas offices committed to providing solutions for the chemical buyers and suppliers all over the world to help them simplify the chemical trade and grow chemical business. Related Articles:  U.S. Regulation of Food Colors EuroChem takes on US fertilizer assets from Trammo

Global Anti-corrosion Coatings Market to 2022

Albany, NY, 18th October : Recent research and the current scenario as well as future market potential of "Anti-corrosion Coatings: Global Markets to 2022" globally. The global market for anti-corrosion coatings is expected to grow due to its high demand in a broad range of industry end-users across the globe. Corrosion is an ongoing problem in most industries, including major markets such as marine, oil and gas, infrastructure, manufacturing, and automotive.   Corrosion causes tremendous financial losses in terms of infrastructure. Globally, the cost of corrosion is over REDACTED which is roughly REDACTED of global GDP. Corrosion mostly affects the oil and gas, metal, water treatment and manufacturing industries. The impact of corrosion has created tremendous demand for anti-corrosion coatings across the globe. Industries such as petroleum, cement and concrete, paper and pulp, metal processing, water treatment, automotive, power generation, chemical processing, mining and transportation, and manufacturing industries, such as electronics, and textiles, also have high demand for anti-corrosion coatings. There is also a considerable demand for anti-corrosion coatings from other industries such as aerospace, highway bridges, hydroelectrical and nuclear power plants, among others. As the problem of corrosion is increasing globally, the demand for anti-corrosion coatings has grown over the years. The market for anti-corrosion coatings is segmented based on type (epoxy, polyurethane, acrylic, alkyd, zinc, chlorinated rubber, and others), end-user industry (marine, oil and gas, manufacturing, water and wastewater, infrastructure, automotive, and others), technology (solvent-borne, waterborne, powderbased, self-healing and others) and geographic regions (North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, Middle East and Africa, and South America). This report covers market drivers, restraints, opportunities and challenges that determine the scope of the market and its trends. In recent years there has been a major shift in the global paints and coatings production, which is moving from the developed regions, such as Europe and the U.S., to the developing economies, such as China and India. Continuous increasing demand from the developed countries in addition to the demand from the developing countries is contributing to the overall expansion of the worldwide anti-corrosion coatings market. Industrial growth in the developing economies is a major driver for the growth in the coatings industry. In most regions of the world, the coatings industry is mature and its growth is dependent on many factors, including the level of economic activity and the state of the construction industry, which remains a major consumer of paints and coatings. The Asia-Pacific is the largest regional market for anti-corrosion coatings and has high growth potential. The growth in the Asia-Pacific region is mainly driven by the growing end-user industries such as infrastructure, manufacturing, and water and wastewater. The oil and gas reserves in China and India are growing, and there is a continuous need for maintenance in the transportation industry, as well as accelerating energy demand in various regions in Asia-Pacific, both of which are ultimately driving the anti-corrosion coatings market. Souece: openpr.com Related News: Regulatory Approval Process for BASF’s Intended Acquisition of Solvay’s Polyamide Biz Moves Forward Lubrizol Introduces Carboset CR-3100 Acrylic Copolymer Emulsion for Low VOC Direct-To-Metal Coatings

