Daily News

One way to overcome the chemical industry's dependence on fossil fuels is to replace oil and gas with renewable carbon within the existing structures of the chemical industry. But it applies also to innovation, the development of new processes, building blocks and materials.

With consumers and regulators focusing more than ever on the materials we use and how they are disposed of, innovators are revolutionising food packaging, plastic production, and approaches to recycling and waste. The Rethinking Materials Summit reveals 26 start-ups set to shake up the supply chain when they take to the summit stage in London on May 4-5.

Styrofoam egg cartons, hard plastic compact disc cases, red drinking cups, and many other common products are composed of polystyrene, a type of plastic that makes up a third of landfill waste worldwide.

In October 2016, students from the Dutch universities TU/e (Eindhoven), TU Delft, Avans (Breda, 's-Hertogenbosch, and Tilburg), and the Eindhoven’s vocational colleges built a footbridge on the TU/e campus. The unique thing about this bridge was not that it was built on the TU/e campus, but that it was made from a biocomposite material that included flax, and it was the world’s first biocomposite bridge.

EconCore (Leuven, Belgium), world leader in technologies for economic honeycomb sandwich production, has collaborated with partner Flaxco® (Roeselare, Belgium), to develop and manufacture an innovative new thermoplastic honeycomb sandwich panel – pioneering the use flax fibres in such an application.

After four years of scientific development and testing, consumers will be able to experience their favourite moisturizers packaged in an innovative jar made of industrially compostable material that does not harm the environment and is manufactured sustainably.

SABIC (Riyadh, Saudi Arabia) today announced a collaboration with Mattel (El Segundo, CA, USA) to incorporate certified renewable polymers from SABIC’s TRUCIRCLE™ program across Mattel’s products offering. The first Mattel toy products to enter the market in 2022 using certified renewable SABIC® PP (polypropylene) polymers will be from MEGA and Matchbox, with more to follow.

Tianan Biologic’s (Ningbo, China) Enmat Y1000P PHBV has been certified OK Biodegradable Marine by TÜV Austria. Coming two months after the OK Compost Home certification, by TÜV Austria as well, this welcome news makes Y1000P PHBV a truly sustainable and biodegradable material solution.

UBC Okanagan (Kelowna, Canada) researchers have adapted a technique – originally designed to embalm human remains – to strengthen the properties of biocomposites and make them stronger.

Sicomin Epoxy Systems (Châteauneuf-les-Martigues, France), the leading formulator of high-performance epoxy resin systems and the market leading GreenPoxy bio-resin range, announces its new collaboration with sports equipment giant Decathlon (Villeneuve-d'Ascq, France).

Kraton Corporation (Houston, Texas, United States), a leading global sustainable producer of specialty polymers and high-value biobased products derived from pine wood pulping co-products, is pleased to collaborate with SABIC (Riyadh, Saudi Arabia), a globally diversified chemicals company, to produce ISCC PLUS Certified renewable Styrenic Block Copolymers (SBC) at Kraton's manufacturing facility in Berre, France.

The Department of Energy has granted USD 2 million over three years to Braskem America, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign and Princeton University to develop plastic that can be recycled perpetually, reducing waste and pollution from single-use plastics.

Market report “Mimicking Nature – The PHA Industry Landscape.Latest trends and 28 producer profiles” published.

The topic of sustainability is increasingly in the foreground at Germany's largest drugstore group dm: Since October last year, the clothes hangers for dm's ALANA and PUSBLU children's textiles have been made of the grass fibre-based bioplastic AgriPlast from the company Biowert Industrie GmbH in Odenwald, Germany.

Sulzer has been awarded by Yangzhou Huitong Biological New Material to supply technology and key equipment for its polylactic acid (PLA) production facility in Jiangsu Province, China. The facility will have a production capacity of 30’000 tonnes per year.

Mitsui Chemicals (Tokyo, Japan) recently announced that its subsidiary Prime Polymer (Tokyo, Japan) has become the first company in Japan to commercially produce and ship biomass polypropylene (PP).

Avantium N.V. (Amsterdam, The Netherlands), a leading technology company in renewable chemistry, announces that world luxury goods leader LVMH Group (Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton – Paris, France) and Avantium have agreed to further explore the potential of Avantium’s 100 % plant-based, recyclable polymer PEF (polyethylene furanoate), as a sustainable packaging solution for LVMH beauty brands. To this end, LVMH Beauty will be the first luxury cosmetic company to join the PEFerence consortium, further enabling the commercial introduction of PEF to the Cosmetics market.

Mitsubishi Chemical Holdings Corporation (MCHC, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo) announced earlier this week that Diamond Edge Ventures, Inc. (DEV, a wholly-owned subsidiary of MCHC”) has invested in Lingrove, Inc. (San Francisco, California, USA).

Almost ten months after their announcement, NatureWorks (Plymouth, Minnesota, USA) and IMA Coffee (Bologna, Italy) now accelerate their joint strategic partnership on the first significant trial phase on K-Cup compatible compostable coffee pods.

Avantium (Amsterdam, The Netherlands) has published Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) data for its bottles made from PEF (polyethylene furanoate): a plant-based, fully recyclable plastic material with superior performance. nova-Institut GmbH recently completed the ISO-certified LCA to assess the potential environmental impact of monolayer PEF and multilayer PET/PEF bottles.

Biopolymer innovator Teysha Technologies have joined the National Institute of Agricultural Botany (NIAB) to research, test and develop bioplastics for the agricultural industry in the UK.

Lotte Chemical aims to complete the development of petrochemical-based PHA production technology and commercialize it by 2023.

After 15 years of Cambridge research, Xampla has developed the world’s first plant protein material for commercial use. This revolutionary material uses pea protein to make microscopic capsules that protect vitamins within liquid, stopping them from being broken down by sunlight.

Inspired by the always immaculate lotus leaf, researchers have developed a self-cleaning bioplastic that is sturdy, sustainable, and compostable.

Cellulose Fibre Innovations of the Year Award: Connecting fibres - The cellulose fibre industry impresses with innovation and vision.

Bioplastics International Launches Water Soluble PVA Replacement for Plastics. In an attempt to curb the overwhelming plastic pollution of our oceans, Bioplastics International has launched a water soluble replacement for petroleum based plastics.

LyondellBasell (NYSE: LYB) has developed polymers based on advanced recycled post-consumer materials. These polymers, branded under the name CirculenRevive, are made using an advanced recycling process to convert plastic waste into feedstock, which is used to produce new polymers, using a mass balance approach.

Chanel’s N°1 de CHANEL is an eco-responsible beauty line that seeks to minimise its impact on the environment and cut down its carbon footprint with eco-designed packaging and a strict formulation charter.

Avery Dennison has achieved another market first with the launch of a new certified portfolio of vegan labels, which contain no animal-derived components. Additionally, every item in the portfolio was created without animal testing, or the use of GMOs of animal origin. Because of this, the collection has received approval from EVE VEGAN®, an independent organization created by Vegan France, which works to promote vegan alternatives in different industries, including food and medicine.

Footwear experts at Huntsman have helped Keen, Inc. develop a breakthrough production innovation – a range of sneakers with plant-based soles. The Field to Foot (F2F) sneakers were created by Keen’s Advanced Concepts Team, utilizing a specially developed bio-based polyurethane system from Huntsman that contains a by-product from agricultural processing.