Phototriggered fuel production
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7:11 AM | Posted in

Light significantly accelerates hydrogen generation from formic acid, according to a report by German scientists. Combining the process with a small fuel cell could create a power source suitable for replacing batteries in laptops and other mobile devices, they claim.

"A significant step forward in the sustainable production of hydrogen from renewable hydrogen donors" - Serafino Gladiali, University of Sassari, Italy
Matthias Beller and colleagues at the University of Rostock used a ruthenium catalyst to break down formic acid into hydrogen, which can be used to power a fuel cell, and carbon dioxide. They found that shining a light on the reaction mixture increased the reaction rate, meaning they could turn hydrogen production on or off by controlling the light source. To demonstrate the potential of their system, the team created a miniature, hydrogen-powered car.

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Chemicals sector key contributor to US toxic pollution
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7:10 AM | Posted in

More than 5.5 billion kilograms of toxic pollutants were released and transferred by nearly 35,000 industrial facilities throughout North America in 2005, according to new data presented by the US Commission for Environmental Cooperation (CEC).

The group's 10 June report concludes that approximately 90 per cent of this pollution in the US, Canada and Mexico can be traced to 30 substances from 15 industrial sectors, including chemical manufacturing.

The top contributing sectors varied by country, but key culprits in the US were chemicals manufacturing, primary metals and mines. Oil and gas extraction, primary metals and wastewater treatment activities topped Canada's list, and the top polluting sectors in Mexico were metal mines, electric utilities and electrical equipment manufacturing.

Overall, the report found that the North American petroleum industry was responsible for a quarter of the toxic pollutants reported by all sectors in 2005, the most recent year for which data was available.

The US accounted for more than 80 per cent of all reporting facilities, versus 12 per cent for Canada and 6 per cent for Mexico. Of the pollutants reported, several - including lead, arsenic and nickel - are known or suspected carcinogens and developmental or reproductive toxicants, as well persistent, bioaccumulative and toxic substances.

Results from this latest report, however, do seem to support findings from a 2007 CEC study that toxic releases in the US and Canada are dropping. Releases fell by 15 per cent between 1998 and 2004, a pattern that appears to have continued according to the latest findings.

'We do intend to take a look again at those sorts of trends in the future for all three North American countries,' project coordinator Danielle Vallee tells Chemistry World. 'We might examine specific pollutants of concern, like the mercuries, leads, and others that people might think to prioritise a bit more.'

Interestingly, while there was a 50 per cent increase in the number of facilities reporting toxic releases and transfers in Canada between 1998 and 2005, in the US the number fell by 11 per cent. Some of these US facilities may no longer exist, or alternatively, CEC suggests that production may have been lower in 2005, falling below the annual reporting threshold of 11,000 kg for many chemical substances.

Comparing chemical releases and transfers across North America is complicated by differences in industrial makeup, pollutant coverage and reporting requirements of the three countries. There is also variation in terms of methods used to estimate releases, and the accuracy of reporting.

Nevertheless, the CEC - an international organisation created under the North American Agreement on Environmental Cooperation - suggests that its report can provide insight into further actions required to enhance international comparability of chemical release data and improve understanding of industrial pollution in North America.

Rebecca Trager, US correspondent for Research Europe

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'Electronic glue' makes nanocrystals connect
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7:08 AM | Posted in

American chemists have developed an 'electronic glue' to link nanocrystals together - allowing groups of the crystals to be highly conductive. Since nanocrystals have unique optical and electrical properties, this research could provide some exciting new materials for use in light-emitting devices or solar cells.

Nanocrystals are crystalline nanoparticles of metals ranging from cadmium to silicon, and can be grown with precisely controlled size and shape. But despite their exciting range of optical properties, they have found few applications so far.

'The problem is getting the crystals to 'talk' to one another,' says Maksym Kovalenko, lead author on the project at the University of Chicago, US, 'And this problem arises from the way the crystals are made.'

Organic ligands are used to control and stabilise nanocrystals during their synthesis, Kovalenko explains, which results in the crystals being sandwiched between layers of insulating material. Although individual nanocrystals are semiconducting and have found niche applications - such as in making quantum dots or acting as fluorescent biological markers - electrical charge is restricted from passing through larger groups.

Instead of using organic ligands, Kovalenko's team discovered that some metal chalcogenide complexes can work the same way but do not shield the crystals from the transfer of electrical charge. In one example, the team used a ligand exchange process to switch the organic ligands on gold nanocrystals for a tin sulphide complex of Sn2S64-.

