The Biodegradable Plastic Straw PHA Research Group, comprised of researchers from Georgia University (UGA), graduate students and renowned alumni, collaborated with the RWDC Foundation to synthesize a food grade polymer that will be used to develop a commercial A viable straw raw material. The development of biodegradable plastics is related to awards from the Temasek Eco Foundation in Singapore. The $71,000 award is the highest award in the first Life Ability Challenge and was awarded to RWDC Industries in Singapore in July.

RWDC and the New Materials Institute will develop prototypes to demonstrate that straw production capacity meets global demand and is fully biodegradable in soil, freshwater and seawater. Most of the testing will be conducted at the RWDC-funded Foundation’s New Materials Research Laboratory.

The plastics are made from a plant-based material called polylactic acid (PLA), which is labeled “biodegradable plastics” and can be composted in a limited environment, but they are not completely degraded. Polylactic acid is a new type of bio-based and renewable biodegradable material made from starch raw materials proposed by renewable plant resources. The starch raw material is obtained by saccharification to obtain glucose, and then glucose and a certain strain are fermented to produce high-purity lactic acid, and then a certain molecular weight polylactic acid is synthesized by chemical synthesis. It has good biodegradability. After use, it can be completely degraded by microorganisms in nature under certain conditions, and finally produces carbon dioxide and water, which does not pollute the environment. This is very beneficial to the environment and is recognized as an environmentally friendly material.

Jason Rocklin, director of the Institute of New Materials, professor of chemistry at the Franklin College of Arts and Sciences, and head of the School of Engineering, said: “Plastics made from PLA can only be degraded in industrial composting environments at high temperatures. Other types of plastics are based on petroleum. Foundation, the recovery rate of these plastics is less than 10%. Non-renewable 90% of the material will eventually break over time, and the remaining plastic as micronized will remain in the soil, rivers and oceans forever.

The RWDC Real World Design Challenge is an educational program and event for young people around the world. It is designed to help young people to apply science, art, technology, engineering and mathematics to relevant knowledge through project-based learning. A real world of the future. The competition requires students to have a solid foundation in science, innovative spirit, willing to invest time to complete the project, excellent English and good cooperation. The theme of the 2017-2018 season was to design an unmanned aerial vehicle system that accurately sprays pests and diseases that occur randomly in a designated area of cornfields and develops a business plan for the commercial operation of the system. RWDC encourages students to combine business acumen, problem-solving skills and leadership development to learn critical thinking so they can better understand the job skills required for this fast-paced, ever-changing society.

According to the business community monitoring: on August 23, the domestic price of 27.5% hydrogen peroxide was raised again. The average market price was 1,138 yuan / ton, a daily increase of 1.22%, up 3.27% from the beginning of the week.

The rising market is mainly concentrated in Hebei and Shandong, and the performance in Anhui and other regions is relatively stable. Hebei Zhengyuan offer 950 yuan / ton, daily increase of 50 yuan / ton; Hebei Xinhua offer 920 yuan / ton, daily increase of 20 yuan / ton; Shandong Haineng offer 980 yuan / ton, daily increase of 70 yuan / ton; Shandong Hengtong The price is 1,000 yuan / ton, the daily increase is 40 yuan / ton; Shandong Huatai offer 960 yuan / ton, the daily increase of 20 yuan / ton; Shandong Mingshui offer 920 yuan / ton, the daily increase of 20 yuan / ton. The mainstream price in Anhui is 1100-1200 yuan/ton, and the price is stable. The mainstream price in Zhejiang is 1,300 yuan / ton, holding steady.

The hydrogen peroxide analyst of the business community believes that: in late August, the hydrogen peroxide manufacturers in the northern region have raised their prices, and the southern region is relatively stable. This is because the traditional consumption season is approaching, and the south market may usher in a rising tide. The hydrogen peroxide market is easy to rise and fall.

Xinhua News Agency, Xining, August 22 (Reporter Luo Xiaofei, Deng Wanli) After 60 years of development and construction, China’s potash industry has been expanding, from relying entirely on imports to the current self-sufficiency rate of nearly 60%, greatly enhancing the right to speak in the international potash market and promoting China’s food production.

