ECN-European Chemical News articles from December 2005

ECN-European Chemical News archives from December 2005

A vision of leaner chemical production: making things better and doing less with more are two of the goals of lean manufacturing--a set of processess that give European firms a weapon with which to compete with low-cost competition.(COMMENT)
December 5, 2005... THERE ARE two sea changes going on in the world economy. The first is the rise of the 'low cost' producers in China and the second is the lean revolution which is now gaining momentum. Although the lean revolution began long before the recent...

Ciba may spin off textiles.(Ciba-Geigy Corp.)(Brief Article)
December 5, 2005... CIBA EXPECTS to have decided whether or not to sell its textile effects business unit by the second quarter of next year at the latest, said chairman and chief executive Armin Meyer at last week's ICIS/ Merrill Lynch Ninth Chemical Industry...

Amec set to sell SPIE.(BUSINESS: Headlines)
December 5, 2005... CHEMICAL CONSTRUCTION and engineering services company Amec says it will sell its electrical and mechanical engineering service business SPIE in order to invest in other parts of its business. Chief executive Peter Mason said Amec's best...

PKN Orlen privatisation gets political.(BUSINESS: Headlines)
December 5, 2005... IGOR CHALUPEC, PKN Orlen's chief executive wants his company to be fully privatised, in opposition to the new Polish government which wants to retain control of the organisation. Chalupec, which has had its performance put under review by...

RAG plans unclear over Degussa sale.(BUSINESS: Headlines)
December 5, 2005... CLOUDS SEEMED to hang over Degussa's future last week as its workforce sought clarification of what majority shareholder RAG's plans for the speciality chemical group might entail. At meetings in Marl, Frankfurt, Hanau and Trostberg,...

Court maintains cartel fines.(European Court of Justice refuses to reduce fine )(Brief Article)
December 5, 2005... The European Court of Justice (ECJ) Court of First Instance has refused to reduce fines imposed on six European companies which participated in an illegal zinc phosphate cartel from 1994 to 1998. Britannia Alloys & Chemicals, Trident Alloys...

Novartis takes hamster technology to France.(News Watch)
December 5, 2005... Novartis expects to start production at its largest biomedicines site in Huningue, France, of its anti-asthma biomedicine Xolair, which is derived from the cells of hamsters using cutting edge biotechnology. Production will transfer from the US...

UOP's Sinco SSP technology wins in UAE.(News Watch)
December 5, 2005... JBF RAK of Ras Al Khaimah, United Arab Emirates, has selected the UOP Sinco Solid State Polymerization (SSP) technology for its new PET resin plant in Ras Al Khaimah. The plant, a world-class manufacturing facility with capacity for 600...

Arch sells Planar business.(News Watch)
December 5, 2005... Arch Chemicals has completed the divestiture of its 50:50 joint venture share in Planar Solutions to Fujifilm Electronic Materials USA for about SUm Arch and Wacker set up the jv to make chemical mechanical planarisation (CMP) slurries sold to...

European Commission fines plastic bag makers.(Brief Article)
December 5, 2005... The European Commission has fined 16 firms a total of 291 m [euro] for operating a cartel that fixed the price and allocated the market for plastic industrial bags in the continent for about 20 years. The UK converter, BPI, brought the cartel...

Honeywell completes UOP purchase.(Brief Article)
December 5, 2005... Honeywell has completed its acquisition of the 50% of UOP formerly owned by Union Carbide Corporation, part of The Dow Chemical Company, giving Honeywell full ownership of the entity. 'The addition of UOP, a recognized technology leader in the...

2 December 1985.(AlliedSignal Inc.)(Brief Article)
December 5, 2005... The giant US industrial conglomerate, Allied-Signal is to shed some of its commodity chemicals businesses as part of the spin-off of about 30 units into a new company. Along with jettisoned chemicals units will go Kellog Rust which came into...

Ineos Fluor plans to sell 1m CERs.(certified emission reductions)(Brief Article)
December 5, 2005... INEOS FLUOR plans to sell 1 m certified emission reductions (CERs) generated by preventing emissions of HFC23 greenhouse gas at South Korea's Ulsan Chemical HCFC22 plant. HFC23 is formed as a by-product. Carbon market traders Natsource Europe...

Akzo Nobel gets Hexion offer for inks and adhesives resins business.(BUSINESS: Headlines)
December 5, 2005... PRIVATELY-HELD Hexion Speciality Chemicals has offered 88m [euro] for Akzo Nobel's inks and adhesives resins business unit, the Dutch pharmaceuticals, coatings and chemicals maker said last week. This is set to be the first major divestment...

