February 2008 Archives

The chemical industry is no fool when it comes to the green trend. Companies might whine about regulations and environmental groups' biases against chemicals but the bottom line remains - they will offer what their customers want.

Here's a roundup of some of the new green products I came across within the past few weeks:

1. Croda Crotein cashmere - the personal care industry is leaning more towards natural-based ingredients and chemical firms are responding. Croda said its new amino acid complex made from hydrolysis of the keratin fibers in cashmere wool provides good moisturization for skin, hair and nails.

2. Cognis green polyols and biohydraulic oils - the Sovermol 1092 natural-based polyol is designed for critical curing conditions such as in flooring, roofing, encapsulation, or composite coatings and adhesives, said Cognis. The company's new synthetic lubricant oil, meanwhile, now proudly bears the European Union Ecolabel. How green these products are? Just count Cognis' green leaves...

3. Air Products Tomadol surfactant - the cleaning industry is also gearing towards more natural-based products. Air Products said its coconut/palm oil-based surfactant is designed to replace nonylphenol ethoxylates, a major cleaning chemical that has been under environmental groups' scrutiny for a long time.

4. Applied Chemical Laboratories green paint stripper - the company's Green Piranha paint remover is said to be 100% water soluble, do not contain the solvent methylene chloride, and is formulated from 50% post consumer recycled content.

5. PPG Industries auto pretreatment - the automotive pretreatment technology, Zircobond, which replaces zinc-phosphate products, is said to cut sludge byproducts in pretreatment process by 80% and therefore saves tons of money on energy, maintenance and labor costs.

6. Dow Chemical Styrofoam foaming agent - Dow said its new foaming agent for Styrofoam insulation products replaces the ozone-depleting HCFC 142b compound, which is slated to be phased out in North America in 2010.

7. DSM halogen-free flame retardant - DSM said its Arnitel XG flame retardant for cable insulation in consumer electronics can replace commonly used PVC, which DSM said, can form the dioxins when incinerated.

More to come in March!

Marketing green products is paying off big time for electronics giant Philips.

The company reported a 33% sales increase on green products last year at EUR 5.3bn ($7.8bn) compared to EUR 4bn in 2006.

Green products sales in Philips' global healthcare, lighting and consumer businesses now account for 20% of the company's total 2007 sales.

Last year in September, Philips launched its EcoVision4 program which aimed to double green products sales to 30% of total revenues by 2012. With the current green momentum, the company might reach its green sales goals way early than expected.

Through the program, the company also plans to invest EUR 1 billion in more green innovation and to improve their operations' energy efficiency by 25% in the next five years.

A small price to pay compared to the return on their investments.

European chemical company BASF SE said it is the first company ever across the globe to present a comprehensive carbon balance for its operations.

The analysis include emissions from raw materials, to manufacturing of their products and ultimately disposal of their products. Life cycle analysis of key 90 products were also assessed and verified by third party consultants.

The result? BASF said their products' carbon dioxide savings more than cancel out their operations' emissions.

“In areas such as construction, automobiles and industrial production, our products help our customers to save more than 250 million metric tons of CO2 worldwide. This is three times as much as is emitted through the production and disposal of all our product."

Look out for more CPO-type green jobs popping out from major industrial companies worldwide...

[Photo depicting BASF's research on CO2 removal from combustion gases]

No this is not Nemo's sister but could be Nemo himself...except a little bit altered.

Toxicology researchers from Southern California released a study stating hormone-altering chemicals are escaping sewage-treatment plants and finding their way in coastal ocean waters, according to this LA Times article.

In the study, higher levels of flame retardants and plastic additives are said to be showing up in fish tissues while male flatfish are also showing higher levels of the female hormone estrogen.

The researchers are blaming inefficiency of sewage treatment plants to fully filter chemical compounds from pharmaceutical drugs, cosmetics, fragrances, sunscreen, soaps, and other additives that are constantly going down the drain.

"Women taking birth control pills excrete estrogen in their urine, which is flushed down the toilet and ends up in the ocean."

