News from Notch Consulting, Inc.

November 20, 2014

Evonik expands distribution agreements for silica in the US

Filed under: Silica — Notch @ 6:00 am

This week, Evonik Corporation’s Inorganic Materials Business Unit announced new agreements with The Cary Company and Dorsett & Jackson, Inc. to broaden distribution of its silica products in the U.S. Midwest and Western regions, respectively. Previously representing Evonik’s silica product lines in Minnesota, Wisconsin, North Dakota, South Dakota, Northern Indiana, and portions of Iowa and Illinois, The Cary Company will now also cover all of Iowa, Illinois, Missouri, Kansas and Nebraska. In addition to the territories of California, Oregon, Washington, Nevada and Arizona, Dorsett & Jackson, Inc., will represent Evonik’s silica product lines in Utah, Colorado, Wyoming, Montana, and Idaho.

The agreement includes ACEMATT® Matting Agents, SIPERNAT® and SIDENT® Precipitated Silica, AEROSIL® Fumed Silica, AEROXIDE® Mixed Metal Oxides, and AERODISP® Dispersions. Walsh & Associates, Inc. had previously supported Evonik’s distribution of silica in these areas.
Evonik’s silica products are used in diverse applications including paints & coatings, adhesives & sealants, plastics, inks, silicone and life sciences.

November 18, 2014

Goodyear on rice husk ash silica

Filed under: Carbon Black, Silica, Tires — Notch @ 3:12 pm

The Economic Times has an interview with Surendra Chawla, head of global R&D for Goodyear Tire and Rubber. The topic is precipitated silica produced from rice hull ash for potential use in tires at the expense of both carbon black and conventionally-produced precipitated silica. According to Goodyear, one of the biggest benefits of rice husk ash silica is production costs:

How cost-effective is this compared with extracting silica from sand?

Surendra Chawla: There are two aspects to this. The cost, of course, is lower. But the bigger aspect is that the energy consumed in extracting silica from the traditional source, which is sand, is much higher. To extract silica from sand, you have to heat the sand up to 1,400 degrees Celsius. We don’t have a plant yet to produce silica from husk ash — only a pilot facility. But the power required, the temperature required for extracting silica from ash is only 100 degrees Celsius versus.

Earlier this year, there were a spate of stories about Goodyear’s interest in silica produced from rice husk ash. Pirelli also has committed to using this product in its tires.

November 17, 2014

Michelin opening new plant for Tweel airless tires in South Carolina

Filed under: General, Tires — Notch @ 6:00 am

Tire Business reports that Michelin North America Inc. is opening a plant in Piedmont, S.C., dedicated to the production of its Tweel non-pneumatic tire/wheel assembly. Ribbon-cutting for the new plant will be held on November 20, and Michelin did not reveal the plant’s cost, size, employment, or production capacity. The plant is Michelin’s 10th in South Carolina and 16th in the United States.

The Tweel airless tire/wheel assembly was commercially introduced in 2012 after some seven years of development work. The first OE fitments for the Tweel are with Deere & Co. for the John Deere ZTRAK zero-turn commercial lawn mowers. At present, the Tweel is aimed primarily at skid-steers and other industrial applications.

November 13, 2014

US & China reach climate accord

Filed under: General — Notch @ 6:00 am

The New York Times has details.

As part of the agreement, Mr. Obama announced that the United States would emit 26 percent to 28 percent less carbon in 2025 than it did in 2005. That is double the pace of reduction it targeted for the period from 2005 to 2020.

China’s pledge to reach peak carbon emissions by 2030, if not sooner, is even more remarkable. To reach that goal, Mr. Xi pledged that so-called clean energy sources, like solar power and windmills, would account for 20 percent of China’s total energy production by 2030.

It will be interesting to see how this agreement is implemented in the United States given the mid-term election results and the Republican-controlled Congress.

November 12, 2014

Evonik introduces new silicas to replace microbeads in cosmetics

Filed under: Uncategorized — Notch @ 6:00 am

Evonik Industries (Essen, Germany) recently announced the launch of two new grades of precipitated silica designed to replace polyethylene and polypropylene microbeads used as exfoliants in cosmetics such as shower gels, facial care products, and body peeling scrubs.

According to Evonik, the two new grades, SIPERNAT® 2200 PC and SIPERNAT® 22 PC, are listed as nature-identical by the International Natural and Organic Cosmetics Association (NATRUE), a globally active association for the promotion of natural skin care. This means the substance (in this case, silica or SiO2) occurs naturally, but is not usually available in the required purity. Cosmetic products have very high purity standards. Although synthetic amorphous silica is identical to naturally occurring silica (such as sand) in chemical terms, its purity is significantly higher than natural silica due to its production process.

The cosmetics industry is working to replace plastic microbeads as the abrasive in cosmetics, so silica looks to pick up new use in the applications. “All leading manufacturers of cosmetics and body care products are currently working to replace abrasive microplastics particles,” according to Andreas Fischer, the head of the Silica Business Line of the Evonik Resource Efficiency Segment.

Evonik offers two different variants for manufacturers of cosmetics: SIPERNAT® 2200 PC features cleansing particles with a size of approx. 320 µm, while the particle size in SIPERNAT® 22 PC is approx. 120 µm. Both products have a microsponge structure. In addition to providing a cleansing function, this unique structure allows the silica to absorb liquid active ingredients and scents and carry them for release at a desired point – such as the application of a skin care product.

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