This is what the reporter learned from the 2018 Potash Potash Conference and the Golmud Salt Lake Forum on the 21st. Potassium is one of the three major nutrient fertilizers for crops, and plays a pivotal role in ensuring agricultural production and food security. China is a country with potassium deficiency, and its resource reserves only account for about 2% of the world.

It is understood that China’s proven resource reserves are mainly in the Salt Lake Potash Mine, mainly distributed in the Qaidam Basin of Qinghai and the Lop Nur area of Xinjiang. With the completion of the two major potash bases, especially in the past ten years, China has broken through the low-grade solid potassium salt, tailings utilization, deep brine mining and other technologies, so that the potassium salt can be multiplied.

It is located in Chaerhan Salt Lake, Golmud City, Haixi Mongolian Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, Qinghai Province, with a total area of 5,856 square kilometers. It is the largest soluble potassium and magnesium deposit in China. In 1958, the first batch of Salt Lakers went deep into the Gobi desert, overcoming the harsh natural conditions, and relied on people to pull the shoulder to produce 950 tons of potash, officially opening the prelude to China’s potash industry production.

In the past 60 years, China’s potash industry has grown from scratch, from small to large, from weak to strong, forming a complete set of industrial systems such as scientific research, design, equipment manufacturing, construction and installation, production, sales, and agrochemical services. The strength has been continuously enhanced, and its potash production technology and single-set production capacity have reached the international leading level.

On August 17, according to media reports, an internal internal memo obtained earlier on Friday showed that the main union of the Caserones mine in Chile had accepted a revised contract proposal from the employer, thus avoiding the threat of strike.

First, the price trend

According to the price monitoring of the business community, as of August 15, the average domestic methanol market price was 2,988 yuan / ton, the overall market conditions rebounded slightly, the price rose 27.81% over the same period last year.

Second, the market analysis

Products: The domestic methanol market has been boosted by the futures surge. The two ports in East China and South China have risen by 70-130 yuan/ton. Some of the low-end follow-ups are good, but with the partial shipments gradually In Hong Kong, the amount of concealed goods in the reservoir area has increased significantly, and it is necessary to pay close attention to the outflow of this part of the volume. The new price of the main methanol producing area in the Mainland is 2590-2620 yuan/ton, and some shipments are still acceptable. Under the market phase, the center of gravity of Lunan, Shanxi and Henan will be moved up cautiously, but the local downstream receiving is still positive.

Industry chain: Formaldehyde: Recently, the domestic formaldehyde market has a general trend. Due to the decline of raw materials, the local trading atmosphere is slightly more general. Acetic acid: The domestic glacial acetic acid market has risen steadily. Due to the recent company’s downside, short-term failure and planned maintenance news, the company’s spot continued to be tight, so some offers rose. Downstream buying is just needed, and the acceptance of acetic acid price increases is not good. Dimethyl ether: The terminal deducted the market and digested the inventory. Most of the companies’ sales pressure increased significantly in recent days, but the inventory level was overall controllable, and the overall price trend of dimethyl ether stabilized.

Third, the market outlook

Business community view: On the positive side, under the influence of environmental protection, Shanxi and North Jiangsu coke oven gas methanol projects are still affected. Although some methanol plants in northern Jiangsu have been restored, but the products have not yet been produced, the resource supply in the region is still in a state of tension; Jiangsu MTO The annual overhaul has been basically completed. It is expected that the restart will be expected in advance, and it needs to be closely watched. At present, the external disk negotiation is still firm, and the Southeast Asian large-scale installation plans to be overhauled in the near future. At that time, the subsequent supply will shrink, specifically to be tracked; methanol, PP and PTA, etc. Commodity futures rose again, and continued to consolidate at a high level, which is good for the operator’s operational mentality. For the bearish side, the overall demand for downstream demand at the current stage is still cautious. The transfer of local cargo volume in Shandong and North China to the downstream is temporarily general, and some buyers are mainly waiting to see; the domestic and import arrivals are relatively concentrated recently, and the port inventory is still in place. Slowly accumulating; in the previous period, the amount of land and deck cover was large, and the domestically produced domestic cargoes were gradually concentrated in the port impact, so be vigilant. The methanol analyst of the business community expects that in the short-term market, there is no major change in the supply and demand side of the methanol market. The low inventory of the manufacturers and the downstream demand are general. The market is cautiously operating. The market is expected to be short-term, and the downstream receiving goods will be Hong Kong and futures trends, etc.