U.S. Regulation of Food Colors

In the United States, the act states that a material otherwise meeting the definition of color additive to be exempt from section 721 of the act, on the basis that it is used (or intended to be used) solely for a pur-pose or purposes other than color-ing, the material must be used in a way that any color imparted is clearly unimportant insofar as the appear-ance, value, marketability, or con-sumer acceptability is concerned. (It is not enough to warrant exemption if conditions are such that the pri-mary purpose of the material is other than to impart color.) Plainly stated, if the purpose of an addi-tive is to change the color of a food, then the additive is a color. As a color, it has to be approved as a color for use in food by the Food and Drug Administration. Two main categories make up the FDA’s list of permitted color additives. They are the certified color additives and the exempt-from-certification color additives. The certified color additives are primarily man-made synthetic organic colors. The manufacturer submits a sample of the batch for certification, and the FDA tests the sample to determine whether it meets the color’s requirement for composition and purity. When the batch is approved, the FDA issues a certified lot number to the batch, and the manufacturer can then sell the product. The name is changed to its unique FD&C nomenclature. Only then can that lot be used to make FDA-regu-lated colors. Following is the list of color additives subject to certification: •FD&C Red #3 •FD&C Red #40 •FD&C Yellow #5 •FD&C Yellow #6 •FD&C Green #3 •FD&C Blue #1 •FD&C Blue #2 The exempt color additives are largely from plant, animal or mineral sources, or are synthetic variations of naturally occur-ring colorants. While not subject to batch certification, they are still artificial color additives and must meet the requirements for composition and purity as listed in the Code of Federal Regulations. Some of the colors exempt from certification are limited to certain classifications of food products or certain usage levels. It is important to check 21 CFR Section 73 for these limita-tions. The common color additives exempt from certification are shown in Figure 1. In the United States, color additives are required to be labeled. Certified colors must always be declared by name in the ingredient statement. It is not necessary to include the FD&C prefix or the term No.in the declaration, although the term lake must be included where applicable (e.g., Yellow 5, Blue 1 Lake). Exempt-from-certification colors are described in 21 CFR Part 73. Labeling options for most exempt-from-certification colors are varied, and include the following: •artificial color •artificial color added •color added FDA also allows for alternative equally informative terms, as long as it is clearly indicated that a color has been used. Exceptions to the above options are indi-cated by a statement in the exempt color description in Part 73 to the effect that dec-laration must be by name. Currently, the only exempt-from-certification colors to require declaration by name are cochineal extract and carmine. Although industry often refers to exempt-from-certification colors as natural colors, use of this term is prohibited on an ingredient statement. Regardless of the source of the color, FDA regulations do not consider any added color to be natural unless the color is “natural to” the food product itself, such as coloring strawberry ice cream with strawberry juice.

IACMI consortium aims to close the loop on automotive carbon fiber prepreg scrap

The Institute for Advanced Composites Manufacturing Innovation (IACMI, Knoxville, TN, US), a 160+ member, University of Tennessee (Knoxville, TN, US) and US Department of Energy (Washington, DC, US) driven consortium committed to increasing domestic production capacity and manufacturing jobs across the US composites industry, announced on Oct. 16 a project to close the loop on automotive carbon fiber prepreg manufacturing scrap for use in new automotive applications. The project, which is led by Vartega (Golden, CO, US), a start-up company focused on carbon fiber recycling, with project partners including Michelman (Cincinnati, OH, US), Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL, Oak Ridge, TN, US), Colorado School of Mines (Golden, CO, US), Michigan State University (East Lansing, MI, US), the University of Dayton Research Laboratory (Dayton, OH, US), and the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. Additional project support is provided by Ford (Dearborn, MI, US), BASF (Wyandotte, MI, US), and Plasan Carbon Composites (Wixom, MI, US). The two-year technical collaboration will address the challenges of creating consistent recycled carbon fiber reinforced thermoplastics for use in vehicle lightweighting applications. Through the use of innovative and novel enabling technologies the project team will characterize and validate materials to meet the growing demand for cost effective carbon fiber needed for vehicle weight reductions to improve fuel economy, reduce emissions and extend electric vehicle range. “Carbon fiber recycling technology has matured significantly over the past decade, but several challenges still exist in producing materials at automotive scale. We recognized that a holistic approach needed to be taken to create supply chain solutions for recycled carbon fiber,” says Andrew Maxey, Vartega CEO. “In our work with the project team we’ll be able to demonstrate the viability of a circular economy for recycled carbon fiber combined with optimized sizing chemistries and commercial scale thermoplastic processing for automotive applications.” “IACMI’s commitment to composites recycling and ability to facilitate projects that connect small and medium enterprises with large organizations are our institute’s DNA,” says John Hopkins, IACMI CEO. “This project is a great example of how manufacturers throughout the supply chain are coming together to solve difficult technical and business challenges.” In addition to its work on this IACMI project, Vartega also has plans to install a commercial recycling system in the IACMI Scale-Up Research Facility (SURF) located in the Corktown area of Detroit. The SURF is located a half-mile away from the Michigan Central Train Depot which was recently acquired by Ford Motor Company as the centerpiece for its new mobility, autonomy, and electrification Corktown campus. Source: compositesworld.com Related News: First thermoplastic polyurethane based on CO2 technology TUBALL single wall carbon nanotubes: No ecotoxicity found, unlike other carbon nanotubes

