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ACC AM 7/26/2016
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(ACC Mentioned) C&EN’s Global Top 50
Jul 25, 2016 | Chemical and Engineering News
By Alexander H. Tullo
The dollar is strong, oil is cheap, and the global economy is trudging along. Those dominant economic themes are reflected in the current installment of C&EN’s Global Top 50 chemical companies. -
(ACC Mentioned) The Top 10 Destinations For U.S. Chemical Exports
Jul 26, 2016 | Chem.Info
By Meagan Parrish
Chemicals contribute to a significant portion of all American exports. According to the American Chemistry Council, the chemicals industry accounts for 12 percent of exports at a value of about $189 billion. -
EPA To Host TSCA Rule Development Meetings
Jul 26, 2016 | Chemical Watch
The US EPA has convened two public meetings on the recently reformed TSCA. Their purpose is to obtain input for the development of procedures for prioritising substances and conducting risk evaluations (REs). -
EPA Plans Stakeholder Meetings On TSCA Implementation
Jul 25, 2016 | Inside EPA
EPA will host a pair of meetings in August to gather input on how it should implement two core aspects of the new authorities handed the agency in the recently signed law to reform the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA), which governs the manufacture and use of industrial chemicals. -
EPA Issues First PMN Decisions Under Amended TSCA
Jul 26, 2016 | Chemical Watch
By Kelly Franklin
The US EPA has issued four regulatory determinations for pre-manufacture notices (PMNs) under the newly amended TSCA. -
Chemical Ranking, Risk Evaluation to Be Discussed: EPA
Jul 26, 2016 | BNA Daily Environment Report
he process by which chemicals would be ranked as high or low priorities for risk evaluation and the procedures the Environmental Protection Agency would use to evaluate the risks of high-priority chemicals will be discussed at two August meetings, the agency will announce in a Federal Register notice scheduled for July 26 publication. -
Landmark Federal Law In place, Race Moves Forward With Mission
Jul 25, 2016 | Advantage News
As the recent passage of major reform to the federal Toxic Substances Control Act marked a milestone for the Asbestos Disease Awareness Organization in its journey to have asbestos banned in the United States, the race to the finish line continues with the eighth annual Alton Miles for Meso 5K Race & 3K Fun Run/Walk to benefit the organization. -
(ACC Mentioned) EPA Seeks Input on New Use Rules for Chemicals
Jul 26, 2016 | BNA Daily Environment Report
By Pat Rizzuto
he Environmental Protection Agency will invite a second round of comments on the burdens and value of information it periodically collects addressing significant new use rules for existing chemicals. -
(ACC Mentioned) Plastic Pollutes, but Replacing It Is Even Worse ... Says Study Funded by Plastic
Jul 26, 2016 | Bloomberg Technology
By Peter Coy
Two years ago, a London-based environmental consulting firm named Trucost wrote a report (PDF) for the United Nations Environment Program that said "the environmental impacts of plastic cannot be ignored." -
(ACC Mentioned) Exxon Mobil, Saudis Look To Create Petrochemical Venture In Texas
Jul 25, 2016 | Houston Chronicle
By Jordan Blum
Exxon Mobil Corp. and a company owned by the government of Saudi Arabia are proposing to build a multibillion-dollar petrochemical complex along the Gulf Coast, the first U.S. joint venture for two of the world's biggest energy juggernauts. -
Exxon Unit, SABIC Eyeing Petrochemical Venture On Gulf Coast
Jul 25, 2016 | Fuel Fix
By Jordan Blum
Exxon Mobil Corp. and Saudi Arabia’s largest chemical company are considering a partnership to build a major petrochemical complex in either Texas or Louisiana along the Gulf Coast. -
Idaho Group Threatens To Sue Plastic Bag Maker Over TRI Reporting
Jul 25, 2016 | E&E News PM
By Sean Reilly
An Idaho environmental group is threatening to sue plastic bag maker Novolex, accusing the company of shirking reporting responsibilities to U.S. EPA's Toxics Release Inventory (TRI). -
EPA Air Office Readies Rule to Address Cross-State Decision
Jul 26, 2016 | BNA Daily Environment Report
By Patrick Ambrosio
The Environmental Protection Agency is working on a rule that would fully address a 2015 federal appeals court ruling on the legality of state-specific emissions budgets for the utility sector.
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(ACC Mentioned) C&EN’s Global Top 50
Jul 25, 2016 | Chemical and Engineering News
By Alexander H. Tullo
The dollar is strong, oil is cheap, and the global economy is trudging along. Those dominant economic themes are reflected in the current installment of C&EN’s Global Top 50 chemical companies.
Sales are down dramatically for the Global Top 50. The 50 companies combined for $775.2 billion in sales for 2015, the year on which the survey is based. The figure is a 10.8% decline from what the same firms posted a year earlier.
Profits, however, went in the other direction. The 44 companies in the Global Top 50 that post profit figures reported a total of $96.7 billion, a 15.1% increase from a year earlier. Profit margins for the same firms increased to 13.5% from 10.6%. No company on the list lost money in 2015. It turns out that 2015, though unusual, wasn’t a bad year for chemical companies.
Oil prices averaged about $49 per barrel in 2015, down from $93 in 2014, according to the Energy Information Administration. These lower oil prices pulled down chemical prices, but they also gave chemical companies a break on feedstock costs. On balance, lower oil prices have been good for chemical makers, especially those in Asia and Europe, which had been losing out to natural-gas-based chemical makers in the U.S. and the Middle East.
Another factor influencing the ranking is the strong dollar. In 2014, a euro cost $1.33 on average. In 2015, it cost $1.11. Other major currencies such as the Japanese yen and the South Korean won also decreased in value against the dollar. Currency strength impacts the ranking because C&EN converts foreign company sales from their local currency to dollars.
This year’s Global Top 50 lineup is somewhat changed from last year. Gone from the list is Shell Chemicals, which failed to provide C&EN with a sales figure for its chemical business. Sales declines pushed BP, Tosoh, and Siam Cement off the list.
A new company that made the ranking is the Bayer spin-off Covestro. Other new faces include Lubrizol, Honeywell, and Potash Corp. of Saskatchewan. Interestingly, these three firms all report their results in the strong U.S. dollar.
