Avantium Partners with SCGC to Develop CO₂-based Polymers:

Avantium N.V., a technology provider in renewable chemistry, announces that it has agreed to partner with SCG Chemicals Public Company Limited (“SCGC”), an integrated chemical player in Asia and an innovator of chemical innovations and solutions.

Under this partnership, Avantium and SCGC agreed to further develop CO2-based polymers and to scale-up to a pilot plant with an indicative capacity of 10 tonnes per annum.

Can Produce PLGA, a Carbon-negative Polymer:

Avantium is a frontrunner in developing and commercializing innovative technologies for the production of chemicals and materials based on sustainable carbon feedstocks, i.e., carbon from plants or carbon from the air (CO2).

One of Avantium’s innovative technology platforms, called Volta Technology, uses electrochemistry to convert CO2 to high-value products and chemical building blocks including glycolic acid. By combining glycolic acid with lactic acid, Avantium can produce polylactic-co-glycolic acid (PLGA), a carbon-negative polymer with valuable characteristics: it has an excellent barrier against oxygen and moisture, has good mechanical properties, is recyclable and is both home compostable and marine degradable. This makes PLGA a more sustainable and cost-effective alternative to, for example, non-degradable, fossil-based polymers.

Since early 2023, Avantium and SCGC have been working together to further evaluate PLGA. To this end, Avantium has produced samples of different PLGAs, which have been evaluated at SCGC’s Norner AS facility. The two parties have now agreed to take the next step in their cooperation and establish a Joint Development Agreement. Under this agreement, Avantium and SCGC intend to further evaluate PLGA in order to subsequently scale up production of glycolic acid monomer and PLGA polyester in the next two years to a pilot plant.

Dr Suracha Udomsak, chief innovation officer and executive vice president at SCGC comments, “SCGC is committed to cutting greenhouse gas emissions by 20% by 2030. To accomplish this, SCGC is not only looking into recycling and reducing plastic use but is also investing in innovative sustainable solutions. Over the past months, SCGC has assessed PLGA samples, and we are impressed with the sustainability and performance characteristics of this innovative material. We look forward to working together with Avantium in the years to come.”

“We are delighted that we have entered into this partnership with SCGC, a partner that understands that innovation and bold action is the key to lasting positive impact for a sustainable future. Under this partnership, we can further develop the very promising carbon negative plastic PLGA and bring this material to the next commercialization phase.

Source: Avantium/Specialchem

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#co2 #carbonnegative #polymers #plasticsindustry #plga #SCGchemicals

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Critical minerals market sees unprecedented growth as clean energy demand drives strong increase in investment

In its first annual market review, IEA notes surge in planned projects but finds more work is needed to ensure diversified and sustainable mineral supplies to support energy transitions

The market for minerals that help power electric vehicles, wind turbines, solar panels and other technologies key to the clean energy transition has doubled in size over the past five years, according to a new report by the International Energy Agency.
The first annual IEA Critical Minerals Market Review, released today along with a new online data explorer, shows that record deployment of clean energy technologies is propelling huge demand for minerals such as lithium, cobalt, nickel and copper. From 2017 to 2022, the energy sector was the main factor behind a tripling in overall demand for lithium, a 70% jump in demand for cobalt, and a 40% rise in demand for nickel. The market for energy transition minerals reached USD 320 billion in 2022 and is set for continued rapid growth, moving it increasingly to centre stage for the global mining industry.

In response, investment in critical mineral development rose 30% last year, following a 20% increase in 2021. Among the different minerals, lithium saw the sharpest increase in investment, a jump of 50%, followed by copper and nickel. The strong growth in spending by companies on developing mineral supplies supports the affordability and speed of clean energy transitions, which will be heavily influenced by the availability of critical minerals.
“At a pivotal moment for clean energy transitions worldwide, we are encouraged by the rapid growth in the market for critical minerals, which are crucial for the world to achieve its energy and climate goals,” said IEA Executive Director Fatih Birol. “Even so, major challenges remain. Much more needs to be done to ensure supply chains for critical minerals are secure and sustainable. The IEA will continue its early leadership in this space with cutting-edge research and analysis – and by bringing together governments, companies and other stakeholders to drive progress, notably at our Critical Minerals and Clean Energy Summit on 28 September.”