France sets its strategic direction.(for chemical industries)(Brief Article)
December 5, 2005... THE FRENCH government has set up a chemicals industry strategic council to prepare the sector for future changes, France's industry minister said last week. Francois Loos said the council will be made up of national industry leaders,...

Nuclear power rises to top of energy agenda.(ENERGY SPECIAL)
December 5, 2005... UK PRIME minister, Tony Blair, launched a controversial energy review that is likely to pave the way for more nuclear power stations. This will be partly funded by chemicals companies to reduce carbon emissions and improve security of supply...

Sabic appoints Samba Financial Group.(BUSINESS: Global roundup)
December 5, 2005... Middle East petrochemical giant Sabic has appointed Samba Financial Group as financial advisors for the Riyal2bn (455m [euro]/$533m) public share offering of its Yansab subsidiary. Local media reports said that the company was looking to launch...

Novartis to sell N&S unit to ABM Amro.(BUSINESS: Global roundup)
December 5, 2005... Novartis expects to complete the divestment of its Nutrition & Sante (N&S) business unit in the first quarter of 2006. It has signed a definitive agreement to sell the unit to ABN Amro Capital France, ABN Amro's private equity business, for...

Kerr-McGee's IPO.(BUSINESS: Global roundup)
December 5, 2005... Kerr-McGee has completed the initial public offering of its Tronox titanium dioxide business, marking an important step in converting itself to strictly an oil and gas exploration/ production company. Kerr-McGee said it will continue to control...

Koch gains approval to buy Georgia-Pacific.(BUSINESS: Global roundup)
December 5, 2005... Koch Industries said last week that Canada's anti-trust authorities have given advance approval for its $13.2bn offer to buy Georgia-Pacific. US-based Koch said the offer is subject to conditions.

TPI founder loses court struggle.(BUSINESS: Global roundup)
December 5, 2005... The Thai supreme court has rejected the latest attempt by Thai Petrochemical Industry (TPI) founder Prachai Leophairatana to regain control of the company, potentially clearing the last obstacle to TPI's sale to a government-linked consortium....

TAIF gains majority in Nizhnekamskneftekhim.(Tatar-American Investments and Finances)(Brief Article)
December 5, 2005... Tatar-American Investments and Finances (TAIF) has taken a majority stake in chemicals producer Nizhnekamskneftekhim Tatarstan's state investment vehicle Svyazinvestneftekhim Holding has transferred 28.6% of Nizhnekamskneftekhim to TAIF's...

Blast at Yingte Chemical kills one worker.(News Watch)
December 5, 2005... An explosion at Yingte Chemical, a pharmaceutical intermediates factory in Chongqing, Dianjiang county, China, has killed one and injured three others, according to local media reports. There was also a benzene leak leading local authorities to...

Court rules Yukos free to sell subsidiaries.(News Watch)
December 5, 2005... The District Court of Amsterdam, the Netherlands, last week refused to grant an order freezing assets at Russian oil company Yukos, paving the way for the sale of some subsidiaries. The order had been requested by Russian energy company...

ICIS Chemical Business to bring global view.
December 5, 2005... As we announced last week, ECN will enter 2006 as ICIS Chemical Business, bearing a new name, more pages and yet more coverage of Europe, Asia, the Middle East and the US. ICIS Chemical Business will continue to bring you the major stories from...

Benzene tumbles by 15%.(MARKETS: Report)
December 5, 2005... THE DECEMBER benzene contract fell by 85-87 [euro]/tonne last Wednesday--around 15%--to create a split settlement of 490 [euro]-492/tonne. This was based on spot levels of $578580/tonne. Market players had previously predicted a rollover,...

EO producers stay bullish.(ethylene oxide )(Brief Article)
December 5, 2005... EUROPEAN ETHYLENE oxide (EO) producers continue to push ahead with higher prices in the fourth quarter. Numbers increased by 20 [euro]/tonne in November bringing European contracts up to 1180 [euro]-1250/ tonne FD. Consumers had pushed...

Plastics futures drop on the LME.(MARKETS: Report)
December 5, 2005... HAVING FLUCTUATED between the low $1200s/tonne and high $1300s/tonne over the past few months, plastics futures on the London Metal Exchange (LME) saw their most significant decline in November since their inception six months ago. Prices...