The mixture was then heated gently, which left a tight honeycombed structure of gold nanoparticles surrounded by charge-heavy ligands - creating a highly conductive solid material. Other crystals and complexes are also under investigation by the team, who are confident that this technique can be applied to many other systems.

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Chemical speed-dating even faster
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7:07 AM | Posted in

Researchers in the US have adapted a DNA amplification technique to develop a simpler way to rapidly screen chemical reactions. The process should improve reaction screening methods known as 'chemical speed-dating' - where hundreds of different substrates are mixed together but only a few interact strongly.

These reaction screens are a great way to quickly probe chemical space to discover new reactions, and this new technique builds on the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) to eliminate some awkward processing steps, boost efficiency and accuracy.

The speed-dating process works by attaching hundreds of different substrates to short, single strands of DNA. When warmed to 60°C, the strands are too short to pair up naturally - but where two substrates have reacted, their DNA tails pair up, forming a short piece of DNA that resembles a hairpin.

Traditionally, one of the substrates typically needs to be mounted on a bead to isolate and identify the compounds that have reacted, which can be a time-consuming practice. Now, David Liu's team at Harvard University, US, have simplified the method by modifying the polymerase chain reaction (used to copy single strands of DNA millions of times) to selectively replicate only the DNA strands where a reaction has occurred.

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Nanoparticles make 'self-erasing' images
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7:06 AM | Posted in

Materials displaying 'self-erasing' colour images have been created by chemists in the US, who have studied how certain nanoparticles can assemble and disassemble themselves under different wavelengths of light.

The materials, which are printed with ultraviolet (UV) light and erased with visible light, could one day be used for self-expiring bus tickets or for carrying secret messages.

'Self-erasing papers are important for time-sensitive materials and secure communications,' said study leader Bartosz Grzybowski of Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois. 'On the fundamental level, what we describe is also a very different way of looking at the concept of information storage. We're not using traditional coloured inks per se, but rather we "generate" or "elicit" colours only when particles in the film self-assemble.

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I INTRODUCTION TO CHEMISTRY
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12:35 PM | Posted in

Everyday Applications of Chemistry
Chemical reactions occur continuously in the atmosphere, in factories, in vehicles, in the environment, and in our bodies. In a chemical reaction, one or more kinds of matter is changed into a new kind—or several new kinds—of matter. A few common chemical reactions are shown here. Life as we know it could not exist without these processes: plants could not photosynthesize, cars could not move, pudding could not thicken, muscles could not burn energy, glue could not stick, and fire could not burn.
Chemistry, study of the composition, structure, properties, and interactions of matter. Chemistry arose from attempts by people to transform metals into gold beginning about ad 100, an effort that became known as alchemy (see Chemistry, History of). Modern chemistry was established in the late 18th century, as scientists began identifying and verifying through scientific experimentation the elemental processes and interactions that create the gases, liquids, and solids that compose our physical world. As the field of chemistry developed in the 19th and 20th centuries, chemists learned how to create new substances that have many important applications in our lives.
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Israel Uses Chemical Warfare in Gaza
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12:30 PM | Posted in

CNN is reporting that the group Human Rights Watch has observed Israel firing white phosphorus into Gaza. Human Rights Watch is demanding that Israel stop. The practice of using deadly poisons on civilian populations is against international law; as is this collective punishment of the civilian population of Gaza. On CNN an Israeli Defense Forces spokesperson claimed last week that they were not using white phosphorus.As of today, the death toll in Gaza surpasses 900. According to a Reuters report, "Figures from Palestinian medics indicate at least 909 people have been killed. The health minister in Gaza's Hamas-run government said close to 400 of those were woman and children."The Israeli death toll is thirteen. According to reports, four soldier's deaths were caused by so-called "friendly fire."White phosphorus was also used by U.S. forces in Iraq. To me the inhumanity of it is a sign that the attacker is getting desperate and is losing the war. Israel is engaged in war crimes and cannot win in Gaza. In the court of world opinion, they have already lost.No one doubts that Israel is desperate to kill off as many Palestinians as possible in light of the power shift taking place in Washington, but resorting to chemical warfare and the wholesale poisoning the civilian population of Gaza as the world watches is almost too much irony to bear.
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Old vials of chemical residue published in Science
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12:24 PM | Posted in