Who knows, maybe soon male seahorses could finally get their revenge and have the female seahorses carry their babies for a change.

Research and development on carbon dioxide is rising. As mentioned in my old CO2 post in December, there seem to be a lot of focus on the storage, reduction or new applications for this greenhouse gas.

• Dow Chemical formed a joint venture with power generation technology company Alstom to develop and commercialize amine-based carbon dioxide capture solutions.
• Agribusiness giant Archer Daniels Midland (ADM) is working on a project to capture CO2 from its ethanol plant and inject them deep below the earth.
• UOP has joined the University of Southern California's Loker Hydrocarbon Research Institute in the development of alternative cleaner-burning fuels methanol or dimethyl ether from carbon dioxide.
• Researchers at the Georgia Institute of Technology developed a strategy to capture, store and recycle carbon dioxide emissions from vehicles (see diagram on the left).
  

• Green antimicrobial paint from Rice University and the City College of New York. Researchers from both school said they were able to embed antimicrobial silver nanoparticles into vegetable oil-based paints using a low-cost, environment-friendly technique.
• Greener titanium dioxide from the University of Leeds, UK. The researchers developed a simpler, cheaper and greener method of extracting higher yields of TiO2 from mineral ore. The University is partnering with Millenium Inorganic Chemicals to develop the technology on a larger scale.
• Green ethylene by Argonne National Laboratory, which is managed by the University of Chicago. Argonne researchers are working to develop a cheaper and cleaner ethylene production processing using a high-temperature membrane reactor.
  

Today's the President's Day holiday and I planned to take a break from my green blogging.

However, it seems that I can't escape. When I woke up this morning the first thing I heard when I turned on my TV was about the green trend opening up tons of new, profitable job posts, as reported on CBS Early Morning Show.

According to the show's reporter Danny Seo, companies are expecting to profit [on the long run] from becoming more green, and in turn opening new green/environmental job positions.

Seo cited examples such as solar power engineers (average salary: +$40,000); healthy home decorators/designers (+$50K); environmental lawyers (+$100k); environmental engineers (+$70K); environmental scientists (+$50K); and green corporate jobs such as corporate social responsibility directors (CSRD), where salary varies depending on the size of the company.

I scoured my green news archive and came up with some articles relating to the creation of new green posts across varied industries:

• Global financial firm Ernst & Young appointed a new Americas Director of Environmental Sustainability in January. Last year in June, big paper company International Paper formed its Office of Sustainability and promoted a director of sustainable forestry and forest policy. Its competitor Georgia-Pacific also formed its new chief sustainability officer (CSO) last year November.
  

• This New York Times article last year wrote about the creation of green jobs especially CSOs from companies like Dow Chemical, DuPont, General Motors, GE, Hilton Hotels, HSBC and Home Depot.

• Are CSR positions really necessary? The website BusinessGreen.com wrote about the usefulness of these new breed of corporate executives.

• How the burgeoning green economy could help open up green-collar jobs in America was also discussed in this cover story by Environmental Magazine.

[Photo illustration from Emagazine.com]

Recycling of old computers, printers, and other electronic products will soon become mandatory in New York City, according to this New York Times article.

The City Council passed a bill that will fine $100 on anyone who throws away their e-waste in the trash starting in 2010. Manufacturers are also required to take back their products and start collecting old electronics for recycling in 2009, as well as products of other companies starting 2011, or else face a fine of $2,000.

By 2012, manufacturers have to collect their customers' e-waste equivalent to 25% of the average weight of the goods they sold between 2009 and 2012. The minimum amount will increase to 45% in 2015 and top to 65% in 2018. A $50,000 fine will be imposed if they do not meet the percentage point standards.

The Council is expected to override Mayor Bloomberg's veto and if passed into law, New York will be the first US city with e-cycling law that focuses mostly on manufacturers, the Times said. Manufacturers, of course, are in protests.

It is estimated that New Yorkers purchase more than 90,000 tons/year of electronic products. E-waste are said to be the source of toxic chemicals and metals accumulating in landfills.

