Whether you call it glycerin, glycerine or glycerol, odds are you have ingested or used it at some point today. Glycerin is a simple sugar alcohol compound used in a vast number of products and applications. It can be synthesized or derived from plants and animals and finds uses as diverse as toothpastes to precursors in explosives manufacturing. Phosphorous and iodine on glycerin can create allyl iodide, a chemical building block for polymers, preservatives, organometallic catalysts and pharmaceuticals. Where glycerin most commonly touches our lives is in foods and beverages, pharmaceuticals and personal care products. In foods and beverages glycerin can act as a humectant, solvent, thickener and sweetener to replace sugar. It finds uses in pharmaceuticals to improve lubricity and hygroscopic qualities. Glycerin can be found in toothpaste, mouthwash, skin care products, shaving cream, hair care products and soaps.
Tough Winter Weather Means More Salt On The Roads
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.
Agreement Reached In West Coast Dockworkers Dispute
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.
Port Dispute Continues
The 14-week long labor dispute between the operators of 29 West Coast ports from San Diego to Seattle and the International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU) is leaving ships and cargo containers stacking up. Shipping times have been reported to have doubled and even tripled though these locations, leaving thousands of U.S. businesses to deal with the repercussions. Some fear the dispute will lead to a full union strike or owner lockout that shuts the ports down completely. Such a strike last happened in 2002 and lasted for 10 days before President George W. Bush stepped in invoking the Taft-Hartley labor relations law to resume the ports running again.
Recent Developments Of Diisononyl Phthalate (DINP) And Prop 65 Status
As of December 20th, 2014 the labeling requirement for products containing DINP in the state of California went into effect. Any product containing more than the established No Significant Risk Level (NSRL) of 146 micrograms per day must be labeled when sold in the state.
The 45-day public comment period regarding the proposed NSRL was scheduled to end on February 17th, 2015, however California’s OEHHA has extended the comment period until March 11th due to the considerable controversy surrounding the issue.
Also pending is the outcome of a lawsuit filed by the American Chemistry Council against the OEHHA to overturn the listing of DINP as a potential carcinogen, citing lack of concrete scientific evidence. A public hearing will occur in Sacramento on February 25th.
Evonik Industries Increasing Production Of Plasticizer Alcohol
Evonik Industries, a chemical manufacturer based in Germany, has announced plans to increase production of plasticizer feedstock 2-propyl heptanol (2-PH). The plant located in Marl, North Rhine-Westphalia in Germany will be making use of a recently developed ligand called OxoPhos 64i make the oxo reaction used to produce the alcohol more efficient, allowing the plant longer operation times and less maintenance.
Evonik currently produces around 400,000 tons of plasticizer alcohols per year, including 2-PH and isononanol.
For more information see Chemical Technology.
Supercomputer Identifies Materials To Improve Ethanol And Petroleum Production
A joint project between researchers from the University of Minnesota, Rice University, and Argonne National Laboratory has identified a set of promising new zeolites, materials used in the refining of ethanol and petrochemicals. Zeolites are molecules which enable the processing of crude feedstock to a more refined product. With more than 200 known, and hundreds of thousands predicted, the research needed to evaluate all possible zeolites is unattainable. But with the aid of a supercomputer the team was able to identify those unique zeolites which could be a benefit to the refining industry. “Using a supercomputer at Argonne National Laboratory, we are able to use our computer simulations to compress decades of research in the lab into a total of about a day’s worth of computing,” said lead researcher Ilja Siepmann, a University of Minnesota chemistry professor and director of the U.S. Department of Energy-funded Nanoporous Materials Genome Center based in Minnesota. By using serious computing power, efficient computer algorithms, and accurate descriptions of the molecular interactions the team found a group of all-silica zeolites which could greatly improve ethanol purification. The also identified zeolite frameworks that could improve the upgrading of petroleum compounds to higher-value lubricant and diesel products.
Read more at Azocleantech.
Ford Motors Develops Soy-Based Foam For Use In Cars
Developers at Ford Motors have engineered a soy-based foam to replace traditional plastics in seat cushions. Ford first began using the sustainable technology beginning in 2008, and since the technology has taken over in all North American vehicles produced by the company. With about 300 pounds of petroleum based plastic in every vehicle, Ford was able to keep costs down while petroleum prices rose using the soy-based foam.
For more information see “Beyond the Bean – Dec 2014 issue”
Logistics Woes In The New Year
A truck driver shortage that plagued shippers in the 4thquarter of 2014 has carried over into the new year. The problem has lead to carriers being more likely to increase wages and hire more inexperienced drivers. Over 90% of carriers expect wage increases of 6-10%, and although 80% of the industry is open to hiring inexperienced driver only 33% is currently.
Read more at Bulk Transporter.
Russian Experiment Aboard ISS: Forming Polymers In Space
A Russian chemistry experiment is being run on the International Space Station to create polymer walls that form shells in the weightlessness of space. The experiment is being conducted in a contained glovebox with two hardening processes to ‘set’ the end structures. Not only does the experiment demonstrate this method of creating polymers, it also improves computer models and furthers education in physics and chemistry.
Read the full story at ESA.