Two specialties firms join SOCMA

Trade association Society of Chemical Manufacturers & Affiliates (SOCMA) said two specialty chemical producers, Omega Chemicals, Inc. and RBP Chemical Technology, have joined the group, as per Chemweek.

Omega is a custom manufacturer of textile, paper and personal care chemicals, while RBP provides chemicals for the printing, medical device and electronics markets.

Solvent recycler CleanPlanet Chemical has also joined SOCMA as a service provider.
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DuPont finalizes board of electronics spinoff

DuPont de Nemours Inc. has announced the completion of the board of directors for its independent electronics spinoff, Qnity Electronics Inc, as per Chemweek.

The company has named Mark Blinn board chairman and Yi Hyon Paik one of nine members of the future board. Qnity is expected to spin off on Nov. 1, 2025.

Previously, Blinn served as the CEO, president and director of Flowserve Corp. until he retired in 2017. He has also served as the CFO of FedEx’s Kinko’s Office and Print Services Inc. Currently, Blinn serves as a board member at Texas Instruments, Emerson Electric Co. and Globe Life Inc.

Paik has more than 20 years of experience in the semiconductor and electronics materials industry, DuPont said. Most notably, Paik served as the president and chief strategy officer of Samsung SDI as well as executive vice president and head of the electronics materials business at Samsung Cheil Industries. Paik also held various leadership roles at The Dow Chemical Company and Rohm & Haas. He currently serves on the board of directors of Orion SA.

In April, DuPont added Karin De Bondt and Anne Noonan to the nine-member board. The full board includes Shumeet Banerji, founder of Condorcet; Blinn; Terrence R. Curtin, CEO of TE Connectivity; De Bondt, senior vice president and chief strategy officer of Trane Technologies; Byron Green, former vice president of global operations for L3Harris Technologies; Kristina M. Johnson, former president of Ohio State University; Jon Kemp, president of DuPont’s electronics business and Qnity CEO-elect; Noonan, former president and CEO of Summit Materials; Paik; and Steven Sterin, senior advisor to McKinsey & Company and former CFO of Andeavor.

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Agilyx, Green Dot to collect waste polystyrene for advanced recycling in Europe

Agilyx ASA (Tigard, Oregon) has partnered with Der Grune Punkt (Green Dot; Cologne, Germany) to secure waste polystyrene (PS) feedstock for advanced recycling in Europe. Agilyx, which announced the news on June 10, intends to convert the waste to circular styrene monomer using its Styrenyx process, as per Chemweek.

The two companies have signed a memorandum of understanding that anticipates an initial target of collecting up to 20,000 metric tons per year of waste PS feedstock.

“It is the intention of the collaboration to prioritize supply of the recycled styrene monomer to brand-owner customers of Green Dot’s EPR business to help them in achieving the recycled content targets of the newly implemented Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation,” Agilyx said in its announcement.

Green Dot collects, sorts and recycles over 300,000 metric tons per year of used sales packaging products.

Toyo Styrene Company (Tokyo) started up a 10 metric ton per day Styrenyx demonstration plant at Chiba, Japan, in June 2024.

Agilyx in March 2025 said a cradle-to-gate product carbon footprint assessment by Sphera Solutions Inc. found that styrene produced via the Styrenyx process has 38% lower carbon equivalent emissions than conventionally produced styrene from fossil resources.

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Lianyungang-bound ethane tanker diverts to Reliance Industries amid US-China trade tensions

Ethane carrier STL Qianjiang, which usually moves between the US and China, has been diverted for delivery to final purchaser Reliance Industries Ltd. (RIL; Mumbai) at Dahej port, India, said Chemweek.

The ship was loaded at Energy Transfer's Nederland terminal in the US for China as the delivery destination. Later, on June 11, the carrier signaled Dahej port as its destination, according to sources and ship tracking data from S&P Global Commodities at Sea (CAS).

Amid a clear diversion from the usual route, there were assumptions that the cargo could be moved to India, which was acknowledged by a source at RIL on condition of anonymity.

“Total three ships carrying ethane going to China were canceled. One of these carriers was then booked by us,” said the company source, without commenting on the price or discount availed for the diverted cargo.

The other two cargoes heading to Lianyungang, China, have so far not changed their destinations, according to CAS data.

The very-large ethane carrier Gas Jessamine, which arrived at Energy Transfer's Orbit terminal in Texas on May 22, departed on May 23 with a cargo of ethane bound for Satellite Chemical’s Lianyungang, according to CAS data, while the Seri Elbert arrived at Orbit on May 26 and departed for Lianyungang on May 28.

Notably, Reliance also maintains its own six ethane carriers that are used to source the feedstock from the US, sources said on June 12.

Platts had reported on June 5 that neither of the US' two ethane exporters, Energy Transfer and Enterprise Products Partners, would be allowed to load ethane for shipments to China without first securing a license from the Bureau of Industry and Security, part of the US Department of Commerce.

China has about 4 million metric tons per year of ethane-based ethylene capacity — almost all independently owned — that requires about 248,000 b/d of ethane feedstocks, according to Commodity Insights’ calculations. The capacity is spread across five plants in eastern China’s Jiangsu, Zhejiang and Shandong provinces.

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Inox Air Products launches ultra-high-purity ammonia ISO tank container

India’s largest manufacturer of industrial and medical gases, INOX Air Products Ltd. (Inoxap; Mumbai), said it has launched India’s first ultra-high-purity (UHP) ammonia T-50 ISO tank container, as per Chemweek.

Built to meet the international standards including ASME Sec VIII, Div-1 with U-designated construction, the ISO tank incorporates technology specifically designed for ultra-high-purity ammonia applications, said the company.

“By developing India's first UHP ammonia ISO tank container with world-class specifications, we are not just creating a product but enabling an entire ecosystem that will accelerate semiconductor and solar panel manufacturing capabilities across the world, and reduce our dependence on imports for critical industrial equipment,” said Deepak Acharya, CEO - INOX India.

“These certifications make the tank export-ready and capable for adding strength to the global UHP gas supply chain as well, besides ensuring versatile transportation via rail, road and ocean, offering customers maximum logistical flexibility,” he added.

Inoxap is a 50/50 joint venture between Air Products & Chemicals Inc. and the Jain family, according to the company’s website.

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