The chief lesson from a new article in this week's Science is, never, ever throw out out your samples. Most people are probably familiar with Stanley Miller's classic biochemistry experiment, in which he produced amino acids in a simulation of Earth's early atmosphere [PDF]. That experiment was groundbreaking, but since it was published in 1953 geochemsists have questioned whether it accurately reflected conditions on ancient Earth. But another of Miller's experimental results, which went unpublished until now, may be the response to that criticism.
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Alcohol Series
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12:19 PM | Posted in

Alcohols are widely used as part of a solvent blend for lacquers and lacquer thinners. Alcohols, especially Butyl Cellosolve and Butyl Carbitol are water miscible and are used as cosolvents in water-based coatings. Cosolvents are critical in maintaining solubility and stability as well as film formation of water-based coatings. They are polar and non-photochemically reactive. Alcohols must never be used with two-component polyurethanes because the OH group of the alcohol reacts with the NCO group of the polyurethane and neutralizes the chemical reaction. a include: • Methanol R6K1 • HAPS Complying Dye Stain Reducer • Isopropanol (Isopropyl Alcohol) • Secondary Butanol R6K19 • N-Butanol and Isobutanol • Diacetone Alcohol R6K24 Butyl Cellosolve R6K25 • Butyl Carbitol • PM Reducer R6K34 • Texanol® Ester Alcohol R6K33 Methanol R6K1 is extremely fast evaporating. Poisonous. Primary use is for dye stains. It is not HAPS compliant. HAPS Complying Dye Stain Reducer R6K21 is a special ethyl alcohol (ethanol) blend intended for diluting S61 HAPS complying dye stains to maintain HAPS compliance. It is more expensive than methanol. Generally ethanol is denatured by using small quantities of methanol but this makes it non-HAPS compliant. R6K21 uses a different compound. Isopropanol (Isopropyl Alcohol) - no sales rex - is slightly slower evaporation than ethanol. It is HAPS compliant. Secondary Butanol R6K19 may be used as a reducer (up to 10% reduction) in KEM AQUA 70P W/R Metal Primer and other W/R alkyds for slightly faster dry to handle. It helps the water to evaporate, helps apply thinner film for faster dry, will raise VOC and may give a flash point to the paint which will affect storage, packaging and safety. It is HAPS compliant.
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Chemical Companies Must Lift Trade Compliance Standards
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12:17 PM | Posted in

(ICIS.com – Thomas Cook, American River International)All companies that operate global supply chains need to be sensitive to trade compliance within their import/export operations. And chemical firms need to raise the bar here because of the nature of their products and the scrutiny that government agencies bring to bear on them.There are six areas critical to best practice in global trade compliance: senior management engagement; point person; evaluation; standard operating procedures (SOPs); training and education; and Customs Trade Partnership Against Terrorism (C-TPAT). […]Chemical companies need to raise the bar of trade compliance management as the industry is targeted by government agencies that manage supply chain operations.A prudent company will seriously consider joining the C-TPAT program managed by U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP). To receive C-TPAT certification, which gives companies a favorable disposition by CBP on how they move freight across the border, companies inform CBP how their supply chain operates.Chemical companies can go even further by achieving Importer’s Self Assessment (ISA) status, which eliminates a substantial portion of Customs scrutiny for companies that meet high standards in operation, business process and SOPs.Other C-TPAT benefits include expedited clearances, mitigation of fines and penalties, access to CBP programs that offer competitive advantages, and help in maintaining supply chains in the event of terrorist acts.Trade compliance will not only keep chemical companies out of trouble, but will also assist them in running their export and import trade lanes better, more cost-effectively and more securely.
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CDC: Rocket fuel chemical found in baby formula
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12:16 PM | Posted in

By MIKE STOBBE
ATLANTA (AP) - Traces of a chemical used in rocket fuel were found in samples of powdered baby formula, and could exceed what's considered a safe dose for adults if mixed with water also contaminated with the ingredient, a government study has found.
The study by scientists at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention looked for the chemical, perchlorate, in different brands of powdered baby formula. It was published last month, but the Environmental Working Group issued a press release Thursday drawing attention to it.
The chemical has turned up in several cities' drinking water supplies. It can occur naturally, but most perchlorate contamination has been tied to defense and aerospace sites.
No tests have ever shown the chemical caused health problems, but scientists have said significant amounts of perchlorate can affect thyroid function. The thyroid helps set the body's metabolism. Thyroid problems can impact fetal and infant brain development.
However, the extent of the risk is hard to assess. The government requires that formula contain iodine, which counteracts perchlorate's effects. The size of the infant and how much formula they consume are other factors that can influence risk.
The study itself sheds little light on how dangerous the perchlorate in baby formula is. "This wasn't a study of health effects," said Dr. Joshua Schier, one of the authors.
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Common chemicals found in clothing, non-stick frying pans and food packaging can substantially reduce women's fertility, a new study has found.
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12:11 PM | Posted in

