international
Finland moves to build petrochemical industry Increasing petrochemical activities, centered near Helsinki, include ethylene, butadiene, various plastics In Finland, where the chemical and engineering life is in the fields of pulp and paper technology, ore processing, heavy industrial inorganic chemicals, and fertilizers, plans are unfolding that will put the country on a solid petrochemical footing. Indeed, to hear Helsinki business leaders talk, Finland will shortly become a factor on the international petrochemicals and plastics scene. That is news that must surely be glumly received by established chemical firms in Europe and elsewhere that have been complaining about overcapacity and weak prices. Skoldvik, along the coast some 25 miles east of Helsinki, is the location of the country's nascent petrochemical activities. There, a vinyl chloride plant of Pekema, Oy., started up only last month. When fully operating, it will turn out product at the rate of 50,000 metric tons annually. A polyvinyl chloride unit started up a few weeks earlier. Both are sited near a low-density polyethylene plant that Pekema brought on stream at the beginning of the year. Also at Skoldvik, Stymer, Oy., is readying a polystyrene facility that will be in production later this year. At nearby Porvoo, Kymin, Oy., has just begun making phthalic anhydride. All
Heart of Skoldvik complex Is naphtha cracker, in operation since late last year told, more than $100 million will have been spent on the Skoldvik petrochemical complex by 1975. At the heart of this complex is a Lummus-designed naphtha cracker belonging to Neste, Oy., the Finnish government-owned oil company. The cracker, in operation since late last year, is designed to produce nearly 166,000 metric tons of ethylene yearly using naphtha from Neste's refinery there.
Nine plants make up) core of FinlamJ's nascent pel rochemi cal industry Company
Plant location
Neste, Oy.
Skoldvik
Ethylene Butadiene
Kymin, Oy.
Porvoo
Pekema, Oy.
Skoldvik
Stymer, Oy.
Skoldvik
a Thousands of metric tons.
12
C&EN July 10, 1972
Products
Annual capacity3
Status
166 20
On stream 1974
Phthalic anhydride Plasticizers Polyester resins
15 6 5
On stream On stream On stream
Polyethylene, low density Polyvinyl chloride Vinyl chloride
80
On stream
30 50
On stream Starting up
Polystyrene
20
Nearing completion
The ethylene is piped over the fence to Pekema's low-density polyethylene and vinyl chloride plants. The C-3 and C-4 coproduct streams are being recycled back to the refinery for blending into gasoline feedstocks. But Neste has just unveiled a plan for extracting butadiene from these streams; that plan strongly suggests that the propylene, too, will some day be recovered. Pekema uses National Distillers' technology to make low-density polyethylene in its new 80,000 metric-ton-a-year plant. Some 70% of output will be sold in Finland; the balance exported. Vinyl chloride will be made by combination chlorinat ion-oxy chlorination · of ethylene using technology licensed from Belgium's Solvay and the U.K.'s Imperial Chemical Industries. These two companies are also supplying Pekema with know-how for emulsion and suspension polymerization. The polymer plant will have an initial capacity of 30,000 metric tons per year. This will be raised to 50,000 metric tons by early next year. The additional 20,000 tons available annually will be sold abroad. Partners in Pekema include Neste, Enso-Gutzeit, Oy. (the largest pulp and paper company in Finland and government-owned), Kymin, Paraisten Kalkki, Oy. (a large privately
H o w your competitors may be saving money on polymerization. Time after time, people are discovering that PPG's peroxydicarbonate initiators cut costs on free radical polymerization. For P V C , PPG initiators save money because they're faster and more efficient. They give easier polymerization control w i t h a c o n stant polymerization rate. A n d easier termination of a batch polymerization than w i t h other c o m m o n l y used peroxides.
