Bericap has cut the weight of closures for edible oils by 50%

(PlasticsToday) -- Bericap has cut the weight of closures for edible oils in 1-liter bottles by 50%, developing a range for 26-mm neck diameters that weigh only 1.37g compared to 2.74g. Bericap said the move was in response to an industry shift. In the past, the heavier closures were needed on the standard 29/21 neck for 1-liter containers when they were meant to fit glass and polyethylene terephthalate (PET) bottles. Today, edible oils are primarily supplied in PET.

Bericap said the inner diameter of the new neck is identical to the previous 29mm diameter, eliminating the need for modifications to filling nozzles at the filler while still providing the same flow rate. The company achieved the dramatic weight savings by cutting the inner diameter and the cap height.

MRC

(Braskem) -- Braskem, the largest thermoplastic resin producer in the Americas, Fundacao Espaco ECO and Instituto Akatu presented a comparative survey on the use of different types of bags for transporting goods purchased at supermarkets and the economic and environmental impacts of each alternative.

To ensure that the discussion of the best bag alternative is based solely on scientific studies, the life cycles of various bag options available in the Brazilian market were analyzed, which included disposable bags (made from traditional polyethylene, sugarcane polyethylene and additives to promote biodegradation) and some reusable bags (paper, raffia, cloth and non-woven fabric).

This unprecedented survey in Brazil considers a number of current conditions in the country, including the technology and production methods used and the resulting environmental impacts of certain scenarios involving the use of the bags and the disposal of trash by consumers.

The life-cycle analysis (ACV) was expanded to consider what is known as "ecoefficiency", which evaluates the environmental impacts and cost of each alternative, encompassing everything from the extraction of raw materials to the disposal of the bag, including its production and use. Therefore, the entire production chain was considered and analyzed when studying the environmental impacts and cost of each of phase.

MRC

(ICIS) -- North American chemical stocks sank on Monday ­- the second time in less than a week ­- as the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell by nearly 635 points. The Dow Jones closed at 10,809.85, down by 5.55%. It was the largest drop since the 680-point fall in December 2008.

Monday was the second day in less than a week that the Dow Jones fell by more than 500 points. On Thursday, the index fell by 513.

As on Thursday, many North American chemical stocks fell much more than the Dow Jones.
Every North American company followed by ICIS fell, including Lubrizol and Arch Chemicals, both of which are in the midst of being acquired.

Several companies fell by more than 10%, including acetyls producer Celanese; catalyst producer WR Grace; polyurethanes producer Huntsman; titanium dioxide (TiO2) producer Kronos; refiner and petrochemical producer LyondellBasell; compounders PolyOne and A Schulman; specialty chemicals producers Chemtura, Rockwood and Solutia; refiners Sunoco and Valero; and polyolefins producer Westlake Chemical. Among the majors, Dow Chemical fell by 10% and DuPont fell by nearly 7%.

MRC

(ICIS) -- Share values in the chemical sector are recording dramatic falls on Tuesday as European stock markets are rocked following major sell-offs in both the US and Asia, amid continuing fears of a double-dip recession and the downgrading of US debt by credit rating agency Standard & Poor's.

The European Central Bank's (ECB's) decision on Sunday to step into the bond markets and buy Italian and Spanish debt in order to ensure eurozone price stability and avoid a Greece-style bail-out appears to have had little positive impact in an extremely nervous market environment.

At 09:00 GMT, the Dow Jones Euro Stoxx Chemicals index was trading down 4.00%, as shares in many of Europe's major chemical companies plummeted following steep drops on Monday.

Top European producers were hit hard - German major BASF's shares had dropped 4.49%, Bayer had fallen 5.78%, Dutch coatings firm AkzoNobel was down 2.99%, and France's Arkema had fallen by 2.14%. Belgium's Solvay had fallen 2.51% and Swiss specialties maker Clariant was trading down 2.09%. France-based industrial gases company Air Liquide was down 1.68%, while Germany's Linde was down 6.55%. Catalysts maker and precious metals trader Johnson Matthey of the UK was down slightly, by 0.18%.

MRC

(ICIS) -- Asian petrochemical shares continued to be battered on Tuesday morning, with regional bourses taking the cue from Wall Street's overnight slump and oil prices plunging to below USD 80/bbl on heightened concerns that the global economy is heading towards another recession. The Dow Jones Industrial Average shed 5.55% to close at 10,809.85 on Monday. The decline was the biggest recorded since the 680-point fall in December 2008.

At 11:09 hours Singapore time (03:09 GMT), Japan's petrochemical majors - Mitsui Chemicals plunged by 5.59%, Mitsubishi Chemical slumped by 6.10% and Asahi Kasei fell by 5.45% with the benchmark Nikkei 225 index down by 403.25 points or 4.43% at 8,694.31, logging in its worst performance since Japan's disaster in March this year.

In Malaysia, PETRONAS Chemicals Group slipped by 3.11%, with the benchmark Kuala Lumpur Composite Index falling by 38.68 points or 2.58% at 1,458.31.

In Hong Kong, PetroChina was down a hefty 8.27%, with the Hang Seng Index shedding 1,334.56 points or 6.51% at 19,159.83.

In China, the Shanghai Composite Index eased by 26.35 points or 1.04% at 2,500.47.

MRC