Chemical Industry Weekly News Round-up, March 25

11:41 AM MDT | March 25, 2011 | By ALEX SCOTT

Japan’s chemical industry continues to be significantly adversely affected by the recent earthquake. CW's journalists are following any reports of shortages of certain materials produced in Japan. Mitsubishi Chemical’s Kashima complex is set to remain shuttered for at least two weeks. Teijin today disclosed that Teijin DuPont Films will restart production today at its facility in Tamasukuri, Ibaraki prefecture.

New projects this week include developments in China: BASF said today that it has received approval from the Chinese authorities to proceed with a previously announced methylene di-para-phenylene isocyanate (MDI) complex at Chongqing, China.

Just as Süd-Chemie is about to be purchased by Clariant the company has been faced with a lawsuit: CSP Technologies (Auburn, AL) has filed an action against Süd-Chemie and two of its subsidiaries, Süd-Chemie Inc.,(Louisville, KY), and Airsec SAS (Choisy-le-Roi, France) in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Indiana, alleging that Süd-Chemie has infringed a patent for "resealable moisture tight containers for strips and the like having a lip span seal." CSP is a producer of plastic product packaging, including desiccant-based technology used in packaging for diagnostic test strips. Süd-Chemie, a producer of catalysts and adsorbents, also offers packaging that incorporates dessicants.

Dow Chemical has been taking a high profile role in this year’s International Year of Chemistry and says it is also already taking action in anticipation of next year’s Rio +20 sustainability summit. That summit is set to form the basis of an international treaty that will take into account resource scarcity, energy efficiency, water, oceans, agriculture and materials says Timo Makela, director/ environment for the European Commission. Makela’s comments are featured in an article outlining the challenges and opportunities that Rio +20 will bring. The article features a video interview with says Neil Hawkins, group v.p./sustainability and environment, health and safety, for Dow Chemical and Glenn Pricket, chief external affairs officer for The Nature Conservancy.

CW's cover story that will run in the print edition of the magazine on March 28 is 'Corporate Social Responsibility: Greening the Supply Chain.' Increasing pressure from global industry customers such as Philips, Procter & Gamble, Unilever, and Walmart is spurring leading chemical companies to manage risks better and ensure their supply chains are more sustainable. Hansen: Assisting Walmart...

Beyond Chemicalweek…

In a video presentation UC Berkeley shows off its unique approach to green chemistry.

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Chemical Industry Weekly News Round-up, March 25

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