News
Graphite-Related Industry as Field of Continuous Innovation
April 4, 2019
The graphite-related industry is considered a field of continuous and prospective innovation. Of course, any new innovative sector is often confronted by multiple challenges and ungrounded expectations. Pioneers, innovators, and early adopters are commonly optimistic at the initial stages of …
Isopropanol Market Behavior as Synergetic Effect of Multiple Forces
March 14, 2019
Isopropanol is one of the secondary alcohols, used in a wide range of applications and consumption sectors. The production of solvents has been isopropanol’s largest outlet for years, though this trend has been gradually reversing. Other major uses of isopropanol …
Acrylonitrile Market: Major Issues & Prospects
March 7, 2019
Acrylonitrile (CAN) is an important monomer used for the production of acrylic fibres, acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS) resins, and water-soluble polymers. The versatility of these product groups employed in a vast range of applications raises the commercial status of acrylonitrile. …
Challenges & Prospects of Nickel Market within Battery Materials Segment
February 28, 2019
Nickel is an important metal resource used in a wide variety of commodities which represent various, often high-tech, industrial, domestic, military and other sectors. Among them, the sector of rechargeable battery systems is one of the most interesting despite the …
Innovative Technologies Act as Major Driver of Expandable Polystyrene (EPS) Market
February 21, 2019
Expandable polystyrene (EPS) is a rigid cellular form of polystyrene with advanced performance in various parameters, including energy efficiency, thermal insulation capacity, air tightness, moisture resistance, durability, shock absorbing properties, compressive strength per weight, maintenance easiness, etc. Application areas for …
BASF’s Biomass Balance Approach as Innovative Strategy of Methanol Production
February 14, 2019
Methanol is an important chemical commodity with versatile and prospective applications, including power generation, transportation, and chemical industry. In the chemical industry, methanol is used to manufacture a wide range of chemicals via the methanol-to-olefins process. Among other things, the …
China’s Iron Ore Market Vulnerabilities
February 7, 2019
Iron ore mining remains a vibrant and lucrative mining sector, though its high expansion rates and sky-rocketing prices over the previous decade (especially in the Asia-Pacific region) are mostly the matter of the past. The iron ore market forecasts for …
New PET Recycling Legislature to Hamper PET Market Growth
January 31, 2019
Polyethylene terephthalate (PET) recycling and related policy/regulation are likely to become one of the major factors, affecting the global and regional PET markets. Due to current legislative initiatives, many PET producers may encounter significant challenges. First, these challenges will affect …
Hard Times for Antimony Producers Are Imminent
January 24, 2019
Currently, the Chinese economy is undergoing a period of relative slow-down, and the Chinese government is scrutinizing and making its environmental and manufacturing policy and regulation more stringent and ecology-conscious. The local antimony market, which is the largest in the …
Cement Industry Needs to Take Measures to Bring Down Carbon Dioxide Emissions
January 17, 2019
Global and regional cement industries are coupled with multiple negative externalities among which the rise in cement-related CO2 emissions is considered to belong to the class of the so-called wicked problems. The world cement industry accounts for the second largest …
Growing Concerns about Nitrogen Pollution May Hamper Ammonia Market Growth
January 10, 2019
In early 2019, the ammonia market has been demonstrating a vivid bearish sentiment for several months now, though such kind of mood has been evident for a much longer period. The product oversupply, low margins, price volatility, flat consumption in …
Positive Selenium Image May Improve its Marketability
December 20, 2018
Selenium is a relatively rare non-metal element which finds uses in multiple high-tech industrial products and applications, including photovoltaic cells, AC-to-DC electrical converters, specialized low-conductance sheet glass, human dietary supplements, cosmetics, steel alloys, catalysts, medicinal compounds, etc. Major selenium reserves …
Post-Colonial Concerns Affect Regional Germanium Markets
December 13, 2018