For p o l y e t h y l e n e , our initiators save money by increasing the prod u c t i o n of l o w - and m e d i u m - d e n s i t y polymers. A n d they give y o u superior quality polymers, w i t h less residue than other peroxides. PPG peroxydicarbonates are, of course, reactive, and require storage at 0 F. But this reactivity is just w h a t makes them give high yields, linear conversions, and l o w residuals. A n d y o u have your choice of three types— IPP (diisopropyl peroxydicarbonate), NPP ( d i - n - p r o p y l peroxydicarbonate), and SBP ( d i - s e c - b u t y l peroxydicarbonate).
PPG originated percarbonates in the 1940s. This leadership gives us unmatched experience in use, h a n d l i n g , and storage. A n d w e ' r e d e pendable. W e haven't missed a delivery in 1 5 years. Write for complete information to PPG Industries, Inc., Chemical D i v i sion, One Gateway Center, Pittsburgh, Pa. 1 5 2 2 2 . PPG : a Concern for the F u t u r e CIRCLE 12 O N RÎADER SERVICE CARD
Chemicals
PW INDUSTRIES
Bechtel has outstanding opportunities for demonstrated ability. When it comes to
ENGINEERS
engineering in the
DESIGNERS
prOCeSS indUStneS,
EXPERIENCE + CAPABILITIES = BECHTEL.
DRAFTSMEN
D
. AU ,
Required background i n engineering
projects involvingrefineries
·
pulp and paper, chemical
And that m e a n s . . . The Bechtel Engineer.
or petrochemical plants. Current openings in: process design · electrical · cost · mechanical · piping · structural · vessels · planning and scheduling ·
Send resume or request for empioyment information to any area office below. Fifty Beale Street San Francisco, CA 94105
14
C&EN July 10, 1972
P. 0. Box 1690 New York, NY 10017
P. 0. Box 2166 Houston, TX 77001
Bechtei is an equal opportunity employer m/f.
P. 0. Box 1000 Ann Arbor, Ml 48106
5250 Ferrier Street Montreal 307 Quebec, Canada (Bechtel & Co.)
owned cement and plastics producer), and other private interests. Neste also has a stake in Stymer along with Rikkihappo, Oy.—the governmentowned fertilizer and inorganic chemicals giant—Kymin, and Paraisten Kalkki. Styrene will be supplied, at least initially, by Gulf Oil from its production facilities in Rotterdam, the Netherlands. It's conceivable, however, that styrene, too, will be made eventually at Skoldvik. There will certainly be sufficient ethylene at hand. And Neste could provide benzene should it decide to go ahead with an aromatics separation unit. The 20,000 metric tons of polystyrene that the new Skoldvik plant will be able to produce will be more than enough to supply Finland's current domestic needs of the polymer, running between 12,000 and 15,000 metric tons each year. Having a local supply of styrene would also make sense should the Finns decide to use Neste's butadiene, available in 1974, for conversion to styrenebutadiene rubber. Nokia, Oy., a private company and the country's only tiremaking firm, now imports some 5000 metric tons of SBR annually. The fourth major petrochemical operation in the Skoldvik neighborhood belongs to Kymin, also privately owned. Its new 15,000 metric-ton-a-year phthalic anhydride plant is based on technology licensed from West Germany's Badische Anilin-& Soda-Fabrik. In 1970, Kymin completed a 6000-metric-ton annual capacity phthalic anhydridebased plasticizers plant and a 5000metric-ton polyester resins unit. Whether the ethylene and propylene glycols that Kymin uses will eventually be made locally hasn't been decided. Neste will export most of the butadiene, at least initially, as well as the ethylene left over after local needs have been met. Toward this end, the company has ordered a 4100-cubic-meter capacity ship that is being designed to make year-round trips through the Baltic. "We are fully aware of the current oversupply situation in the European petrochemicals business," Neste's Tero Vàisânen remarked to C&EN in Helsinki. "However, we think we will be able to win a place in the market. Besides," he adds, "by the time our products become available, chances are that the European demand will once again have caught up with, and hopefully exceeded, supply, depending, of course, on how the capacity cycle goes. " One fact that is quite evident in all of the new petrochemical plans is that the Finns are bent upon running the operations on their own. "This is in line with our policy of political independence and self-determination," Mr. Vâisànen points out. The policy is understandable since the Finnish government is ever watchful that it walk the delicate diplomatic tightrope imposed upon it by its geographical location between two politically diverse life styles.
