An explosion and major fire erupted in China’s Fujian province Monday night, sending six people to the hospital, officials reported. State news agency Xinhua said 177 fire engines and more than 800 firefighters were sent to the scene. The plant, in the city of Zhangzhou, produces the chemical paraxylene (PX), which is the basic raw... Read more »
Superhydrophobic surfaces are found on duck feathers and lotus leaves that repels water. A Chinese group, led by Junqi Sun, from Jilin University has achieved the same superhydrophobicity. The surface heals itself. If the surface gets nicked, it allows water from the air to cause the molecules to fill back in and bring back the... Read more »
It’s called Continuous Liquid Interface Production (CLIP), and it could revolutionize 3D printing. Carbon3D, a privately-held Redwood City, California based company has created a process which can print three-dimensional objects as one piece instead of the layer by layer approach used now. Carbon3D uses photosensitive monomers which will polymerize when exposed to UV light, and... Read more »
Full implementation of the GHS (Globally Harmonized System) regulations are set to be in place by mid-2015, and the European Union’s REACh registration requirements are to be completely updated by June of 2018. These new regulations are expected to affect the metalworking lubricants industry especially hard. The cost to MWF additive manufacturers to participate in... Read more »
Last week, the National Association of Chemical Distributors (NACD) senior leadership traveled to Washington, DC to meet with Members of Congress and their staff. One of the key discussions centered on the recently introduced Frank R. Lautenberg Chemical Safety for the 21st Century Act (S.697). This legislation would reform the very outdated Toxic Substances Control... Read more »
The last decade of the 20th century saw a healthy rise of synthetic base stock in lubricants and greases. One industry expert had growth of API Group IV base stock, PAOs, at 5.5% a year growth from 1994-2000. But in 1997 Castrol reformulated one of their synthetic blends with Group III base oil and kept... Read more »
“It’s not so much that we’re interested in processing the eggs; that’s just demonstrating how powerful this process is,” says Gregory Weiss, UC-Irvine professor of chemistry and molecular biology & biochemistry. In conjunction with Australian chemists, UCI chemists have developed a method to unfold proteins which have been “misfolded” while being processed. The methods in... Read more »
Dunkin’ Donuts is reformulating its powdered sugar to not include titanium dioxide after an environmental nonprofit requested that it be removed. A Dunkin’ Donuts spokesperson said that the ingredient “does not meet the definition of ‘nanomaterial’ as outlined under FDA guidance.” With that said, the company still decided to change its powdered sugar. http://www.msn.com/en-us/news/other/dunkin%E2%80%99-donuts-is-getting-rid-of-titanium-dioxide-in-its-food/ar-AA9Ahjb?ocid=UP97DHP.
First the good about salt brine. The Michigan Department of Transportation found that 40 percent of rock salt spread on roads ends up on the shoulder. While salt brine, a mixture of 23% salt and 77% water, is applied wet and remains on the roadways. The efficiency of salt brine not only helps to keep... Read more »
Two 600-foot ships collided on Monday due to fog causing a leak of Methyl tertiary-butyl ether (MTBE). This also caused a shut down of a portion of the Houston Ship Channel. MTBE is a gasoline additive that is not easy to clean up, according to the commander of the Houston-Galveston Coast Guard District. For more... Read more »