If all planned critical mineral projects worldwide are realised, supply could be sufficient to support the national climate pledges announced by governments, according to the IEA’s analysis. However, the risk of project delays and technology-specific shortfalls leave little room for complacency about the adequacy of supply. And more projects would in any case be needed by 2030 in a scenario that limits global warming to 1.5 °C.
Diversity of supply also remains a concern, with many new project announcements coming from already dominant countries.

Source:IEA
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#minerals #powerelectric # #miningindustry #windturbines #solarindustry
#cleanenergy #lithium #cobalt
#nickel #copper

Today's KNOWLEDGE Share: Lithium Carbonate

Today's KNOWLEDGE Share:
Lithium Carbonate

According to the cost data of lithium carbonate accounted by the institution, the cost of direct lithium extraction from bine is RMB40,000-50,000 per ton, the cost of lithium ore is about RMB60,000 per ton, and the cost of lithium mica ore is about RMB60,000-80,000 per ton. The cost of direct lithium extraction from salt lake brine is the lowest.

China's lithium resource reserves rank sixth in the world, but China's lithium import dependence is still high, however China has great potential, especially in the field of lithium carbonate extraction process from salt lake brine with high magnesia-lithium ratio. It is said that this process technology is mature, and its cost is about RMB50,000 per ton.

June 15th, 2023. China
battery grade lithium carbonate is RMB300,000 per ton;
industrial grade lithium carbonate is RMB318,000 per ton;

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#lithium #lithiumcarbonate #mining #importexport #china #technolog

India opens the country’s first green hydrogen subsidy auction

 Government plans to support a maximum 450,000 tonnes of annual production capacity, but it has not yet published a definition of what counts as 'green' H2.

The auction is capped at a total of 450,000 tonnes-a-year of capacity. Bidders will only able to receive a maximum of 50 rupees ($0.60) per kilogram in the first year of a green hydrogen plant’s operation, shrinking to 40 rupees/kg in the second and 30 rupees/kg in the third and final year of the subsidy.

This auction — being held by the government entity Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI) — is also split into two “buckets”, one for biomass-based green hydrogen projects and the other for facilities using any technology to power electrolysis. The biomass bucket is has 40,000 tonnes per year of capacity available, while the technology-agnostic bucket is capped at 410,000 tonnes of annual production.

Each bucket of the auction will select bidders based on “least average incentive” until capacity is exhausted. And if there is any remaining capacity per bucket, it can be awarded to bidders who applied for the other bucket.

However, while previous documents outlining the conditions of the auction indicated that a national green hydrogen standard would be published alongside the opening of the tender, this has not yet been published by the SECI or Ministry of New and Renewable Energy websites.

News agency Reuters suggested in April that the government would seek to limit carbon intensity of green hydrogen to 1kgCO2/kgH2 and an entirely renewable energy source powering electrolysis.

Hydrogen Insight has reached out to the MNRE and SECI for more information on the standard.

However, the biomass-based projects will not comply with the EU’s delegated acts defining renewable H2 — which only covers renewable fuels of non-biological origin — potentially locking that bucket into domestic supply.

The SECI can also notify bidders that it will only award part of the capacity asked for, in which case companies have a seven-day refusal period before it is offered to another company, with its own seven-day right of refusal.

No date has been set for when the winning bidders will be announced.

Source:hydrogeninsight.com

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#greenenergy #greenhydrogen #india #carbonintensity #renewableenergy #alternativeenergy #projects #power #technology

Today's KNOWLEDGE Share:Why did it break

Today's KNOWLEDGE Share:

We see broken plastic parts all the time. Sometimes we understand why and how they failed.

Quite often we don't.

Actually, when failure is of the 'brittle" type, we are often surprised and incapable of predicting that risk.

Did you know that only a VERY SMALL fraction of failed plastic parts fails because of "abuse", i.e. overload ?

How can we then figure out what the hell is happening with the remaining 85 % of failures often leading to customer complaints or significant liabilities ???

Source:Vito Leo

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#plastics #polymerscience #injectionmolding #plasticsmanufacturing

Teijin’s Carbon Fiber & PAN Precursor Fiber Receives ISCC PLUS Certification

Teijin Limited announces that its Tenax™ Carbon Fiber and the polyacrylonitrile (PAN) precursor fiber produced at Teijin’s Mishima Plant in Shizuoka Prefecture, Japan have received ISCC PLUS certification from the International Sustainability and Carbon Certification system.