BASF has been the largest chemical company in the world for a decade, but that streak might soon be broken with a challenge from DowDuPont, set to be formed upon the merger of Dow Chemical and DuPont later this year. Rumors circulated early this year that BASF was looking to break up the Dow-DuPont deal with its own offer for DuPont. And regulatory disclosures related to the Dow-DuPont deal hint that BASF floated the idea of buying DuPont’s agricultural chemicals and seeds business before the Dow deal was announced in December. However, a firm offer for DuPont never surfaced. New rumors say BASF may be negotiating a sale of its agricultural chemicals business to Monsanto, with which it already has a seed traits collaboration. Such a deal would upset Bayer’s $65 billion bid for Monsanto, which thus far has been rejected. BASF recently came to terms on a far more modest deal. Last month, it agreed to purchase the metal surface treatment firm Chemetall from Albemarle for $3.2 billion. With technologies that align with the trend to incorporate more aluminum in cars, Chemetall should complement BASF’s automotive coatings business.2 Dow Chemical
2015 Chemical Sales: $48.8 billion[+]EnlargeDuPont has pledged that the new agricultural chemicals firm it is forming with Dow Chemical will have headquarters in Wilmington, Del.Credit: DuPont
Dow Chemical is leading the chemical industry into the largest structural changes it has seen in more than a decade. Its $130 billion merger with DuPont will create a behemoth that would have had nearly $70 billion in 2015 chemical sales, enough to consider the new company, DowDuPont, the largest chemical company in the world. And that’s without Dow’s absorption of Dow Corning, completed last month, which adds more than $4 billion in sales to its top line. But DowDuPont isn’t being built to last. Within two years of its formation, it is set to fragment into three firms—a material science company, a specialty products firm, and an agrochemical giant—each of which has the heft to make it into the Global Top 50. The Dow-DuPont merger is helping instigate other transactions. It isn’t a coincidence that ChemChina’s pending purchase of Syngenta and Bayer’s offer for Monsanto were both unveiled after the merger announcement. Yet another Dow-related transaction could have an impact on the Global Top 50. Dow’s sale of its chlorine business to Olin last year could propel Olin, which will soon have about $7 billion in annual sales, into the ranking.3 Sinopec
2015 Chemical Sales: $43.8 billion
A big decline in the price of oil and related raw materials last year pinched chemical revenues at Sinopec, as it did for many other firms. At the same time, the lower raw material prices helped Sinopec, China’s largest chemical company, return to profitability last year. Wang Yupu, Sinopec’s chairman, expects 2016 to be another tumultuous year. “Looking ahead, the global economy is expected to be characterized by slow growth, weak international trade, low inflation, sluggish investments, and high levels of debt,” he wrote in the company’s most recent annual report. “The Chinese economy may face downward pressure while maintaining its moderate growth.”4 SABIC
2015 Chemical Sales: $34.3 billion
In the 2000s, Saudi Basic Industries Corp. led the Middle Eastern building boom by spending billions of dollars on petrochemical projects in its home country, which is blessed with an abundance of cheap natural gas feedstocks such as ethane. Now, as that supply gets tighter, the company is interested in diversification. SABIC and Shenhua Ningxia Coal Industry Group are studying whether to build a coal-to-chemicals plant in China’s interior. SABIC and Saudi oil giant Saudi Aramco are studying a crude-oil-to-chemicals complex in Saudi Arabia. Separately, SABIC and Aramco recently denied rumors that they might merge as part of Saudi Arabia’s economic modernization effort.5 Formosa Plastics
2015 Chemical Sales: $29.2 billion
The Taiwanese chemical maker Formosa Plastics Group has a healthy appetite for massive U.S. projects that tap into low-cost shale natural gas. U.S. affiliate Formosa Plastics USA is already building an ethylene cracker and propane dehydrogenation plant in Point Comfort, Texas. Last year, another affiliate, Formosa Petrochemical, unveiled a study of a $9.4 billion petrochemical complex that would be built in St. James, La., in two phases spanning about a decade.6 Ineos
2015 Chemical Sales: $28.5 billion
The past year has been productive for Ineos, which has rocketed up C&EN’s ranking from number nine in 2015. Ineos took over BASF’s share of the Styrolution styrenic resins joint venture late in 2014. And the company just completed acquiring Solvay’s stake in the Inovyn polyvinyl chloride joint venture, two years ahead of schedule. Ineos’s ethylene cracker in Norway recently received its first shipment of ethane extracted from low-cost U.S. shale gas. Similar deliveries will soon reach Ineos’s cracker in Scotland, where the company is restarting an ethylene unit that has been idle since 2008.7 ExxonMobil
2015 Chemical Sales: $28.1 billion[+]EnlargeExxonMobil launched Exceed XP polyethylene for agricultural film and other applications earlier this year.Credit: ExxonMobil
As the chemical arm of one of the world’s largest oil companies, ExxonMobil Chemical can capitalize on opportunities where they arise. In Texas, the company is building an ethylene cracker and downstream polyethylene plants to take advantage of inexpensive natural gas. In Singapore, where it operates one of its largest chemical and refining facilities, ExxonMobil recently started up a cracker that can process crude oil directly. The company’s R&D organization also has been active. In April, ExxonMobil launched the Exceed XP line of “extreme performance” polyethylene, which allows plastics converters to make film more efficiently and with less material than they can with conventional polyethylene.8 LyondellBasell Industries
2015 Chemical Sales: $26.7 billion
In 2014, when activist investor Daniel Loeb was trying to instigate a breakup of Dow Chemical, he issued a report comparing Dow unfavorably to LyondellBasell Industries. Dow could earn $2.5 billion per year more, Loeb asserted, if it was more like Lyondell. Lyondell is among the most fiscally conservative of the large chemical makers and a rarity in that it hasn’t launched a grassroots ethylene cracker project in the U.S. But through incremental improvement projects over the past several years, Lyondell has managed to increase its capacity by 20%, adding roughly a cracker’s worth of output more quickly and cheaply than competitors. “I am confident that we are building a company that will remain the benchmark for operational excellence and financial performance,” noted CEO Bhavesh V. (Bob) Patel in his annual letter to shareholders.9 Mitsubishi Chemical
2015 Chemical Sales: $24.3 billion
Mitsubishi Chemical Holdings’ industrial gas unit, Taiyo Nippon Sanso, is making inroads into the North American market through its recent purchase of air separation, nitrous oxide, and carbon dioxide plants from Air Liquide, which was required to sell the units to quell antitrust concerns over its takeover of Airgas. Taiyo Nippon Sanso, the world’s fifth-largest industrial gas maker, also made acquisitions in Thailand and Australia. Mitsubishi Chemical, meanwhile, has completed formation of an ethylene joint venture in Mizushima, Japan, with Asahi Kasei. In another potential Japanese consolidation move, Mitsubishi Rayon is negotiating an acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene merger with Japanese rivals Ube Industries and JSR.10 DuPont
2015 Chemical Sales: $20.7 billion
In a few months, the DuPont we have known since 1802 will be no more. It will merge with Dow Chemical to form DowDuPont and eventually be scattered among three new spin-off firms. But the DuPont name, at least, will live on in one of them—the agricultural chemicals and seeds firm, which will retain headquarters in Wilmington, Del. So will the specialty products firm that will spin out of DowDuPont. That firm, with products such as Kevlar and Corian, will have a hefty dose of DuPont lineage. But it isn’t the merger alone that will forever alter DuPont. Simultaneous with the merger announcement in December came the disclosure that DuPont was cutting 10% of its workforce of 54,000. As part of that program, the company “redesigned” its storied Central R&D operation into a smaller Science & Innovation unit.11 LG Chem
2015 Chemical Sales: $18.2 billion
LG Chem is another firm that has gotten into the agrochemical mergers and aquisitions act, though not nearly at the same scale as rivals such as Bayer, ChemChina, Syngenta, Dow Chemical, and DuPont. LG is paying $432 million to acquire Dongbu Farm Hannong, which produces generic crop protection chemicals, seeds, and fertilizers in South Korea. Elsewhere in LG, managers have high expectations for the firm’s expanding lithium-ion battery business.12 Air Liquide
2015 Chemical Sales: $17.3 billion
The French industrial gas giant nabbed a coveted gas property earlier this year with its $13.4 billion acquisition of Airgas. The purchase of the U.S. player diversified Air Liquide geographically. It also added a retail gas business to a firm traditionally focused on large industrial clients. The deal should secure Air Liquide’s position as the world’s largest industrial gas company, comfortably ahead of Linde. The synergy between Air Liquide and Airgas comes at a price. Air Liquide paid about twice what Air Products & Chemicals was willing to pay in its failed 2011 bid for Airgas.[+]EnlargeLate last year, Linde inaugurated its pilot reformer in Pullach, Germany.Credit: Linde13 Linde
