“Nothing in life is to be feared. It is only to be understood.”
Marie Curie

“To live is so startling it leaves little time for anything else.”
Emily Dickinson

“Age is a high price to pay for maturity.”
Tom Stoppard

“The secret of genius is to carry the spirit of the child into old age, which mean never losing your enthusiasm.”
Aldous Huxley

“If past history was all there was to the game, the richest people would be librarians.”
Warren Buffett

“You can't legislate intelligence and common sense into people.”
Will Rogers

“Nothing in all the world is more dangerous than sincere ignorance and conscientious stupidity.”
Martin Luther King Jr.
 

Why Is the Ocean Blue?
 

In actuality, the ocean is NOT blue. It merely looks that way thanks to the absorption of sunlight light by water.

Sunlight is composed of all the colors of the rainbow. Water acts like a filter, efficiently absorbing the longer wavelengths of visible light (reds and yellows), leaving behind colors in the blue and green parts of the light spectrum. The blues and greens penetrate the greater depths of the ocean. In clear, clean water, red light is totally absorbed within about 50 feet (15 meters) of the surface, while blue-violet and green light can penetrate to depths near 800 feet (250 meters). In addition, more blue and green light is scattered, which explains the green/blue color of the open ocean.

For most of the ocean, it is completely dark. Very little light penetrates deeper than 656 feet (200 meters) and no light at all penetrates deeper than 3,280 feet (2,000 meters).
 

Air Products and DOE Sign Agreement

Air Products and the United States Department of Energy (DOE) recently entered into a cooperative agreement for a two-phase program to conduct an engineering study and project plan for the capture, concentration and purification of carbon dioxide (CO2) emitted from industrial operation for use in enhanced oil recovery work. In October of last year, the DOE announced several carbon capture related proposals in line to receive initial funding from the $1.4 billion American Recover and Reinvestment Act.

Air Products’ project proposes the design and construction of a state-of-the –art system to capture CO2 from its steam methane reformers (SMR) located at a refinery in Port Arthur, Texas. Phase two of the project would involve recovery and purification of the CO2 for delivery via pipeline for enhanced oil recovery in Texas. Such delivery will be further defined in phase one funding, which is valued at $901,874.

The agreement allows Air Products to move forward with programs first phase. The company’s engineering study and plan will be among those evaluated this year by the DOE’s National Energy Technology Laboratory for potential additional funding of the overall project.

Solutia To Supply It’s Therminol®Heat Transfer Fluid to New Plant in Spain

Solutia Inc. will be supplying Therminol® VP-1 synthetic heat transfer fluid for Solnova 4, a new 50 MW concentrating solar power (CSP) plant in Sevilla, Spain. Managed by Abener, Solnova 4 is one of several solar plants which will be located at its Solucar Platform complex. Electricity production is scheduled to begin this year.

Abener chose Therminol® VP-1 for multiple projects. It previously selected it for a new 470 MW hybrid solar plant in Ain-Ben-Mathar, Morocco and a 170 MW hybrid solar plant in Hassi R'Mel, Algeria. Therminol® heat transfer fluid is used in trough-shaped mirror assemblies to absorb concentrated sunlight as well as heat reaching up to 400 degrees C. The heated fluid then generates steam that drives power generating turbines. It was chosen for its superior ability to meet the requirements of high temperature systems as well as Solutia’s more than 20 years of experience with solar projects.

Metabolix Selected as 2010 Technology Pioneer

Bioscience company Metabolix, Inc. has been named to the 2010 Class of Technology Pioneers by the World Economic Forum (WEF). To be selected for this honor, a company must be involved in the development of life-changing technology innovation and have the potential for long-term impact on business and society. It must also demonstrate visionary leadership, exhibit all the signs of a long-standing and sustainable market leader and possess proven technology.

The WEF’s Technology Pioneers program enables the Forum to identify and integrate those companies around the world that are involved in the design and development of innovative technologies. The objective is to identify and address future-oriented issues on the global agenda while furthering the WEF’s commitment to improving the state of the world.

Calgon Carbon Awarded Mercury Removal Contracts

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania-based Calgon Carbon Corporation has been awarded four contracts to supply FLUEPAC® activated carbon to control mercury emissions. The contracts range in length from one to five years and are valued at $34.0 million cumulatively.