This is the world’s first achievement that carbon fiber and PAN simultaneously earn this certification, which is a globally recognized standard for the recovery of waste and residues that provide feedstocks for circular plastics.

Reducing GHG Emissions in Product Life Cycle:

The PAN precursor fiber is made from sustainable acrylonitrile (AN) using waste and residue from biomass-derived products or recycled raw materials and produced by using the mass balance approach method.

With this method, materials are verifiably tracked through complex value chains, for example, when biomass-derived raw materials are mixed with petroleum-derived raw materials to create products. Because the sustainable AN has the same physical properties as petroleum-derived AN, PAN and Tenax™ Carbon Fiber based on this material deliver the same physical properties as equivalent fossil-based products.

This similarity allows customers to easily replace Tenax™ Carbon Fiber with more-sustainable alternatives that can contribute to the reduction of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions throughout the product life cycle. Teijin expects to begin commercial production of PAN and Tenax™ using the mass balance approach method at the Mishima plant by the first half of 2024.

Also, the company will pursue ISCC PLUS certification for its carbon fiber and related products produced in Europe, the United States and Asia to expand availability of its sustainable products. This initiative will advance the Teijin Group’s mission of providing innovative, people-centered solutions that improve the quality of life.

Teijin will continue striving to mitigate the impact of its business activities on the environment to realize its long-term vision of supporting the society of the future. Carbon fiber, a strong yet lightweight material that can help reduce energy consumption, is used in a wide range of applications including aerospace and industrial fields.

Meanwhile, the need to reduce GHG emissions throughout supply chains in support of carbon neutrality is generating demands for products with a lower environmental impact. Under these circumstances, Teijin switched the fuel for in-house power generation equipment at manufacturing sites to natural gas and adopted lifecycle assessment (LCA) to calculate the environmental footprint of its carbon fiber and intermediate materials.

Source: Teijin Limited/Specialchem

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Origin Materials Commences Startup of World's First Commercial CMF (chloromethyl furfural) Plant

 Origin Materials, Inc., with a mission to enable the world’s transition to sustainable materials, announces it has begun startup of Origin 1, the world’s first commercial CMF plant, located in Sarnia, Ontario, in-line with prior guidance.

The plant represents a significant scale-up of Origin’s technology platform for converting sustainable wood residues into versatile intermediate chemicals.

Supply Intermediate Chemicals to Diverse End Markets:

The new plant will supply industry with intermediate chemicals and materials that can be used across a wide range of end markets, including clothing, textiles, plastics, packaging, car parts, tires, carpeting, toys, fuels, and more with nearly $1 trillion addressable market.

“Yesterday we initiated startup at Origin 1, a tremendous accomplishment and milestone in our journey to decarbonize the world’s materials,” said John Bissell, Co-Founder and Co-CEO of Origin Materials. “This plant substantially scales up our revolutionary core technology platform. We expect the power of our platform intermediates, CMF, and HTC, to be transformative for the chemical industry and how the world generally makes things.”

CMF (chloromethyl furfural) is a versatile chemical building-block that can be used to make numerous downstream products, including para-xylene, which is the precursor to PET plastic, and FDCA (furandicarboxylic acid), which can be used in numerous sustainable products and materials such as the next-gen polymer PEF (polyethylene furanoate). The plant will also produce HTC (hydrothermal carbon), whose applications include sustainable carbon black for automotive tires.

“We are thrilled to be making our intermediates available to industry on a scale never before achieved,” said Bissell. “The commercialization of a molecule like CMF is historic, on the order of an ethylene. After working with CMF for over a decade at pilot scale, we couldn’t be more excited to begin commercial production here in Sarnia.”

Origin 1 will be operated to optimally fulfill customer demand around qualification and sampling. The plant is expected to play a key role in the development of higher-value products and applications for CMF, HTC, and other co-products. These higher value products are expected to be produced and sold on the world- scale from future plants, including Origin 2, Origin 3, and potentially licensed plants.

Source: Origin Materials/specialchem

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#furfural #biobasedmaterials #sustainable #woodwaste #buildingblocks #fdca #furanicchemistries #xylene #pet #pef #downstream #development #chemical