Canadian firm to launch production of food additives in Armenia

PanARMENIAN.Net - With the support of Business Armenia, Canada's Atlas Pharmaceuticals will invest $1.2 million to found a factory for the production of food additives in Armenia. A corresponding Memorandum of Understanding was signed by the President of Atlas Pharmaceuticals Giro Jebenyan and the International Commerce team leader of Business Armenia Narek Aleksanyan. Under the document, Atlas Pharmaceuticals will establish nutritional supplements production and a clinical research center in Armenia. The investment program is expected to start in the first half of 2019, with 30 people set to be employed. The company representatives consider several production locations, including in the provinces. "This investment comes after a Canadian outreach business mission led by Deputy Prime Minister and the Chairman of the Board of Trustees of Business Armenia Tigran Avinyan," Business Armenia CEO Armen Avak Avakian said. "The products made after the clinical research will be supplied to the local and EAEU markets," said Jebenian. "Last year Atlas Pharmaceutical purchased the QPharm and expanded the research division. Currently, it produces food supplements, herbal medicines and probiotics that are used to prevent or treat illnesses," said Aleksanyan. source：http://www.panarmenian.net Related Links FDA revokes use of seven food additives Canadian Atlas Pharmaceuticals to invest $1.2 million in construction of food additives factory in Armenia

Global and China's Corn Starch Market

Summary of the Global Starch & Corn Starch Market   Starch is the most common carbohydrate in human diets and is contained in large amounts in staple foods like wheat, corn, potatoes and rice. The leading starches used in all 2017 food & beverage launches tracked were corn starch, potato starch, and wheat starch.   Data Source: Innova Market Insights The use of starches grew by +5.1% globally in 2017 vs. 2016, and as the leading starch ingredient, the corn starch market is projected to grow at the rate of 5.7% during the forecast period, 2018-2023.  High demand for natural and clean label products will be the major driving growth of the corn starch market. And the top health positionings for all food &beverage launches related with starch are as below.  Data Source: Innova Market Insights   In the international market, North America maintains its leading role due to the high consumption of processed and instant food products in the region. The abundant corn resources in the country and the low prices of the corn starch contribute to the growth of corn starch industry in US market. On the other hand, Asia-Pacific is expected to grow at the highest CAGR during the next five years.   Latest China’s Corn Starch Market The rising health consciousness among consumers and the high demand for the natural, pure, and high quality products have generated the demand for clean label corn starches. As one of the most important sectors of the corn deep processing industry in China, corn starch industry saw a healthy development in recent years. l  Inventory The current inventory is equivalent to the same period of last year. In the first half of 2018, there was a cumulative process since the Spring Festival but in the second half of the year, the consumption peak, shutdown maintenance and the environmental protection inspection may cause the inventory to gradually steady down. Starch production during September was significantly more stable than the same period of last year, reflecting the supply increase by new production capacity since the end of 2017. The exit curve since the Spring Festival is relatively stable and slightly higher than the same period last year, indicating that downstream demand is relatively stable. l  Consumption The trend of consumption coefficient from October to December may be different from the previous years, the curve fluctuation will tend to be flat and equivalent to last year, but the monthly consumption is higher than the same period of last year. As September to November will be the consumption peak period, the annual consumption may reach 27 million tons, exceeding that of  last year.     l  Industry Operation Rate The operation remains at a high level. This year is basically in full-capacity production, almost the same as last year. The operation rate after June was slightly lower than that of last year, which may be caused by environmental protection and the impact of the SCO Summit. However, with the increased new capacity since the end of 2017 and the current operation status, the general volatility rising trend of the starch will not be affected. l  Latest Price Summary The spot price of corn starch is stable in the Northeast China with the price at 2,350 to 2,450 Yuan per MT; but it has been rising steadily in North China and Shandong Province due to the corn price increase, with the price fluctuating at 2,520±50 Yuan/MT. And in the long term, the price may keep the volatile rising trend before 2020.   

