Tag Archives: Manufacturing

U.S. Chemical Balance of Trade Will Turn Positive If New Administration Changes Tax Law

Posted on November 15, 2016 by

As an unreconstructed cheerleader for the petrochemical industry and its massive exports, it has always been annoying to me that our balance of trade is nevertheless negative due to our similarly massive import of pharmaceuticals. The line with dots represents the … Continue reading →

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Fish drowning in plastic garbage!

Posted on October 31, 2016 by

Here is an interesting sequence from someone who has happily chronicled the amazing growth of petrochemicals over the past sixty years: (a) Dustin Hoffman learns about  “plastics” from a Dutch uncle upon graduation (b) Ethylene becomes the largest-growing petrochemical and … Continue reading →

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Chemical Manufacturing: Worker education a new priority

Posted on June 8, 2016 by

 First, the good news! The U.S., perhaps surprisingly to some, has now topped China in Manufacturing Competitiveness, according to a Deloitte study. The other news is not necessarily bad, but is worth noting. Jobs in manufacturing have been changing rapidly, … Continue reading →

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Projecting carbon fiber composites for mass auto market: Several factors are involved

Posted on July 15, 2015 by

This blog has periodically posted articles on the growing use of carbon fiber composites, noting their strength and light weight, relative to steel, and their downside of high cost.  These materials are now in prime use in large airliners and in … Continue reading →

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All solar; all the time

Posted on March 2, 2015 by

Can a sentence including the words “solar” and “Tesla” make sense. Cars can not run on solar roof panels, but such a sentence would make sense if it also includes Elon Musk who is the CEO of both his eponymous car company … Continue reading →

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Nanocrystals for tagging: A possible breakthrough

Posted on February 16, 2015 by

Research carried out at MIT and funded by the National Science Foundation, the Army Research Office and National Institute of Health has led to the successful development  of tiny, smartphone-readable particles that, inventors say, could be used to authenticate currency (see also … Continue reading →

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Chemicals Manufacturing: New Technologies, New Thinking

Posted on December 28, 2014 by

Consider this quote from a high level Chinese spokesman: As supply of capital, land and other factors is on the decline and resource and environmental restriction become more serious, the proportion of first and second industries, which consume capital, land … Continue reading →

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