Green Chemicals

Just in time for the July 4th fireworks, I saw this news from ICIS about scientists trying to develop pyrotechnic formulations in missiles and fireworks that eliminate the use of perchlorate, a chemical identified as a groundwater contaminant.

Perchlorate is used as an oxidizer in fireworks and missile weaponry. A 2007 EPA report said the perchlorate level in certain lakes spiked as high as 1,000 times its baseline value within hours of fireworks display. It took anywhere from 20 to 80 days for the perchlorate level to come down to its background level.

Scientists are said to be developing new pyrotechnic formulations that replace perchlorate with nitrogen-rich materials or nitrocellulose that burn cleaner and produce less smoke.

I hope they can commercialize eco-friendly fireworks soon! Although I wonder how they can address price competition though? I'm sure these new eco-friendly fireworks will come with a heftier price tag. Maybe the EPA should start banning perc-filled fireworks to drive faster development of more green pyrotechnics.

Happy 4th of July!

This is a hilarious (but I think needed to be taken seriously) interview by Steven Colbert about supposed endocrine disruptors in water bodies causing genital malformations in male frogs and other amphibians.

Colbert interviewed New York Times columnist (and two-time Pulitzer Prize winner) Nicholas Kristof who wrote an article on June 27 about growing deformed frogs, intersex fish, and stunted male alligator genitalia being blamed on endocrine disruptor chemicals (such as runoff pesticides, plasticizers, hormone drugs) in US water bodies.

Kristof also noted some scientists connecting the dots between these deformed amphibians and increasing abnormalities among humans, particularly genital deformities among newborn boys.

"The research is scary," said Kristof in his June 27 commentary blog, On the Ground. "We don't know for sure that these chemicals are harmful, but the evidence is mounting."

He noted in his interview with Colbert that 100% of the male smallmouth bass in the Potomac watershed in Washington are now producing eggs, which, he explained to Colbert, now classified them as "intersex" fish.

Kristof also said that 25% of American females now have higher levels of these endocrine disruptors in their bodies that give problems to their offsprings. He emphasized the need for regulations from the EPA and FDA to minimized these chemical risks.

At the end of the interview, Colbert expressed his concern that he might be drinking estrogen-filled lady pee.

Before the July 4 holiday weekend starts, I'm cleaning up my blog drafts and most of them being "clogged" by plastic/bioplastic news (lol!). For the bioplastic/recycled plastic enthusiasts, here are tons of recent information to last you through the weekend. Also check out recent posts on new green chemicals featuring new resin/resin additives launch as well as news about Teijin divesting its share of NatureWorks. Enjoy!

Bioplastics:

• Brazilian margarine tubs use bioplastic from Cereplast
• KLM Royal Dutch Airlines switched from petroleum-based polystyrene coffee and tea cups to paper ones made with bioresin Ingeo™ coating.
• Cereplast's compostable resins in Dixie cups
• Evlon compostable plastics in tableware products
• 37% renewably-sourced Sorona fibers in commercial carpets
• Mirel bioplastics soon in Newell Rubbermaid products
• Solo® compostable plates made with sugarcane
  

Recycling:

• Hilex Poly to double recycling capacity at its North Vernon, Indiana facility
• New York City scraps plastic bag tax
• UK group WRAP launched £2m capital grant competition to help the recycling supply chain build the capacity for recycling more plastics packaging
• Delaware legislature passes recycling program for plastic bags
• Plastic bag manufacturers launched Full Circle Recycling Initiative aiming an aggressive goal of 40% recycled content in all plastic bags by 2015, including at least 25% postconsumer recycled plastic.
  

Research:

• Nestle bioplastic research collaboration
• Battelle scientists look to improve corn-based bioplastics
• Routes to produce green propylene from Chemsystems
• A self-healing thermoplastic from the University of Groningen, the Netherlands

Very sorry for the sparse blog this week, lots of things going on in and out of the office. Here are this month's new green chemicals launch and most (if not all) are about bioplastics. By the way, thanks for the kudos on my recent bioplastic and biopesticide reports!

1. Cereplast biofoam resins - Cereplast launched a breakthrough bio-based foamable resin Cereplast Compostable 5001® to compete with Styrofoam® and other foamable petroleum-based resins. The biofoam uses Ingeo™ PLA and various biodegradable and compostable components.

2. PolyOne biopolymer compounds - PolyOne launched a platform of of biopolymer compounds under the brand Resound™. The compounds are formulated with a 30% minimum bio-derived content for use in boosting bioplastic performance such as heat tolerance and impact resistance. PolyOne also introduced VERSAFLEX™ BIO TPEs for injection molding, said to be formulated with up to 70% renewable resources.