Manufacturers currently have their own voluntary recycling programs but the bill, if passed and caught on by other major cities, could force them to expand their recycling capabilities much quicker than anticipated.

I hope they will not resort to shipping their e-waste to other countries such as China and in Ghana...

Coca-cola says its long term target is to recyle or reuse 100% of the aluminum beverage cans it sells in the US. How long it will take for that goal to reach remains uncertain.

The same objective is also planned for the company's PET (polyethylene) plastic bottles. By the end of the year, Coca-Cola estimates that it will recycle more than 100 million pounds each of PET and aluminum.

"The primary beverage container materials - aluminum and PET - have high value as recyclables but not enough are recovered to meet the increasing demand," said John Burgess, president and chief operating officer, Coca-Cola Recycling.

Aluminum producer Alcoa seems to think so too. The company announced last month its $22m plans to expand its recycling capacity in Tennessee by 50%. Alcoa is also calling out for aluminum players to help raise the industry's used beverage can (UBC) recycling rate from the current 52% to 75% by 2015.

75% UBCs recycled in North America = 600,000 tons raw aluminum saved = 1,286 megawatts electricity saved = not needing 2 average-sized coal power plants running 24/7 max = 11.8m tonnes/year CO2 emissions reduced.

Thinking of what to give your environmentally-conscious, die-hard go-green sweetheart this Valentine's Day? Surprise him or her with these "green" products guaranteed to offset her carbon-filled heart.

1. Cosmetics and skin care
You won't have a hard time with these ones as there are so many natural-based/organic cosmetic products being hawked out there. Are they really natural or organic? Nobody really knows! And that's the beauty of them.

2. Chocolates and flowers
Again, just make sure the word organic is slapped in the chocolate box or printed in the flower wrappings, and you're all set. By the way, try to take a taste of the organic chocolate first before giving it to your sweetie.

3. Lingeries and other wearable unmentionables
If you haven't check out eco-underwears, then these might tickle his or her green spots. Choose between bamboo-based, organic cotton, soy fibers or recycled fabrics.

4. Eco-showers
Unable to give an expensive organic spa treatments? Why not settle for a refreshing eco-shower instead with this new eco-showerheads from ShowerStart Technology. The water- and energy-saving showerhead has a temperature sensor and can save as much as $75/year on your utility bills while conserving 2,700 gallons of hot water per year for a family of three, according to the company.

5. Carbon offset certificates
For the practical ones, give a carbon offset certificate such as this one from ProjectGreenGift. In denominations of $25, $35..up to $100, a tree [or more] will be planted for your sweetheart to offset his or her carbon dioxide emissions for a year. If you want to make sure you're not being scammed, maybe you and your green valentine can even plant the tree yourselves - now that's romantic!

To make your gifts more green, wrap them up in this biodegradable bubble wrap by EcoBox, and write your love notes with Pilot's new BeGreen writing pens [and pencils] in a greeting card made from recycled paper.

If everything goes well, you'll soon find this eco-maternity clothes will come in handy 9 months from now...

For more gift-giving ideas, check out my Green Christmas list post.

Greenpeace UK recently released its virtual dream green city dubbed EfficienCity, which uses interactive animation to demonstrate how clean energy can be utilized to cut greenhouse gas emissions and lower electricity bills.

Talk about reaching mass audience especially the younger crowd! Greenpeace should be commended on using this very effective tool to educate consumers about alternative energy.

Maybe the chemical industry should use this type of media as well to educate consumers about the benefits and safety of their products.

ICIS Chemical Business, the magazine I work for (About ICB), released on Monday its second annual Green issue covering topics ranging from consumer green trends, China's environmental crisis, to the backlash of biofuels.

These feature stories are free to access and don't be shy if you have some burning comments you want to put out about them.

1. Biofuels backlash grows in fuel versus food debate by Simon Robinson - the stakes are getting high for tortillas, corn flakes, water and bagel. Duck hunters are preparing to go on strike.

2. Consumer industry increases sustainability initiatives by Me - Big box retailers are phasing out chemicals purported to be toxic in their products and packaging. Some industry groups protest.

