Category: Industry News

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 the roads effectively more ice free, it also adds a cost savings with less salt used and more of it staying on the roads. Now the down side, the corrosion and rust we all loathe to see on our vehicles is caused by acid created when salt reacts with moisture in the air. Rock salt will remain in crystalline form until humidity reaches 70%, but salt brine already has the ability to corrode your vehicle, being already in solution. In addition, salt brine more easily reaches all the nooks and crannies in your vehicle’s under carriage because of its liquid form. Whether your local road works uses brine or rock, one way to help protect your car is to wash it regularly and especially after a storm, when road crews are employing deicing measures.

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 information visit CBSnews.com

The chemical industry lobby is pushing congress to pass new legislation on the regulation of chemicals. The lobby feels the Toxic Substances Control Act of 1976 (TSCA) is outdated and leaves too much authority to the states when determining regulation. A new federal bill would help to create a more standard set of rules throughout the country and help to regain the confidence of the public in the safety of common chemicals with more rigorous regulations. The leading Democrat in negotiations, Senator Tom Udall of New Mexico, is pushing for a deal to get done against the wishes of some of his Democratic counterparts. Critics of the bill cite the lack of input from health experts and state governments, with one sticking point being the pace at which the backlog of chemicals in question will be assessed. The current draft requires the start of testing on 10 high-risk chemicals, though the EPA acknowledges there are about 1,000 chemicals used in the United States that might represent health hazards. “It is not the bill I would have written from scratch,” says Richard Denison, a senior scientist at the Environmental Defense Fund and contributor to the drafting of the bill. “But it’s a solid compromise that would be much more protective of public health.”

For more information see NYtimes.

“It’s arguably one of the most important interactions between molecules, because it occurs in water where biology and so much technology happens,” says UW-Madison chemical and biological engineering professor Nicholas Abbott. A group of UW-Madison researchers, including Abbott and UW-Madison chemistry professor Sam Gellman have provided new insights on hydrophobic interactions within complex systems. The researchers have shown how the nearby presence of hydrophilic substances can change the way hydrophobic groups interact with each other. The group was able to measure the strength of interactions between hydrophobic, nonpolar groups with the nearby presence of hydrophilic, polar groups by using an atomic force microscope. They were able to find a correlation between the proximity of the hydrophilic groups and the strength of the interactions in the hydrophobic molecules. These interactions have been theorized and now demonstrated. The findings could have implications in industries where molecules need to perform useful functions in water; including ointments based on emulsions, food products, detergents and more. Due to the complex combinations of hydrophobic and hydrophilic groups in proteins, this research could also have implications in understanding the biological processes involved in protein structure modification.

For more information go to:  http://www.news.wisc.edu/23404

With OPEC estimating output to increase by 400,000 barrels per day this year and non-OPEC supplies likely to rise by twice that, the glut of world oil supply does not look to clear up any time soon. The fact that world oil storage is approaching capacity, rising by 265 million barrels last year, has only increased the likelihood of continued low oil prices. Baker Hughes reported the rig count in America in mid-February fell to its lowest since 2011, and 35% below its peak in October of last year, but many of these rigs were in marginal areas while the main shale-oil basins saw a 9% decline. Add into this the increased productivity of remaining wells and projected flat demand for the first half of this year and there is little reason to believe oil prices will rise based on supply and demand economics. What does this all mean for the chemical industry? Lower oil prices may lead to increased spending in the overall economy, increasing oil importing countries’ GDP, which in turn should help chemical manufacturers and those who depend on chemicals in their manufacturing process. Those in the plastics industry should see an additional benefit of lower cost raw materials. The one industry that may see hard times ahead are those selling into the oil industry. If prices continue to stay low, we may continue to see a reduction in capital devoted to oil exploration and acquisition.

One of the biggest concerns in winter is the problem of how to deal with ice on the roads.  Currently the most popular method for dealing with this problem is with the use of sodium chloride (table salt).  Sodium chloride is used because it is very inexpensive, but it does have its downsides.  Sodium chloride does corrode steel in cars, trucks and reinforcing rods in concrete.  When the sodium chloride is dissolved, the sodium and chloride ions do not get filtered naturally by soil.  Instead, they run off into our waterways. Scientists have been working to find an alternative to salt and have come up with a few solutions.  Instead of using sodium chloride,  calcium chloride or magnesium chloride can be used as alternatives.  Another solution to using a large amount of sodium chloride to deice our roads, would be to create a solution of water and sodium chloride.  This solution would be applied to the roads about to 2-3 hours before snowfall and would drastically cut to amount of salt needed to deice the roads.

View Calcium Chloride Sales Specs.

A tentative contract was reached last Friday evening between the International Longshore and Warehouse Union and the Pacific Maritime Association. The agreement comes after nine months of negotiations that heated up this past fall, crippling ports from San Diego to Seattle. A joint statement released by PMA President James McKenna and ILWU President Bob McEllrath states, “We are pleased to have reached an agreement that is good for workers and for the industry. We are also pleased that our ports can now resume full operations.” This is welcome news to a U.S. economy that sees about one-quarter of all international trade through the West Coast ports, mostly with Asia. The agreement was reached in San Francisco with the help of Labor Secretary Tom Perez, who is still not sure how long the cargo backlog will take to clear up.

For more information see USA Today.