US Chemical Industry Research Articles

Growth, collaboration, and advocacy

Most of us in the chemistry enterprise appreciate the beneficial role of chemistry in our society. Chemistry provides employment to a lot of people in academia, industry, government, and nonprofit organizations. According to the American Chemistry Council’s 2020 Guide to the Business of Chemistry , the US chemical business in 2019 was a $565 billion enterprise that contributed $222.3 billion to the US gross domestic product. Nonetheless, employment in the US chemical industry has declined by about 20% in the past 30 years, according to data from the US Bureau of Labor Statistics. US government support for chemistry R&D has been relatively flat from 2011 to 2018, according to data from the National Science Foundation. Although we sometimes hear that chemistry is a mature discipline, many areas within chemistry continue to grow, such as energy storage, catalysis, self-assembly, sensors, organic electronics, and sustainability. And many other areas of chemistry critically

Senate passes CFATS extension bill

The US Senate introduced and passed bipartisan legislation (S. 4148) July 1 to extend the chemical facility security law for 3 years. The Chemical Facility Anti-Terrorism Standards (CFATS) statute will expire July 23 unless Congress sends legislation to President Donald J. Trump to extend it. CFATS identifies and regulates high-risk facilities with greater-than-threshold amounts of certain hazardous chemicals to ensure that the facilities have security measures in place. The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) manages the program, which Congress created in 2007. “The passage of this bill by the Senate is a major step toward saving CFATS,” the US chemical industry’s major lobbying group, the American Chemistry Council, says in a statement provided to C&EN. Although S. 4148 is a simple extension of CFATS, some in Congress are calling for changes to the program. The House Committee on Homeland Security adopted a bill

US chemical industry is in for a brutal 2020

The COVID-19 pandemic has pushed the US and world economies into the worst recession in decades, and the US chemical industry will see a sharp decline before rebounding next year, according to the ...

EPA won’t strengthen particulate matter limit

In a move backed by the US chemical industry, the Environmental Protection Agency is proposing to keep the existing clean air standard for fine particulate matter rather than strengthen it. Inhalin...

US chemical makers embrace EPA leniency

The US chemical industry is endorsing the Environmental Protection Agency’s sweeping new policy that, because of the COVID-19 pandemic, it will go easy on companies. But environmental activists and...

Petrochemical buildup will face increased opposition

Public pushback against US chemical industry development is expected to ramp up in 2020 as community activists organize to oppose a wave of petrochemical projects moving forward from Texas to Pennsylvania. “The two hot issues are Cancer Alley and Pennsylvania,” says Wilma Subra, a Louisiana-based environmental scientist and community advocate. She notes that the stretch of her home state between New Orleans and Baton Rouge—the refining and petrochemical region known as Cancer Alley—will see several projects, including a Formosa Petrochemical ethylene cracker and two methanol plants, advance this year. Meanwhile, Shell Chemical is building western Pennsylvania’s first modern ethylene cracker. Subra, who is involved with communities in both regions, says she has seen an increase in organized opposition to industry development, driven by greater community awareness, increased access to data on the health effects of chemical industry activity, and a new generation of environmental activists. “I call them the hell-raisers,”

Headwinds but no chemical recession in 2020

Continued trade conflicts and slow growth in the rest of the world caught up with the US chemical industry in 2019, according to the American Chemistry Council (ACC), the US chemical industry’s main trade association. The ACC says US chemical production will rise only 0.6% this year, well below its prediction of a 3.6% increase, and it forecasts a paltry 0.4% rise in output in 2020. “A slowdown is definitely occurring,” says Kevin Swift, the ACC’s chief economist. But he adds that the group’s Chemical Activity Barometer, which indicates production activity, “doesn’t signal a recession.” Martha Moore, the ACC’s economic and policy director, says the slowdown will continue well into 2020 before recovery begins in the latter part of the year. And long-term prospects for the US chemical industry are good. Shipments, set to hit $553 billion this year, will hit $668 billion in 2024, she says. The US chemical

Chemical trade group names new CEO

The American Chemistry Council, the US chemical industry’s main trade association, has named Christopher L. Jahn as its new CEO, effective late October, 2019. Jahn will replace Cal Dooley, who has led ACC since 2008 and announced his retirement last year. Jahn currently leads the Fertilizer Institute and previously led the National Association of Chemical Distributors.