Exxon name may face legal battle in Europe "Project Nugget" was the code name under which Standard Oil (N.J.) executives worked toward creation of a name to replace the well-known Esso, Enco, and Humble tradenames. For reasons going back to the antitrust splitup of the old Standard Oil Co. in 1911, their use is prohibited in certain geographical areas of the U.S. Six years and possibly about $100 million after initiation of Project Nugget, and aided by computerized sifting and careful evaluation by consultants of the many name possibilities, Exxon finally emerged and was officially announced in May. This month the new tradename will start to appear throughout the 25,000 U.S. service stations and on the tankers of Jersey Standard's domestic operating arm, Humble Oil and Refining Co., soon to change its name to Exxon Co. But to hear one tell it, the executives, philologists, psychologists, and others might have saved themselves the trouble, and their company considerable expense, had they relaxed over an enjoyable lunch on the French Riviera and given the matter some thought. For that is how Dr. Robert S. Aries, a consultant and president of Prochim, a Monacobased chemical manufacturing firm, claims he and his associates came up with the same name and close variations of it. Dr. Aries is saying that he registered Chemexon in France as far back as 1965, and subsequently followed this with Exon, Petrolexon, Rexxon, and even XX, to denote a wide range of products and services. "Not only are they registered, but, more to the point, they are being commercially used," he tells C&EN's London bureau head Dermot Ο'Sullivan. Whether Exxon will become the focal point of an international and costly legal squabble, only time will tell. When hearing word in his Paris office that Standard Oil (N.J.) had decided to go with the name, Dr. Aries, gleefully rub bing his hands, said: "Looks like we're heading for a fight. But I don't mind a bit. I love a fight." In a gesture of impishness, he has sent many of the top executives at Jersey Standard and Humble lithographs prepared by a prominent Paris artist friend of his which depict Exxon in its various forms. The people at Jersey Standard, for their «part, don't appear to be particu larly fazed by the claim that their new found tradename is already registered and in use abroad. "The Exxon trade mark is registered in France and else where in the world where Jersey affili ates operate. We have title to the Exxon trademark and we are confident that our rights to it are protected," they say. What the situation points up is that the task of selecting, for a product or a service, a name that will be catchy,
Aries: like poker or roulette simple, and prone to instant recognition by the masses is fraught with problems, computer assistance notwithstanding. Thousands of new brand names and trademarks are being registered each month around the world, and patent attorneys have been assisting clients to keep a weather eye out for possible in fringement of their right. More recently, there have emerged a number of special ized services to keep a worldwide watch on a client's tradenames or trademarks. In London, for instance, Trade Marks Directory Service has on its books more than 15,000 trademarks and tradenames of some 1000 clients. The company charges about $30 per item each year to monitor 150 countries. Others are Transpatent, in Dusseldorf, West Germany, Union des Fabricants in Paris, and Gevers in Antwerp, which initiated a computerized service a few years ago. Companies jealously guard proprie tary rights to their products' trade names. Although they are pleased if the tradename pops easily into people's minds, nevertheless they continually live in the shadow of apprehension lest, through popularity and frequent use, the word might merge into the lexicog raphy and out of their legal reach. Such has happened with brand names that now have become household words such as cellophane and nylon in the U.S., and bakélite in many countries abroad. Kodak is an example of one of the best protected tradenames filed throughout the world and vigorously defended. In addition to having a recognizable and easily pronounceable sound, it has the added advantage of having no intrinsic meaning in any language, nor being part of any word. A few weeks ago, West Germany's Farbenfabriken Bayer emerged successfully from lengthy and costly litigation proceedings against Sterling-Winthrop July 10, 1972 C&EN
15
A M E R I C A N CHEMICAL SOCIETY
ACS Short Courses
