Covid-19 disrupts supply chains
With millions of Chinese workers quarantined at home and the surrounding provinces of Hubei and Guangdong and Zhe¬jiang also at a standstill, many factories are shut and containers halted at ports.
India lifts anti-dumping PTA tariffs
In her speech unveiling India’s budget, finance minister announced the removal of anti-dumping duties on imported purified terephthalic acid (PTA). PTA is a key chemical for making polyester, elastomers and other synthetic textiles.
Bruising results for BASF
German chemicals giant BASF saw both sales and profits decline in 2019 as its upstream chemical businesses suffered.
Mineral risks
A new report has identified 23 minerals that pose the greatest risk for manufacturing – including cobalt, niobium, rare earth elements and tungsten.
Never forever chemicals
PFAS are toxic and several have already been phased out. More are following suit, and there’s no known biological mechanism to remove the fluorine atoms and break them down. For this reason, there’s a push to develop technologies to destroy PFAS and clean up polluted waters or soils.
Gel biofactories for making small molecules
Researchers have developed portable biofactories to culture microbes in hydrogels, allowing bacteria or fungi in the gels to generate useful small molecules and peptides.
Green cooling
Alternatives to hydrofluorocarbon refrigerants for air conditioning or refrigeration in groceries and cars, offices and homes, could slash greenhouse gas emissions
Being sensitive
While skin sensitisation to chemicals in personal care products is out of the spotlight as a human health issue, the cosmetics industry sees big potential in finding new ingredients for sensitive skin.
A winning LIMS team
Christine Paszko and Laura Lee Williford, from Accelerated Technologies, highlight the importance of the human factor and the project report when implementing informatics systems
Case for a four-day week
Many are now questioning whether the traditional structure of the five-day, 9-to-5 working week is still suitable for the modern workforce