2015 Chemical Sales: $16.8 billion
Linde hasn’t made a big-ticket acquisition like Air Liquide, its main European industrial gas rival. The German firm’s largest transaction over the past year was its purchase of American HomePatient, set to add about $280 million to its annual sales. Linde is expanding much-needed neon capacity at its facility in La Porte, Texas. Another development comes from its engineering unit, which is testing out a “dry reforming” process to make carbon monoxide and hydrogen from methane and carbon dioxide.14 AkzoNobel
2015 Chemical Sales: $16.5 billion
In recent years, AkzoNobel has been one of the quietest of the big chemical names. However, earlier in 2016, it agreed to purchase BASF’s industrial coatings division for about $500 million. The acquisition strengthens Akzo’s business in coatings for sheet metal used to fabricate objects such as washing machines and refrigerators. In May, the company opened an R&D center in Shanghai that employs 150 scientists.15 Toray Industries
2015 Chemical Sales: $15.5 billion
Already the world’s largest carbon fiber company, Toray Industries recently expanded a supply agreement with Boeing that will give it $11 billion in business over the next 10 years supplying materials for Boeing’s 787 Dreamliner and other aircraft. To help it fill these orders, the company plans to spend $400 million on carbon fiber precursor, carbon fiber, and resin-impregnated fabric manufacturing in Spartanburg, S.C. Toray may eventually invest as much as $1 billion in the facility.16 Evonik Industries
2015 Chemical Sales: $15.0 billion[+]EnlargeEvonik says its acquisition of an Air Products & Chemicals business complements its own business in surfactants.Credit: Evonik
Evonik Industries appears to be making an ideal acquisition in its pending $3.8 billion purchase of Air Products & Chemicals’ performance materials business. Klaus Engel, Evonik’s CEO, called the purchase, his company’s largest ever, “an excellent and complementary fit with Evonik on all levels.” Indeed, nearly all the businesses it is getting in the transaction are closely related to ones it already has. For example, Air Products’ wetting agents for coatings complement Evonik’s dispersants and specialty silicas for paint. Separately, Evonik says R&D initiatives will add more than $1 billion to its sales by 2025.17 PPG Industries
2015 Chemical Sales: $14.2 billion
PPG Industries is getting the lead out, literally. In May, the company said it would join rival AkzoNobel and remove all lead from its paint, by 2020 in its case. Although lead hasn’t been present in consumer products sold in the U.S. for decades, it is still used in yellow and orange pigments in some industrial coatings. In another environmentally friendly move, PPG began a study with the tire maker Bridgestone into the use of PPG’s Agilon modified precipitated silicas to produce tires that can improve fuel efficiency by up to 6%.18 Braskem
2015 Chemical Sales: $14.2 billion[+]EnlargeBraskem recently started up its Braskem-Idesa ethylene and polyethylene joint venture in Mexico.Credit: Braskem
Brazil’s largest chemical maker has been able to avoid the misfortunes of its home country. Although Brazil is plagued by economic hardship, scandal, and political turmoil, the collapse of Brazil’s currency, the real, and the fall in oil prices have protected Braskem from cheap U.S. imports and helped make its Brazilian operations more competitive. Moreover, the company started an ethylene and polyethylene joint venture in Mexico, giving it a new low-cost foothold in the NAFTA region. Braskem is also investing $100 million to convert 15% of its chemical production in Camaçari, Brazil, to shale-based ethane imported from the U.S.19 Yara
2015 Chemical Sales: $13.9 billion
Yara managed to increase sales and earnings in 2015 even though the company faced weak fertilizer markets and production downtime. A pair of Latin American acquisitions lifted regional results. Now, with an ammonia joint venture with BASF under construction in Texas, the company is preparing for its next growth spurt. The proposed merger between CF Industries and OCI would have challenged Yara’s status as the world’s largest publicly traded fertilizer maker, but new U.S. Treasury Department tax rules against corporate tax inversions scuttled that deal.20 Covestro
2015 Chemical Sales: $13.4 billion
The former Bayer MaterialScience business debuts in C&EN’s ranking this year after being spun off from Bayer on Sept. 1, 2015, and later floated on Frankfurt’s stock exchange. Bayer still owns about 64% of the company’s shares, but it aims to eventually sell them. Covestro has engaged in some restructuring since it became independent, including closing its Tarragona, Spain, methylene diphenyl diisocyanate plant because of high costs and a lack of reliable chlorine supply. The company has also hit some positive milestones. In Dormagen, Germany, it opened a plant to make polyols in part from carbon dioxide.21 Sumitomo Chemical
2015 Chemical Sales: $13.3 billion
Sumitomo spent the past year beefing up its agrochemical business. Last month, it bought a majority stake in India’s Excel Crop Care to get a foothold in that country’s bustling market. Sumitomo’s Valent USA crop protection division is spending $22 million on a research center in Libertyville, Ill. The Japanese company is also building a research center in São Paulo, Brazil.22 Reliance Industries
2015 Chemical Sales: $12.9 billion
By this time next year, India’s largest chemical producer could be receiving vessels from the U.S. laden with cheap shale-derived ethane feedstock for ethylene production. Otherwise, Reliance Industries has been focusing on its polyester business. The company recently commissioned new capacity for polyethylene terephthalate and its key raw material, purified terephthalic acid (PTA), in Dahej, India. Next year, the company will complete a project to double its capacity for p-xylene, a PTA raw material.23 Solvay
2015 Chemical Sales: $12.3 billion
Belgium’s premier chemical maker closed on its purchase of Cytec Industries at the end of last year. The U.S. maker of composite materials will bolster Solvay’s business in materials for aircraft and enhance its high-end polymers business. Earlier this month, Solvay sold its stake in the Inovyn chlorovinyls joint venture to Ineos, completing its exit two years ahead of schedule. The company also inked an agreement to sell Solvay Indupa, its South American chlorovinyls business, to Brazil’s Unipar Carbocloro.24 Bayer
2015 Chemical Sales: $11.5 billion
Bayer is a vastly changed company from a year ago. In September, it spun off its MaterialScience business. The new polyurethane and polycarbonate company, called Covestro, debuts at 20th on the C&EN ranking. Bayer named a new chairman, Werner Baumann. He is taking over from Marijn Dekkers, who left for the top post at the consumer products giant Unilever. Baumann quickly got down to business, making an unsolicited $62 billion takeover offer for Monsanto. Bayer upped the offer to $65 billion two weeks ago. The bids follow other agricultural chemical and seed deals such as Dow Chemical’s impending merger with DuPont and ChemChina’s upcoming purchase of Syngenta.25 Mitsui Chemicals
2015 Chemical Sales: $11.1 billion
The past year continued a consolidation theme for Mitsui Chemicals. This year, the company closed a toluene diisocyanate plant in Kashima, Japan. The company is also closing a methylene diphenyl diisocyanate facility in Omuta, Japan. Earlier, Mitsui closed phenol and bisphenol A plants. However, the Japanese firm is also expanding in places. For instance, it is starting up an aliphatic isocyanate plant in Omuta next month.26 Praxair
2015 Chemical Sales: $10.8 billion
Praxair has prospered by sticking to its knitting. The Danbury, Conn.-based industrial gas maker is consistently among the most profitable of the Global Top 50. The company has tended to grow organically through capital spending initiatives. This year has been unusual for the company in that it made an acquisition, albeit a small one. It purchased Yara’s European carbon dioxide business, as well as Yara’s 34% stake in the Yara Praxair Holding industrial gas joint venture, for $360 million.27 Shin-Etsu Chemical
2015 Chemical Sales: $10.6 billion
Shin-Etsu Chemical, one of the best-performing Japanese chemical companies, saw profits climb once again in 2015. Polyvinyl chloride-related profits from its U.S. arm Shintech ebbed after several soaring years. But Shin-Etsu’s semiconductor silicon unit pressed ahead with a strong year. In April, the company tapped former Shintech head Yasuhiko Saitoh as its new president.28 Lotte Chemical
2015 Chemical Sales: $10.4 billion
The past year brought another round of audacious moves from the South Korean petrochemical maker. In October, Lotte inked an agreement to purchase Samsung SDI’s styrenic resins and polycarbonate business for $2.5 billion. It has a separate $200 million deal to buy Samsung SDI’s fine chemicals unit. Other big deals in recent years include its purchases of Malaysia’s Titan Chemicals and South Korea’s Lotte Daesan Petrochemical. Lotte even attempted a white-knight bid for U.S.-based vinyls maker Axiall. However, Axiall and its initial suitor, Westlake Chemical, eventually came to terms in a $3.8 billion agreement.29 Huntsman Corp.