3. Metabolix bioplastic additives - Metabolix through its bioplastic JV Telles has collaborated with Teknor Color Company to develop a range of color concentrates for use with Mirel bio-resin. The color concentrates meet ASTM D6400 and EN 13432 standards for compostability and biodegradability. A new bioplastic for injection molding, Mirel P1003, was also introduced in a collaborative effort with plastic molder company Nypro.

4. Eastman's non-phthalate plasticizer - Eastman Chemical launched in the European Union its new, high solvating, non-phthalate plasticizer, Eastman™ DBT. The plasticizer is suitable for use in PVC plastisols and water-based adhesive applications.

5. Lanxess rubbers for biofuel engines - LANXESS AG has developed a series of HNBR rubbers, Therban AT 5065 VP, Therban AT 5005 VP and Therban 5008 VP, with extremely high acrylonitrile content making them suitable for use in vehicles that are run on biofuels.

6. Spartech PVC replacement - Spartech has introduced UltrosRenu™, a "drop in" PVC replacement solution containing recycled materials designed for blister packaging, clamshells, display boxes and containers in the non-food, consumer, electronics and warehouse club packaging and industrial products markets.

7. Teknor starch thermoplastics - Teknor Apex has launched Terraloy™ compounds, a line of starch thermoplastics that will include 100% biodegradable compounds and "hybrids" combining TPS with standard petrochemical plastics.

8. Cognis green rheology modifier - Cognis has developed the DSX 3000 series VOC-free rheology modifier for "green" water-based architectural coatings. The product is free from harmful volatile organic compounds and alkylphenol ethoxylates (APEOs), does not contain heavy metals (such as organic tin compounds) and is odor free.

9. Arkema bio-fibers - Arkema has developed a new grade of Rilsan® PA11, a 100% bio-sourced technical polymer for use in high performance fibers.

The green blog is actually on hiatus due to work deadlines and school exams but I just need to report this news about US agribusiness player Cargill buying back full ownership of bioplastic company NatureWorks from former joint owner (50%) Teijin, a Japanese chemical company.

For a brief background, NatureWorks was established in 1997 and operated as a Teijin-Cargill 50:50 joint venture since October 2007. The company produces its Ingeo biopolymer at a polylactic acid (PLA) manufacturing facility in Nebraska, with an annual capacity of 140,000 tons. NatureWorks is currently looking to build another facility outside the US.

Teijin said it is currently restructuring its business portfolio in response to the global economic downturn, and made the decision to sell back NatureWorks to Cargill so it can focus to its Biofront heat-resistant PLA-based plastic.

I guess there's competition going on in there somewhere...

In my recently released bioplastic article from ICIS Chemical Business, Teijin's Hideshi Kurihara, general manager, high-performance biomaterials project, said that the company aims to produce 5,000 tonns of Biofront in 2011.

A 1,000 ton/year PLA facility in Ehime prefecture, which Teijin acquired from compatriot carmaker Toyota last year, is expected to produce Biofront this summer. The new plant's capacity has yet to be confirmed, says Karihara. Teijin is producing 200 tons of the bioplastic at its pilot plant in Yamaguchi prefecture.

Back to NatureWorks, Cargill officials said the business will operate as as an independent, wholly owned Cargill entity. Ingeo fibers and plastics are already used by over 100 brands & retailers in the United States, Europe, and Asia.

Speaking of California governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, did you know that he is listed as the second greenest governor in the US following Governor Bill Ritter of Colorado?

This is according to Greenopia, which recently released its ranking of 50 Greenest Governors in the US. Following Schwarzenegger is Ted Kulongoski of Oregon. Sarah Palin of Alaska, Mitchell Daniels of Indiana, and Piyush Jindal of Louisiana were at the bottom 3 of the list.

"We looked at all 50 governors in the US and compared their policies, transparency, and interest group ratings and ranked them. It was a monumental task," said Doug Mazeffa, Greenopia's director of research. "Greenopia readers want to know which Governors are the eco-leaders, neutral or laggards, and especially identify those making repeated eco-gaffes."

Data for the study, according to Greenopia, was collected from each governor's own web pages and cross-checked against sites such as VoteSmart and OnTheIssues. Energy and emission data was collected from the Department of Energy and the environmental platform data for each political party was collected from either the DNC or RNC's main site.