Germanium is closely associated with applications in various high-tech sectors and products, including the production of fibre and infrared optics, terrestrial solar cells, light-emitting diodes, polymerization catalysts, germanium-antimony-tellurium material in rewritable optical discs, propagermanium-based medicines, to name only a few. …
Solvay’s Recent Soda Ash Operations
December 6, 2018
Soda ash has the following main outlets: glass (both container and flat), detergents, soaps, chemicals, as well as metallurgy, pharmaceuticals, environment protection (e.g. acidity combating) and other applications. The natural route of soda ash production involves trona ore purification. Trona …
Environmental Issues Have Substantial Impact on Caprolactam Market
November 28, 2018
Caprolactam is involved in complex production chains composed of multiple feedstocks, derivatives (intermediates) and end-products. In a simplified form of the traditional Beckmann process used in caprolactam manufacturing, key intermediate cyclohexanone is converted to cyclohexanone oxime, which later is rearranged …
Bioethanol Market: Key Challenges & Prospects
November 20, 2018
The production of transport fuel has long been the major outlet for ethanol. This fuel is derived from various cellulosic biomass feedstocks via the method of the fermentation of available carbohydrates, like simple sugars, or via second-generation ethanol technology. The …
Bans and Restrictions Restrain Asbestos Market Growth
November 12, 2018
Asbestos has a long history of application. There is also already a rather continuous history of asbestos phasing-out or elimination. Despite a couple of million tonnes still in annual production by a limited number of countries, the asbestos market curtailment …
Global Acetic Acid Market Is Characterised by Cyclical Nature
November 1, 2018
Acetic acid is an important large-volume chemical, which acts as a building block in complex manufacturing and commodity chains. These chains involve petroleum-based raw materials, multiple intermediate chemicals and a wide range of end-products, like solvents, adhesives, soft drink bottles, …
Depleting Resources Could Emerge as Key Challenge of Global Bentonite Market
October 25, 2018
Bentonite is a highly versatile industrial clay with diverse application areas including foundry sand binders, pet litter, iron ore pelletizing, mud drilling, agriculture, industrial absorbents, amid others. It is also quite often used an ingredient involved in innovations and high-tech …
Purified Terephthalic Acid Market is Characterised by High Volatility
October 18, 2018
Purified terephthalic acid (PTA) is a large-tonnage commodity and intermediate, which acts as an element of the complex value chain, consisting of upstream paraxylene and downstream products, including polyester fibre and non-fibre applications such as PET-bottles, PET-films, and engineering plastics. …
Environmental Legislation can be Detrimental for Cadmium Market Development
October 11, 2018
The situation with cadmium pollution is a subject of major concern of various European and international organizations monitoring the turnover of chemicals. Cadmium is known to have a detrimental carcinogenic effect upon human and animal health. The production of mineral …
China to Continue Leading Global Tungsten Market
October 4, 2018
It is a general rule of thumb that the world tungsten market follows the trajectory of the global macroeconomic situation. This has become especially evident during the world economic downturn of 2009 when the world tungsten production fell to a …
Regional Phthalic Anhydride Markets Demonstrate Positive Dynamics
September 27, 2018
Many regional markets for phthalic anhydride (PA) are currently demonstrating positive dynamics, though the environment in which these markets operate can be characterised by disruptive economic turbulence, shifting political climate, and confrontational regulatory regime. It is only sufficient to mention …
New US Tariffs Against Chinese Goods May Affect Titanium Dioxide Trade
September 20, 2018
The recent introduction of a new 10% duty on many Chinese goods worth $200bn, including titanium ores and concentrates, as well as pigments and preparations based on titanium dioxide, may impact global trade with titanium dioxide. It could also affect …
US-China Trade Tensions May Affect Global Adipic Acid Market
September 6, 2018
The global and regional markets for adipic acid are highly volatile, which is manifested in rapid changes in adipic acid price and trade dynamics. This volatility is predetermined by the dynamic complexity, built around multiple interdependent factors which influence the …