3. US presidential candidates tackle climate change by Mickey Carter - US climate change regulation is inevitable whoever wins the presidential election. More industry group protests on current proposals.

4. European auto and chem industries seek new refrigerants as R-134a is phased-out by Clay Boswell - the maligned carbon dioxide is being considered as the most environment-friendly refrigerant for automobiles. The fluorocarbon market could shrink extensively.

5. German chemical sector moves swiftly to cut emissions by Dede Williams - Proactive approach by various Germany-based chemical companies to comply with emissions regulations and become more green.

6. Specialty chemical distributor U.S. Chemicals focuses on the environment by Joseph Chang - the women-owned and operated business likes to choose green partners.

7. China's economic boom causes environmental crisis by John Richardson - the darker side of China's economic success. Regulatory enforcements, so far, are not working.

8. Biodegradable plastics confuse the public by Ivan Lerner - Misconception on the greeness of biodegradable plastics. The unrecyclable bioplastics can only degrade in expensive industrial composting plants.

I was to blog about Sunday's greening Grammy Awards but Burt's Bees incoming new ads caught my attention.

Burt's Bees will launch its natural cosmetics campaign starting next month, which warns consumers to read labels before buying any branded products that claimed to be natural. The company's lip balm ad compared the benefits of beeswax against the yuckiness of petrolatum (read: non-renewable hydrocarbon made from crude oil; greasy film that could contain contaminants; sometimes used to stop corrosion on car batteries).

"It's not about how harmful a synthetic ingredient is. It's that we believe that natural alternatives are fundamentally better and that truly natural products shouldn't contain synthetic ingredients." - Burt's Bees Chief Marketing and Strategic Officer, Mike Indursky.

And stating petrolatum is sometimes used to stop corrosion on car batteries..what is that all about? Beeswax are also used in industrial applications such as in inks and coatings. The only problem with beeswax not being widely used is its volatile supply. If all cosmetic and personal care products around the world will use beeswax, either the poor bees will lose their food storage or we will have a much higher-priced lip balms.

Chemical ingredients work just the same if not better than natural alternatives, except they don't make you feel fuzzy and warm when you think about them. Another thought, the bees will probably thank petrolatum for restraining demand on their precious wax.

Producers of PFOA (perfluorooctanoic acid) also known as C8, are peeling themselves away from the chemical thanks to the US Environmental Protection Agency's PFOA Stewardship program.

PFOA is used as a processing aid in the manufacture of fluoropolymers - chemicals that provide non-stick surfaces on cookware and water-proof clothing. Low levels of PFOA has reportedly been persistently found in the environment and in the blood of Americans although the EPA assured that PFOA are not found in any of the above products mentioned.

The sources of PFOA in the environment and the pathways by which people are exposed are not yet known. The agency suspected that PFOA is being spread through manufacturing emissions or it is being gradually released from products through wear-and-tear and aging.

The EPA said major producers will be able to meet the industry's 95% PFOA emission reduction target worldwide by 2010. Arkema, Asahi, Ciba, Clariant, Daikin, DuPont, 3M/Dyneon and Solvay Solexis all intend to eliminate emissions and PFOA content in products by 2015.

Companies have also submitted to EPA more than 50 chemical alternatives to date for review.

This shows that when a chemical is scientifically considered harmful, producers will really do what it can to voluntarily eliminate the chemical and find an alternative. But maybe next time they shouldn't have to wait for the EPA's friendly push to make them move.

[Photo courtesy of Environment Blog]

The US housing sector might be weak but green buildings are still expected to proliferate in the US this year and it is not because of re-painting.

According to the American Institute of Architects, the number of cities with green building programs has risen by 418% since 2003. The western regions leads the way accounting for 46% of all cities with green building programs.

"Green building is flourishing now and the future looks bright for sustainable design. The ultimate goal for green building is eliminate the concept of “building green” and, instead, have green design integrated into all buildings." - AIA

Even government buildings are required to be more green as the US Department of Energy (DOE) established rules in December requiring new federal buildings to be at least 30% more energy efficient over prevailing building codes.