Common chemicals found in non-stick frying pans 'can harm fertility'article in the TelegraphExtract:"Perfluorinated chemicals (PFCs) are used to make products like Teflon, as well as waterproof clothing, pesticides and upholstery.
Studies have also shown that they have leached in small quantities into the water supply, in part because they are contained in foam used by firefighters.
A new study found that exposure to high levels of the chemicals, which can remain in the environment and the body for decades, could leave women struggling to get pregnant.
Women with high levels of PFCs in their blood were up to one and a half times more likely to have taken more than a year to conceive or required fertility treatment than those with low levels.
The study, published in the journal Human Reproduction, warns that the levels of exposure to the chemicals necessary to reduce fertility "are common in developed countries".
Researchers looked at the levels of two of the chemicals, called perfluorooctanoate (PFOA) and perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS), in the bloodstreams of 1,240 women in Denmark who became pregnant between 1996 and 2002."
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More Nanoparticle Bondage
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12:10 PM | Posted in

In a previous entry, I mentioned a technique whereby gold nanoparticles could be attached to the exterior of fungal cells to form unusual hybrid materials. Once the gold scaffolding was complete, the fungi could be removed (digested), leaving behind 3 dimensional gold structures. This started me thinking that there might be a rich field of exploration here, finding simple ways of attaching metal nanoparticles like gold to new substrates in the hopes of creating new 3-dimensional structures with unusual properties. Even better, many of these techniques would be based on aqueous chemistry, which make them especially appealing (to me at least).
Of course, within a week or two of that article, two more articles appeared which demonstrated that other research groups are already way ahead of me in this area.
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Another Use for Copper
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12:06 PM | Posted in

I've just returned from a 5 day visit with my parents in Missouri (which partly explains my recent lack of postings). It was great to visit, but it's always good to come back home again. Unfortunately, "home" is 20 degrees colder, my wife's computer had stopped working, and everyone in the house has some sort of vicious stomach virus. I briefly considered going to a motel, but my wife would have killed me.Really.So I spent Monday passing out medicines, cleaning up various messes, mostly eating by myself, and fixing the computer. The computer's working now, which is more than I can say for the rest of the family. I've already resigned myself to the inevitability of becoming a patient myself within the next couple of days. Perhaps I should invest in some copper bedsheets.Why copper, you ask?I have previously discussed the anti-bacterial properties of silver and gold. The list of purchasable items containing silver grows daily, and includes bandages, socks, towels, bedsheets, ointments, plastic food containers, soaps, and washing machines. Gold is not at that level of marketability yet, with gold-laced soap being the main use of its anti-bacterial properties. So it only makes sense that copper, the third element in the 1B group, also exhibits some of these same properties. In fact, in Chili, the biggest suppler of copper, copper fibers are being added to socks, towels, pillow cases and underwear. Copper sponge filters are being tested for their ability to purify water. I suspect it won't be long before this becomes a new marketing opportunity.
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Clustered Water Chemistry
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10:18 AM | Posted in

As an aqueous inorganic chemist by training (at least in grad school, although my horizons have expanded quite a bit due to my time in industry), I’ve spent a fair amount of time investigating and understanding the role of water in chemical reactions. When working with transition metals, this usually translates into accounting for aqueous coordination complexes, pH, and solvent effects. However, after perusing the Net these last few years, I now realize I have been woefully ignorant concerning the chemistry of water. I knew water tends to form loose clusters of molecules (due to hydrogen bonding), which accounts for some of its unusual properties, but I wasn’t aware of the immense importance of these clusters to its chemistry.I am particularly upset that neither my professors nor my chemistry textbooks felt it necessary to cover this important aspect of aqueous chemistry. As a result, I’ve been forced to learn about clustered water on my own by visiting some rather arcane web sites – web sites that for some reason appear to contain a high percentage of viruses, bots, and other spyware. To make it even worse, most of the my information comes from sites which make a profit by selling devices or elixirs based on the unique properties of these water clusters, which means that the scientific basis for these properties are often poorly explained. (These people really need some spell checkers!)
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Colorful Chemistry
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9:48 AM | Posted in

