BASF and VanderSat collaborate to provide farmers with high-precision, field-specific crop optimization

MOSCOW (MRC) – BASF and the Dutch Earth observation company VanderSat are collaborating to support farmers worldwide with even more precise, satellite data-based recommendations on application of crop inputs, said the company.

VanderSat’s satellite data uses high-precision microwave technology to measure soil moisture and surface temperatures in individual field zones. The technology will be an additional data source for BASF’s xarvio Field Manager, a commercial product that for example calculates the risk of disease on a field-by-field basis, providing farmers with individually tailored application maps and optimized timing for crop protection measures.

"Knowing soil moisture levels is key to predicting yield risks and crop development more accurately,” said Ole Peters, Head of Technology Digital Farming at BASF’s Agricultural Solutions division. “By integrating VanderSat’s data into our digital farming technology, farmers will benefit from even more precise, field-zone-specific information and forecasts – both for our existing offers and for future solutions that will be enabled by this technology. It will help farmers, replace in-field soil sensors in many situations, and will ensure more efficient and sustainable use of water and crop inputs."

The microwave data from VanderSat is collected daily for every field around the world at a spatial resolution of 100 x 100 meters. It will provide a unique and independent layer of information to build the digital profile of a field in BASF’s xarvio Field Manager. “One major advantage of microwave sensing is that cloud cover does not interfere with the measurement from space,” said Richard de Jeu, founder and Chief Technology Officer of VanderSat. “We have been collecting daily information on soil moisture and temperature from different satellites for many years. As a result, we now have an archive of data that goes back more than 16 years. These elements in combination with high-resolution sensing make our satellite-derived products highly reliable for determining field-zone-specific management decisions."

Data validation and prototyping done by both companies already show that VanderSat’s satellite data is typically more consistent and representative than measurements of soil moisture and temperature from field sensors. BASF and VanderSat are now validating solutions on several hundred fields on three continents in different crops to enable farmers to make more accurate agronomic decisions.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- About 100 United Steelworkers union (USW) members rallied on Wednesday outside a LyondellBasell Industries Houston oil refinery to protest the lack of negotiations there on a new local contract, reported Reuters.

Talks on a national oil-workers agreement are due to begin next month with Shell Oil Co, the U.S. unit of Royal Dutch Shell Plc, as the lead industry negotiator. Existing union contracts expire on Feb. 1.

Local groups are beginning discussions, however, on individual plant issues ahead of the national talks. At least four other plants also have begun exchanging proposals on local issues, according to the USW.

LyondellBasell officials did not begin talks on union local issues as planned on Monday, Marcos Velez, a USW International representative, said in an interview on Wednesday. The existing contract covering the plant’s 485 union workers expires on Feb. 1.

"They called and said they couldn’t make it (Monday) and would call about meeting Tuesday," Velez said. "It’s Wednesday and we’re still waiting to meet."

“LyondellBasell and United Steelworkers Local 13-227 are in the process of entering good faith negotiations with the shared interest of reaching an agreement that is fair and equitable for the company and our represented employees,” said company spokeswoman Chevalier Gray.

The USW group carried signs that read: “Coming soon” and showed silhouettes of people picketing. Union-represented Lyondell workers were off their jobs for 3-1/2 months during a strike and contract talks in 2015.

The national agreement, which covers wages, job security, health and safety issues, will be combined with terms of the agreement on local issues at each plant to complete the contract for each location.

Velez said Lyondell also canceled meetings during the 2015 strike.

"It’s not uncommon, but it’s unacceptable," he said.

During the rally, USW activist Joshua Lege used a bullhorn to speak to the workers, many of them wearing blue work coveralls as they lined up in front of the refinery.

"They say they want peace and professionalism, but they want war," Lege said.

The national contract covers about 30,000 refinery and chemical plant workers. In September, union officials agreed to seek 8 percent annual wage increases and a three-year contract in the coming negotiations.

