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US Shale Gas Boom: Tides of Change in the Global Petrochemicals Market
- 19 Mar 2013 04:25
- by Michael Mbogoro
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In recent news, Mitsubishi Chemical Corp is apparently closing down an ethylene plant, partly as a consequence of their competitors, capitalising on the US shale gas boom, to produce cheaper petrochemicals. The advantages are two-fold. In addition to use as feedstock for chemicals, the cheap gas can also be used as fuel and heating for production p...
Making use of Flare Gas - What are the Implications for the Chemical Industry?
- 26 Oct 2012 08:19
- by Brian Balmer
- 1 comment
This week's news headlines included a very important announcement about the wasteful, and environmentally damaging, process of associated gas flaring. Ten years ago, the World Bank set up a group known as the Global Gas Flaring Reduction partnership. The partners convened at a conference this week in London, with the intention of setting targets ...
Carbon Dioxide - A Sustainable Feedstock for the Future?
- 02 Oct 2012 08:10
- by Brian Balmer
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New technology in the news today provides food for thought for chemists and materials scientists interested in sustainable technology and in industry convergence trends. The technology addresses the challenge of storing renewable energy generated at times when it is not needed, for example by wind farms during the night when electricity demand is ...
Animal Feed Ingredients - Beating the Odds
- 24 Oct 2011 08:55
- by Kaushik Ramakrishnan Shankar
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Compound animal feed has been the easiest access to market route for animal feed ingredient manufacturers. FEFAC has estimated that while 2010 has been positive overall for compound feed, 2011 might at best be stagnant if not negative. Two of the trends identified by FEFAC for 2010 are worth mulling over - 1. Partial recovery of per capita meat co...
Success imperatives for Natural High Intensity Sweeteners
- 30 Sep 2011 24:31
- by Kaushik Ramakrishnan Shankar
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New sources of Natural High Intensity Sweeteners are constantly being discovered. The latest to be tested and discussed is "Miraculin" from the African berry - Miracle fruit. This molecule has the ability to make acidic and sour tasting foods, taste sweet. Now that sounds like a wonder molecule for specific pharmaceutic and food applications. But s...
The key to South Africa's industrial policy is increased competitiveness
- 11 Mar 2010 03:39
- by Laura Peinke
- 0 comments (Add comment)
The 2010 Budget speech saw government commit to financially support an industry-specific policy for the first time. This was expressed in the allocation given to the Industrial Policy Action Plan, or IPAP2. Previously, government has been reluctant to invest in specific projects and preferred to allocate funds to government departments for them to ...
Globalisation - What Does it Mean for the Chemical Industry?
- 09 Mar 2010 11:34
- by Brian Balmer
- 0 comments (Add comment)
During our most recent Analyst Briefing, the Chemicals & Materials research team discussed the role that Globalisation as a megatrend is playing in the development of our industry. It is undoubtedly a complex issue, encompassing many individual factors. The first thing that may come to mind is the idea that the world is becoming "a smaller place" -...
Rumor Mill: Bunge Considers Acquistion of Corn Products International Again
- 28 Jan 2010 07:45
- by Christopher Shanahan
- 0 comments (Add comment)
Well, it may be back on. Bunge Ltd. stated on January 27, 2010 that the company is interested in reviving its bid for Corn Products International (CPI) as indicated by its CEO during its quarterly earnings call. As I had stated in June of 2008, Bunge, the world's third largest agribusiness with total sales of nearly $53.0 billion in 2008, announced...
Martek Bioscience Forward and Horizontally Integrates with its Acquistion of Amerifit Brands
- 27 Jan 2010 11:46
- by Christopher Shanahan
- 0 comments (Add comment)
Last week, Martek Biosciences Corp, the world's largest algae-based Omega-3 DHA ingredients supplier with total sales of nearly $330 million in 2009, announced that it had acquired Amerifit Brands, a Connecticut-based company that develops and distributes dietary supplements, for roughly $200 million, in order to forward-integrate into the dietary ...
Megatrends Impacting the Chemicals Industry: What for 2010?
- 08 Jan 2010 11:31
- by Brian Balmer
- 0 comments (Add comment)
At the beginning of 2009, I published a list of the top 10 megatrends that we felt would have an impact on the Performance Materials industry through 2009. For 2010 however, we will be taking a different perspective on the key dynamics in our industry. This change is an exciting one as it will allow us to more closely track the trends in our key ...
Growth in a Recessionary Market for Personal Protective Equipment Industry
- 08 Jan 2010 10:11
- by Sanjeev Bhaskar
- 0 comments (Add comment)
Every manufacturer of PPE products is asking the question, “How do I grow under the current market conditions?” The current situation within the personal protective equipment (PPE) market is complex; the answer to this question is multi faceted, depending on your own specific situation.However, factors that could help the PPE industry to rebound fa...
Sustainability: Key Challenges Facing Food and Beverage Ingredient Markets and Implementing Best Practices
- 08 Jan 2010 08:42
- by Christopher Shanahan
- 0 comments (Add comment)
Increasing media attention on changing climate fears, product recalls, and the volatile cost of energy has had an irreversible affect on consumer awareness of health, safety, and energy conservation issues as it related to the food and beverage products they buy. This in turn is affecting purchasing behavior and the rapid growth of food products th...
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