Chemical groups argue against new round of tariffs

The US chemical industry is fighting the Donald J. Trump administration’s latest round of proposed tariffs on Chinese-made goods, arguing before Office of the US Trade Representative hearings on June 19 in Washington, DC, that imposing the duties would be a major setback for the sector. In May, the Office of the US Trade Representative proposed tariffs of up to 25% on $300 billion worth of annual imports from China. They would be in addition to tariffs on $250 billion of Chinese goods that the administration imposed last year. According to the American Chemistry Council (ACC), a US industry trade group, last year’s tariffs affected $15.4 billion in annual chemical imports from China. The latest tariffs mostly affect consumer products such as electronics, toys, and clothing, but they also hit 214 chemical and plastic product categories—including chemicals such as quinones, isobutanal, and benzonitrile—amounting to another $11.0 billion in Chinese chemical

Senate debates antiterrorism bill for US chemical industry

On June 4, the US Senate took up reauthorization of a controversial 11-year-old antiterrorism statute affecting chemical companies that make, use, or store large quantities of more than 300 hazardous chemicals. But it didn’t make progress resolving a disagreement between Democrats in the US House of Representatives and Republicans in the Senate that stalled the Chemical Facility Anti-Terrorism Standards (CFATS) last year. Led by Sen. Ron Johnson (R-WI), some senators wanted to make industry-backed changes to CFATS before they endorsed a multiyear reauthorization of the law. House Democrats opposed that idea. A temporary agreement eventually allowed the law to continue for 15 months. Under CFATS, some 3,500 facilities must assess terrorism risks and implement site-security plans to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). A Senate hearing, chaired by Johnson, started where last year’s debate left off. Johnson and industry panelists complained of CFATS’ excessive regulations, intrusive inspections, and duplication and

US-China trade war heats up

The US and China are escalating their trade war, and the US chemical industry is caught in the cross fire. In September, the Trump administration imposed 10% tariffs on $200 billion worth of Chinese goods—among them 1,364 chemicals—adding to tariffs on $50 billion of Chinese goods levied earlier in the year. On May 10, the Office of the US Trade Representative raised the 10% tariffs to 25% as US officials expressed frustration over negotiations with China. They accused their Chinese counterparts of retreating from “specific commitments” made in earlier negotiation rounds. Ratcheting up the pressure further, the US is putting into motion a plan to impose tariffs of up to 25% on another $300 billion worth of Chinese goods. That list is laden with consumer items, such as cell phones and textiles. It also contains chemicals like vinyl chloride, vanillin, and sucralose. In retaliation for the May 10 action, China

C&EN’s top 50 US chemical producers

Last year was another terrific one for the US chemical industry. According to C&EN’s latest ranking of the top 50 US chemical producers, sales and profits both surged. Chemical sales for the top 50 firms increased 17.9% to $297.2 billion in 2018, the year that forms the basis of the survey. This beat the strong increase of 9.4% that C&EN’s survey revealed last year. Profits moved up even more aggressively. For the 42 firms that reported chemical profit figures, income rose 19.5%, to $35.4 billion. Last year’s survey found a modest 3.0% rise in profits. Among the many factors that influenced the sharp rise in sales was an increase in production at US factories. According to the American Chemistry Council, a trade association, US production volumes rose a relatively strong 3.1% last year. Energy prices answer for some of it, too. Most chemicals are made from oil and natural gas

Sustainable chemistry bill introduced in US Congress

Lawmakers in the US Congress are backing legislation to promote research and development in chemistry that benefits the economy, the environment, and human health. Introduced April 3, the measure would create a working group under the White House National Science and Technology Council to coordinate sustainable chemistry R&D, technology transfer, and training programs across the federal government. It would also encourage the validation of tools to assess the sustainability of chemicals, processes, and products. Republicans and Democrats teamed up to sponsor identical measures in the Senate (S. 999) and the House of Representatives (H. R. 2051). The American Chemical Society, which publishes C&EN, is backing the legislation. The US chemical industry’s main lobbying group, the American Chemistry Council, is also supporting the measure. “Importantly, the legislation does not include any regulatory components, nor does it authorize any spending,” the ACC says. The bill was introduced in the Senate last year

US chemical industry to stay strong even as growth slows

US chemical industry to stay strong even as growth slows

Volatile Fatty Acid Production from Anaerobic Digestion of Organic Residues.

