CHEMICAL INDUSTRY PLAYS A VITAL ROLE IN COVID-19 RESPONSE
Dean Curtis, President and CEO of ICIS (Independent Commodity Intelligence Services) says we often forget how vital the chemical industry is to our well-being, safety and daily lives. The stigma around the issue of plastics waste in the environment often overshadows the progress the industry has made in becoming one of the more sustainable producers of critical products. In recent months, it has never been clearer
just how important and responsive this industry is when faced with a global health crisis. The world has been left reeling from the impact of coronavirus and the chemical industry has stepped in with speed and agility to help struggling health authorities get the materials they need to help fight the virus - protecting our people on the front line to save lives. Life-critical materials from chemical
suppliers are required to produce antibacterial wipes, hand sanitiser, disinfectants, surfactants for soaps and personal protective equipment (PPE) such as masks, gowns and face shields. By supporting a robust supply of such products, the chemical industry is helping control the spread of the virus. Alongside a huge swing of production
towards isopropyl alcohol (IPA) and ethanol, used in the production of hand sanitiser, many chemical companies have acted to directly meet the spike in demand for the final hand sanitizer product. INEOS built two new plants in the UK and
Germany in just 10 days to produce hand sanitiser, which it is now distributing free to health authorities. Two more such plants were built in the Arkansas and Pennsylvania in the US, in under 10 days. INEOS sites in
Grangemouth, Scotland and Moers and Herne in Germany and Lavéra in France have also been running at capacity to produce the IPA and ethanol needed to support the new plants. Dow has announced four additional global
sites for sanitiser production which, including its existing facility in Germany, takes expected production to more than 200 metric tons. Again, the sanitizer will be free of charge to health authorities. There are many examples where our industry
has come together, stepped up and supported the fight against Covid-19. As the industry continues to pivot its production capacity in response to the pandemic, it is doing so in a market landscape in which chemical prices due to the virus have plummeted. The ICIS Petrochemical Index (IPEX) in April
plunged 18% from March, and 37% year on year on a global basis. The second quarter is expected to be the worst in terms of financial performance for the industry as demand collapsed amid the lockdowns. Alongside cleaning and sanitising products,
polyethylene (PE) for food packaging and polypropylene (PP) for PPE are crucial in disease prevention. Although critical to the Covid-19 response, demand and pricing for these materials have also slumped in automotive, construction and consumer durables. For an industry born out of innovation and
pivotal to society, the chemical industry will remain strong. Under the pressures which a crisis brings, organisations will have to find better and new ways of doing things, summoning the creativity to adapt to a new normal with the conditions and opportunities this brings.
GUIDANCE ON MAINTAINING INSPECTION EQUIPMENT
With the Covid-19 pandemic ongoing and manufacturing businesses having to re- prioritise their procedures and practices, LOMA Systems are taking steps to ensure that their customers are maintaining their inspection equipment. The ‘Check & Detect’ manufacturer has
published a set of guidelines that provide a number of simple actions to keep inspection equipment problem-free. The guidelines are available to view on their website at
https://www.loma.com/nl-nl/about- us/news-and-press-releases/keeping-you- operational. Included in the guidelines are regular testing
requirements, maintenance, cleaning best practice tips, spare parts advice and contacts for
support. Commenting on the guidelines, LOMA’s Director of Marketing & Innovation, Toby Kemp, said: “As businesses are trying to deal with the ongoing implications of the current health climate, we wanted to provide them with a simple and practical guide to enable them to keep their inspection equipment functioning.”
www.aquameter.co.uk ww
quameter.co
FILLING A POTENTIAL VACUUM
www.icis.com
Portable Vacuum Solutions has started to build its own vacuum units. With a hire fleet in excess of 60 machines and buoyant sales, the question of what happens after Brexit and the possible uncertain availability of new vacuum units to replace aging machines, is the main reason for this move. James Ilott, sales manager of Portable Vacuum
Solutions, said: “As part of the IBS Group, we have the engineering capability to manufacture our own machines. In fact, the first two that we built ourselves entered our hire fleet some months ago and are both working perfectly well.” The IBS FVP25HS heavy duty vacuum units can,
when fitted with a 75mm pipe, comfortably handle material up to 50mm along with sludges and oils. It can be supplied either mounted on a 1m³ skip or hopper-mounted for discharging into a FIBC. With a conveying rate of 3 tonnes per hour, this is
the ideal machine for everyday factory maintenance. Fixed vacuum outlets, which can be linked to the FVP25HS by 75mm pipework, are effective up to 50m away. Maintenance teams then need only to attach a flexible hose fitted with one of a range of different tools for routine cleaning.
www.portablevacuumsolutions.co.uk
www.loma.com
PROCESS & CONTROL | JUNE 2020
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