2015 Chemical Sales: $10.3 billion
Job number one at Huntsman is to improve its titanium dioxide business. The company would have had one of its strongest years ever in 2015 were it not for the $223 million its pigments business lost. TiO2 is a large operation for Huntsman because it bought Rockwood Holdings’ business in 2014 with the intention of combining it with its own pigment business and spinning the whole thing off. In an effort to fix the enlarged operation, the company shuttered TiO2capacity in France and will close its smallest plant, in South Africa, later this year. It still is looking to carve out the business at the earliest opportunity.30 Syngenta
2015 Chemical Sales: $9.9 billion[+]EnlargeSyngenta Chairman Michel Demaré.Credit: Syngenta
In 2015, Monsanto offered $47 billion to acquire Syngenta. The Swiss firm turned the offer down, but the overture touched off deal talk throughout agricultural chemicals. The Dow-DuPont merger prospectus implies that DuPont had considered a bid of its own for Syngenta before it inked its deal with Dow in December. In February, Syngenta accepted a lower, though all-cash, offer of $43 billion from ChemChina. In a television interview, Syngenta Chairman Michel Demaré noted the appeal of continuing as a stand-alone company after the Chinese conglomerate takes over. “This is not a transaction about cost synergy,” he said, noting that Syngenta will be well-positioned to tap into growth in China’s agricultural sector.31 DSM
2015 Chemical Sales: $9.9 billion
DSM has been under pressure from activist investor Daniel Loeb to spin off its materials business and focus on its nutrition unit. The company did form a joint venture for its chemical intermediates and composite resins operations last year, but it intends to keep polymers. Meanwhile, the nutrition business Loeb thinks is a keeper faced headwinds last year as markets for vitamin E and omega-3 fatty acids weakened. This prompted a warning from Moody’s that it might downgrade DSM’s credit rating.32 Air Products & Chemicals
2015 Chemical Sales: $9.9 billion
It appears as though CEO Seifi Ghasemi’s plan to focus Air Products & Chemicals entirely on industrial gases is falling into place. The company had intended to spin off its chemical business as a new company, Versum Materials. Instead, it struck a deal to sell a big chunk of it to Evonik Industries. Versum is still being spun off, but as a pure-play electronic materials supplier. Air Products also abandoned plans to run a plasma gasification waste-to-energy facility in Tees Valley, England, taking a $1 billion write-off for money it sunk into the project.33 Eastman Chemical
2015 Chemical Sales: $9.6 billion
Eastman has been fairly quiet since it acquired alkylamines specialist Taminco in late 2014. The added sales helped Eastman boost revenues in 2015, bucking an industry-wide trend and helping it ascend C&EN’s ranking from number 39 a year ago. Since the purchase, Eastman has undertaken only minor housecleaning. The company divested a stake in an acetate flake joint venture to partner Solvay. It also retained a financial adviser to sell its excess ethylene capacity in Longview, Texas.34 Chevron Phillips Chemical
2015 Chemical Sales: $9.2 billion
Chevron Phillips Chemical was among the first companies out of the gate with a Gulf Coast ethylene cracker project meant to take advantage of cheap U.S. shale gas. At the American Chemistry Council’s annual meeting earlier this year, CEO Peter Cella said the plant would start up on time and on budget next year. He added that the downturn in oil- and gas-related construction was providing some relief to the shortage of skilled laborers such as welders, who are in high demand on the Gulf Coast for chemical projects.35 Mosaic
2015 Chemical Sales: $8.9 billion
Mosaic is suffering from a cyclical decline in fertilizer markets. Operating profits were down about 12% in 2015 on flat sales. The company is thus in cost-cutting mode. During the first quarter of this year, Mosaic cut phosphate production by 400,000 metric tons through rolling outages. The company is also idling a potash mine in Saskatchewan.36 Lanxess
2015 Chemical Sales: $8.8 billion[+]EnlargeLanxess headquarters in Cologne, Germany.Credit: Lanxess
It might be appropriate to think of Lanxess as a turnaround story and assign credit to Matthias Zachert, who took over as CEO in 2014 and cut $160 million in costs in his first year. The company’s $638 million in 2015 operating profits is a 41% improvement from the year before. Additional cuts are in the works. Lanxess also reaped $1.3 billion by selling Saudi Aramco half of its synthetic rubber business, which now operates as a joint venture named Arlanxeo. Lanxess is expanding its Saltigo fine chemicals business and acquiring Chemours’s disinfectants business.37 Borealis
2015 Chemical Sales: $8.5 billion
Like other European petrochemical producers, Borealis is eager to tap into the cheap shale gas available in the U.S. By the end of the year, Borealis will be shipping ethane from Marcus Hook, Pa., to its ethylene cracker in Stenungsund, Sweden. Thought of mostly as a polyolefins producer, the company also has been growing its fertilizers business in recent years and is still considering building a joint-venture fertilizer plant on the Texas Gulf Coast.38 Arkema
2015 Chemical Sales: $8.5 billion[+]EnlargeArkema has been expanding its Bostik adhesives business, which it acquired from Total in 2015.Credit: Arkema
The French specialty chemical maker has been relatively quiet since it purchased the Bostik adhesives business from its former parent, Total, last year. One move is the planned sale of its activated carbon business to Calgon Carbon for $160 million. Arkema has been more active on the R&D front. With Brewer Science, it is developing polystyrene-polymethylmethacrylate block copolymers for use in directed self-assembly methods of making ultrathin circuit lines. It is also partnering with HP to develop three-dimensional printing materials.39 Asahi Kasei
2015 Chemical Sales: $8.5 billion
Asahi Kasei has been embroiled in a scandal over a business that has little to do with chemicals. Last October, residents of Yokohama, Japan, noticed their apartment tower was leaning. This led to the revelation that Asahi Kasei Construction Materials had falsified data on hundreds of projects around Japan. Asahi’s president, Toshio Asano, was forced to step down. It hasn’t been all bad news at Asahi. In March, the company announced it was spending $26 million to consolidate research activities in Mizushima, Japan. It expects to complete a six-floor R&D facility in a year.40 Sasol
2015 Chemical Sales: $8.3 billion[+]EnlargeSasol is about 40% finished with construction on its massive ethylene complex in Lake Charles, La.Credit: Sasol
Sasol’s massive project in Lake Charles, La., is a good example of how the cost of projects in the U.S. petrochemical building boom can escalate. The company says the ethylene cracker and derivatives plant will cost $11 billion, up from last year’s estimate of about $8 billion and much higher than the $4.5 billion Sasol said the project would cost when it was unveiled in 2011. Sasol has spent $4.5 billion on construction so far, and it is only 40% complete. The company blames rising labor, raw materials, and contract costs.41 SK Innovation
2015 Chemical Sales: $8.2 billion
SK’s results were typical for Asian petrochemical makers in 2015. Sales were down considerably—nearly 27% in SK’s case—because of lower prices. However, low oil prices drove prices for naphtha feedstocks down even more, allowing the South Korean company to post a 20% increase in profits.42 DIC
2015 Chemical Sales: $7.1 billion
DIC has a new strategic plan, “DIC108,” that calls for the company to increase sales 17% by 2018. In the report, released in February, the Japanese company pledged to cultivate next-generation business in areas such as printed electronics, gas-barrier materials, healthy foods, and algae-derived oils. Last September, it opened a $2 million algae research center in Calipatria, Calif.43 Hanwha Chemical
2015 Chemical Sales: $7.1 billion
Hanwha’s 0.2% decline in sales was minuscule compared with most other petrochemical firms. The South Korean company did experience large sales declines at most of its petrochemical businesses. However, revenues at Hanwha’s photovoltaic materials unit jumped 30%, nearly offsetting the pullback elsewhere.44 Lubrizol
