(plastemart) -- BP Plc plans to shut a 1.05 mln tpa ethylene plant for maintenance at its Gelsenkirchen chemicals site. Unconfirmed reports state that one of two cracking units will be halted for the work in September and October. The plant is integrated with BP's adjacent 266,000 bpd refinery that supplies feedstock.
(prw) -- This year's German-Brazilian Economic Meeting in Munich on 31 May and 1 June will focus particularly on major upcoming sporting events to be held in Brazil. Bayer MaterialScience will present ⌠innovative concepts based on plastic sheeting in its Makrolon material, addressing sports facility construction for the 2014 soccer World Cup and the 2016 Summer Olympics.
Thanks to their ⌠outstanding properties, says Bayer, solid and multiwall polycarbonate sheets support a wide range of potential applications in architecture and construction.
Excellent stability and elasticity are claimed, with high wind loadings withstood without complex substructures. Weighing just a few kilograms per square meter, says Bayer, polycarbonate panels are far lighter than comparable glass structures, but can still cope with extreme weather conditions such as hail and heavy rainstorms. The material is cited as easy to machine and handle, even on site.
Adding a UV absorber layer filters out harmful solar radiation, according to Bayer. At the same time, the highly transparent sheets allow the grass on sports fields to grow naturally. The panels comply with a range of international fire protection regulations.
According to Bayer, another key Makrolon application is noise barriers to prevent nuisance to local residents while meeting safety requirements. Polycarbonate barriers are intrinsically more visually appealing than conventional walls made of concrete and other non-transparent materials, says the company. Available in thicknesses up to 18 millimeters, Bayer cites the sheets as ⌠fulfilling all the usual statutory requirements without being a blight on the urban or natural landscape.
MRCMRC Reference
Bayer is an international chemical and pharmaceutical concern. Founded in 1863.
The share in the Russian market in 2008:
PS - 0.7% (ABS - 7.2%).
Annual sales growth in Russia over the last 5 years:
PS - (-10%).
Polymers processing technologies:
injection molding.
(Business Standard) -- Shell Foundation, a UK-based organisation funded by petroleum major Shell, plans to invest about $4 million in partnership with European retailer CandA and California-based Organic Exchange over five years to develop organic cotton supply chains in India.
"The partnership between Shell Foundation, European retailer CandA and Organic Exchange jointly plans to invest an estimated $4 million over 5 years in developing sustainable (organic) cotton supply chains in India," Shell Foundation Regional Director Anuradha Bhavnani said.
India, the largest supplier of organic cotton in the world, supplied its entire production of 107,510 tonnes to the overseas market in 2008-09, the foundation said.
There is more focus on setting up supply chains as "global retail brands are estimated to source close to 3.5 million tonne of organic (sustainable) cotton from India in the next seven years," she noted.
(MLive) -- Construction could begin next week on the $303 million LG Chem lithium-ion battery plant on the city's southeast side.
The City Council has approved a development agreement that gives Compact Power Inc. the go-ahead to build the 420,000-square-foot plant.
The agreement includes infrastructure improvements the city will undertake to accommodate the LG Chem project, including construction of a three-lane road along 48th Street from Waverly Road to the city's eastern limits, a stormwater retention system, and providing connections to a private water main that will serve the plant.
The development agreement follows the city's annexation and subsequent rezoning of 50 acres of formerly agricultural-zoned land that had been in Fillmore Township.
(Plastics Today) -- The Reaction Process Machinery division of KraussMaffei, the world's largest manufacturer of plastics processing machinery, is teaming with one of the top names in compression molding machinery, Dieffenbacher, to develop improved systems for high-pressure resin transfer molding. The two say the alliance addresses a rapidly expanding market as more carbon fiber reinforcement is used in the automotive industry.
The goal of the alliance is to be able to offer customers a single source for turnkey processing lines. Each of the companies brings its own expertise to the alliance. For example, Dieffenbacher (Eppingen) makes the hydraulic vertical presses used, and works as a systems supplier for handling systems, cutting, preforming, and pressing equipment. KraussMaffei (Munich, both Germany) markets the required resin metering systems and mixing heads for epoxy and polyurethane, and is a system supplier for post-mold processing, milling, routing, cutting, and tooling equipment. Both companies already are active globally.
High pressure RTM is set to play a key role in producing carbon fiber reinforced plastic (CFP) parts for the automotive industry. There have been a number of recent CFP initiatives, including BMW's plans to co-run a carbon fiber manufacturing plant to ensure its own supply of the materials, as it is anticipated that CFR parts will play a major role in components for electric and hybrid cars.
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