Three of the agreements are with U.S. electric power generators. One of the contracts is with BRENNTAG Pacific Inc., a distributor of Calgon Carbon’s products and services in North America. Under the terms of the agreement, Calgon Carbon will supply FLUEPAC® to coal-fired power plants in the mid-Atlantic, Midwestern, and western regions of the U.S.

The fourth contract is for removal of mercury from the flue gas of a cement plant. Calgon Carbon expects that the U.S. EPA will publicize and finalize regulations in 2010 that will require the cement industry in the United States to control its mercury emissions.

Tredegar Corporation Appoints New VP/CFO and Controller

Global manufacturer of plastic films and aluminum extrusions, Tredegar Corporation has appointed Kevin A. O’Leary Vice President, Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer. Additionally, Frasier W. Brickhouse, II has been named Controller.

Prior to this appointment, Mr. O’Leary served as Vice President, Finance of Tredegar Film Products Corporation. He joined the company in 2008 as Director. Before receiving his new position, Mr. Brickhouse filled the position of Director, Corporate Finance.

Celanese Restructures Executive Officer Positions

Leading global chemical company Celanese Corporation has restructured its executive officer positions in order to accelerate productivity, growth and innovation in all its business segments. Douglas M. Madden has been appointed Chief Operating Officer. He will have responsibility for all of the company’s business operating units. Madden most recently served as the company’s Executive Vice President with responsibility for the Acetyl Intermediates and Industrial Specialties business segments, as well as the Asia Region. Corporate Executive Vice President Sandra Beach Lin has moved from her oversight responsibility of both the Advanced Engineered Materials and Consumer Specialties business segments and the European region to a leadership role driving the company’s strategies and activities related to corporate social responsibility and global sustainability.

Veeco Instruments Names New CFO

Veeco Instruments Inc. has tapped a longtime Rohm and Haas executive as its new Chief Financial Officer and executive vice president. David Glass joins the company effective January 18th and replaces John F. Rein Jr., who announced plans to retire from the precision manufacturing equipment maker last year. Glass has been with Rohm and Hass for 25 years and served as the company’s corporate Controller from 2003 to 2007.

 

Evonik Industries Completes U.S. Tippecanoe Laboratories Acquisition

Evonik Industries AG has completed the purchase of the Eli Lilly’s Tippecanoe Laboratories active ingredients and intermediates manufacturing facility in Lafayette, Indiana. The purchase price was not disclosed.

Purchase of the site fortifies Evonik’s exclusive synthesis business in the U.S. and offers the company capacity for future growth. The deal includes a long-term partnership with Lilly for production of active ingredients as well as a multi-year agreement for supplying active ingredients and intermediates for pharmaceuticals. The site has a workforce of some 650 and will be integrated into Evonik’s global production and marketing network.

OM Group Signs Deal to Buy EaglePicher Technologies

International producer and seller of specialty chemicals and materials OM Group has signed an agreement to buy battery maker EaglePicher Technologies LLC for nearly $172 million. A subsidiary of EaglePicher Corporation, EaglePicher Technologies is a major manufacturer of batteries, battery management systems and energy devices for the defense, aerospace and medical industries. In its 2009 fiscal year, EaglePicher Technologies reported approximately $125 million, with about 60 percent of its revenues attributed to the company’s defense business and 31 percent from its aerospace business.

A. Schulman Purchasing ICO

A. Schulman Inc. has agreed to buy ICO, Inc. in a $191.4 million cash and stock deal. The transaction will include $105 million in cash and 5.1 million shares of common stock. The acquisition, which will require approval from ICO’s shareholders, will improve A. Schulman’s position in global markets, especially in rotomolding. ICO makes custom polymer powders and plastic film concentrates. The purchase will also increase A. Schulman’s U.S. presence in masterbatch - a concentrated mixture of pigments and additives – and will add plants in the high-growth market in Brazil as well as facilities in Australia.

Eastman Ending Project in Texas

Eastman Chemical Company is ending its industrial gasification project in Beaumont, Texas.

The decision was made due to high costs, a small spread between petroleum coke and natural gas and oil prices, and uncertainty of U.S. energy and environmental policy. The company will continue to explore long-term growth options in other global industrial gasification opportunities.

Eastman makes chemicals, plastics, and fibers used in products such as paint and furniture. It will take a pretax noncash charge of $150 to $180 million in the fourth quarter.