Chemical sales: $7.0 billion
Lubrizol makes C&EN’s ranking for the first time this year. Since Berkshire Hathaway, a holding company run by investor Warren Buffett, bought Lubrizol in 2011, it has been a platform for Berkshire to bolt on small acquisitions. For example, it recently purchased Diamond Dispersions, a British producer of water-based dye and pigment dispersions, and Particle Sciences, a Pennsylvania-based contract drug formulation and production company. Lubrizol’s architect, James L. Hambrick, is stepping down at the end of 2016 after leading the firm for 14 years. He is being replaced by Eric R. Schnur, currently chief operating officer.45 Ecolab
2015 Chemical Sales: $6.9 billion
Ecolab has been fairly quiet since acquiring Nalco in 2011 and Champion Technologies in 2013. The Ecolab revenues that C&EN counts as chemical sales are mostly from the old Nalco Chemical. The Nalco name lives on in the company after five years under Ecolab ownership. Ecolab’s oil-field chemicals unit is known as Nalco Champion and its water treatment chemicals division goes by Nalco Water.46 Indorama
2015 Chemical Sales: $6.9 billion
Indorama has grown quickly in polyethylene terephthalate (PET) fibers and resins over the past decade through bold capital expansions and large acquisitions. Now the Thai company is moving forcefully into PET’s main raw material, purified terephthalic acid (PTA). Earlier this year, Indorama agreed to purchase BP’s PTA plant in Decatur, Ala., which is adjacent to one of its own PET units. Before then, the company purchased PTA plants in Spain and Quebec from the Spanish energy and chemicals firm Cepsa.47 Johnson Matthey
2015 Chemical Sales: $6.5 billion[+]EnlargeA Johnson Matthey scientist inspects a molecular model.Credit: Johnson Matthey
The British catalyst and fine chemicals maker has been pushing increasingly into areas of novel chemistry. Last month, it bought MIOX, which makes on-site bleach generators for water treatment. In April, it launched a collaboration with Domainex to provide small-molecule drug discovery and development services in the U.K. However, Matthey was forced to cut some 70 positions late last year because of low oil prices and an economic slowdown in China.48 Honeywell
2015 Chemical Sales: $6.5 billion
Honeywell squeaked into the Global Top 50 this year. The company’s chemical results include its licensing and catalyst arm, UOP, as well as its traditional nylon and fluorochemical businesses. But 2016 will likely be the company’s only appearance in the ranking. Honeywell plans to spin off its caprolactam and nylon business, which has about $1.3 billion in annual sales, into a new firm to be called AdvanSix.49 PTT Global Chemical
2015 Chemical Sales: $6.4 billion
The Thai petrochemical maker recently advanced its proposed multi-billion-dollar ethylene cracker project in Mead Township, Ohio, by selecting Fluor and Bechtel as contractors. PTT has set aside a $100 million budget for front-end design and engineering. The company, which has a controlling stake in Myriant and owns half of NatureWorks, derives $435 million of its sales, 6% of its total, from biobased chemicals, including oleochemicals.50 PotashCorp
2015 chemical sales $6.3 billion
The last company in C&EN’s ranking, Potash Corp. of Saskatchewan, has been suffering a downturn in the potassium fertilizer market. It also met a couple of setbacks over the past year. It is suspending operations at a new potash mine in New Brunswick, Canada, after spending $2 billion on it. And the company had to withdraw its $8.7 billion offer to buy K+S after management at the German potash and salt maker showed no interest in allowing their company to be acquired.
https://cen.acs.org/articles/94/i30/CENs-Global-Top-50.html
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(ACC Mentioned) The Top 10 Destinations For U.S. Chemical Exports
Jul 26, 2016 | Chem.Info
By Meagan Parrish
Chemicals contribute to a significant portion of all American exports. According to the American Chemistry Council, the chemicals industry accounts for 12 percent of exports at a value of about $189 billion.
It's also currently a hot topic in the presidential race. According to Republican candidate, Donald Trump, many of the major trade agreements have hurt the U.S. economy by encouraging companies to ship jobs overseas. As one of his campaign promises, Trump has vowed to renegotiate current trade deals or slap two of America’s biggest trading partners — China and Mexico — with tariffs of 35 or 45 percent.
Many economists have expressed concerns that such a move would ignite a trade war if countries choose to retaliate with tariffs of their own.
Just how much money is at stake?
As the graph shows, Mexico and China were two of the chemicals industry’s biggest trading partners in 2015. Any new trade agreement could have major implications for the industry at home.
Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton has been a long-time supporter of most major trade deals, but has begun to take a more cautious approach in the last few months.
Meanwhile, the recent Brexit vote has also cast an air of uncertainty over U.S. trade relations with the UK. Once the UK officially leaves the European Union, a new trade agreement will have to be hammered out, which could also jeopardize trade across the Atlantic.
The graph shows the top countries to receive U.S. chemicals exports in 2015. The exports included pharmaceuticals, basis and specialty chemicals, agriculture chemicals and consumer products.
http://www.chem.info/data-focus/2016/07/top-10-destinations-us-chemical-exports
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EPA To Host TSCA Rule Development Meetings
Jul 26, 2016 | Chemical Watch
The US EPA has convened two public meetings on the recently reformed TSCA. Their purpose is to obtain input for the development of procedures for prioritising substances and conducting risk evaluations (REs).
The agency is required to complete rulemakings on prioritisation and risk evaluation within a year of the Frank R Lautenberg Chemical Safety for the 21st Century Act being signed into law. The EPA says that feedback from the meetings will be considered as it develops these rules.
The meetings will take place in Washington, DC on 9 and 10 August. The agency will present background information relevant to the rulemakings and will hear oral comments from stakeholders.
Comments may also be submitted to the public docket until 17 August.
https://chemicalwatch.com/48803/epa-to-host-tsca-rule-development-meetings
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EPA Plans Stakeholder Meetings On TSCA Implementation
Jul 25, 2016 | Inside EPA
EPA will host a pair of meetings in August to gather input on how it should implement two core aspects of the new authorities handed the agency in the recently signed law to reform the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA), which governs the manufacture and use of industrial chemicals.
“On August 9-10, EPA will hold public meetings to obtain input on the processes that will be used to prioritize and evaluate chemicals under the Toxic Substances Control Act as amended by the Frank R. Lautenberg Chemical Safety for the 21st Century Act,” according to a July 25 email from EPA's toxics office, which is responsible for implementing the new authorities. “The input obtained during these meetings will be considered as the EPA develops its proposed procedural regulations for risk evaluation and chemical prioritization.”
A notice scheduled to be published in the Federal Register July 26 adds that the rules will be developed per the new TSCA Section 6(b)(4), which requires that no later than June 21, 2017, “EPA is required to establish by rule a process to conduct risk evaluations to determine whether a chemical substance presents an unreasonable risk of injury to health or the environment.”
Similarly, the notice adds that as required by new TSCA Section 6(b)(1), EPA must by the same date craft “by rule a risk-based screening process, including criteria for designating chemical substances as high-priority for risk evaluations or low priority for which risk evaluations are not warranted at the time.”