I suspect that one of the reasons I chose Inorganic chemistry as my major was due to the colorful chemistry of transition metal complexes. Organic compounds, at least the ones I saw during my first several years in college, were almost always white. And in those instances where some color was present, usually a rather boring pale yellow or brown, it was often due to the presence of impurities.Unfortunately, the electronic transitions responsible for most of the transition metal colors are d-d transitions, which are generally forbidden under the rules of quantum mechanics, so it often requires fairly concentrated solutions to generate rich colors. There are the occasional exceptions – e.g. MnO4-, whose color is due to a quantum mechanically allowed electronic charge transition (the electron jumps from a metal orbital to an oxygen orbital) -- but generally, the extinction coefficients of most inorganic molecules are low.So it’s rather ironic that a majority of the most deeply colored compounds are organic molecules. No forbidden electronic transitions here, just conjugated systems that can be tailored to absorb just about any wavelength of light in the visible and UV spectrum. This property has led to their use as dyes for over 4000 years. A list of the early dyes would include:Alizarin – produced by the madder rootCarmine - obtained from the bodies of cochineal insectsIndigo – obtained from the indigo plantTyrian Purple – a brominated version of indigo, obtained from the Murex (a type of shellfish) in minute amounts, so quite expensive. Only affordable to the uber-wealthy, it eventually became seen as a symbol of royalty (thus the saying “born to the purple”). In Roman times, it was a capital offense to wear it if you were not a noble. Exposure of the dye to alkali turns it crimson, producing the color worn by Cardinals in the Catholic church.
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The Alchemy of Zinc
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9:46 AM | Posted in

Back in the day, alchemists apparently spent all their time attempting to turn base metals into gold. I say apparently, since that is the common perception of alchemists. In reality, most alchemists were devoted to what was often referred to as the “Great Work.” According to alchemical theories, much of what is created by nature is imperfect, and by applying the art of alchemy, natural substances can be brought to a higher state of perfection. Since gold was the height of perfection for metals, it was thought that base metals could be transmuted into gold merely by removing these imperfections. The Philosophers Stone wasn’t just about making gold or the “Elixer of Life”, it was a process/device/concept for bringing about perfection.Color was very important to the alchemists, perhaps since it was one of the few clues with which they had to go on during their experiments. Colors and color changes were rigorously recorded and eventually incorporated into many of the alchemical theories. Certain color sequences were expected during the path towards perfection. In the transmutation of base metals into gold, for example, a color sequence of black to white to yellow to purple was thought to be required. Later theories redefined the sequence as black to white to red. While this fascination with colors may have led them astray on occasion, it has also led to a vast array of wonderful, full color illustrations, intricately drawn and full of alchemical symbolism.
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Chemists vs. Engineers
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9:45 AM | Posted in



One of the guys in our group at work is a co-op student from a local university. As part of his engineering degree, he spends every other semester working in our lab receiving a massive dose of industrial reality and forced indoctrination into the world of engineering. His current stint ends this week, so yesterday he presented a summation of this semester’s work to the group. It wasn’t supposed to be a big deal -- a quick, informal 15 minute talk -- but the head of our division (3 or 4 steps up the corporate ladder) decided she’d attend the presentation, and the intensity level ratcheted up a notch or two. Of course, the division head ended up asking all the questions while the rest of us just smiled and watched the student sweat.The questions were all good, although many of them concerned engineering protocols and methodologies of which I am woefully (and thankfully ignorant). Unfortunately for the student, there wasn’t much data with which to defend himself, due to situations mostly beyond his control. There had been a two month delay in getting the equipment up and running, due to the time required to implement various safety features in our labs. For some unfathomable reason, the safety guys had been (and still are) very nervous about the prospect of piping pure hydrogen and carbon monoxide throughout the building. They take safety much more seriously in industry than they do in graduate school, where safety protocols often involve nothing more than wearing safety glasses and not eating food in the lab, both of which are largely ignored anyway.
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New Chemistry Game!
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9:42 AM | Posted in

If you enjoyed playing the Spectral Game , here’s another one for you. The people over at Useful Chemistry have created the Chem Tiles Game. If you enjoy Newman projections, Lewis structures, and nomenclature, this is the game/quiz for you. Reminds me how much organic chemistry I’ve forgotten since my sophomore year.Also, I congratulation the Michigan State basketball team on their amazing season. The Spartans went a lot farther in the tournament than most prognosticators had predicted. Unfortunately, they appeared to run out of gas last night when they were pretty much pounded by North Carolina. I’m not a particularly big fan of college basketball, but I can still appreciate the tenacity of underdogs.
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Interesting chemistry articles
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9:39 AM | Posted in