Price Increase Announced for DuPont’s Tipure® Products

DuPont Titanium Technologies recently increased prices for all DuPont™ Ti-Pure ® titanium dioxide (TiO2) grades sold in North America by 6 cents per pound (USD). This comes after a 5 cent per pound (USD) increase announced September 23, 2009. The increase took effect January 1, 2010.

DuPont Titanium Technologies, the world’s largest manufacturer of titanium dioxide, serves global customers in the paper, plastics, and coatings industries. The company operates plants in DeLisle, Mississippi; Edge Moor, Delaware; New Johnsonville, Tennessee; Altamira, Mexico; and Kuan Yin, Taiwan using the chloride manufacturing process. In addition, DuPont operates a mine in Starke, Florida.

Founded in 1802, DuPont operates in more than 70 countries and offers products and services for the building and construction; agriculture and food; communications; and transportation markets.

Ashland, Inc. Sells Hercules Specialty Resins

Hercules Incorporated, a subsidiary of Ashland, Inc., has signed an agreement to sell its wood resin and terpenes business, Hercules Specialty Resins, to TorQuest Partners. The $75 million transaction includes an asset purchase of $60 million cash and a $15 million note; transfer of the business and 200 employees; and a manufacturing facility in Brunswick, Georgia.

Hercules Specialty Resins is the world’s only supplier of wood resin. Its products are used in the adhesives, agriculture, construction, beverage, and personal care markets and generated approximately $85 million in revenues in fiscal year 2009.

Upon the transaction’s closing, the business will operate under the name Pinova.
 

Albemarle Shifts Production of Decabrom

Albemarle Corporation recently announced the phase-out of its production and sale of Deca-BDE (decabrom). Although proven to be a safe flame retardant used in many consumer products such as textiles and electronics,  the company is working with its customers and the Environmental Protection Agency to implement a phase out of Deca-BDE in the coming years.

Albemarle has developed GreenArmor, a recyclable and eco-friendly alternative to decabrom. GreenArmor, a polymer-based flame retardant, demonstrates Albemarle’s commitment to developing products which are safe and effective while leaving an increasingly smaller environmental footprint.

Albemarle Corporation is headquartered in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, and employs over 4,100 people in three business segments – Polymer Solutions, Fine Chemicals, and Catalysts.

ChemGenex Pharmaceuticals and Hospira Enter Into Agreement

ChemGenex Pharmaceuticals Limited and Hospira, Inc. have entered into an exclusive agreement to license, develop and market ChemGenex’s product omacetaxine mepesuccinate.

Omacetaxine is a first-in-class cetaxine with demonstrated clinical activity as a single agent in a range of hematological malignancies. It is a novel targeted cytotoxic pharmaceutical product, in Europe, the Middle East and parts of Africa (the Territory). Application for marketing approval have been accepted for regulatory review in both the U.S. and Europe for treatment of patients with chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) who have failed to respond to the current standard of care treatment, imatinib mesylate, and who have the Bcr-Abl T315I mutation.

ChemGenex will complete registration of omacetaxine in its initial indication with the European Medicines Agency (“EMEA”), while Hospira and ChemGenex will collaborate to explore future applications in a variety of hematological malignancies. Hospira will have responsibility for commercializing omacetaxine in the Territory.
 

Amgen Resolves EPO Patent Dispute

Amgen recently announced that the U.S. District Court in Boston has entered a final judgment and a permanent injunction against Roche. The judgment prohibits Roche from infringing Amgen's patents on recombinant erythropoietin (EPO) and brings a five-year patent infringement dispute to a close. The injunction was accompanied by Roche’s admission that the five Amgen EPO patents involved in the lawsuit are valid, enforceable and infringed by Roche's pegylated-erythropoietin (peg-EPO) product, MIRCERA and by Amgen allowing Roche to begin selling MIRCERA in the U.S. in mid-2014 under terms of a limited license agreement.
 

Converted Organics’ Process and Products Emphasizes Solution to Food Waste Problem

Boston, Massachusetts-based Converted Organics, Inc. announced that its proprietary High Temperature Liquid Composting (HTLC) process and granular and liquid fertilizer products that result are a potential solution to the widespread problem of food waste by transforming it into organic fertilizer.

Multiple benefits are the end result of the process. The materials the company brings in are not going into a landfill and the result is a viable product made out of trash. By diverting food waste from landfills where it decomposes to produce methane gas, they are both converting trash into a viable product and helping reduce a greenhouse gas that is more destructive than carbon dioxide.

