Weekly Clips

Weekly Clips Current Issue

Industry Coalition Petitions EPA to Amend TSCA PFAS Reporting Rule

A coalition of chemical companies has petitioned the US EPA to amend its TSCA PFAS reporting rule to include categorical exemptions and production volume thresholds typically included in chemical reporting rules.

Read Full Article

US Tariffs, Customer Uncertainty Complicate Outlook for Huntsman

Market uncertainty caused by U.S. tariffs has dampened confidence across the supply chain and created a COVID-like scenario, according to Huntsman CEO Peter Huntsman. Speaking at the company’s earnings conference call, he said he expects most of the current supply and demand issues, which are largely being driven by the uncertainty, to be resolved within the next few months as trade deals and alternative supply lines and sources emerge.

Read Full Article

Huntsman Adds High-Purity Amines Capability at Texas Site

Specialty chemicals manufacturer Huntsman Corp. has expanded its manufacturing facility in Conroe to include new purification and packaging capabilities for semiconductor-grade chemicals, according to a press statement.

Read Full Article

US Celanese to Cut Rates if Demand Falters Further in Increasingly ‘Uncertain’ H2 – Execs

Celanese will aim to weather what is becoming an increasingly “uncertain” second half of 2025 by reducing inventories and keeping firm cost controls, but also by reducing operating rates if demand is not there, the CEO at the US-based acetyls and engineered materials producer said on Tuesday.

Read Full Article

Celanese Beats Quarterly Profit Estimates; Plans to Spin Off Electronics Segment

Specialty chemicals maker Celanese beat analysts' estimates for first-quarter profit on Monday, as cost-cutting measures helped offset lower sales, and announced plans to spin off its electronics segment.

Read Full Article

Circular Plastics from Cyclic Molecules

The molecular structure of polyesters enables a wide spectrum of recycling approaches, both mechanical and chemical. Somewhere in the middle ground between solvent-based extraction approaches and advanced recycling technologies that break down molecules all the way back to the monomer level, sits a company called Macrocycle.

Read Full Article

3 Ways ExxonMobil is Setting the Scene for Plastics Circularity

Plastics have widespread societal, health and safety benefits, and will continue to be, but plastic waste is a challenge. ExxonMobil is one company addressing this issue by investing heavily in advanced recycling technologies, infrastructure, and partnerships aimed at transforming plastic waste into valuable resources.

Read Full Article

Recycling Gets Smarter: AI Robots from Amazon-Backed Startup Are Sorting Waste in Seattle

Entering Recology’s recycling facility in South Seattle stuns your senses. The din from heavy machinery is continuous. While recycled goods are meant to be clean from food waste, your nose quickly knows that’s not happening. Crisscrossing the massive space is a highway of conveyor belts snaking in and out of devices that grind, toss and sort the plastic from paper from glass from cans.

Read Full Article

Chemical Execs Struggle to Assess Tariff Impacts

Amid a period of uncertainty that one executive calls a “fog,” chemical companies are doing damage assessment and honing their strategies to respond to the trade war that erupted a month ago.

Read Full Article

California Warning Label for Chemical Ruled Unconstitutional

California’s Proposition 65, requiring companies to warn consumers of carcinogens in their products, is unconstitutional as applied to food containing a dietary chemical often found in potato chips and french fries, a federal court ruled Friday.

Read Full Article

Improving Operational Efficiencies in Chemical Processing Plants

The chemical industry is one of the United States’ largest manufacturing industries, serving both a sizable domestic market and an expanding global market. The sector converts raw materials into more than 70,000 diverse products essential to modern life and distributes those products to more than 750,000 end users throughout the country. Several hundred thousand U.S. chemical facilities — ranging from petrochemical manufacturers to chemical distributors — utilize, manufacture, store, transport or deliver chemicals along a complex, global supply chain. It is also one of the top exporting sectors of U.S. manufacturing. The U.S. exported over $164 billion worth of chemicals in 2024. As a leader in chemical production, over 13 percent of the world’s chemicals come from the U.S.

Read Full Article

Why Do Americans Need Chemistry? The Answer’s All Around Us

Creating a stronger, more affordable America begins with recognizing the vital role of chemical manufacturers to the future of our nation. From national defense and energy independence to modern health care and resilient supply chains, chemistry is the driving force behind everyday products that businesses and families rely on. It brings stability to our economy, strengthens our competitiveness across global markets, and aids in technological innovation.