So I thought I might post something chemistry-related - something I haven't done in a while. Below are three papers I have read recently. After reading almost any of Fujita's papers, I always think to myself "wish I would have published that". His work is simple (in theory), which gives it an intangible elegance. Here (J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2007, 129, 1850) he uses light to labilise his Pt-pyridyl metallocyclic systems to give the thermodynamically more stable (due to hydrophobic effects/pi-pi stacking) catenated dimers. This takes only minutes under UV light, whereas days are required if it's heated instead. Not a new concept, but nice application and mechanistic insight (photochemical mechanism is dissociative, thermal one is associative, which is of course most common for square-planar complexes).Another cool paper, also in the field of coordination chemistry, is a recent review by Nitschke (Acc. Chem. Res. 2007, 40, 103) highlighting some nice dynamic combinatorial-style work. Most people (myself included) just abhor the prospect of a mixture of products from a reaction - this guy (who, like many top supramolecular chemists, is of the Lehn pedigree) loves them! Anyway, the point of this work is that, unlike Sanders or Fujita (whose work primarily uses labile covalent and coordination bonds, respectively) Nitschke uses a bunch of very labile interactions and can, depending on the product distribution, quantify and rationalise these contributions.
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Eco-Green ® Ultra-Power ® Degreaser
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9:35 AM | Posted in

Cleaning grease and heavy soil can be a very tough jobs in virtually any setting, whether it is in commercial locations, industrial facilities, on machinery or shop floors, equipment, machinery, tools, metal parts, engines, trucks, concrete, and more. In the past, it seemed only cleaners with harmful solvents and butyl would do an effective job. That is why Daimer® is introducing a degreaser and other cleaning products that will work safely and effectively in nearly all commercial and industrial applications for the proper maintenance of vehicles, machinery, and facilities. Eco-Green ® Ultra-Power ® Degreaser with Micro-Blasting ® technology, along with the Eco-Green ® family of green chemicals, are the safest and most powerful green chemicals for degreasing in the industry.
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The Engineering + Science Buildings
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9:33 AM | Posted in

The engineering and science labs are MASSIVE in Monash Clayton. The place can be easily 2 Sunway Colleges. They have so many types of labs you can think of, you can easily lose your way around. Because i did not really take note of every building, my last count was 9. They have a lab for practically any subject and each lab is filled with the relevent equipments. The engineering lab equipments ar slightly old but the science labs are fantastic. One of the best! Here are some pictures:-
From left to right: one of the chemical plants + labs, one of the engineering labs, chemical science lab, offices for the mechanical labs, the walkway along the engineering labs, the project lab (The car is built by monash mechanical and mechatronic students), a view of the labs from the 2nd floor, one of the tutorial rooms, the field in front of the labs, a walkway between the engineering buildings, another view of the field, the stairs to the 2nd floor, the engineering computer lab, front entrance of the computer lab, another view of the engineering computer lab, another tutorial room, one of the many hallways in the Engineering building, the front entrance of the engineering building, the view standing from the front entrance, the view outside the science building, another science building(i think), one of the walkways to the engineering buildings, when you see this sign you know you reached the engineering center, another view of the engineering building.
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Industrial Chemicals Logistics
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9:31 AM | Posted in

Service Scope: * From its conception of operations, Oriental Logistics has been a leader in chemical logistics and serves major brand names in the chemical industry. Oriental Logistics provides a one-stop solution to its customers for warehousing, cross-border transportation, warehousing, local distribution and freight forwarding services via sea or air, backed up by advance computer technology and software, providing web-based inventory records, 24/7 and reports downloadable in various formats.* Oriental Logistics has the prerequisite licenses and expertise required to handle hazardous and non-hazardous chemicals and goods. We pride ourselves on providing a professional and safe working environment when handling, transporting and storing hazardous and non-hazardous chemical and goods.* Oriental Logistics advanced warehouse management system has won numerous awards. We aim to exceed customers’ expectations and performance measures, as reflected in our awards and customers’ referrals letters. Oriental Logistics prepares detailed workflows and planning for all our customers to ensure smooth handling, delivery and storage of hazardous and non-hazardous chemicals and goods.* Oriental Logistics is proud to be a Responsible Care Group Member for chemicals.
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Ionic liquids put zebra mussels off their food
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9:30 AM | Posted in

