Industry Trends

January 2023

See what has been happening in Asia’s petrochemicals, agrochemicals, automotive, bio energy, and mining industries over the last weeks. What are experts and industry magazines talking about?

What has been happening?

Biofuel processor closes loop with composting, Researchers use enzyme for enhanced lignocellulose breakdown, Stopping lithium-ion battery degradation, and more. See what journals and industry experts have been discussing in the last four weeks.

Latest Industry Articles

Biofuel processor closes loop with composting

Advanced BioFuels USA

Acquisition of a composting facility to handle solids from used oil processing has led to a full-service organics recycling enterprise. — Joe Renwick got his feet wet in the biofuel business when he bought 55-gallon drums and water heaters to make biodiesel in his garage in North Augusta, South Carolina to fuel his Chevy diesel pickup truck.

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Indiana and Portuguese researchers use enzyme for enhanced lignocellulose break down

Biofuels Digest

In India, the Press Trust of India reports that researchers from Indian Institute of Technology, Guwahati and the University of Lisbon, Portugal have made a breakthrough in breaking down woody matter for ethanol production by improving the efficacy of a specific bacterial enzyme to turn the lignocellulose into simple sugars.

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Scientists working towards stopping lithium-ion battery degradation

MINING.com

Scientists at the University of Chicago have used a combination of high-powered electron microscopy and computational modelling to understand, at an atomic level, what happens when lithium-ion batteries degrade. Their research points toward one approach to designing longer-lasting lithium-ion batteries — by focusing on an oft-ignored structural component, the carbon binder domain.

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BluePlasma gets approval to set up CO2 into CO conversion pilot project

Biofuels Digest

In Belgium, BluePlasma consortium has received approval from VLAIO to set up an R&D pilot project. In concrete terms, an infrastructure will be built in Antwerp to convert CO2 into CO via plasma technology. The idea is to capture greenhouse gas (CO2) locally and convert it into a high-quality chemical material (CO). This carbon monoxide can then be used in many different industries, such as metallurgy and petrochemistry.

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Researchers solve major issues blocking development of lithium-sulphur batteries

MINING.com

In a new study, researchers at the US Department of Energy’s Argonne National Laboratory advanced sulphur-based battery research by creating a layer within the battery that adds energy storage capacity while nearly eliminating a traditional problem with sulphur batteries that caused corrosion. In their paper, the scientists explain that a promising battery design pairs a sulphur-containing cathode with a lithium metal anode.

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PlanET Biogas Announces Expansion and Formation of Food Waste Processing Company

Advanced BioFuels USA

PlanET Biogas has created PlanET Organics, a new company specifically focused on food waste processing and nutrient recovery technologies. The move comes as a result of the firm’s successful delivery of anaerobic digesters (AD) and renewable natural gas (RNG) technology in the North American market.

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Scientists one step closer to turning coal into graphite

MINING.com

A team at Ohio University carried out a series of simulations showing how coal can be converted to valuable—and carbon-neutral—materials like graphite and carbon nanotubes. Using the Pittsburgh Supercomputing Center’s Bridges-2 system, the researchers simulated coal and graphite in computer software and recreated the coal-to-graphite conversion virtually.

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Predictions and protection: can software and data improve ESG in mining?

Mining Technology

The mining industry remains one of the world’s biggest polluters, yet it remains a cornerstone of the world’s industries, and production is unlikely to stop soon. Improving operational efficiency has become the industry’s preferred method of cutting emissions, as they look to balance the need to minimise environmental damage with the desire to maintain productivity and profitability.

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Production of biodiesel and water conservation through conversion of free fatty acids from a domestic wastewater drain

Advanced BioFuels USA

Wastewater discharge from restaurants, hotels, household kitchens, confectionaries, meat, fruits, and vegetable processing units contain free fatty acids (FFAs) from fats, oils, and greases (FOG). These FFAs are one of the major causes of sewer overflows and blockages that cause health and environmental issues.

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Producing fertilizer without carbon emissions

Advanced BioFuels USA

Researchers have shown how nitrogen fertilizer could be produced more sustainably. This is necessary not only to protect the climate, but also to reduce dependence on imported natural gas and to increase food security. — Intensive agriculture is possible only if the soil is fertilised with nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium.

