Writing – Yours truly, Yasmin

Specialized Thermoplastics in an Evolving Global Market

Originally published on 10 November 2016 on IEEE Engineering360.

High-performance thermoplastics (HPTPs) are specialized polymers used for demanding applications, largely due to their thermal resistance in comparison to engineering thermoplastics (ETPs) such as nylons and polycarbonates (PC). One tradeoff, however, is that their prices are often higher.

In general, economics play a major role in product design, says Anthony Vicari, Advanced Materials Lead Analyst at Lux Research.

“When designing a product, companies will choose the cheapest material that meets their needs; an expensive HPTP like Polyetherimide (PEI) or Polyetheretherketone (PEEK) is not freely chosen if a cheaper ETP like PC can suffice.”

A thermoplastic is a plastic type made from polymer resins that becomes hard when cooled and a homogenized liquid when heated. However, when frozen, it becomes glass-like and easily fractures. A variety of thermoplastics exist, with each type varying in crystalline structure and density.

HPTPs are also typically defined as high-temperature thermoplastics with a melting point above 150 °C.

“A high melting point for a thermoplastic correlates with other important characteristics such as mechanical strength and chemical resistance/inertness,” says Vicari.

Commodity thermoplastics, ETPs, and HPTPs fall into a structure often depicted as a “thermoplastic performance pyramid” with HPTPs at the top. Vicari says that, in general, the higher the performance of the polymer, the higher its price and location on the pyramid. The pyramid itself is divided into four stages with each stage split into two categories: amorphous and semi-crystalline. The four stages of plastics from bottom to top are: commodity, engineering, high temperature, and extreme temperature.

Waste Plastic Recycling Faces Market Headwinds

Originally published on 26 July 2016 on IEEE Engineering360.

Plastics are almost fully derived from petrochemicals produced through the use of fossil oil and natural gas. Naphtha, ethane, propane, and other gases are used as feedstocks for steam crackers that produce olefins (ethylene, propylene, and butadiene) and aromatics (benzene, toluene, and xylenes). These make up the building blocks of most plastics.

“Commodity plastics are very easy to produce,” says Emanuel Ormonde, IHS Markit principal analyst. “The shale revolution and the very essence of cheap oil in North America has greatly increased the production of plastics.”

A plastic material, according to the Society of the Plastics Industry, is any material that consists wholly or on part of combinations of carbon with oxygen, hydrogen, nitrogen and other organic or inorganic elements, and that is solid in its finished state. In common usage, the terms plastics, polymers and resins are roughly the same.

Waste occurs in the producing, converting and consuming plastics and like materials. As a result, recycling has found firm ground across Europe in particular, with several regulations in place in an effort to ensure a reasonable recycling rate for waste streams such as end-of-life packaging, automotive waste and electrical waste. The major classes of plastics that are recycled include: polyethylene terephthalate (PET), high-density polyethylene (HDPE), expandable polystyrene (EPS), and polypropylene (PP).

Plastics Industry Evolution

The plastics industry has evolved over the past decades, sparked by population growth and higher standards of living. The world’s annual consumption of plastic material has grown from around 5 million tons in the 1950s to nearly 100 million tons at present.

“The plastics industry does indeed try to push for ‘green initiatives’, but today’s cheap price of oil has made it where those companies want to be ever more profitable,” says Ormonde. Large companies that consume plastics, for example, Nestle and Procter & Gamble, try to use a percentage of recycled materials in their products.

Read more at
IEEE Engineering360, July 2016.

Global LEV Markets Are on the Rise

Originally published 12 May 2016 on IEEE Engineering360.

Air pollution and vehicles were first associated in the early 1950s by a California researcher who stated that traffic was to blame for the smoggy skies over Los Angeles. This was the start of the transformation coming to the automotive industry.

Over time, emissions from other mobile sources of air pollution, such as heavy-duty trucks, agricultural and construction equipment, locomotives, garden equipment and marine engines, were also being considered. Today, controlling emissions involves technological advances in engine design to higher quality or alternative fuels, and the production of greener cars with the collaboration of local governments and car manufacturers.