Innovation key to easing plastics feedstock burden.(MARKETS: Report)
December 5, 2005... HIGH AND volatile feedstock costs will continue to hit plastics producers and converters next year. Dow Chemical has tried to pass on the higher energy and feedstock costs downstream. But David Fink, Dow's marketing manager for rigid packaging...

Biodegradables to rise by 75%.(MARKETS: Report)
December 5, 2005... THE GLOBAL market for biodegradable polymers will expand by 75% to 91 000 tonne/ year by 2010, up from 52 000 tonne now, according to a report. Technology advances, lower pricing, new products and markets for biodegradable polymers will help...

October rise for chlorine.(production)(Brief Article)
December 5, 2005... EUROPEAN CHLORINE output totalled 876 946 tonne in October--which is up 2% on the month before, but 1% lower than the same period last year. The latest figures from chlor-alkali producers' association Euro Chlor show that on a daily basis,...

Dow's TDI plant back up to full speed.(Markets Watch)
December 5, 2005... A month after its unexpected shutdown, Dow Chemical's 118 000 tonne/year toluene diisocyanate (TDI) plant at Porto Harghera, Italy, should be ramped up to full production by mid-December. Dow declared force majeure a few weeks ago after an...

ISP to hike all prices.(International Specialty Products Inc.)(Brief Article)
December 5, 2005... International Specialty Products (ISP) plans to increase prices for its entire line of speciality products in Europe, the Middle East and Africa from 1 December High energy, freight, insurance and transportation costs, and sustained increases...

US ethanol output.(Markets Watch)
December 5, 2005... US ethanol production has broken the 4bn gal/year barrier, quashing doubts that this required benchmark output could be met next year, says the Renewable Fuels Association (RFA). Figures from the US Energy Information Administration show that...

Total Belgium signs deal with Caldic.(Caldic Belgium N.V.)(Brief Article)
December 5, 2005... Total Belgium has signed an exclusive distribution agreement with Caldic for its Hydroseal, Hydrosol, Spiradane and Isane solvents. The deal initially covers Belgium and Luxembourg but will extend to the Netherlands next year. Total said that...

Daychem to partner with Ciba Specialty.(Logistics Watch)
December 5, 2005... Ohio, US-based Daychem Laboratories has appointed Ciba Specialty Chemicals to sell its products to the global electronics market. The partners will also carry out joint research. Nadi Ergenc, head of Ciba's electronic materials business line...

Deutsche Post buy of Exel cleared.(Logistics Watch)
December 5, 2005... The European Commission (EC) has cleared Deutsche Post's purchase of Exel (ECN 26 September). Although the deal will raise Deutsche Post's market share in air freight forwarding in Finland, Hungary and Sweden, the EC said this was balanced by...

EC proposes measures to penalise rogue shippers.(European Commission)(Brief Article)
December 5, 2005... THE EUROPEAN Commission (EC) has unveiled a third package of maritime safety legislation to crack down on unscrupulous ship operators. The Erika III package contains seven draft proposals. These include directives on port state control,...

E-commerce revenues boost achieved by BASF.(LOGISTICS & DISTRIBUTION)
December 5, 2005... E-COMMERCE SALES at BASF have jumped 55% to around 6.8bn [euro] in the first nine months of 2005. This corresponds to 26% of total sales (excluding oil and gas), compared to 20% in 2004 when sales reached 6.5bn [euro]. On a regional basis,...

Pipeline costs mean delays.(LOGISTICS & DISTRIBUTION)
December 5, 2005... THE PROPYLENE pipeline project in north west Europe may be delayed, as estimated costs have soared by 50% to 300m [euro] (ECN 18 April). Bas Kostering, marketing director for olefins and intermediates at Sabic Europe, one of the project...

End to patent dispute.(NEW PROJECTS: Roundup)
December 5, 2005... Lenzing and Zimmer have agreed to end long-running patent disputes that will give Zimmer access to key patents for the construction of lyocell fibre plants. Technology-oriented Zimmer said the licensing agreement will strengthen its market...

Borealis converts to ETBE in Sweden.(ethyl tertiary butyl ether )
December 5, 2005... Borealis' 50 000 tonne/year methyl tertiary butyl ether (MTBE) unit in Stenungsund, Sweden, has been converted to produce ethyl tertiary butyl ether (ETBE). The operation of the unit will be determined by output at the site's 610 000 tonne/...

Braskem looks to invest in Brazil.(NEW PROJECTS: Roundup)
December 5, 2005... Braskem is considering participating in a synthetic textile complex in Camacari, Bahia state, Brazil. The complex could require investments of over $600m. Companies in the Camacari complex produce the raw materials needed for textile...