Agrium’s Vanscoy Potash Expansion Progresses

Agrium, Inc. recently announced its brownfield expansion at its Vanscoy, Saskatchewan potash mine has made significant progress. The annual potash capacity is expected to increase by 750,000 tonnes following final project approval.

Agrium recently signed an Engineering, Procurement, and Construction (EPC) contract with a joint venture to further develop engineering to complete the expansion. Construction is expected to be completed in 2013 and 2014 by the joint venture firms, comprised of SNC Lavalin, Inc. and PCL Industrial Management, Inc., with full 2.8 million tones of annual potash production capacity achieved in 2015.

In addition to nitrogen, phosphate, and potash, Agrium also produces and markets controlled release fertilizers and micronutrients. It is a retail supplier in both North and South America and a global producer and marketer of agriculture nutrients and industrial products..

Production Cell Technology Launched by Praxair Subsidiary

Praxair Surface Technologies, Inc. announced the launch of a dedicated production cell in St. Etienne, France, for the application of metallic and ceramic coatings to airframe components used in actuation, gearbox systems on rotary and fixed-wing aircraft, and landing gear.

The new airframe production cell provides automated high velocity oxy-fuel (HVOF) coating systems and process controls and is one of more than 35 production operations in the Praxair Surface Technologies global network, including facilities in Europe, Asia, and the Americas.

Praxair Surface Technologies is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Praxair, Inc.

Cytec Industries Introduces New UV Curable Resins

Cytec Industries recently launched its EBECRYL® 8296, a new UV curable resin that provides formulators with low emission and energy efficiency for haptic coatings. The use of such coatings has increased in multiple coating applications for consumer goods, films and electronics.

EBECRYL® 8296 is the first product to hit the market which is a 100% UV/EB curable resin for haptic coatings. It is a new Aliphatic Urethane Acrylate designed to be flexible enough to allow fillers and beads to be microscopically deformed while fingers move over the coated surface and still maintain a sufficient surface resistance. It provides soft feel properties for protective matte coatings on various plastic substrates and is suitable for diverse applications such as mobile phones, laptops, appliances, films for in-mold decoration etc. In addition, EBECRYL® 8296 satisfies additional performance requirements such durability, resistance to solvents, adhesion to plastics and durability. The coating also presents additional advantages over conventional 2K PU haptic coatings, including lower energy consumption and faster curing times.

Cereplast Expands European Distribution Agreement

Leading manufacturer of proprietary bio-based, sustainable plastics, Cereplast, Inc. has extended its distribution agreement with A. Schulman, Inc. to include all of Europe. Under the terms of the deal, A. Schulman will distribute Cereplast Compostables® and Hybrids Resins® to converters and manufacturers throughout Europe.

The agreement offers benefits to both companies. For Cereplast, it will offer the company a competitive edge, allowing its resins to remain stable and cost competitive in the European market. The partnership will also enable A. Schulman to launch a new offering composed of bio-based materials to customers interested in more environmentally-friendly solutions.

The European bioplastics market has recently experienced exponential growth and demand which has outstripped supply, allowing for new participants as well as growth for existing companies. Cereplast and A. Schulman are now able to offer a wider range of plastic processors with the bioplastic resins they need.

Sensient Technologies Corporation Opens New Facility in  Costa Rica

Global manufacturer and marketer of colors, flavors and fragrances, Sensient Technologies Corporation has opened a new state-of-the-art facility in Alajuela, Costa Rica. The new site will serve as the base for the company’s Central American and Caribbean operations and will house laboratories for beverage and dairy applications and savory flavors as well as a quality control. The facility will also develop products for local markets by blending flavors to fit local tastes.  In addition, a company business office and culinary center for flavorists has been opened at the location. Sensient Technologies has over 70 locations that provide specialized flavor and color applications tailored for local markets in 30 countries, selling to more than 150 nations

Compass Minerals Introduces Line of Specialty Food Salts

Compass Minerals has introduced an expanded line of specialty food salts to the U.S. markets. Following the successful introduction of its Sifto™ branded product for Canadian consumers, the company introduced its line of value-added specialty food salts to American retailers through its U.S. subsidiary, North American Salt Company.

The new expanded private label line allows retailers to take advantage of the growing specialty salt category, which increased in North America by approximately 9 percent during last year. It adds gourmet sea salts, low-sodium salt and a salt substitute to the company’s existing table and Kosher salt products.