Read Full Article

Study: Household Plastics Globally Linked to Deaths from Heart Disease

Synthetic chemicals called phthalates, found in consumer products such as food storage containers, shampoo, makeup, perfume and children’s toys, may have contributed to more than 10% of all global mortality from heart disease in 2018 among men and women ages 55 through 64, a new study found.

Read Full Article

R&D Tax Credit Boost Shows Texas Is Not Resting on Low-Tax Laurels

In this era of heightened state tax competition, lawmakers in Texas recognize it’s unwise for even a no-income-tax state to rest on its laurels. They demonstrated as much last week with the Texas Senate’s unanimous passage of Senate Bill 2206, legislation that would both extend and strengthen the state’s research & development tax credit. Senator Paul Bettencourt (R), sponsor of SB 2206, calls it a “huge win for innovation.”

Read Full Article

Plastics Industry Pushed ‘Advanced Recycling’ Despite Knowing Problems – Report

Plastic producers have pushed “advanced recycling” as a salve to the plastic waste crisis despite knowing for years that it is not a technically or economically feasible solution, a new report argues.

Read Full Article

The Compelling Need for Academic Research on Industry Self-Regulation

Industry self-regulation, a form of “soft law,” has long been a key element in the governance of the U.S. economy, offering businesses a vehicle to establish and enforce standards that enhance consumer trust and promote fair competition in the marketplace.

Read Full Article

EPA Outlines Steps to Address PFAS Contamination

The US Environmental Protection Agency on April 28 announced a series of steps it plans to take to address per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS). In a news release, the agency lists 21 actions across three “principles”: strengthening the science, fulfilling statutory obligations and enhancing communication, and building partnerships.

Read Full Article

Trump’s Tariffs Spell Trouble for US Green Hydrogen

The sweeping new round of import tariffs may put the brakes on the US green hydrogen boom – just as it starts to gather steam.

Read Full Article

EPA Chemicals Office Reorganization Carries Risk to Agency Goals

The EPA announced an overhaul last week of its chemicals office with promises to provide greater efficiency, though industry and environmental policy analysts warn the changes could endanger the public and environment without delivering on the agency’s stated goal.

Read Full Article

Trump EPA to Speed Chemical Approvals, Slow Microplastics Research

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has announced a reorganization it says is aimed at reducing its backlog in approving new chemicals, while environmentalists are criticizing steep cuts in overall EPA spending that they say will "tear down" the agency.

Read Full Article

Centerpoint Energy Continues Preparations to Get Ready for 2025 Storm Season

As part of the official launch of National Hurricane Preparedness Week, CenterPoint Energy reminds customers and the public about the series of actions the company has taken to strengthen grid resiliency, improve local emergency coordination and help communities and customers better prepare for the 2025 hurricane season.

Read Full Article

Texas May Put Restraints on New Big Businesses Hoping to Tap into the Energy Grid

Under the bill, businesses wanting to plug into the grid must disclose whether they have similar requests elsewhere in Texas or out of state. Companies must tell ERCOT if their backup generators can meet at least 50% of their power. During an emergency, ERCOT could instruct facilities to use that power, instead of the grid. Another provision allows ERCOT to shut off a facility’s power in an emergency. ERCOT must give the facilities a day’s notice.

Read Full Article

Texas Senate’s Property Tax Relief Bills Passed by House Committee

Senate Bill 4 would raise the homestead property tax exemption for 5.7 million homeowners across the state, while SB 23 would give additional relief to homeowners over age 65 as well as disabled homeowners.

Read Full Article

Texas Bills Could Shut Down Existing Wind, Solar Farms: 'I Cannot Recall Legislation as Damaging.'

Texas Republicans are getting closer than ever to killing the state's renewable energy boom, according to the clean energy industry - not only by halting new development in its tracks, but also by possibly sending scores of existing projects to an early grave.

Read Full Article

Food Restriction Bills Show a 'Nanny State' Mentality That Has No Place in Texas | Opinion

Let’s be clear: Texans can trust the safety of the products they buy. The ingredients in our food and beverages are safe: No country in the world has banned them. Our food and beverage manufacturers are already held to rigorous standards by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), an agency that ensures consumer safety. The push for warning labels isn’t about transparency. It’s about fearmongering, and inappropriate and disproportionate control.

Read Full Article

Texas Bottle Bill Plan Has Bipartisan Support, PET Industry Backing

It's been decades since any U.S. state passed a new bottle bill, but some see opportunity in a very unlikely spot, Texas, where a bipartisan coalition of lawmakers has gained traction with a plan backed by some plastics and packaging groups.

Read Full Article

Industry News