One of the big drivers behind the increasing interest towards green building is the growing number of federal and state government incentives, said green building consultancy Yudelson Associates.

"The most popular incentives local and state government can offer to real estate developers are faster permit processing and limited property tax abatements, followed by “density bonuses” and faster development plan review." - YA

Here are some examples, according to this article from ICIS Chemical Business.

It seems more consumers are willing to spend an extra buck or two to sweep away their environmental guilt.

In the cleaning market, sales for more environment-friendly and sustainable green products surge last year, according to research firms Packaged Facts and Information Resources Inc. (IRI)

Packaged Facts said the US household cleaning products market bounced back last year with sales of $7.3bn. The market's value is expected to reach $8.1bn, at a steady rate of 2%/year by 2012.

"The hot spot for accelerated growth and highly profitable sales is in higher-end, eco-friendly products," said Packaged Facts' Cathy Minkler. "Half of Americans between the age of 18 and 29 say they are willing to spend more for products labeled as organic, environmentally friendly or fair trade."

IRI reported a 66% increase in US green laundry detergent products sales last year compared to the overall detergent category's flat sales. Laundry detergents marketed as biodegradable, non-toxic and plant-based account for 2% of the total US detergent market.

"The study highlights replacement of chemical-based items with eco-friendly products as an emerging sustainability category among non-food items," said IRI chief marketing officer Andrew Salzman.

Now we know why chemical firms are also expanding their cleaning ingredients portfolio with more plant-based raw materials.

Plasticizers have been under spotlight this week targeting phthalates in baby care products and bisphenol A (BPA) in baby bottles.

According to a report published in the journal Pediatrics, the use of baby lotions, shampoos and powders resulted in higher levels of phthalates in infants. Around 163 infant urine samples were analyzed in the study.

John Bailey, chief scientist at the Personal Care Products Council (formerly Cosmetic, Toiletry and Fragrance Association) said the report did not make sense as out of seven phthalate compounds found in the study, only diethyl pthalate (DEP) is sometimes used in very low levels in fragrances for baby care products.

Bailey added that DEP is already deemed safe to use in personal care products by independent scientists in the US and Europe.

Meanwhile, scientists from the University of Cincinatti said hot liquids can release BPAs in polycarbonate plastic bottles such as baby bottles. They reported their findings in the journal Toxicology Letters.

The American Chemistry Council fired back and reiterated previous independent studies conducted on the safety of polycarbonate bottles.

Stay tune for more chemicals attacks this year.

Construction will soon start for Abu Dhabi's $15bn green city of the future.

The Masdar city is planned to be the world's first zero-carbon, zero waste, car-free community of 50,000 people, mostly with scientific pedigrees.

Abu Dhabi is asking its oil customers to keep the investment money flowing. At least some of them are being put to good use. Hopefully the rest of the world will benefit from this project.

Solar cells maybe new but that doesn't mean they should look ugly.

The Fraunhofer Institute in Munich, Germany, was able to develop semi-transparent solar modules that can incorporate organic dyes making them more stylish and decorative in appearance. The institute said any desired image can be integrated on the module using screen printing techniques.

"A glass facade made of this material can be given a decorative and promotionally effective design such as company logos, and delivers electricity into the bargain."

The dye solar cell only has 4% efficiency rate so it can't compete with traditional silicon cell. Long-term stability of the cell is also yet to be determined.

I can see architects, designers and marketing folks already in line for this one. I'm thinking of buying one (if I can afford it) for use as a decorative glass panel on my window. This way I can also charge my celphone and MP3 with it.

Speaking of being affordable, the Fraunhofer Institute said they are already a few steps short of developing industrial mass production of organic solar cells. Experts at the institute will present their mass production ideas at the Nanotech show in Tokyo on February 21-23.

Environmental groups are hoping Ireland's success on plastic bag bans, which started five years ago, could be a catalyst for other countries to follow.

According to this article from the New York Times, (kudos to my colleague Fred Seelig for sharing it!), plastic bag use in Ireland dropped 94% within weeks when the 33 cent-per-bag tax rule was implemented.