An Overview of the Plastic Industry in Turkey

As of the end of June 2017, 4.7 million tons and 17.7 billion dollars’ worth of plastics production was realized and if this progression continues, the production is expected to rise to 9.4 million tons with a value of 35.5 billion dollars. In this case one can expect that the total plastics production in 2017 may increase by 6.3% at quantity base and 5% at value base compared to 2016. The average capacity usage in the plastics sector in June 2017 was 75.8% which was 3.2% behind the average capacity usage of general manufacturing industry (79%). As of the end of June 2017, plastic packaging materials, with a production volume of 1.885 million tons, set the pace within the total plastics production of 4.7 million tons, followed by plastic construction materials with a volume of 1.37 million tons. During 2012-2016 periods, an annual average of 821 million dollars’ worth of machinery and equipment investments were made. Presses and other machineries comprised 37% of the total investment, injection machinery 23%, extrusion machinery 19%, thermoform machinery %4, bulging machinery 2%, accessories and parts 15% Machinery and equipment investment in the plastics sector realized 441 million dollars at the end of June 2017. If this rate continues, it is estimated to reach 883 million dollars by the end of 2017, with an increase of 0.3% compared to 2016. At the end of June 2017, 37% of these total investments were presses and other machinery, 19% injection machinery, 15% extrusion machinery, 22% accessories and parts. Thermoform and bulging machinery held a share of 3% and 4% in the total investment value respectively. Turkey Plastic Export As of the end of June 2017, 798 thousand tons of plastic products with a value of 2.86 billion dollars were exported. At the same rate, plastic product exports are estimated to reach 1.6 million tons with a value of 4.17 billion dollars. An increase of 3% at quantity base and 1.6% at value base compared to 2016. At the end of June 2017, the product groups with the biggest export share both in quantity (46%) and value (42%) were product groups with customs tariff number of 3920 (other sheets made of plastics, leaves, pellicles and lams) and 3923 (plastic products for the packaging of goods handling, plugs, lids, capsules). Turkey exports plastic products to approximately 150 countries. At the end of June 2017, 10 countries had a share of 47% in quantity and 45% in value of the total exports if plastic products. Turkey Plastic Import At the end of June 2017, 300 thousand tons or 1.474 billion dollars of plastic products were imported. At this rate, estimates are that by the end of 2017, 600 thousand tons (2.949 billion dollars) will be reached, an increase of 1.8% in quantity and 0.7% in value compared to 2016. Over the first 6 months of 2017, the product groups with customs tariff number of 3920 (other sheets made of plastics, leaves, pellicles and lams) had a 44% quantity and 32% value share in the total plastics imports. Fig.1: Turkish Plastic Import By Countries Each year, Turkey imports plastic products from over 100 countries. At the end of June 2017, 10 countries represented 70% (quantity) and 73% (value) of the total plastics imports. Since 2014, China is the biggest supplier of plastic products. Late June 2017, China's share was 24% (quantity) and 18% (value), retaining its first place for volume and sharing the first place together with Germany when looking at the value of imports. Besides these two countries, Italy, South Korea and France retain their position amongst the countries which supply plastics tot Turkey. Plastic Raw Materials in Turkey For the first 6 months of 2017, the total production of plastic raw materials is estimated to be around 507 thousand tons. AYPE constituted 31% of the total plastic raw materials produced in Turkey by the end of May 2017, whereas YYPE is 9%, PVC 15%, PP 12%, PS 10% and PET 23%. At the end of June 2017, plastic raw materials imports amounted to 3.498 million tons with a value of 4.9 billion dollars. If this trend continues, plastic raw material imports at the end of 2017 are estimated at 6.99 million tons and 9.82 billion dollars with an increase of 7.3% (volume) and 12.9% (value) compared to 2016. Late June 2017 polyethylene and polypropylene had the largest share in imports of plastic raw materials, both volumes 56% as in value 52% with a share of 56%. For the supply of raw materials, Turkey is still highly dependent on imports, which amount 87% of the total supply. Turkey imports plastic raw materials from over 100 countries. In the first 6 months of 2017, 10 countries represented 62% of the imported volumes and 64% of the imported value. Of these 10 countries Saudi Arabia, Germany and South Korea supplied 32% At the end of June 2017, Turkey exported 409 thousand tons of plastic raw materials with a value of 541 million dollars. At the same rate, total exports for 2017 are expected to reach 818 thousand tons (1.82 billion dollars), increasing the volume 9.9% and the value 17.8% compared to 2016. Turkey supplies plastic raw materials to more than 100 countries. For the first semester of 2017, 10 countries had a 49% share (in both volume and value) in the Turkish exports of these raw materials Source: FIT Market Survey Related Articles:  Weekly resin report: Processors tap spot market for good deals PepsiCo signs multi-year supply agreement for 100% sustainable PET with Loop Industries

Regulatory Approval Process for BASF’s Intended Acquisition of Solvay’s Polyamide Biz Moves Forward

