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Location, location, location: synthetic soda ash vs natural soda ash
F O C U S a 20%+ reduction in the level of phosphates that water treatment plants process. Phosphates will still be permitted in industrial washing powders and in dishwashing detergents (each of which accounts for the use of 10,000 tonnes/y phosphates in France) but consumers are advised to temper their use of products that still possess increased phosphate levels. Chimie Pharma Hebdo, 10 Apr 2007, (378), 3 (Website: http://www.france-chimie.com) (in French) & ICIS Chemical Business, 23 Apr 2007, (Website: http://icischemicalbusiness.com)
Citric acid soured by competition Global citric acid markets continue to face severe pressure from Chinese producers. Tate & Lyle ceased producing citric acid at Selby, UK on 31 Mar 2007. The Selby plant had 25,000 tonnes/y of capacity and employed 100 staff. In 2006, the plant had sales of £26 M and posted an operating loss of £2 M. Tate & Lyle will supply its customers using output from other plants. The citric acid industry is experiencing consolidation. China accounts for 50% of global capacity while Europe and North America each have an 18% market share. North America and Europe account for 65-70% of global consumption. In the short term, the market for citric acid is expected to be tight and the trend for falling prices will continue. Capacity utilization in China is 70%. Global growth rates for citric acid are estimated at 3.5-4.5%/y. Citric acid is used in beverages, accounting for 50% of global consumption, detergents (1517% of global consumption), soaps and foods (15-20%), pharmaceuticals and cosmetics (7-9%), and industrial uses (6-8%). ICIS Chemical Business Americas, 19 Mar 2007, (Website: http://www.icbamericas.com)
Other Reliance, Rohm and Haas to build acrylic monomer plant Indian firm Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL) inked a memorandum of understanding with US-based speciality chemicals major Rohm and Haas on 22 Mar 2007 to jointly establish an acrylic monomer 4
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complex at Jamnagar in Gujarat, India. This proposed facility, which would use Rohm and Haas’s technology, would have the capacity of about two-lakh tonnes/y (200,000 tonnes/y) of acrylic acid and its esters. While the key objective would be to serve domestic market needs, the complex could also export acrylic acid and derivatives. The collaboration will also continue to the downstream speciality chemicals, which will serve industries such as textiles, paints and coatings, detergents, packaging adhesives, and construction materials. The Hindu, 23 Mar 2007, 130 (70), 20 & press release from: Rohm and Haas Co, 100 Independence Mall West, Philadelphia, PA 19106-2399, USA. Tel: +1 215 592 3000. Website: http://www.rohmhaas.com (21 Mar 2007)
sodium-based chemical products represents roughly 20% of demand. In Pacific Asia, soda ash capacity additions were particularly high in China, with the country’s exports climbing 1.1% from 2005 to 1.8 M tonnes in 2006. Another major producer is India’s Gujarat Heavy Chemicals Ltd, which has acquired two Romanian soda ash plants and is considering purchasing all or part of a US soda ash company. In the Americas, the USA remains the leading trona producer, with five US firms churning out more than 14 M tonnes/y of soda ash. The USA’s Green River Basin in Wyoming also hosts the world’s largest trona deposit that could yield as much as 47 M tonnes of soda ash. Industrial Minerals, Apr 2007, (475), 46-50
ICI Pakistan boosts soda ash ICI Pakistan will increase the soda ash output of its facility in Khewra, Pakistan, from 285,000 tonnes/y to 350,000 tonnes/y by 2009. The expansion will allow the company to cope with increasing demand from the downstream glass and detergent markets. ICIS Chemical Business, 16 Apr 2007, (Website: http://icischemicalbusiness.com)
Location, location, location: synthetic soda ash vs natural soda ash Synthetic soda ash and natural soda ash (sodium carbonate or trona) are considered to exhibit distinct qualitative and economic properties, although the geographical location of materials appears to be the primary consideration when it comes to sourcing soda ash. Synthetic soda ash production is considered more costly than mining for natural soda ash, although the quality of synthetic soda ash is superior to that of its natural counterpart. The majority of soda ash consumption is attributed to glass production, but the material is also used as a filler and agglomerating aid in detergents and soaps, and as feedstock for various sodium-based chemical products. The European detergent industry’s soda ash consumption has climbed by an estimated 100,000 tonnes/y, spurred by the switch from perborate to sodium percarbonate, which is derived from soda ash. Production of
Huntsman scales up process to convert biodiesel by-product to propylene glycol; company continues sustainable chemistry initiative Huntsman Corp announced a further step in its plan to commercialize a process for manufacturing propylene glycol from a renewable raw material, and will make it available for customer trials by Jun 2007. The production of biodiesel from vegetable and seed oils creates the by-product glycerin, which can then be used to manufacture propylene glycol for the global market’s fourand-a-half billion pound annual demand for the material. Using proprietary technology developed at the Huntsman Advanced Technology Centre, the company initially will manufacture the bio-based propylene glycol at its Process Development Facility in Conroe, TX. This state-ofthe-art facility can turn out products in intermediate-scale quantities, pending further scale up and transfer of the process to Huntsman’s larger scale plants. Huntsman expects its biobased propylene glycol to be commercially available by 2008. DuPont Tate & Lyle [Focus on Surfactants, Feb 2007] and Dow [ibid, May 2007] have similarly recently launched bio-based propylene glycol products. Press release from: Huntsman Corp, 3040, Post Oak Boulevard, Houston, TX 77056, USA. Tel: +1 713 235 6000. Fax: +1 713 235 6416. Website: http://www.huntsman.com (30 Apr 2007)
