Accelerating decarbonisation
Decarbonisation of industry – responsible for nearly one quarter of total carbon emissions – is crucial to meet the UK’s commitment to net zero carbon emissions by 2050. Read in C&I Magazine.
Balance and transparency
Mass balance is a mechanism to help phase out the large scale use of fossil raw materials. It is about mixing fossil raw materials together with recycled or renewable raw materials in existing systems and processes, while keeping track of their quantities and allocating them to specific products. Ultimately, the goal will be to deliver a chemical industry that has been fully converted to using recycled and renewables.
Weather dependant plastics
Polyolefin plastics in commodity packaging are the major source of land pollution. Waste plastic on land undergoes weathering degradation, normally generating microplastics, with subsequent soil biodegradation, depending on environmental conditions.
Covid’s energy impact
The past year has been unprecedented, with Covid-19 having an immediate impact on all aspects of the energy sector. Despite the consequences for the global economy, the energy transition will be accelerated by several years. Read more in C&I magazine.
Cocrystal for CBD
Cannabidiol, more commonly known as CBD, has proven medicinal effects and is one of the major chemical constituents of the cannabis plant. A 2018 World Health Organization (WHO) report declared CBD to have ‘no effects indicative of any abuse or dependence potential…[and]…no evidence of recreational use of CBD or any public health-related problems associated with the use of pure CBD. Read the article in C&I Magazine.
Recruitment challenge
The majority of skilled and senior roles in chemical and pharmaceutical organisations require STEM (Science, Technology Engineering, and Mathematics) skills and qualifications. Frustratingly, however, all too often businesses in these sectors are struggling to recruit candidates with the necessary STEM expertise. Read the comment in C&I magazine.
Digital advantage
A new Lux report: The digital transformation of chemicals and materials, has outlined use cases already in practice in facets of the industry and a vision for how digital technologies will reshape the chemicals and materials landscape in the coming decades. Read more in C&I magazine.
Trace element challenge
As the environmental testing market continues to grow, laboratories will need to make suitable technological upgrades to meet this huge wave of demand.
Innovation in lockdown
Few people could have anticipated the impact of Covid-19. Apart from the economic and health impacts, the working environment has completely changed. Governments advised people to work from home and left business leaders worried about the impact on their organisations.
Selenium and Covid-19
Selenium is an essential micronutrient and has been included in animal feed since the 1960s to help prevent white muscle disease in livestock. However, it is not essential for crops, which probably led to it being omitted from the European Fertiliser Directive’s list of micronutrients.