EPA toxics officials in public remarks have indicated that one of their new initiatives during the Obama administration, the TSCA work plan chemicals program, was designed not only to more aggressively regulate existing chemicals in the face of Congressional inaction on TSCA reform, but also to prepare agency staff to implement reforms to TSCA should a reform bill come to pass. The office has undertaken a score of assessments since starting the program in 2012, though many remain in progress.
The TSCA reform bill nods to the program, indicating the first 10 chemicals prioritized for review should be taken from the TSCA work plan program's list of prioritized chemicals. The meeting announcement follows EPA's first-year plan, which indicates EPA plans to formally initiate the risk evaluations of those first 10 chemicals by mid-December and publish the scope of each review by mid-June 2017.
The Aug. 9 meeting will consider chemical evaluation, while the Aug. 10 meeting will discuss prioritization of chemicals for assessment. Both meetings will be held in Washington, D.C.
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EPA Issues First PMN Decisions Under Amended TSCA
Jul 26, 2016 | Chemical Watch
By Kelly Franklin
The US EPA has issued four regulatory determinations for pre-manufacture notices (PMNs) under the newly amended TSCA.
The agency found each of the four substances "not likely to present an unreasonable risk" during the PMN review process.
The Frank R Lautenberg Chemical Safety for the 21st Century Act (HR 2576) update to TSCA was signed into law on 22 June. It requires the EPA to make "an affirmative finding of safety" before a new substance is allowed onto the market.
For substances undergoing review prior to enactment of the Lautenberg Act, the EPA reset the 90-day review period.
The agency, however, said it would "make every effort to complete its review and make a determination within the remaining time under the original 90-day review period".
The substances reviewed by the agency were:generic fatty alcohols-dimers, trimers, polymers (intended for use as a reactive polyol);generic depolymerised waste plastics (an intermediate in the manufacture of polymers);generic propyl silsesquioxanes, hydrogen-terminated (an intermediate); andgeneric organic modified propyl silsesquioxane (a plastic additive).Determinations
For each reviewed substance the EPA issued a determination summarising its findings.
The review determination provides findings on the substance'senvironmental fate;persistence;potential to bioaccumulate;hazard to human health and the environment;potential exposures; andimpact on potentially exposed or susceptible subpopulations (PESS).
They also outline the substances intended, known and reasonably foreseen uses.
Richard Denison, lead senior scientist at the Environmental Defense Fund (EDF), says that the new disclosures constitute "an unprecedented level of transparency for a programme that has often felt like a 'black box' in the past."
But, he says there are several concerning features to the PMN reviews. These include that:"substantial amounts" of information were claimed as confidential business information (CBI), and it is "not clear the extent to which such claims were scrutinised by EPA" (although Dr Denison notes it is not clear if these CBI claims would be subject to the heightened CBI requirements, as the PMNs were submitted prior to the law's enactment); the environmental fate, health hazard and exposure findings were based largely on predicted, rather than measured, data; the EPA provided only summaries of its findings, rather than more detailed review documents showing models, outputs, and assumptions; andthe agency's reviews of exposures and exposed populations "appear incomplete and insufficient".
The NGO urged the agency to publish the detailed PMN review documents, and to conduct more thorough review of exposure.
https://chemicalwatch.com/48778/epa-issues-first-pmn-decisions-under-amended-tsca
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Chemical Ranking, Risk Evaluation to Be Discussed: EPA
Jul 26, 2016 | BNA Daily Environment Report
he process by which chemicals would be ranked as high or low priorities for risk evaluation and the procedures the Environmental Protection Agency would use to evaluate the risks of high-priority chemicals will be discussed at two August meetings, the agency will announce in a Federal Register notice scheduled for July 26 publication.
The EPA will discuss risk-evaluation procedures on Aug. 9 and the chemical prioritization process on Aug. 10. Interested parties can speak during either meeting of these forums, which are the first public meetings the agency has scheduled to implement the recently amended Toxic Substances Control Act.
Written comments may be submitted until Aug. 17 to the two dockets announced in EPA's notice. Details on registration, docket, location and other meeting information is available at
http://news.bna.com/deln/DELNWB/split_display.adp?fedfid=94590864&vname=dennotallissues&fn=94590864&jd=94590864
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Landmark Federal Law In place, Race Moves Forward With Mission
Jul 25, 2016 | Advantage News
As the recent passage of major reform to the federal Toxic Substances Control Act marked a milestone for the Asbestos Disease Awareness Organization in its journey to have asbestos banned in the United States, the race to the finish line continues with the eighth annual Alton Miles for Meso 5K Race & 3K Fun Run/Walk to benefit the organization.
Registration is open for the event on Saturday, Sept. 24, which coincides with National Mesothelioma Awareness Day on Sept. 26.
Alton Miles for Meso is an initiative of the Simmons Mesothelioma Foundation, established in 2009 to raise funds and awareness for mesothelioma, a rare cancer caused by asbestos exposure. Simmons Hanly Conroy, a leading national law firm that represents mesothelioma patients and their families, and Metro Tri Club of Edwardsville, host and produce the event.
In June, President Barack Obama signed into law the Frank R. Lautenberg Chemical Safety for the 21st Century Act that reforms the TSCA and empowers the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to regulate or ban substances like asbestos.
“We are heartened by this major move forward in protecting people from the negative health effects of asbestos, but there is more work to be done,” said Linda Reinstein, co-founder of ADAO along with Doug Larkin, who both have lost loved ones to mesothelioma as a result of asbestos exposure. “We look forward to another record-breaking Alton Miles for Meso in 2016 to help make sure victims of asbestos-related diseases have a united voice in continuing to raise public awareness of the dangers of asbestos, which is still prevalent and legal to use in the United States today.”
“We are thrilled to once again present this wonderful event that brings our community together to support the victims of asbestos-related diseases and their families,” Todd Adamitis, chief operating officer of Simmons Hanly Conroy, said. “We also are grateful to all of the participants and attendees, as well as our colleagues and friends who donate their time each year to help make this event a success.”
The event will begin at 9 a.m. at the Simmons Hanly Conroy national headquarters, 1 Court St., across from Marquette Catholic High School. Early registration costs $25 and ends Aug. 31. Regular registration costs $25 and will run Sept. 1-19, followed by late registration for $35 up until the race day. Online registration at milesformeso.org/register ends Sept. 22. Registration on-site the day of the race will begin at 7:30 a.m.
Registration also is open through Sept. 2 for this year’s expanded Alton Miles for Meso Virtual Race that allows anyone in the country or the world to participate by purchasing race T-shirts, and on race day sharing photos of themselves wearing the shirts via social media and the hashtag #milesformeso. The race site will feature a large screen that will display the social media posts throughout the race to allow virtual participants to broadcast their support in real time to runners, patients and their families in Alton. Virtual race registration costs $30 and includes the T-shirt and shipping fees.
Among the event’s other highlights will be a performance by Jordan Zevon, ADAO spokesman and son of Grammy-winning singer-songwriter Warren Zevon, who died from mesothelioma in 2003. Other planned activities and attractions include a children’s game zone, a dog adoption event hosted by Hope Rescues, and a vendor fair with local businesses and charities.
The top five overall men and women 5K race finishers each will win trophies and cash prizes of $500, $250, $200, $100 and $50, in order of finish. In addition, the first-, second- and third-place finishers in 5-year age groups will receive custom medals, and the top fundraising team and individual will be recognized.