27 February 2009Non-lethal doses of ionic liquids can have a significant effect on aquatic ecosystems, claim US scientists. Ionic liquids are green alternatives to the volatile organic solvents that are released into the environment as a result of agriculture and manufacturing. But their solubility in water means that they can contaminate aquatic environments. Knowledge of their toxicity in these environments is limited, but even less is known about their non-lethal effects on aquatic organisms.
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Brain and Cognitive Sciences
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9:29 AM | Posted in

The human brain is the most complex, sophisticated, and powerful information-processing device known.To study its complexities, the Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology combines the experimental technologies of neurobiology, neuroscience, and psychology, with the theoretical power that comes from the fields of computational neuroscience and cognitive science.The Department was founded by Hans-Lukas Teuber in 1964 as a Department of Psychology, with the then-radical vision that the study of brain and mind are inseparable. Today, at a time of increasing specialization and fragmentation, our goal remains to understand cognition- its processes, and its mechanisms at the level of molecules, neurons, networks of neurons, and cognitive modules. We are unique among neuroscience and cognitive science departments in our breadth, and in the scope of our ambition. We span a very large range of inquiry into the brain and mind, and our work bridges many different levels of analysis including molecular, cellular, systems, computational and cognitive approaches.Since the field of brain and cognitive sciences is relatively young and extremely dynamic, there is no single text that encompasses the subject matter covered in most of the classes offered by the department. To educate and train future scientists, readings are from primary journal articles or research papers. This approach provides broad coverage, as well as the depth needed, so that students are exposed to cutting-edge knowledge in the various specialties of neuroscience and cognitive science. Browsing the course materials in MIT OpenCourseWare, the jewels are revealed in the detailed reading lists that provide a window on the current thinking in each subject.
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The Department of Chemistry at MIT is one of the nation's top chemistry departments.
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9:28 AM | Posted in

It has an illustrious history in sharing the MIT tradition of excellence, and it has provided national leadership in chemical education and research throughout the century.The Department's strong record of achievement is solidly based on its pioneering advances in chemical research, its success in incorporating these advances into teaching and research programs, and its close relationship to government and industry.
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Penreco Names ChemPoint.com as the Exclusive West Coast Channel for Versagel C
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9:26 AM | Posted in

HOUSTON, Texas, September 21, 2004 -- As part of an ongoing effort to further enhance customer service and technical support, Penreco has selected ChemPoint.com as its exclusive West Coast channel for the Versagel(r) C gel series. In this September 1st agreement, ChemPoint will provide all aspects of marketing and customer care for customers in the states west of Utah, including Montana.Penreco's Versagel C series is a pre-mixed, easy-to-use gelling hydrocarbon that provides a unique appearance for clear gel candles and aromatherapy applications. It is based on mineral oil and a patented block copolymer technology. Versagel C is available in different polymer levels and should be specified to coordinate with desired fragrance load, candle shape and decorative details. Benefits include exceptional clarity of finished product, excellent fragrance release, longevity and ability to suspend decorative items."ChemPoint's distinct marketing approach is an innovative way to provide high levels of customer service and technical support," states Doug Reynolds, Penreco's regional sales manger. "ChemPoint's technically trained sales team knows the candle industry and understands the iterative testing process that is often required when creating a new candle."
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ChemPoint.com Signs New Lease for 26,000 Square Feet of Office Space at One Bellevue Center in Downtown Bellevue
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9:25 AM | Posted in

BELLEVUE, Washington, July 15, 2004 -- ChemPoint.com has signed a new lease for 26,000 square feet of office space at One Bellevue Center in downtown Bellevue. ChemPoint will be relocating 75 employees from its current 11,000 square-foot-space in Factoria later this year. The new space will accommodate ChemPoint’s continuing growth.“Our strong business model, innovative marketing approach, and talented ChemPoint team are what have built our success and quickly grown our business such that we no longer fit our current space,” said Edward Lux, ChemPoint’s Director of Operations and Technology. “One Bellevue Place, with its downtown location, great views and amenities, was a natural choice for ChemPoint. The Staubach Company helped us find the right office building and space that fit our needs and reflected the personality of our company.”Founded by Univar N.V. (Rotterdam, the Netherlands) in May of 1999, ChemPoint provides outsourced marketing and sales for fine and specialty chemicals via exclusive supplier partnerships. ChemPoint’s technically trained sales and marketing team consists primarily of individuals with science and industry backgrounds. They utilize technology and telephony that enables them to work with customers in a high-touch, team-selling environment. Today, they service a large and rapidly growing customer base across North America and represent many of the leading chemical manufactures including BASF, Dow, Rohm & Haas and DuPont.
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ChemPoint.com Expands Partnership with Dow for Glutaraldehyde-Based Biocides as the Exclusive e-Distributor
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9:24 AM | Posted in

