ICIS Blogs : chemicals

Plastic windows face wrath of conservationists

ICIS Chemicals Confidential — Tue, 23 Jun 2009 13:35:16 GMT

"I'm afraid conservation areas are suffering a plague of plastic windows," the chief executive of English Heritage was quoted in today's Telegraph.co.uk . "I would never in a million years put one in," he continued. The conservationist...(read more)

Chemical jokes - 28 of them

ICIS Chemicals Confidential — Fri, 19 Jun 2009 14:46:41 GMT

Never let it be said that chemicals folk don't have a sense of humour. An industry friend has sent the Blog a few samples from this website devoted to hilarious side-splitting chemistry jokes. After some years in the aromatics business, the Blog's...(read more)

US biorefineries step up capacities

Green Chemicals — Thu, 18 Jun 2009 19:44:38 GMT

A recent round table hosted by the Biotechnology Industry Organization (BIO) produced interesting updates on several biorefineries planned in the US. Participants at the roundtable included Coskata , Zeachem , Genomatica and Genencor . First let's...(read more)

High School girl discovers polystyrene eating bacterium

ICIS Chemicals Confidential — Mon, 15 Jun 2009 11:24:08 GMT

Top awards in last month's Intel International Science Fair go to Tseng I-Ching from Taiwan who discovered a 'red bacterium' derived from mealworm beetles that metabolizes polystyrene , according to an article in Taiwan News which was picked...(read more)

Things A Chemist Won't Work With - Thioacetone

ICIS Chemicals Confidential — Fri, 12 Jun 2009 12:03:32 GMT

It seems that there are things that even a chemist won't work with. The Blog was intrigued to be sent this blog posting which describes one chemist's experiences of Thioacetone, a compound which has a smell so strong that it has "people Read...(read more)

New entry for periodic table

ICIS Chemicals Confidential — Thu, 11 Jun 2009 12:10:43 GMT

A new element will soon be added to the periodic table, according to this article today on BBC news and forwarded to the Blog by ICB reporter, Mark Watts. Read More......(read more)

Students still love IT

India Chemicals Blog — Wed, 10 Jun 2009 23:08:01 GMT

Indian information technology (IT) companies may no longer be queuing up at campuses for fresh graduates but engineering students continue to rank this sector above all others, according to the latest Nielsen Campus Track T-Schools study . Chemicals,...(read more)

Molecules with Silly Names

ICIS Chemicals Confidential — Tue, 02 Jun 2009 12:06:48 GMT

Some of the chemical names here are SO cheeky that it is hard to believe they are genuine. Molecules like Arsole, Bastardane, Unununium, Moronic Acid, Dickite, Fucitol and Windowpane . Can they be for real? H aving checked them with my colleague Alex...(read more)

Anger boils over in Helsinki

ICIS Chemicals Confidential — Tue, 02 Jun 2009 10:17:01 GMT

Just back from Helsinki from the European Chemicals Agency's ( ECHA ) stakeholder day, my colleague Will Beacham tells me that chemical industry delegates were just boiling over with anger at the inaccessibility of the agency, and had set aside 45...(read more)

New Kim Jong Il photo at Chemical Plant

ICIS Chemicals Confidential — Sat, 30 May 2009 17:26:59 GMT

A new photo of North Korea's leader, Kim Jong Il, visiting the Namheung Youth Chemical Factory in Anju, north of Pyongyang, was released on Friday by the country's official news agency. The agency did not state when the photo was taken. (photo...(read more)

Will a new broom sweep clean?

India Chemicals Blog — Wed, 27 May 2009 07:23:21 GMT

It is good to be back to some good news. The election is finally over and the UPA has been voted back to power with promises of stability and more reforms. But the chemicals industry will have to deal with a new minister as Ram Vilas Paswan was not be...(read more)

Cosmetic suppliers say naturals still hot

Green Chemicals — Mon, 18 May 2009 23:19:49 GMT

As mentioned last week, the green blogger attended this year's annual New York Society of Cosmetic Chemists (SCC) Suppliers' Day in New Jersey, and based on interviews that I had with several chemical companies, one trend that continues to be...(read more)

Plastics guys are human too

ICIS Chemicals Confidential — Mon, 18 May 2009 16:30:58 GMT

Tucked away at the bottom of the new weekly online newsletter from the US plastics industry trade association, SPI's Inside Edge , I see that they have some links to their own " In the Hopper " blog which has some cutesy chemicals human...(read more)

Elastomers and crystals heat up your cellulite

ICIS Chemicals Confidential — Thu, 07 May 2009 17:05:06 GMT

In a new and daunting undergarment to romeos everywhere, elastomers and heating crystals will not only pull in those determinedly extruding parts of the female anatomy but also melt the unwanted cellulite away, according to this article in today's...(read more)

Exploding cocktails - it's all in the chemicals

ICIS Chemicals Confidential — Mon, 27 Apr 2009 12:08:16 GMT

Explosive drinks were all the rage at NPRA this year. Predrag was the first to tell me about the obscenely named cocktails at the "Howl at the Moon" bar on the Riverwalk , where shots glasses of spirits (whiskey, tequila, vodka, bourbon) were...(read more)