Chemicals & Materials Now!
From basic to specialty, and everything in between
Will growth end mega M&A deals?
Posted on June 23rd, 2017 by John Baker
Chemicals Industry News and Analysis
The mutually agreed merger of Huntsman and Clariant to create a specialty chemical company with $20bn enterprise value is the latest in a string of major consolidation deals in the sector. Leading chemical producers have been seeking ways of achieving growth during an extended period of sluggish global economic expansion, and mergers and acquisitions has been the go-to strategy. Continue reading “Will growth end mega M&A deals?” »
R&D Investments Shift East, Challenging Traditional Research Centers
Posted on June 22nd, 2017 by Christina Valimaki
Chemical R&D
The chemical industry has served as a key driver of Chinaās āturbo-chargedā GDP growth, which has remained above 7 percent since 2011. Meanwhile, R&D spending across Asia continues to increase, accounting for more than 32 percent of global spending on science. Continue reading “R&D Investments Shift East, Challenging Traditional Research Centers” »
Rapid and Additive, But Forging?
Posted on June 21st, 2017 by Ken Klapproth
New Materials & ApplicationsImage by Ann Mills via Ann Mills Photography
Forging is not typically a term associated with 3D printing processes so was surprising to see when French 3D printing company Prodways recently announced its new technology. While the process does involve metal deposition, can it legitimately be classified as āforgingā if a hammer or press is never involved? Continue reading “Rapid and Additive, But Forging?” »
Air vs. Steam Atomization Part 1 ā Sustainability
Posted on June 20th, 2017 by David W. Spitzer, P.E.
Chemical Manufacturing Excellence
Previous posts discussed the various domains of sustainability as related to energy conservation as related to instrumentation and control. For review:
Sustainability is the capacity to endure; it is how systems remain productive indefinitely; it is the endurance of systems and processes. Sustainability includes four interconnected domains: processes, economics, politics and culture. Continue reading “Air vs. Steam Atomization Part 1 ā Sustainability” »
Are Ultracapacity Polymeric Supercapacitors viable alternatives to Batteries?
Posted on June 19th, 2017 by Dr. Sina Ebnesajjad
New Materials & Applications
Poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene) polystyrene sulfonate (PEDOT:PSS)
The answer depends on whether the recent advances in supercapacitor development help overcome the disadvantages of the capacitance technology, i.e. small amounts of energy storage.Ā According to Dr. Brendan Howlin, at the University of Surrey Department of Chemistry, the ultracapacity supercapacitors have the potential to āopen the door to unimaginably exciting developmentsā. Continue reading “Are Ultracapacity Polymeric Supercapacitors viable alternatives to Batteries?” »
Innovation Needs More Collaboration
Posted on June 16th, 2017 by John Baker
Chemical R&D
Collaborative innovation in the chemical sector has a long history and can bring many benefits, but it creates tension over intellectual property and openness ā companies need to address these issues going forward Continue reading “Innovation Needs More Collaboration” »
About this Blog
This blog is a forum for a critical exchange of ideas on issues, trends andĀ opportunities related to innovation and R&D in chemicals and new materials and applications, offering helpful perspectives in environmental health and safety, risk management, new product development and operational efficiency. This blog serves the chemicals and materials community specifically, heads of R&D, heads of Manufacturing and Engineering, and chemists and engineers involvedĀ in chemical and materials R&D from ideation to manufacturing and production at scale.
Editor’s note: The views and opinions expressed are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of Elsevier, Ā its affiliates and sponsors or its parent company, Reed Elsevier.