A recent report from the European Commission revealed that 12% of the overall EU emissions of carbon dioxide (CO₂), comes from the fuel consumed by passenger cars. To lower CO₂ emissions, car makers are introducing vehicles tailored to a range of specific uses, from short urban commutes to long-distance cargo hauling, with the possibility of being energized by alternative fuels, such as biofuels, electricity, hydrogen, natural gas and propane.

Production of global hydrogen fuel cell electric vehicles is expected to reach more than 70,000 vehicles annually by 2027, as more automotive OEMs bring these vehicles to market, says a May 2016 report from IHS Automotive.

“The key market driver for the rise of low emission vehicles around the world is government regulation,” says Devin Lindsay, IHS principal analyst. “This, however, is in response to the need to reduce CO2 emissions in their respective regions.”

Read more at
IEEE Engineering360, May 2016.

Synthetic Rubber Markets Enjoy a Bounce from Low Oil Prices

Originally published 15 December 2015 on IHS Engineering360.

The main use of natural and synthetic rubber is for tire manufacturing. Globally, 70% of all elastomers (natural and synthetic) are consumed for tire and tire products manufacture, says Emanuel Ormonde, IHS Chemical consultant. Approximately, seven gallons of oil are used to produce enough synthetic rubber to make a tire, according to the Rubber Manufacturers Association. Recent lower energy prices result in lower costs for synthetic rubber manufacturers and higher demand as motorists drive more.

Two main areas exist where tire producers could benefit from lower oil prices, says Bill Hyde, senior director of olefins & elastomers at IHS Chemical. On the demand side, if miles driven increase, as they have in the U.S. this year, then tire wear also should increase. “We have not seen significant change in tire demand yet, but it stands to reason that it will happen, at least eventually,” he says. On the supply side, raw material prices have dropped, which has been helpful for tire producers, he says.

One difficulty, however, is that rubber producers can’t fully enjoy the decrease in raw material prices because their sales prices have fallen. What’s more, the synthetic rubber market is plagued by surplus capacity and weak natural rubber market dynamics.

Globally, tire markets are seeing diverse trends. In North America and Western Europe demand is relatively stable. In China, the tire market is something of a disappointment. “The economic conditions there have put significant pressure on the automotive and tire markets,” says Hyde. Furthermore, demand focused on the original equipment (OE) market is growing, but sales into the replacement tire market are disappointing.

Methanol to Gasoline: A Novel Technology Challenged by Low Oil Prices

Originally published 27 August 2015 on IHS Engineering360.

Providing an alternative route for crude-oil-based gasoline, methanol-to-gasoline processes can produce gasoline via methanol using coal, natural gas or biomass feedstocks. This technology is of importance in regions with large quantities of low-priced coal or natural gas.

Global methanol demand has increased significantly in recent years, according to a November 2014 special report from IHS Chemicals that dealt with methanol-into-fuels applications. In a span of 15 years (2009-2024), IHS Chemical forecasts that the total methanol capacity will have more than doubled from 70 to 160 million metric tons. Similarly, demand for methanol is expected to reach 110 million metric tons in 2024.

Today, three processes exist that directly use methanol as a feedstock or intermediate for fuel production: ExxonMobil’s methanol-to-gasoline (MTG), Haldor Topsoe’s improved gasoline synthesis (TIGAS) and Primus Green Energy’s syngas-to-gasoline-plus (STG+).

Gasoline produced via these processes can be directly used in transportation vehicles as a drop-in fuel, or blended with gasoline product from refineries.

“Currently, most synthetic gasoline is probably produced in China based on methanol which uses coal as feedstock,” says Henrik Udesen, business development manager (TIGAS) at Haldor Topsoe. Even with today’s lower oil prices, interest remains in converting natural gas into gasoline, especially in locations where gas may be difficult to transport or where there is no local refinery to produce gasoline.

“There is a relatively direct correlation between crude and gasoline,” says Olivier Maronneaud, senior research analyst at IHS Chemical. “The spread between crude and natural gas, crude and methanol or crude to coal will have a direct impact on the economics for these methanol-based technologies and their development.”