Chemical Industry Dynamics

Alex Davila

Chemical Industry dynamics:

The Chemical industry gives us many essential components that we use in our daily lives. Chemicals are everywhere and society depends in some way on chemicals. In the other hand chemicals can also be harmful to us and the environment. Since there is harm to humans and the environment some regulations have to be passed around the world to control those harmful chemicals ("Chemicals, 2010). The global chemical industry is worth $3.7 trillion US and is responsible for $1.6 US in annual trade. The industry is roughly divided in three locations, the Americas, Asia, and the last part in Europe ("Industry Competitiveness," 2009).

Impact of regulations/deregulations

The Chemical industry has many toxic chemicals in the packing, surfaces or contents of many products may cause long term health problems, including cancer. The public is pushing the government for stronger regulations on them. A newspaper revealed how Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) scientists have failed to identify a chemical that is harmful for children and it has stalled altogether. It also revealed how the EPA allows chemical companies to keep new information about the chemicals they test a secret. Some of these chemicals can cause cancer and respiratory problems. The public wants the government to get tougher and do some changes to the Toxic Substances Control Act of 1976 (Kissinger, 2009). The government has showed interest in revising and reforming the Toxic Substances Control Act, since the task is so complex they might resolve it until the 113th Congress convenes in 2013 ("US chem leader calls for speedy reform of toxic substances act.," 2011).

The European Union passed a law in 2007 called REACH which stands for registration, evaluation, authorization and restriction of chemical substances. REACH was put in force to protect human health and the environment. The law will required from chemical companies to provide safety information about the chemicals and substances they are working with. Chemical companies that were creating high amounts of suspicious chemicals will be tested by REACH to verify they are not harmful to human health and the environment ("REACH," 2011). Legislators around the world would be watching very closely how the law REACH works out; if it is a success they may follow the same path. REACH has two deadlines that are very crucial for the legislation to know if it is working or not, the deadlines are in 2013 and 2018 which the world is waiting for (Turley, 2010).

China has also passed regulations on hazardous chemicals. The state council of China just published a revised version of Regulations on Safe management of Hazardous Chemicals in China on March 2011. This regulation has clauses in the production, storage, use, sale and transporting the hazardous chemicals. The legislation also required the companies to register any chemicals they are working with. Any offenders of the regulation would face a maximum penalty of $152,000 US. This regulation will come into force December 1, 2011 ("Regulations on Safe Management of Hazardous Chemicals in China," 2011).

Chemical Industry Technology

The chemical industry is finding ways to reduce energy usage. The chemical industry used around 6% of the energy in the United States in 2008. The companies are investing more in renewable raw materials; they are creating products that enable energy savings, the companies are also recycling waste; for example, getting the waste water from a city to generate high-pressure steam and is used again to cool the towers until it finally evaporates into the atmosphere (Patt, 2009).

The chemical industry is trying to merge with the nanotechnology. The nanotechnology is the science of manipulating and characterizing matter at the atomic molecular level. The new technology will help with the production of new catalyst, coatings, filtration technologies and other end products. The nanotechnology is getting involved in the chemistry and materials science ("Nanotechnology," 2009). The use of renewable feedstock (raw materials) to replace oil and natural gas can be accomplished by the new advances in biotechnology and chemistry. The renewable resources are sugarcane, corn, cellulosic biomass and renewably sourced syngas. One of the biggest companies already have a head start using renewable resources to create a new fiber called Sorona, which is made from corn (Schilling, 2010).

Globalization

Globalization is very important in any business; the chemical industries look for opportunities in the growing regional markets of the world. Estimates from the United Nations said that by 2025 around 67% of the world populations will be