Formosa Plastics drops expansion plans.(NEW PROJECTS: Roundup)
December 5, 2005... Formosa Plastics Corp, Asia's largest epichlorohydrin producer, has put expansion works at its Mailiao, Taiwan, plant on hold until the first quarter of 2006 because of low inventories and healthy domestic demand, a company official said. The...

Perstorp to produce rape methyl esters.(NEW PROJECTS: Roundup)
December 5, 2005... Perstorp intends to convert a plant in Stenungsund, Sweden, to produce rape methyl esters (RME). The plant, which will have an initial capacity of around 60 000[m.sup.3]/year, is due onstream at the beginning of 2007. Output from the plant will...

ADM plans to build polyols facility.(NEW PROJECTS: Roundup)
December 5, 2005... US agricultural processing major Archer Daniels Midland (ADM) plans to build a polyols facility, which will be fed by agricultural-based feedstocks. The plant will produce pharmaceutical and industrial grade propylene glycol and ethylene...

UBE increases PCD and PDL production.(Markets Watch)
December 5, 2005... UBE Industries has expanded its production of polycarbonate diol (PCD) and 1,5-pentanediol (PDL) to meet increased demand in Europe and the US. Several new plants have been completed in Castellon, Spain, with a PCD capacity of 2000 tonne/year...

Polief PTA plant proceeds with production.(purified terephthalic acid )(Brief Article)
December 5, 2005... Selena-owned Polief has started production at its new purified terephthalic acid (PTA) plant at Blagoveschensk in the Bashkortostan region of central Russia. Output commenced from the first of its two 115 000 tonne/year lines in mid-November....

Albemarle raises flame retartdant prices.(Markets Watch)
December 5, 2005... Albemarle plans to raise European prices for its Antibloze line of flame retardants from 1 December. List prices for the phosphorus-based polyurethane flame retardants will increase by 200 [euro]/tonne. The Antibleze range is used to prevent...

NIS set for benzene and toluene production.(Markets Watch)
December 5, 2005... The National Oil Company of Serbia (NIS) will soon start commercial production of benzene and toluene from its new Sulfolone process unit at Pancevo in the Republic of Serbia and Montenegro. From January 2006, the target quantities for export...

Boost for Belarus' petrochemical sector.(Markets Watch)
December 5, 2005... Petrochemical output in Belarus was up 5.4% in the January to October period, compared with the first ten months of last year. According to the Belarus statistical agency, mineral fertiliser output was up 2.9% at 4.9m tonne, including 4.2m...

Quinn group plans 150m [euro] MMA plant.(NEW PROJECTS)
December 5, 2005... THE QUINN Group has announced plans to invest more than 150m [euro] in the construction of a world scale methylmethacrylate (MMA) monomer production plant at its chemical site in Leuna, near Leipzig in Germany. At full capacity the new...

Qapco takes grassroots approach to polyethylene.(NEW PROJECTS)
December 5, 2005... QATAR PETROCHEMICAL Co (Qapco) has decided to build a new grassroots $120m low density polyethylene (ldPE) plant with a capacity of 250 000 tonne/year after cancelling its plans to debottleneck its existing capacity by 40 000 tonne/ year (ECN...

Shenhua invests in third coal-to-olefins venture.(NEW PROJECTS)
December 5, 2005... THE SHENHUA Group, Chinas largest coal producer, is planning its third coal-to-olefins (CTO) project in the Ningxia province, northwest China, after purchasing a majority stake in a local coal producer. A methanol-to-propylene (MTP) unit,...

Lonza ups malic acid.(Brief Article)
December 5, 2005... LONZA'S POLYMER intermediates division has revealed plans to boost production capacity for malic acid, an alpha-hydroxy organic acid, at its facility in Scanzorosciate, Italy. Capacity will be taken from 8000 tonne/year to 12 000...

Delays hold up EurOPE 1.(NEW PROJECTS)
December 5, 2005... SABIC EUROPE is experiencing construction constraints that are causing cost over-runs and delays to its planned 1.5bn [euro] olefins and polyolefins projects in the Netherlands and Germany, according to the chief executive Frans Noteborn. ...

Huntsman to build plant.(NEW PROJECTS)
December 5, 2005... HUNTSMAN CORP has broken ground on a $35m poly-etheramines plant in Singapore, based on Huntsman technology, with commissioning expected in the first quarter of 2007. Don Stanutz, Huntsman performance products president, said the 16 000...