In September 2017, BASF and Solvay agreed that BASF would acquire Solvay’s polyamide business subject to the approval of the relevant merger control authorities. The approval process of the EU Commission is ongoing.  To meet the concerns of the EU Commission, BASF has offered to refrain from acquiring certain parts of Solvay’s European polyamide business including innovation capabilities and manufacturing assets of Solvay’s intermediate and engineering plastics business. The EU Commission is now examining this offer and submitting it for market testing before completing its review procedure. By complementing the engineering plastics portfolio, enhancing the access to key growth markets in Asia and South America as well as strengthening the value chain through backward integration into key raw materials such as ADN (adipodinitrile), BASF would still achieve its key strategic objectives. BASF will continue to work closely with the EU Commission which is expected to make a decision in early 2019. As of now, the transaction has obtained merger clearance from eight of 10 jurisdictions globally. source: coatingsworld.com Related News: Weekly resin report: Processors tap spot market for good deals Lubrizol Introduces Carboset CR-3100 Acrylic Copolymer Emulsion for Low VOC Direct-To-Metal Coatings First thermoplastic polyurethane based on CO2 technology

Weekly resin report: Processors tap spot market for good deals

The spot resin markets remained active, deal flow was nearly constant during the first part of the week and slowed a bit by Friday. While there was good interest in both Polyethylene and Polypropylene, completed volumes were heavily skewed in favor of PE. Buyers, faced with higher producer asking prices and the growing possibility of another increase finding implementation in Oct, tapped the spot market for relatively good deals. Though there are still mostly ample supplies of material to be had and some nice deals around, the lower end of the price range for available material has been cleaning up. Spot PP demand has waned a bit as prices have been fairly flat and sans a major outage, buyers have little reason to fear a monomer driven price increase. Still, overall PP supplies are categorically tight, only helped to balance by strong imports that fill much of the supply gap.  The major energy markets were mixed this past week with large declines seen in the Oil Complex. WTI Crude Oil had a rough week, pulling back sharply ($5.56/bbl) from its multi-year highs established just a week ago. The Nov futures contract settled down a clean $3/bbl to $71.34/bbl. Brent Oil also took it on the chin, the Dec contract lost $3.73/bbl to finish at $80.43/bbl; narrowing the premium to $9.09/bbl. Nat Gas futures had a strong start, surging as high as $3.368/mmBtu, but then gave nearly all of it back to end the week at $3.161/mmBtu, just a scant net gain of $.018/mmBtu. NGLs have also receded sharply, recording consecutive losses after making multi-year highs two weeks ago. Ethane prices were hammered, and though they recovered substantially on Friday to $.43/gal ($.181/lb), the week’s losses were still huge, around $.07/gal. Propane slid under a buck - dropping $.045/gal to $.995/gal ($.282/lb). Monomer trading was quite lively this past week with good turnover seen for both Ethylene and Propylene. The Ethylene market was mostly pressured with a late week rebound, which pared the losses to only about a penny. Ethylene in TX ended the week around $.19/lb, while material in LA commanded about a $.015/lb premium. Propylene was again on the defensive as the market has maintained a slightly negative undertone and PGP for prompt delivery shed about a half-cent to $.565/lb. The PGP market saw very high volume on Tuesday, and while the backwardation increased a tad, spot saw no price change. In fact, PGP did not see any real type of price movement after Tuesday. Bids and offers were present, but neither strong enough to influence any sort of market movement late in the week. If PGP continues to leak lower over the next two weeks, the possibility of a minor October contract decrease, just a penny or two, would be justified.  The spot Polyethylene market continued its super busy pace as October moved to mid-month and our transacted volumes were well above average. Spot PE prices ranged from down a full penny for LD Injection to up a half-cent for LD and LL film grades, but the overall sentiment is slightly bullish. While the previous week was dominated by trader to trader activity, this past week saw more processors re-join the market to scoop up any remaining resin that was still being priced flat to slightly higher than late Sept values. Producers have nominated an October contract price increase ranging from $.02-.04/lb, though it’s still too early to make a call on the likelihood of timely implementation. We are still in the thick of hurricane season and fortunately the Houston grid has avoided a major weather situation / disruption, but it’s certainly worth keeping an eye on as both the Gulf and Atlantic shores have been hit with massive storms these past few weeks.  In September, Polyethylene export volumes pulled back for the first time in 7 months, but have still been surprisingly resilient in the face of the Chinese tariffs. Even at Sept’s lower export tally of 1.15 billion pounds, which was about 130M lbs below the all-time record just made in August, exports have ratcheted up to a new norm. This new level, which should continue to grow despite trade conflicts, has been planned and heavily relied upon to offset the increases in PE production. However, producers also showed their willingness to throttle back reactors to maintain a position of pricing power. Operating rates were reduced significantly in Sept, leading to a recently rare upstream resin inventory draw of nearly 142 million pounds. Even so, Houston area warehouses are still bulging with material and packaging delays have become commonplace.  Spot Polypropylene trading was somewhat lackluster; spot prices rose a penny while completed volumes slid below average. As we have seen in months past, early Prime railcar offers have been priced on the high side as resellers seek to maximize opportunities given their limited resin availability, better deals have appeared late in the second half of the month. The flow of packaged offgrade HoPP and CoPP in Houston has been fairly constant and well-priced, with good high flow material moving quickly. The impact of current production issues has also surfaced – PP production has dipped below domestic demand for the second month in a row, leading to another upstream inventory draw, now the lowest in a full year. There are also some processors that rely on certain producers with limited current availability, whom have instead successfully engaged the spot market for supply. Some processors seem to be less aggressive with their purchases as PGP monomer prices slowly tick lower, which relieves the fear of another upward spike in prices. Still, if production issues persist and the supply / demand dynamic tightens further, producers might soon seek another outright margin increase.  source:  theplasticsexchange.com Related News: First thermoplastic polyurethane based on CO2 technology TUBALL single wall carbon nanotubes: No ecotoxicity found, unlike other carbon nanotubes