JUNE 2007
Citric acid soured by competition Global citric acid markets continue to face severe pressure from Chinese producers. Tate & Lyle ceased producing citric acid at Selby, UK on 31 Mar 2007. The Selby plant had 25,000 tonnes/y of capacity and employed 100 staff. In 2006, the plant had sales of £26 M and posted an operating loss of £2 M. Tate & Lyle will supply its customers using output from other plants. The citric acid industry is experiencing consolidation. China accounts for 50% of global capacity while Europe and North America each have an 18% market share. North America and Europe account for 65-70% of global consumption. In the short term, the market for citric acid is expected to be tight and the trend for falling prices will continue. Capacity utilization in China is 70%. Global growth rates for citric acid are estimated at 3.5-4.5%/y. Citric acid is used in beverages, accounting for 50% of global consumption, detergents (1517% of global consumption), soaps and foods (15-20%), pharmaceuticals and cosmetics (7-9%), and industrial uses (6-8%). ICIS Chemical Business Americas, 19 Mar 2007, (Website: http://www.icbamericas.com)
Other Reliance, Rohm and Haas to build acrylic monomer plant Indian firm Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL) inked a memorandum of understanding with US-based speciality chemicals major Rohm and Haas on 22 Mar 2007 to jointly establish an acrylic monomer 4
ON
S U R FAC TA N T S
complex at Jamnagar in Gujarat, India. This proposed facility, which would use Rohm and Haas’s technology, would have the capacity of about two-lakh tonnes/y (200,000 tonnes/y) of acrylic acid and its esters. While the key objective would be to serve domestic market needs, the complex could also export acrylic acid and derivatives. The collaboration will also continue to the downstream speciality chemicals, which will serve industries such as textiles, paints and coatings, detergents, packaging adhesives, and construction materials. The Hindu, 23 Mar 2007, 130 (70), 20 & press release from: Rohm and Haas Co, 100 Independence Mall West, Philadelphia, PA 19106-2399, USA. Tel: +1 215 592 3000. Website: http://www.rohmhaas.com (21 Mar 2007)
sodium-based chemical products represents roughly 20% of demand. In Pacific Asia, soda ash capacity additions were particularly high in China, with the country’s exports climbing 1.1% from 2005 to 1.8 M tonnes in 2006. Another major producer is India’s Gujarat Heavy Chemicals Ltd, which has acquired two Romanian soda ash plants and is considering purchasing all or part of a US soda ash company. In the Americas, the USA remains the leading trona producer, with five US firms churning out more than 14 M tonnes/y of soda ash. The USA’s Green River Basin in Wyoming also hosts the world’s largest trona deposit that could yield as much as 47 M tonnes of soda ash. Industrial Minerals, Apr 2007, (475), 46-50
ICI Pakistan boosts soda ash ICI Pakistan will increase the soda ash output of its facility in Khewra, Pakistan, from 285,000 tonnes/y to 350,000 tonnes/y by 2009. The expansion will allow the company to cope with increasing demand from the downstream glass and detergent markets. ICIS Chemical Business, 16 Apr 2007, (Website: http://icischemicalbusiness.com)
Location, location, location: synthetic soda ash vs natural soda ash Synthetic soda ash and natural soda ash (sodium carbonate or trona) are considered to exhibit distinct qualitative and economic properties, although the geographical location of materials appears to be the primary consideration when it comes to sourcing soda ash. Synthetic soda ash production is considered more costly than mining for natural soda ash, although the quality of synthetic soda ash is superior to that of its natural counterpart. The majority of soda ash consumption is attributed to glass production, but the material is also used as a filler and agglomerating aid in detergents and soaps, and as feedstock for various sodium-based chemical products. The European detergent industry’s soda ash consumption has climbed by an estimated 100,000 tonnes/y, spurred by the switch from perborate to sodium percarbonate, which is derived from soda ash. Production of
Huntsman scales up process to convert biodiesel by-product to propylene glycol; company continues sustainable chemistry initiative Huntsman Corp announced a further step in its plan to commercialize a process for manufacturing propylene glycol from a renewable raw material, and will make it available for customer trials by Jun 2007. The production of biodiesel from vegetable and seed oils creates the by-product glycerin, which can then be used to manufacture propylene glycol for the global market’s fourand-a-half billion pound annual demand for the material. Using proprietary technology developed at the Huntsman Advanced Technology Centre, the company initially will manufacture the bio-based propylene glycol at its Process Development Facility in Conroe, TX. This state-ofthe-art facility can turn out products in intermediate-scale quantities, pending further scale up and transfer of the process to Huntsman’s larger scale plants. Huntsman expects its biobased propylene glycol to be commercially available by 2008. DuPont Tate & Lyle [Focus on Surfactants, Feb 2007] and Dow [ibid, May 2007] have similarly recently launched bio-based propylene glycol products. Press release from: Huntsman Corp, 3040, Post Oak Boulevard, Houston, TX 77056, USA. Tel: +1 713 235 6000. Fax: +1 713 235 6416. Website: http://www.huntsman.com (30 Apr 2007)
JUNE 2007