FINAL FALL SESSIONS The following ACS Short Courses complete the schedule for 1972. ACS members who are unemployed may enroll in any regularly scheduled course free of charge. The course descriptions below are necessarily sketchy. For complete information, write or call Department of Educational Activities, American Chemical Society, 1155—16th St., N.W., Washington, D.C. (202-7373337 ext. 258). ELECTROORGANIC SYNTHESIS Oct. 13-14—Albany, N.Y. Norman L. Weinberg, fee $90. Surveys the major areas of electroorganic synthesis including the techniques for carrying out these reactions. Will be of special interest to those who would like to examine the electrochemical method as a useful synthetic tool, a novel research area, or as a method of improving an existing chemical process or scaling up a new one. X-RAY DIFFRACTION FOR INDUSTRIAL CHEMISTS Oct. 14-15—San Francisco, Calif.—at the joint Western Regional Meeting/Pacific Conference on Chemistry and Spectroscopy (Oct. 16-20). Robert J. Fredericks; fee $90; required text, B. D. Cullity, "Elements of X-Ray Diffraction," $15. For chemists newly entering the field of x-ray diffraction. Deals with those areas most often practiced in industrial laboratories, including the characterization of polymers and powder diffraction and its applications, such as qualitative and quantitative analysis, the determination of crystallite size, and polymorphism and isomorphism. CHEMICAL MARKETING Oct. 26-28 —Washington, D.C. Nov. 16-18—Chicago, III. Dec. 6 - 8 —New York City Newman H. Giragosian, Hal G. Johnson, and F. J. Prescott; fee $140, including two textbooks. For those wishing to attend both Business Aspects of Chemistry Dec. 4 - 5 (see below) and Chemical Marketing Dec. 6-8, there is a special combined fee of $195. A new course designed to present the elements of marketing to those associated with the marketing effort peripherally or who expect to enter the marketing area. Topics include nature and scope of the marketing function; how marketing is carried out by various size companies; roles of the different marketing personnel; role of the middleman; supporting functions such as market development, technical service, advertising. MODERN LIQUID CHROMATOGRAPHY Oct. 27-28—Midland, Mich. Lloyd R. Snyder and J . J. Kirkland; fee $90; required text, J. J. Kirkland, éd., "The Modern Practice of Liquid Chromatography," $15. A basic introduction to the principles and practice of modern—high speed, high efficiency—liquid chromatography. Covers theory, applications, equipment, and techniques for each of the important areas of modern LC: liquid-liquid (partition), liquid-solid (adsorption), ion-exchange, gel permeation, gel filtration. Emphasis is on practical aspects. 16
C&EN July 10, 1972
MAINTAINING AND TROUBLESHOOTING CHROMATOGRAPHIC SYSTEMS Nov. 3-4—Atlantic City, N.J.—at the Eastern Analytical Symposium (Oct. 31-Nov. 2). Dec. 1-2—Houston, Tex. John Q. Walker, Minor T. Jackson, and M. P. T. Bradley; fee $90. Presents the practical aspects of maintaining and troubleshooting GC and LC systems. Intended primarily for bench chemists and technicians. Registrants should have some background and operating experience in GC and/or LC. ION-CONTAINING POLYMERS Nov. 30-Dec. 2—New York City area. Adi Eisenberg and M. Fred Hoover; fee $115. Provides an introduction to organic ion-containing polymers. Topics include synthesis, structure, the glass transition, equilibrium moduli, viscoelastic properties. Special emphasis on industrial applications, including coagulants, flocculants, dewatering aids, gels, paper retention aids, electro-conductive coatings, membranes, and electrodeposition coatings. BUSINESS ASPECTS OF CHEMISTRY Dec. 4-5—New York City. Aimison Jonnard; fee $90. For those wishing to attend both Business Aspects of Chemistry Dec. 4 - 5 and Chemical Marketing Dec. 6 - 8 (see above), there is a special combined fee of $195. Designed to give chemists and chemical engineers a pragmatic introduction to the business and economic practices which govern the management of chemical corporations. Because business and economic aspects are becoming more critical relative to technological factors, the course will emphasize competitive aspects of the chemical business. MINICOMPUTERS AND INTERFACING A ONE-WEEK LABORATORY COURSE Dec. 3-8—Virginia Polytechnic Institute, Blacksburg, Va. Raymond E. Dessy and David G. Larsen; fee $275. Provides in-depth training in the design and buildup of interface packages. The course is built around handson laboratory sessions each day, for which six computers will be available. Using a unique multi-purpose interface assembly, the participant learns to develop interface packages for use between analytical equipment and a minicomputer. Principles of hardware and software development are stressed.