More than 1,000 people attended last year’s event, which raised more than $30,000. Miles for Meso races have taken place in other cities across the country from New York to Florida to Washington state and several locations in between. The Bruce A. Waite Miles for Meso 5K will take place in Ontario, Ohio, on the Sunday before the Alton race. Since 2009, the combined events have raised nearly $450,000 to benefit mesothelioma research and awareness.
http://advantagenews.com/news/landmark-federal-law-in-place-race-moves-forward-with-missio/#sthash.paTYyjWX.dpuf
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(ACC Mentioned) EPA Seeks Input on New Use Rules for Chemicals
Jul 26, 2016 | BNA Daily Environment Report
By Pat Rizzuto
he Environmental Protection Agency will invite a second round of comments on the burdens and value of information it periodically collects addressing significant new use rules for existing chemicals.
An EPA Federal Register notice invited comments through Aug. 25 on a previous information collection request.
The notice will provide chemical manufacturers and other interested parties a second opportunity to comment on questions such as whether the agency accurately estimated the burden of responding to significant new use rules, commonly called SNURs, that it issues for chemicals in commerce; whether the agency could minimize the burden; and whether the information it collects is necessary. The EPA previously requested comment on these same questions through an information collection request published Sept. 2, 2015 (80 Fed. Reg. 53,151).
Associations Spur New Comments
The agency is reopening the information collection request for additional comments following concerns two trade associations—the American Chemistry Council and the Society of Chemical Manufacturers & Affiliates (SOCMA)—raised in comments they submitted Nov. 2, 2015.
Dan Newton, senior manager for government relations at the chemical manufacturers society, told Bloomberg BNA July 25 that recent amendments that have been made to the Toxic Substances Control Act make it particularly important that the EPA re-open the comments for this information collection. The Frank R. Lautenberg Chemical Safety for the 21st Century Act (Pub. Law No. 114–182), which overhauls much of TSCA, was signed into law June 22.
In November, the chemical manufacturers society and American Chemistry Council said the EPA had underestimated the burdens its SNURs impose on chemical manufacturers and their customers.
EPA's Burden Estimates Too Low?
EPA estimated that six companies would be affected by its new use rules for existing chemicals, creating an estimated total burden of 1,025 hours per year and a cost of $100,595.
Supply chain burdens should be considered by the EPA as it estimates the effects new use rules have, the chemistry council and chemical manufacturers society said.
The society said the EPA could relieve some of the compliance burden by working with the Occupational Safety and Health Administration to ensure companies include information about work-related new use rules in safety data sheets.
Christina Franz, senior director of regulatory and technical affairs at the American Chemistry Council , said the agency failed to account for the “significant burden” companies face preparing comments on each proposed SNUR.
One council member company “spent approximately 100 hours preparing comments on each of two recently proposed SNURs on existing chemicals. On just one of those SNURs, that member company required five supporting personnel, who spent another 50 hours gathering data and information to help prepare comments on the SNUR. That resource commitment amounted to $15,000 for that one SNUR alone,” Franz wrote.
EPA's information collection request also failed to estimate the burden some of its SNURs impose on companies that import manufactured goods, or “articles,” Franz wrote. Articles are products such as cars, carpets and computers that are made with chemicals that may be subject to a SNUR.
http://news.bna.com/deln/DELNWB/split_display.adp?fedfid=94590875&vname=dennotallissues&wsn=494932000&searchid=28066622&doctypeid=1&type=date&mode=doc&split=0&scm=DELNWB&pg=0
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(ACC Mentioned) Plastic Pollutes, but Replacing It Is Even Worse ... Says Study Funded by Plastic
Jul 26, 2016 | Bloomberg Technology
By Peter Coy
Two years ago, a London-based environmental consulting firm named Trucost wrote a report (PDF) for the United Nations Environment Program that said "the environmental impacts of plastic cannot be ignored." It cited litter, damage to marine life, greenhouse gases from plastics manufacturing, and other ills before recommending that "companies establish a strategy to reduce the impacts of plastic, including setting targets with deadlines."
Then, last November, the American Chemistry Council, a trade group for manufacturers of plastics and other chemical products, hired Trucost to do a follow-up report. This one, released today, concludes that switching from plastic to other materials, such as glass, paper, aluminum, and steel, would nearly quadruple the environmental cost.
Is Trucost contradicting itself? Actually, no. It's all a matter of emphasis. The plastic-cup-half-empty view is that plastic pollutes. The half-full view is yes, but the alternatives would be worse.
"Replacing plastics with other materials is not going to solve the problem," Libby Bernick, Trucost's senior vice president for North America, said in an interview before the report's release.
While the study for the United Nations did recommend reducing use of plastic, it said that this should be done via more recycling and redesign of products, not by switching to other materials. In fact, the UN report called plastic "one of the most useful and important materials in modern society."
Conversely, the report for the American Chemistry Council doesn't make a case for plastic's perfection. It says that the environmental cost of plastic is $139 billion a year. It could be reduced to $98 billion a year by switching to more sustainable kinds of plastic, it concludes. Switching to alternatives such as glass, paper, aluminum, or steel would raise the environmental cost to $533 billion a year, Trucost says.
Some recommendations in the report:Recycle a bigger share of plasticCapture plastic waste before it enters the oceans1Make more plastic with electricity from low-carbon sources such as wind, solar, and hydro powerMakers of rival materials weren't impressed.
Lynn Bragg, president of the Glass Packaging Institute, wrote in an e-mail that glass containers "are 100 percent and endlessly recyclable, made from inert raw materials." Jody Hall, vice president for automotive at the Steel Market Development Institute, said steel is recapturing market share from plastic in gas tanks of hybrid vehicles, which need to be extra-strong. And Matt Meenan, a spokesman for the Aluminum Association, said aluminum cans can be transported and cooled with less energy than plastic bottles require, which saves energy.
How does he know? The group is preparing a report that says so.
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-07-26/plastic-pollutes-but-replacing-it-is-even-worse-says-study-funded-by-plastic
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(ACC Mentioned) Exxon Mobil, Saudis Look To Create Petrochemical Venture In Texas
Jul 25, 2016 | Houston Chronicle
By Jordan Blum
Exxon Mobil Corp. and a company owned by the government of Saudi Arabia are proposing to build a multibillion-dollar petrochemical complex along the Gulf Coast, the first U.S. joint venture for two of the world's biggest energy juggernauts.
Exxon Mobil and the Saudi Arabia Basic Industries Corp., known as SABIC, said Monday that they're considering sites in Texas and Louisiana to take advantage of cheap and abundant natural gas supplies in Texas and beyond. Natural gas is used as the primary feedstock for local petrochemical plants.
Exxon Mobil and SABIC, which have partnered for more than three decades in Saudi Arabia, are looking in Victoria as well as the Corpus Christi area, specifically San Patricio County, Exxon spokeswoman Margaret Ross said. In Louisiana, talks have begun with officials in Ascension and St. James parishes, both of which are between Baton Rouge and New Orleans.
SABIC is the largest publicly traded company in Saudi Arabia, but the government controls a majority stake.
The Saudis, who are trying to diversify their economy from crude oil, are working to expand petrochemical capabilities worldwide so they can become a global player in refined products, as well as raw materials, said Ed Hirs, an energy economist at the University of Houston. For Exxon Mobil, it allows the company to split the costs and free up capital as low oil prices squeeze the company's revenues. It also gives Exxon Mobil a well-run partner with deep pockets.
"It's a new facet and a new direction for an ongoing relationship," Hirs said. "The Saudi king has wanted to make it more of a global enterprise."
The Gulf Coast petrochemical sector has taken off in recent years because of the shale gas boom began nearly a decade ago. The American Chemistry Council, a chemical industry trade group, estimates that counts more than 250 petrochemical projects are getting built or planned across the country through 2023, creating about 70,000 jobs. The combined cost is about $160 billion, including about $50 billion just in Texas.