Greenopia's Top 10 greenest governors list:
1. Bill Ritter (D) - Colorado
2. Arnold Schwarzenegger (R) - California
3. Ted Kulongoski (D) - Oregon
4. Christine Gregoire (D) - Washington
5. John Baldacci (D) - Maine
6. Martin O'Malley (D) - Maryland
7. Bill Richardson (D) - New Mexico
8. James Douglas (R) - Vermont
9. Jon Corzine (D) - New Jersey
10. Jodi Rell (R) - Connecticut

There had been a lot of news on electric vehicles launch and development and I was unable to post them until now

First stop, last week, US petrochemical company ExxonMobil Chemical launched an electric car sharing and rental program called AltCar in Baltimore, Maryland, alongside Canadian battery developer Electrovaya.

Vehicles in the program called the Maya-300, are powered by lithium ion battery technology that uses ExxonMobil's battery separator film, which the company manufactures in Nasu, Japan, together with Japanese affiliate TonenGeneral.

ExxonMobil said Baltimore residents and tourists can rent the vehicles at the science center in the Baltimore Inner Harbor during the day. (I wonder how much is the rent though?) Aside from the program, the company also invested in an exhibit for the science center that includes hands-on activities for children and a full-scale car that showcases clean transportation technologies currently being used in the automotive industry.

A very busy week last week with lots of bioplastic and recycling news from the plastic show NPE2009; green chemistry news from the American Chemical Society's annual Green Chemistry and Engineering conference; and the House debates (and finally approval) on the American Clean and Energy Security (ACES) bill.

This week, ICIS Chemical Business is also featuring white biotechnology as preview to the annual World Congress on Industrial Biotechnology and Bioprocessing (WIBCC) conference by BIO which will be held on July 19-22 in Montreal, Canada. I will be attending the show and hopefully get lots of tweets and blogs posts to share.

For now, here are this week's news roundup:

Carbon capture deal
IFP and ENEL signed a deal to test the first-generation post-combustion capture process, developed by IFP, on a pilot unit to be built by ENEL at the coal-fired power station in Brindisi (Italy). IFP has developed a first-generation flue gas scrubbing technology using chemical solvents.

Battery safety R&D award
Advanced lithium-ion automotive battery developer EnerDel has been awarded up to $3.3 million for a cost-share research project under the U.S. Department of Energy. The EnerDel will focus on the development of innovative technologies to eliminate overcharging in lithium-ion cells.

IBM forms green coalition
IBM has created an industry alliance called Green Sigma with key leaders in metering, monitoring, automation, data communications and software to provide smart solutions for energy, water, waste and greenhouse gas management.

Got this email this morning from the Natural Marketing Institute.

Top 10 Clues That You're an Environmentalist:

1. Your workplace doesn't have recycling so you bring everything home
2. Your Tupperware® collection consists of reclaimed takeout containers, yogurt containers, and salvaged jars
3. You have maximized the number of places to dry Ziploc® bags in your kitchen
4. You glare at people at the store who don't have a canvas bag
5. You double-glare at the ones who ask for things to be double-bagged
6. You don't blink when paying $5/pound for local, heirloom tomatoes
7. Your conscience prevents you from jet skiing, despite it looking SO fun
8. You worry about cow flatulence
9. You have visions of drowning polar bears each time you adjust the thermostat
10. Your friends have finally stopped asking you for advice on how to be green, knowing you will offer it soon enough...
    

Scientists at the University of Delaware say they have developed a new hydrogen storage method that can hold vast amounts of hydrogen at a far lower cost than other hydrogen storage systems under consideration.

The researchers used chicken feather fibers, which they said are mostly composed of keratin, a natural protein that forms strong, hollow tubes. When heated, the protein strengthen its structure and becomes more porous, increasing its surface area. The net result is carbonized chicken feather fibers, which can absorb as much or perhaps more hydrogen than carbon nanotubes or metal hydrides, two other materials being studied for their hydrogen storage potential.

"Carbonized chicken feather fibers have the potential to dramatically improve upon existing methods of hydrogen storage and perhaps pave the way for the practical development of a truly hydrogen-based energy economy," says Richard P. Wool, professor of chemical engineering and director of the University's Affordable Composites from Renewable Resources (ACRES) program.

Carbonized chicken feathers, according to Wool, would only add about $200 to the price of a car. By comparison, a 20-gallon hydrogen fuel tank that uses carbon nanotubes could cost $5.5 million; one that uses metal hydrides could cost up to $30,000.

Wool estimates that it would take a 75-gallon tank to go 300 miles in a car using carbonized chicken feather fibers to store hydrogen.

Biomethane and fertilizer from chicken poop, hydrogen from chicken feathers....plus a delicious fried chicken meal...I might have to start my own chicken farm soon!