Corp. The case involved U.K. rights to Bayer's famous trademark—a cross within a circle with the word "Bayer" written vertically and horizontally through it. It has become closely asso ciated with aspirin, which Bayer dis covered and marketed under its Bayer Cross trademark. Sterling-Winthrop acquired the right to the Bayer Cross trademark for the U.S., the U.K., and other countries during World War I. Farbenfabriken Bayer has since spent undisclosed millions in court and legal costs to win the trademark back. So far it has been successful only in the U.K. and in some small countries. It is par ticularly painful for the company be cause its name is an integral part of the trademark. International registration of a trade name or trademark is made either by direct and independent registration in each country where registration is de sired, or through the United Interna tional Bureaus for the Protection of In tellectual Property (BIRPI). Twentytwo countries are members of the socalled Madrid Convention, which means that an individual or a company may register a tradename in all the partici pating countries by a single registration with BIRPI, headquartered in Geneva. In addition, most countries (about 80), including all of those belonging to the Madrid Convention, belong to the Paris Union. By mutual agreement, these ac cept the "prior rights" to a registration in any member country if a national registration in any of the other coun tries is made within six months of the original registration. There are 34 classes of products and eight classes of services recognized in the International Classification used by all European countries, including the U.K. By contrast, the U.S. list com prises 103 classes. To facilitate interna tional filing of the tradenames and trademarks, the U.S. Patent Office two years ago began listing the International Classification equivalents beside the appropriate U.S. numbers. For Dr. Aries, thinking up tradenames is both a hobby and a business. "It's like a game of poker or roulette," he says. "I think hard about what the other guy might come up with and then try to beat him to it. But I also regard a good and imaginative name as an important in dustrial property. To misquote the line of that famous song, Ά good name is hard to find.' " In the May 5 issue of the Journal de Monaco, the official quarterly publica tion of the Principality of Monaco (one of the 22 Madrid Convention signa tories), equivalent to the U.S. Federal Register, there are more than 75 trade names published that Dr. Aries and Prochim registered. These names range from Aric, a play on Dr. Aries' own name, for specific chemicals that could be used as antiparasitic agents in veterinary medicine as well as for plant protection, to Zexxon. Each name is registered under several of the Interna
tional Classification numbers. For in stance, Aric is registered under Class 1 (chemical products), Class 5 (pharma ceuticals, weed killers, etc.), and Class 42 (miscellaneous general services). In most of the names that Dr. Aries coins, his sense of humor shows through. He points with a grin to Trustbustexxon— an outright reference to Jersey Stan dard's original reason for seeking a new tradename—and Naderexxon, which is a bow to Ralph Nader. Between them, Dr. Aries and Prochim claim to have filed more than 100 trade names around the word "Exxon." On Jan. 3 this year, Prochim registered in Monaco the names Exxon, Exxtra, and Super Exxon, claiming to beat by one day the filing date of these same names in Berne, Switzerland, by Esso Switzer land, a Jersey Standard subsidiary. Pro chim had until July 3 this year to regis ter the names internationally, a move that had already been initiated. Dr. Aries argues that Jersey Standard has lost the rights to use Exxon in many instances, even though it has registered the name, together with a large number of reserve tradenames, itself or through its European affiliates in France, West Germany, Italy, Switzerland, and else where. The reason, he says, is that the company hasn't used the names for a commercial product or service since it registered them in 1967. "The days when an individual or company can stockpile