Flexible fertilizer regulations could reduce pollution, save billions

As the global population continues to increase, so will food production. This means increased use of fertilizers, and many on today's market are not environmentally friendly. To reduce pollution and save billions of dollars in damages, the United States and other national governments should require manufacturers to sell nitrogen fertilizer with compounds designed to increase their efficiency and reduce pollution, according to a new paper published in Nature Sustainability. Such a policy could substantially reduce air and water pollution from nitrogen use, including greenhouse gases. The researchers estimate that using this approach among U.S. corn farms could reduce nitrogen pollution by 16 percent, earn farmers millions of dollars through higher crop yields, and reduce total costs of nitrogen pollution up to $5 to $7 billion. "Global and U.S. nitrogen pollution have been growing relentlessly, causing ocean dead zones, unhealthy air and large greenhouse gases," said paper co-author Tim Searchinger, a research scholar at the Program in Science, Technology, and Environmental Policy at Princeton University's Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs. "Fertilizers contribute greatly to this and will do so more as food production expands. Governments should consider flexible policies that shift more of the responsibility to manufacturers to produce fertilizers with more efficient compounds and continue to innovate for even better compounds." In addition to Searchinger, who also is a lecturer in the Princeton Environmental Institute, the paper was co-authored by David Kanter of New York University. They recommend a policy similar to the Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) standards, which require automobile manufactures to improve the average fuel of vehicles. This approach gave manufacturers incentives to develop more efficient engines and other vehicle technologies and to find ways to make smaller cars more attractive. A similar approach can be used to fertilizer sales, according to Searchinger and Kanter. Globally more than half of the nitrogen applied to crops today is lost to the water or air without being used by the crops themselves. This is because nitrogen fertilizer is transformed by microbes in soils in ways that make them susceptible to being dissolved into the air or to runoff in water. Some of those microbial processes generate nitrous oxide, a powerful greenhouse gas. Yet compounds exist -- called Enhanced Efficiency Fertilizers or EEFs -- that reduce these microbial processes and keep nitrogen in forms less susceptible to being lost. Reviewing the literature, the paper finds that, on average, these compounds increase the efficiency with which crops use them, and therefore reduce losses to the environment. Farmers also benefit economically on average from increased yields. "One of the mysteries is why so few farmers use EEFs. We think the answer might be because it leads to varied effects, and maybe the economic benefits seem too small for many farmers to use them although environmental benefits are large." By pushing manufacturers to sell increasingly more of this type of fertilizer, it would encourage them not just to develop better compounds but to identify which farms would most benefit and target sales at them." We think this kind of nitrogen program is the kind of flexible, regulatory approach that is needed to push global agriculture to reduce its environmental impacts, including its contribution of roughly one quarter of the world's greenhouse gas emissions," Searchinger said. The paper, "A Technology Forcing Approach to Reduce Nitrogen Pollution," suggests that national governments, such as the Government of China, or even states like California could enact these kinds of programs as part of their efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and other forms of pollution. source: https://www.eurekalert.org Related Links EuroChem takes on US fertilizer assets from Trammo Government to bear a cost of Rs. 40 billion for fertilizer