Irish plastic bag users are now considered losers. Even paper bags are being taxed, the article said.

One theory of Ireland's success is that all plastic bags in Ireland are imported, meaning no manufacturers to voice out their complaints. The article also noted Ireland's younger population, which are flexible to changes.

Reusable cloth shopping bags are now considered the norm when shopping in Ireland.

With the growing bag bans worldwide, it seems more and more plastic bags are looking at their pending demise this year. It makes me sad as I dearly love reusing my plastic bags as trash liners after my usual impromptu grocery shopping. I hate to think I have to buy plastic garbage bags just to throw my trash.

Will I sacrifice them rather than be labeled a loser and a mother earth killer? Ahhhh, the pressures of society at work...

Here's an opinion from my colleague Ivan Lerner about San Francisco's recent regulation on plastic bags. The article, titled "Rally round the bag" was published on the Endpoint section of ICIS Chemical Business magazine (January 28, 2008).

San Francisco has become the first US city to ban plastic bags, meaning that litter will no longer be a problem there.

Oh, and the Golden Gate Bridge is for sale, too!

By Ivan Lerner/New York

Banning plastic bags will not stop people from being morons and filthy slobs.

There are no health or safety issues intrinsic to plastic bags. They are only bad if you do something stupid like put one over your head and it seems as if the biggest complaint against them is their status as trash littering the landscape, which I agree with: I hate litter and wish I knew kung fu so I could force litterbugs to clean up after themselves.

It might not be fair of me to side with the industry and be pro-plastic bag recycling, but San Francisco's ban (implemented in November) smacks of an act taken because it sounded "nice."

Here in The Big Apple, the city council has just passed the New York City Plastic Carryout Bag Recycling Law, which requires stores in the five boroughs that occupy 5,000 square feet (465m²) or more to set up an in-store recycling program for bags.

Now, will this stop littering in New York? Not at first, but shopkeepers, grumbling about lost space for merchandise, are going to make sure customers are aware of the program: "Hey! Bring those @#!* bags back and recycle! Donchu care 'bout Mudda Nature!?!"

I suppose it is more important for San Francisco's civic nannies to impose their will, rather than educate consumers to conserve, either by recycling, reusing bags or by buying a European-style canvas shopping bag to use.

Good times, Bag times

In a survey commissioned by Telles, a joint venture between Metabolix, a biodegradable plastics manufacturer, and agricultural processor Archer Daniels Midland, 40% of Americans who responded thought standard petroleum-based plastic bags, however you dispose them, would biodegrade.

In their favor, though, when informed that their opinions on the biodegradability of plastic bags were erroneous, 50% of respondents said they would be willing to pay an extra 5-10% for biodegradable plastics.

But "biodegradable" doesn't mean "poof - it vanishes into pixie dust as soon as you are done unpacking your groceries."

If you toss a biodegradable bag out of the window of your car, it will get tangled in the branches of a tree or litter the side of the road, just like anything you toss from your car window.

That is the big question at last week's Soap and Detergent Association (SDA) meeting held in Boca Raton, Florida.

Some interpreted it as using renewable-based or natural/organic raw materials in their products while others try to eliminate any type of chemicals at all (is that possible??)

Others see it as phasing out non-environment-friendly chemicals from their products and replacing it with alternative chemicals that have less environment impact. A cleaning product can also be green, others noted, by reducing their packaging and making them reusable or recyclable.

Reducing emission and energy use in the manufacturing of a cleaning product could also earn a green mark.

A presentation by Ray Anderson, chairman of global carpet manufacturer Interface and a recipient of several international green awards, gave his own interpretation of green as mimicking nature's factory and processes. Everything has a use and nothing is wasted.

"It means creating the technologies of the future-kinder, gentler technologies that emulate nature's systems. I believe that's where we will find the right model," said Anderson

The air was somewhat thick with skepticism as the meeting's key speaker finished his speech.

Clearly, most chemical companies that attended the SDA meeting have their own definition of green cleaning as evident in their exhibits.

View image

As the show wrapped up on Saturday the question lingered....What is green??