Global giants like Exxon Mobil and SABIC typically won't make such big announcements unless they plan for the project to come to fruition, said Dave Witte, senior vice president at the IHS research firm who focuses on the petrochemical industry.
While Saudi Arabia is awash in oil, Witte said, its natural gas supplies are tightening, so tapping new sources through a U.S. expansion makes sense. The port access along the Gulf Coast would also allow the Exxon Mobil-Saudi joint venture to ship chemicals and plastic to developing countries in Asia and elsewhere.
"That is vitally important as most of the chemical demand growth in the next several decades is anticipated to come from developing economies," Exxon Mobil Chemical President Neil Chapman said.
The Exxon Mobil-SABIC project probably wouldn't start construction until 2018 or come online until after 2020, said Pavel Molchanov, an energy analyst at Raymond James in Houston. That might be just as well, since a global economic slowdown is hurting demand for plastic products, packaging and automotive parts, and contributing to a glut of petrochemicals.
"What matters is not today's spot pricing but the expectation of where prices will be during the 2020-2040 time frame," he added.
Saudi Arabia has a major Texas presence already through its Motiva Enterprises venture with Royal Dutch Shell. Saudi Arabia and Shell are negotiating an end to the venture, but the Saudis are expected to hold on to the Motiva brand, the Port Arthur refinery - the largest in North America - and 26 distribution terminals.
As for the petrochemical proposal, Exxon Mobil and SABIC said the project would involve building a world-class steam cracker, which takes separated parts of natural gas, such as ethane, and uses steam to break them into petrochemicals like ethylene, the primary building block of most plastics.
Before making a final decision on the project, Exxon Mobil and SABIC said they will do studies and work with state and local officials to help identify a potential site with adequate access to roads, pipelines and port facilities.
Exxon Mobil also has existing petrochemical complexes in Baytown and Mont Belvieu.
http://www.houstonchronicle.com/business/energy/article/Exxon-Saudis-eyeing-petrochemical-venture-in-8414512.php
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Exxon Unit, SABIC Eyeing Petrochemical Venture On Gulf Coast
Jul 25, 2016 | Fuel Fix
By Jordan Blum
Exxon Mobil Corp. and Saudi Arabia’s largest chemical company are considering a partnership to build a major petrochemical complex in either Texas or Louisiana along the Gulf Coast.
Exxon and the Saudi Arabia Basic Industries Corp., known as SABIC, announced they’re weighing the venture to take advantage of cheap and abundant natural gas supplies in Texas and other parts of the country. Natural gas is used as the primary feedstock for most petrochemical plants along the Gulf Coast.
Exxon is considering sites in Victoria, Texas, as well as the Corpus Christi area, specifically San Patricio County, among other locations, Exxon spokeswoman Margaret Ross said. In Louisiana, talks continue with officials in Ascension and St. James parishes, both of which are between Baton Rouge and New Orleans.
The port access along the Gulf Coast would allow them to produce chemicals and plastics locally and ship them to developing countries in Asia and elsewhere.
“That is vitally important as most of the chemical demand growth in the next several decades is anticipated to come from developing economies,” said Exxon Mobil Chemical President Neil Chapman in the announcement.
Exxon isn’t revealing any details except to say it would represent a multibillion-dollar investment.
SABIC is interested in geographically diversifying its global footprint, said SABIC CEO Yousef Abdullah Al-Benyan. SABIC is the largest publicly traded company in Saudia Arabia, but it’s still majority controlled by the government.
Exxon and SABIC said the project would involve building a world-class steam cracker and derivatives units. A cracker takes separated parts of natural gas, such as ethane, and uses steam to heat the hydrocarbons and break them down into petrochemicals like ethylene, which is the primary building block of most plastics.
Before making a final decision on the project, Exxon and SABIC said they will conduct studies and work with state and local officials to help identify a potential site with adequate infrastructure access. Exxon also has existing petrochemical complexes in Baytown and Mont Belvieu outside of Houston.
Exxon and SABIC have worked together for more than 30 years on joint venture projects within Saudi Arabia.
http://fuelfix.com/blog/2016/07/25/exxon-unit-sabic-eyeing-petrochemical-venture-on-gulf-coast/
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Idaho Group Threatens To Sue Plastic Bag Maker Over TRI Reporting
Jul 25, 2016 | E&E News PM
By Sean Reilly
An Idaho environmental group is threatening to sue plastic bag maker Novolex, accusing the company of shirking reporting responsibilities to U.S. EPA's Toxics Release Inventory (TRI).
In letters sent today to 17 Novolex plants, the Idaho Conservation League said they are violating the 1986 Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act by failing to file annual reports to the TRI listing releases of toxic air pollutants.
"Compliance with federal hazardous air pollution reporting [statutes] is critically important for people in surrounding communities," the letter states. "Your failure to disclose your emissions denies residents critical information that may be needed to protect their health and peace of mind."
The letter marks the start of a 60-day notice period, after which the league may file a lawsuit if the issue isn't settled.
Novolex, headquartered in South Carolina, is a closely held firm with more 6,000 employees in the United States, Canada and Mexico, according to its website. Besides plastic bags, its products include paper bags and coffee cup sleeves.
Manufacturers are typically supposed to report releases to the TRI if they have 10 or more full-time workers, and make or use toxic chemicals listed on the inventory above certain thresholds. The environmental group became aware of the alleged reporting lapses when it was reviewing air permits for a Novolex factory in Jerome, Idaho, and then found that other facilities around the country were similarly failing to file the reports, according to a news release.
But in a phone interview today, Phil Rozenski, Novolex's senior director of sustainability, said the Jerome plant doesn't exceed thresholds that would trigger reporting requirements and otherwise complies with federal, state and local regulations.
In the letter, the league expresses interest in settlement talks that "could avoid the need for litigation" and asks Novolex to turn over any documents or other information that might bear on the alleged violations. As of this afternoon, the two sides have not talked, Austin Hopkins, a conservation assistant with the league, said in a phone interview.
http://www.eenews.net/eenewspm/2016/07/25/stories/1060040755
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EPA Air Office Readies Rule to Address Cross-State Decision
Jul 26, 2016 | BNA Daily Environment Report
By Patrick Ambrosio
The Environmental Protection Agency is working on a rule that would fully address a 2015 federal appeals court ruling on the legality of state-specific emissions budgets for the utility sector.
The agency in May initiated a rulemaking to address sulfur dioxide emissions budgets for Alabama, Georgia, South Carolina and Texas, according to a document posted on the agency's website July 22. A proposal is expected sometime before the end of May 2017.
The rule would serve as part of the EPA's official response to a U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit ruling that held the EPA's Cross-State Air Pollution Rule impermissibly over-controlled power plant emissions in 13 states (EME Homer City Generation LP v. EPA, 795 F.3d 118, 2015 BL 239912, 80 ERC 2005 (D.C. Cir. 2015)).
The agency, in a June 27 memorandum to regional air directors, outlined two options for the four affected states to meet their obligations under federal air quality standards. The states will have the option of voluntarily participating in the Cross-State Rule or submitting state implementation plans that are compliant with national air quality standards and regional haze requirements.
The Cross-State Rule set state-specific caps on utility sector emissions of nitrogen oxides and sulfur dioxide in order to help downwind states come into compliance with national ozone standards. The agency is working to address the nitrogen oxides emissions budgets covered by the 2015 EME Homer decision in a separate rulemaking (RIN:2060-AS05), a final version of which is currently under review by the White House Office of Management and Budget.
http://news.bna.com/deln/DELNWB/split_display.adp?fedfid=94590856&vname=dennotallissues&fn=94590856&jd=94590856
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