BELLEVUE, Washington, September 16, 2003 -- ChemPoint.com announced today that it has been appointed as the exclusive e-distributor of The Dow Chemical Company’s glutaraldehyde-based biocide products for North America.ChemPoint, a leading e-distributor of specialty and fine chemicals, is now the primary sales and supply chain channel for small and medium sized customers of glutaraldehyde products. This includes both industrial uses as well as EPA registered uses under the tradenames of UCARCIDE™, UCONEX™ and UCARSAN™. ChemPoint also represents Dow Biocides’ Dowicide product line, which consists of DOWICIDE* 1, 1E, A, OBCP, OBCP/IPA.“We have been extremely impressed with the results that ChemPoint has generated for us working with the glutaraldehyde lines,” said Jerry Konst, Marketing Manager for North America. “In addition to delivering growth from this customer base, ChemPoint captures specific application data in their CRM and a technically trained staff insures that an EPA registered Dow biocide is used appropriately.” The collaborative approach of ChemPoint’s business model provides an opportunity to exercise greater command and control across all customer and market segments, added Konst. “Their willingness and ability to execute in synergy with Dow’s objectives is unmatched in our traditional distribution channels, thus making the decision to move additional customer base from the glutaraldehyde lines to them an easy one.”
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Chemical Distributor VW&R Gets into Crowded Online Field
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9:23 AM | Posted in

SEATTLE, Washington, April 10, 2000 -- Kirkland-based chemical distributor Van Waters & Rogers Inc. has been out of the public limelight since its parent, Univar Corp., was bought by a Dutch firm in 1996.The company certainly didn't go away; it remains an important presence in chemical distribution, with 130 distribution centers around North America, more than 3,000 employees in the United States and Canada and about $2 billion in annual sales.But much of the work of the wholesale-distribution industry goes on unnoticed beyond the name on the side of trucks; that's even more so with distributors of industrial goods used in the manufacture of other goods.Now the Van Waters & Rogers is back in the spotlight because of a new venture in business-to-business commerce, currently the hottest corner of the online world.
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FMC Lithium Names ChemPoint.com as Its Exclusive “e-Distributor”
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9:22 AM | Posted in

GASTONIA, North Carolina, November 26, 2001 -- FMC Lithium announced today that it has selected ChemPoint.com to be the primary sales and supply chain channel for its small and medium sized customers of lithium carbonate, lithium hydroxide, and lithium hypochlorite in North America. ChemPoint, a leading "e-distributor" of specialty and fine chemicals, is FMC Lithium’s exclusive North American e-distributor for these products and customer segments."FMC Lithium continues to seek innovative ways to bolster the strong value propositions we have created and maintained within our product offerings and technical expertise," remarked Victor Maurtua, FMC Lithium Primary Products Group Sales & Marketing Director. "Over the past 60 years, we have invested a tremendous amount of resources in the research and development of lithium compounds, which has provided a knowledge base that is “second to none” in the industry. We identified ChemPoint as the best distribution channel to properly service and maintain the smaller, entrepreneurial customer who is developing innovative products involving lithium-based technology. With ChemPoint's team of technical experts performing highly personalized, yet cost-effective customer service, we feel confident that our customers will receive the highest level of service available," stated Vic Maurtua
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Billerud Packaging Acquires Tenova Bioplastics
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9:19 AM | Posted in

STOCKHOLM, Sweden, February 16, 2009 -- Billerud is further strengthening its know-how in renewable packaging through the acquisition of Tenova Bioplastics AB, a Swedish innovation company based in Norrköping that produces compostable carrier bags made of bioplastic. Tenova’s largest customer is ICA AB. The company has sales turnover of MSEK 35 and is a market leader in its field in Sweden.“This acquisition fits well into our long-term strategy. Billerud is a leader in sustainable packaging solutions made of renewable raw materials, and we are continually looking for new products and applications that will develop our business. Bioplastic will be a good complement to paper for renewable packaging, and in the long term the combination of paper with barriers made of bioplastic will be a highly attractive alternative for many different types of packaging. Tenova is a leader in the rapidly expanding bioplastic field, which provides Billerud with a platform for the future. The acquisition strengthens our product offer in the consumer sector, which is less sensitive to the economic cycle,” says Per Lindberg, CEO of Billerud.At present, bioplastic is primarily made of polylactic acid or starch mixed with compostable polyesters. The material is biologically degradable and compostable
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