Lanzhou submits plans for aromatics unit.(NEW PROJECTS)
December 5, 2005... LANZHOU PETROCHEMICAL, a PetroChina subsidiary, has submitted a feasibility study to its parent company to build an aromatics unit in Lanzhou, Gansu province, China. A company source said the project would produce 400 000 tonne/year of...

Nippon Oil adds cumene.(NEW PROJECTS)
December 5, 2005... NIPPON OIL, Japan's biggest refiner, will invest Yen7bn (49.7m [euro]/$58.8m) in its first cumene plant in Japan, a 170 000 tonne/year unit, at its refinery in Hokkaido. Construction work is scheduled to start early in 2006 with commercial...

Santo Andre plant to grow.(NEW PROJECTS)
December 5, 2005... BRAZIL'S PETROQUIMICA Uniao is revamping its ethylene plant in Santo Andre, Sao Paulo, and adding an extra 200 000 tonne/year to its capacity. The expansion will be completed in 2008 when the plant will have a total production capacity of...

Shaping up for survival: commodity chemical players need to become leaner and more agile if they are to survive the threat of competition from the East.(PLANT & DESIGN: overview)
December 5, 2005... EUROPE'S COMMODITY and batch chemicals manufacturers are facing an uncertain future. With average hourly wages as low as $2.7 in Poland, $1.12 in India and $0.80 in China, much of the world's chemicals manufacturing base is steadily shifting to...

Contract king: Steve Davies, chairman and ceo of Foster Wheeler Energy, discusses his company's work in the Middle East and China with John Baker.(PLANT & DESIGN: Foster Wheeler)
December 5, 2005... EXTENSIVE MIDDLE East petrochemicals investment, heightened interest in large LNG and GTL projects and an anticipated wave of refinery upgrades and new builds are certainly keeping engineering contractors busy. One global firm that is already...

Middle East success for Linde: Germany-based Linde has had considerable success in winning contracts in the Middle East this year, and is already operating at the limit of its capacity.(PLANT & DESIGN: Linde)
December 5, 2005... FROM HIS spacious glass-walled office at Linde's headquarters in Wiesbaden, Germany, Aldo Belloni has a panoramic view of an attractive park. But the managing board member who oversees the gases and engineering division spends little time...

A class act at Wilton: Advansa's emphasis on improving performance through cultural changes rather than cost cutting are paying dividends.(PLANT & DESIGN: Advansa)
December 5, 2005... FIVE YEARS after embarking on an ambitious journey of self-improvement at its under-performing Wilton site in the UK, polyester manufacturer Advansa has seen a dramatic transformation of the firm's resins business. In fact, so successful has...

In search of excellence: Syngenta's Huddersfield plant has boosted plant performance and staff morale by implementing a strategy of Total Productive Manufacturing.(PLANT & DESIGN: Syngenta)
December 5, 2005... SYNGENTA'S MANUFACTURING centre in Huddersfield, UK, manufactures active ingredients (AIs) for several herbicide and insecticide products. But in 2002 plant and process problems were affecting the supply of an AI for one of the company's...

Going with the flow: the application of vortex metering technology has provided more reliable steam flow measurement and significantly reduced plant downtime for Shell Chemicals at its ethylene plant in Moerdijk.(PLANT & DESIGN: Shell Chemicals)
December 5, 2005... IN 2002, Shell Chemicals undertook a three-month trial of vortex metering technology from Emerson Process Management on steam lines at its Moerdijk cracker in the Netherlands. Following the success of the testing programme, the sensors are...

Be on your guard: the rise of ethernet control systems means you need to take steps to protect your factory against viruses.
December 5, 2005... WITH THE advent of the Internet, businesses and home computer users alike have had to come to terms with the need to protect themselves against viruses, worms and hackers. The standard approach is to use a firewall to limit access to central...

Akzo Nobel wins award from BCF.(Environment Watch)
December 5, 2005... The British Coatings Federation (BCF) has presented its Coatings Care Award to Akzo Nobel's facility located in Lancashire, UK. The facility is involved in the manufacture of decorative and industrial coatings. The Akzo Nobel site was said to...

BIS to dispose of French waste.(Bayer Industry Services GmbH und Company OHG)(Brief Article)
December 5, 2005... Bayer Industry Services (BJS) is to expand into the French market, providing safe disposal of hazardous waste and clean-up of contaminated sites. The company said that its facilities, which include waste incinerators, waste water treatment...