The contract would cover plants operated by Shell, Marathon Petroleum Corp BP Plc, Exxon Mobil Corp, Valero Energy Corp, and smaller refiners such as HollyFrontier Corp and Delek US Holdings Inc.

As MRC wrote previously, in August 2016, LyondellBasell made the final investment decision to build a high density polyethylene (HDPE) plant on the US Gulf Coast. The plant will have an annual capacity of 1.1 billion pounds (500,000 metric tons) and will be the first commercial plant to employ LyondellBasell's new proprietary Hyperzone PE technology. The start-up of the new plant is scheduled for 2019.

LyondellBasell is one of the largest plastics, chemicals and refining companies in the world. Driven by its 13,000 employees around the globe, LyondellBasell produces materials and products that are key to advancing solutions to modern challenges like enhancing food safety through lightweight and flexible packaging, protecting the purity of water supplies through stronger and more versatile pipes, and improving the safety, comfort and fuel efficiency of many of the cars and trucks on the road. LyondellBasell sells products into approximately 100 countries and is the world's largest licensor of polyolefin technologies.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Reliance Industries Limited (RIL) is expected to restart its monoethylene glycol (MEG) unit in Hazira, as per Apic-online.

A Polymerupdate source in India informed that the company is likely to resume operations at the unit next week. The unit was taken off-line for catalyst change on November 26, 2018.

Located at Hazira in the west Indian state of Gujarat, the unit has a production capacity of 150,000 mt/year.

As MRC wrote before, in H2 2017, RIL started up its new MEG plant at Jamnagar. The production capacity of the new MEG plant is 750,000 mt/annum. The new plant is in addition to the existing 750,000 mt/annum MEG output capacity that RIL has from multiple lines.

Reliance Industries Limited is the largest petrochemical company in India. The company is engaged in a wide range of activities, ranging from oil and gas production to production of polyester and polymer goods, including the production of polyethylene (PE), polypropylene (PP), polyvinyl chloride (PVC), and textiles.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Nouryon (formerly AkzoNobel Specialty Chemicals) launched an innovative multifunctional ingredient, Bermocoll EBM 3000, which optimizes the performance of water-based multicolor paints used on building facades to mimic the appearance of stone or marble, as per Coatingsworld.

Multicolor paints consist of colored droplets dispersed in latex, which may include texturing materials such as sand. Bermocoll EBM 3000 is a versatile ingredient that is compatible with most multicolor paint formulations, preventing droplet agglomeration and color migration and providing adjustable gel strength and excellent color development properties.

The product was launched at the China Coat Show in Guangzhou.

"Multicolored paint offers many advantages, including ease of installation, consistency of color and flexibility, but most important is its economic and environmental value versus real stone or marble,” said Annika Karlsson, RD&I and sustainability director for Nouryon’s Bermocoll business.

"Bermocoll EBM 3000 is a high-performance ingredient that delivers key technical and formulation benefits for the multicolor paint market,” said Geert Hofman, GM performance additives at Nouryon. “In addition, it is manufactured by a unique solvent-free process, offering the lowest carbon footprint. It underlines our focus on working with customers to deliver innovative products that contribute to sustainable growth."
MRC

MOSCOW (Market Report) -- Prices for plasticizer dioctyl phthalate (DOP) began to go down slightly in the Russian market after reaching record high in November. One of the two key producers announced a price reduction of Rb3,000/tonne, reported MRC's analysts.

There has been no shortage of DOP plasticizer in the Russian market for the past two months, however, in November, plasticizer prices were high. At the same time, the difference in DOP prices of the two key Russian producers reached Rb3,500/tonne. The suppliers virtually levelled their December offer prices.

Amid a seasonal fall in demand for DOP and the increased supply, prices had decreased to Rb107,500-108,000/tonne, including VAT and delivery to the central region of Russia, by early December, whereas last month's deals were done in the range of Rb107,500-111,000/tonne, including VAT and delivery.
MRC