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Indonesia delays B35 rollout by another month

Biofuels Digest

In Indonesia, China’s Xinhua news agency reports the Indonesian government has decided to delay the introduction of the B35 mandate by another month, launching on February 1 instead of January 1 as most recently planned. Although preparations for the higher blend have been under way since October, there are lingering concerns about having sufficient fuel supply and infrastructure in place for Jan. 1.

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Singapore: PS Energy Group Acquires ISCC Cert for Biodiesel Products

Advanced BioFuels USA

Singapore-based fuel and lubricant distributor PS Energy Group on Tuesday (3 January) said through its subsidiary PS Energy Pte Ltd, it received the International Sustainability and Carbon Certification (ISCC) for its biodiesel products. The company’s biodiesel offerings are used in both marine and land applications.

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PS Energy Group gets ISCC certification for biodiesel products

Biofuels Digest

In Singapore, Manifold Times reported that Singapore-based fuel and lubricant distributor PS Energy Group said through its subsidiary PS Energy Pte Ltd, it received the International Sustainability and Carbon Certification (ISCC) for its biodiesel products. The company’s biodiesel offerings are used in both marine and land applications, according to the report. An ISCC certification helps customers correctly identify the sustainably sourced from the non-sustainably sourced biofuel offerings.

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Trant completes Singapore fuel depot upgrade

The Construction Index

UK-based Trant Engineering has completed the £12.3m upgrade of the Senoko oil fuel depot in Singapore. The Senoko oil fuel depot in Singapore is a strategic fuel storage depot supporting the Five Power Defence Arrangements, the 5th and 7th US fleets and the Singapore government.

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Asia-Pacific’s metals & mining industry saw a drop of 26.32% in deal activity during November 2022

Mining Technology

Asia-Pacific’s metals & mining industry saw a drop of 26.32% in deal activity during November 2022, when compared with the last 12-month average, led by Jinshan (Hong Kong) International Mining’s $565.04m acquisition of 20% stake in Zhaojin Mining Industry, according to GlobalData’s deals database.

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Malaysian smart oil palm mill could be online by early 2025

Biofuels Digest

In Malaysia, The Malaysian Reserve newspaper reports the palm oil board believes its smart oil palm mill it is developing in conjunction with Fusionex Group should be completed by the end of 2024 and commissioned in early 2025 but the project is still pending approval from the local council. The new mill will include the use of artificial intelligence as well as IR4.0 technology while manual labor for activities such as testing will be reduced by 30%.

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Researcher Says China Shelving Coal as EV Power Source

WardsAuto

Ye Wu, a professor in the School of Environment at Beijing’s Tsinghua University, says China is deemphasizing coal as a fuel source for electric power, turning instead to nuclear, natural gas and hydroelectric.

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China flies first international cargo flight on domestic SAF

Biofuels Digest

In China, the Global Times newspaper reports that for the first time, China’s domestically developed and manufactured SAF powered an international cargo flight, arriving in Belgium after taking off 12 hours earlier in Hangzhou. Sinopec Zhenhai Refinery of China Petroleum & Chemical Corporation obtained a bio-jet fuel airworthiness certificate issued by the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) on September 19.

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European General Court dismisses Indonesian attempt to annul biodiesel import duties

Biofuels Digest

In Belgium, the European Biodiesel Board welcomed the European General Court decision to dismiss the actions for annulment initiated by three Indonesian biodiesel producers in March 2020, following the EU imposition of definitive countervailing duties on biodiesel imports from Indonesia.

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Why Malaysia is considering a ban on palm oil exports to the European Union

Straits Times

Malaysia, the world’s second-largest palm oil producer, last Thursday said it might stop palm oil exports to the European Union (EU) after the bloc imposed additional import restrictions on the edible oil due to concerns over deforestation. Malaysia and Indonesia have for years been at loggerheads with the European Union over curbs on imports of palm oil.

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Thai firm to buy controlling stake in Esso Thailand

The Malay Mail Online

Thai energy conglomerate Bangchak is to buy a controlling stake in US energy giant ExxonMobil’s business in the kingdom, the two companies said Thursday. The leading Thai energy firm will buy a 66 per cent stake in Esso Thailand (ETL) — at a final price to be determined later — from United States ExxonMobil, they said in a statement. Bangchak said the agreement valued ETL at 55.5 billion baht.

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