Green market to reach 8.7bn by 2010.(Brief Article)
December 5, 2005... According to a market research report from Business Communication Company, the global market for green materials in electric, electronic and other applications will reach $8.7bn by 2010, from the current level of $6.1 bn. The green materials...

US and China sign sustainable development agreement.(ENVIRONMENTAL AFFAIRS)
December 5, 2005... BUSINESS LEADERS from the US and China have signed an agreement whereby they will collaborate on economic, social and environmental projects. The agreement, signed during November, calls for the US and China Business Councils for...

Sweden backs PFOS ban in the EU.(perfluorooctane sulphonate)(Brief Article)
December 5, 2005... SWEDEN IS proposing an EU-wide ban on the use of perfluorooctane sulphonate (PFOS). It is concerned that PFOS may cause liver damage and affect reproductive functions. PFOS is said to be a persistent organic pollutant. The Swedish ministry...

Swiss voters want to stop GM crops.(ENVIRONMENTAL AFFAIRS)
December 5, 2005... EUROPABIO HAS said that it 'regrets the negative result' from a Swiss referendum for a moratorium on biotechnology in agriculture. In the poll 55.6% of Swiss voters supported a five-year ban on the commercial cultivation of genetically...

Germany requests final amendments on Reach.(chemical industry regulations)(Brief Article)
December 5, 2005... GERMANY HAS set out a number of points that it would like to see as part of the final text on Europe' chemical legislation, Reach. During last week's meeting of the EU'S Competitiveness Council Germany requested that there should be greater...

EPA settles DuPont case on PFOA.(ENVIRONMENTAL AFFAIRS)
December 5, 2005... THE US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has reached a settlement in its case against DuPont. The EPA alleged that the company failed to fully report data on perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA). Neither DuPont nor the EPA would disclose the...

Russia watches for toxic chemicals.(ENVIRONMENTAL AFFAIRS)
December 5, 2005... Russian officials are monitoring the flowed chemicals following an explosion at a petrochemical plant in Jilin, China. The explosion, which occurred on 13 November, led to the release of benzene and a number of other chemicals into China's...

EU on track for Kyoto.(ENVIRONMENTAL AFFAIRS)
December 5, 2005... THE EU's environment minister Stavros Dimas has said that the EU is on track to meet its Kyoto targets. 'The latest projections show that the EU has successfully transformed its commitment under Kyoto into policies and measures by which it will...

No TBBPA risk, says EU.(tetrabromobisphenol A, European Union)(Brief Article)
December 5, 2005... A MEETING of European experts have concluded that the brominated flame retardant tetrabromobisphenol A (TBBPA) is not subject to any classification on grounds of health. This decision follows an EU health risk assessment earlier this year which...

UK funding for knowledge transfer.(Innnovation Watch)
December 5, 2005... UK science minister Lord Sainsbury has approved 3.8m [pounds sterling] (5.6m [euro]/$6.6m) funding for the Chemistry Innovation Knowledge Transfer Network (CI KTN) due to be launched in early 2006. The aim of the CI KTN is to promote innovation...

SupreMol secures start-up finance.(Innnovation Watch)
December 5, 2005... Z-Cube, the venture capital arm of pharma and chemicals multinational Zambon Group, has agreed to finance the start-up of Germany-based company SuppreMol, a spin-off of the Max-Planck-Institute of Biochemistry in Munich. SuppreMol is working on...

Borealis develops sub-sea insulation.(Innnovation Watch)
December 5, 2005... Borealis has developed novel Borcoat polypropylene materials for the thermal insulation of flowlines at sub-sea depth of 2200m in the Thunder Horse Field project in the Gulf of Mexico. At these depths, normal foam insulation solutions are not...

Organic light emitting diodes.(Innnovation Watch)
December 5, 2005... The US Display Consortium (USDC) has signed a two phase $1.8m R&D contract with Pennsylvania technology company Plextronics to support the continued development of Plexcore technology in organic light emitting diode (OLED) displays. USDC and...

BASF enters PLA market.(INNOVATION)
December 5, 2005... BASF IS hoping to cash in on the booming demand for biodegradable polymers by bringing to market its first plastic made from renewable raw materials. Ecovio is made from a combination of corn-derived PLA (polylactic acid) and BASF's existing...

Tests show that Dow's biocides can help fight avian influenza threats.(INNOVATION)
December 5, 2005... INDEPENDENT TESTING of new and existing microbiocides marketed by Dow Biocides has highlighted possible usefulness in preventing the spread of avian flu. The tests, by a laboratory in Alabama, US, show Dow's Glurex and Ucarsan sanitisers and...