Short chain volatile fatty acids (VFAs) from acetic acid (C2) to valeric acid (C5) are important starting chemicals for chemical industry. The production of VFAs from rejected resources (organic residues) using self-sustaining technologies has an exciting potential in supporting the US chemical industry to achieve the goal that 20% of chemicals produced in the USA will be bio-based. Acidogenic anaerobic digestion as a robust, well-established, and versatile biological technology can be applied as an alternative approach for the valorization of organic residues (municipal, agricultural, and industrial wastes) by the production of VFAs. In a typical acidogenic anaerobic digestion operation, residue type, pretreatment, reactor operation, and VFA recovery are the key factors that influence VFA production. This chapter discusses these factors and provides an experimental approach of VFA production from organic residues.

US chemical output set to rise in 2019

The US will benefit from strong job growth, moderate inflation, and a good investment climate in 2019, according to the American Chemistry Council (ACC), the US chemical industry’s major trade association. Even though it is concerned about rising interest rates and the impact of tariffs, the ACC predicts that US chemical output will rise 3.6% in 2019 following a 3.1% increase this year. “Expansion across a broad band of industrial sectors is supporting American economic growth this year,” says Kevin Swift, the ACC’s chief economist. He predicts that next year, US industrial activity will continue to expand but that an economic slowdown that is now underway in overseas markets, coupled with rising trade tensions, presents “a risk of economic disruption.” On the plus side for US chemical producers are surging domestic energy supplies and increased availability of ethane, a key raw material obtained from natural gas. Because of the shale-gas

Shale Gas Implications for C2-C3Olefin Production: Incumbent and Future Technology

Substantial natural gas liquids recovery from tight shale formations has produced a significant boon for the US chemical industry. As fracking technology improves, shale liquids may represent the same for other geographies. As with any major industry disruption, the advent of shale resources permits both the chemical industry and the community an excellent opportunity to have open, foundational discussions on how both public and private institutions should research, develop, and utilize these resources most sustainably. This review summarizes current chemical industry processes that use ethane and propane from shale gas liquids to produce the two primary chemical olefins of the industry: ethylene and propylene. It also discusses simplified techno-economics related to olefins production from an industry perspective, attempting to provide a mutually beneficial context in which to discuss the next generation of sustainable olefin process development.

The US Chemical Industry and Shale Gas: A Forthcoming Supply Shock?

The US Chemical Industry and Shale Gas: A Forthcoming Supply Shock?

Institutional Evolution and Change: Environmentalism and the US Chemical Industry

This paper empirically measures changes in the constituency of an organizational field centered around the issue of corporate environmentalism from 1960 to 1993, and correlates those changes with the evolving institutions adopted by the US chemical industry to interpret the issue. Four stages are identified, each representing a different field membership, interaction pattern and set of dominant institutions. The beginning of each stage is marked by the emergence of a triggering event. The article develops the ideas that: fields form around central issues, not markets or technologies; within fields, competing institutions may simultaneously exist within individual populations (or classes of constituencies); as institutions evolve, inter-connections between their regulative, normative and cognitive aspects can be detected, and; field level analyses can reveal the cultural and institutional origins of organizational impacts on the natural environment. The article concludes with future research challenges in understanding the dynamics by which events influence institutional change processes and the role of institutional entrepreneurs in channeling that influence.

Sustainable process design & analysis of hybrid separations

Distillation is an energy intensive operation in chemical process industries. There are around 40,000 distillation columns in operation in the US, requiring approximately 40% of the total energy consumption in US chemical process industries. However, analysis of separations by distillation has shown that more than 50% of energy is spent in purifying the last 5–10% of the distillate product. Membrane modules on the other hand can achieve high purity separations at lower energy costs, but if the flux is high, it requires large membrane area. A hybrid scheme where distillation and membrane modules are combined such that each operates at its highest efficiency, has the potential for significant energy reduction without significant increase of capital costs. This paper presents a method for sustainable design of hybrid distillation-membrane schemes with guaranteed reduction of energy consumption together with two illustrative examples.