tradenames are long past," he says. "A registered name loses its viability if it isn't used within a specified time after the date of filing." The viability time span varies from country to country. For example, in France and West Germany, it is five years, in Italy and Switzerland, three. "I can claim to have already put Έχχοη' to use," Dr. Aries comments. "I have licensed a restaurant near Nice to use it. And in Germany, we are selling dog collars that incorporate pesticides of our own formulations under the brand name." If, as Dr. Aries and Prochim main tain, they are on solid legal ground, it may take years to sort out the situation. Meanwhile, Dr. Aries continues to pur sue his hobby. "When I got wind of the fact that Pechiney and Ugine Kuhlmann were planning to merge, I thought up all the likely combinations for the new company's symbol for products and services," he reminisces. "I discarded PU (for Pechiney Ugine) since that word in many languages connotes a stink. Similarly, I figured that PUK (for Pechiney Ugine Kuhlmann) would be unlikely, being too similar to the slang word for upchucking. I figured that UP (for Ugine Pechiney) would be a winner. It would be a particularly good symbol for a stock market listing. So I registered UP. As it turns out, the final name settled on after the merger was Pechiney Ugine Kuhlmann, so in this case I lost out. But I still think that UP is a good name and it may prove to be a winner after all."
China possible market for Canadian potash Canadian economists, aware that politi cal factors are now less of a roadblock to trade between Canada and the Peo ple's Republic of China, are trying to evaluate China's potential as a future market for Canadian exports. According to one recently issued analysis, that po tential is modest at best. However, the impact on particular Canadian indus tries could be significant and one of those could well be Canadian potash. According to a report issued by the Canadian Economic Policy Committee, one of the groups sponsored by the Private Planning Association of Canada, whether or not Canadian potash finds a new and large export market in China depends largely on China's own policies regarding self-sufficiency in food. If China decides to remain self-sufficient in food, it will have to increase its con sumption of chemical fertilizer. Right now, according to the report "Canada's Trade with China: Patterns and Prospects," most of the fertilizer that China produces and imports is nitrogenous, because China's soil is most deficient in nitrogen. The authors of the report, Dr. Samuel P. S. Ho and Dr. Ralph W. Huenemann, give Canada very little chance to capture any of this trade. There is now a buyer's market in nitrogenous fertilizer and China currently is buying most of its fertilizer imports from Japan and west ern Europe. Of the $113 million worth of crude and manufactured nitrogenous fertilizer imported by China in 1969, Japan supplied 60%, Italy 20%, and West Germany 6%. However, Dr. Ho and Dr. Huene mann, who are associate professor and assistant professor, respectively, in the department of economics at the Uni versity of British Columbia, say that China's soil also lacks phosphorus and potassium. So far, the Chinese have paid little attention to these deficiencies. But, say the authors, if China wants to obtain the proper response from its fertilization program it will have to rectify these deficiencies. Thus, China's mix of fertilizer imports may shift to ward more phosphate and potash. Such a change, if it occurs, could open up a new export market for Canada. If this potash export market does de velop, Canada should be in a better position to exploit it now than it has been in the past. The reason: changing U.S. attitude toward trade with China following President Nixon's visit to Peking. Under the foreign assets control regulations of the U.S. Trading with the Enemy Act, even foreign corporations owned or controlled by U.S. residents are restricted in their trade with China, North Korea, and North Vietnam. These restrictions have had a greater impact on Canada than on any other nation because of the huge U.S. invest ment in Canada. July 10, 1972 C&EN
17
