Honeywell has started operations at its hydrofluoroolefins (HFO) manufacturing plant in Geismar, Louisiana, on Tuesday.
The company invested $300 million in the project, which it says is now the largest global site for HFO-1234yf production. Honeywell told CW that the plant’s capacity will not be disclosed for “confidential and proprietary reasons.”
HFO-1234yf, a hydroflurocarbon refrigerant for automobiles, is a “more environmentally preferable technolog[y] without sacrificing performance,” says Ken Gayer, vice president and general manager of Honeywel’s fluorine products business. Honeywell initially announced the investment toward building a HFO-1234yf plant in December 2013.
Ray Will, an analyst at IHS Chemical, told CW that there is “very strong double digit ramp in consumption” for HFO-1234yf as environmental impact becomes a growing global concern. Honeywell says that its HFO-1234yf refrigerant is currently adopted in 20 million vehicles and expected to reach 40 million vehicles by year’s-end.
By Jing Chen
Source: Chemical Week
The US State of New York is introducing two new bills to combat over-packaging, poor recycling rates and litter issues, including an Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) program requiring companies such as McDonald’s and Amazon to pay for the cost of packaging disposal and recycling.
The new organization’s mission is to redesign the critical steps of the plastics sorting and recycling system for post-consumer lightweight packaging (LWP) to speed up circularity, born from a need to meet the rising market demand for high-quality recyclates for use in high-end plastic applications.
Starbucks and Hubbub have launched a £1 million (US$1.22 million) “Bring It Back Fund” to increase the uptake of reusable packaging in the F&B industry. The funding will go toward innovative ideas that make it easier for customers to use alternatives to single-use packaging by supporting pilot projects that help shift consumption habits.
