Page 154 - CW E-Magazine (31-10-2023)

News from Abroad News from Abroad

BATTERY MATERIAL SAFETY CONCERNS

Zinnwald Lithium and Metso advance test work French study confi rms the negative effect of several

at German lithium plant UV fi lters on coral reefs

UK-based Zinnwald Lithium and sorting, otherwise known as the bene- Run-of-Mine to the battery-grade fi nal The French Agency for Food, Envi- environment. This enabled us to iden-
Finnish industrial machinery company, fi ciation process, for the plant.” product,” Mr. du Plessis added. “Deve- ronmental and Occupational Health tify the substances at risk for corals in
Metso, have announced progress in lopment and supply of state-of-the-art, (ANSES) has released a report that Guadeloupe, Martinique, Mayotte and
developing the benefi ciation plant con- Metso was engaged to assist Zinn- sustainable processes and equipment confi rms the negative impact of several Réunion,” explained Ms. Karen Burga,
cept for the integrated Zinnwald Lithium wald Lithium with its Defi nitive Feasi- for the critical minerals required for the substances on the health of coral reefs. coordinator of these activities.
Project located near Dresden, Ger- bility Study in early 2022. The two electric vehicle supply chain is an es- Half of the 53 screened substances,
many. This project, which is situated in companies have since been working on sential part of our minerals processing including several UV fi lters, may contri- As far as the UV fi lter category is
the heart of the European chemical and developing a successful benefi ciation expertise,” said Mr. Mikko Rantaharju, bute to their degradation, however the concerned, the report identifi ed three
automotive industries, is designed to process fl owsheet based on a complete Vice President, Hydrometallurgy at agency warns this number is very likely and metals). “The report shows that substances in particular as toxic for
supply battery-grade lithium hydroxide mineralogical study, batch, and locked Metso. to be underestimated. half of the substances assessed may corals: oxybenzone, octinoxate and octo-
(LiOH) to the battery sector. cycle tests. The design basis of the tests present risks for coral reefs and con- crylene. The agency has already recom-
considers the mixture of two distinctive Metso provides technology and ANSES looked at the impact of tribute to their degradation,” concluded mended a ban on use of octocrylene
Mr. Anton du Plessis, CEO, Zinn- lithium ore types, Alibite Granite and equipment for all ore types, including chemical substances present in consumer the agency, while warning that, in the in sunscreen products because of its
wald Lithium, said, “Achieving resili- Quartz Mica Greisen, potentially expan- the critical minerals required for the products such as sunscreens, detergents absence of available data, this number effects on the environment.
ence and sustainability for the electric ding the resource base considerably. energy transition. Metso’s solutions for or cosmetic products at the request of is very likely to be underestimated.
vehicle battery supply chain is essen- battery minerals cover the entire lithium, the French Government and used data The agency has recommended creat-
tial, including in Europe where over 30 “After the completion of the benefi - nickel and cobalt production chain – available from Guadeloupe, Martinique, To carry out the work, the French ing or strengthening the monitoring and
new gigafactories are planned by 2030. ciation pilot, we will start refi nement from the mine to battery materials and Réunion Island and Mayotte. agency relied on a study by the French surveillance of chemicals that have an
Our vision is to build a world-leading of the calcination and hydrometallur- black mass recycling – with project Biodiversity Agency and PatriNat, impact on coral reefs. It is also calling
integrated lithium hydroxide operation gical fl owsheet. We have partnered scopes ranging from equipment packages Of the hundred or so substances which lists chemicals likely to have toxic for the release of hazardous substances
to support this supply chain, adhering with Metso to develop and deliver this to plant deliveries. For high-end lithium- identifi ed as potentially toxic to corals, effects on corals. “We then cross-refe- to be limited at the source through the
to the highest environmental standards. project as a “one-stop shop” to reduce ion battery chemicals production, the agency was able to carry out a risk renced the danger thresholds applicable application of restrictions on the use of
We are therefore delighted with the the need for engagement with multiple Metso’s expertise covers the extraction assessment for around fi fty (including to corals for these substances with the chemicals or bans on their marketing
progress being made with Metso as we suppliers and to maximise in-house ex- of lithium from various lithium sources UV fi lters, hydrocarbons, pesticides concentration levels observed in the under regulations like REACH.
look to design the best possible particle pertise in the design of the plant from up to battery-grade lithium salts.
INNOVATION AWARDS
CATERING TO SEMICONDUCTORS
ICIS awards recognise leading chemical industry
EMD Electronics starts up speciality materials site in US
innovators
EMD Electronics, the electronics so is our commitment to purposefully
business of German chemicals group, expand our capacities and services in The ‘ICIS Innovation Awards 2023’ SME: Viridis Chemical Company – SME: Botanical Solution Inc. –
Merck in the US and Canada, has the immediate vicinity of our custo- were presented to winning companies Commercial scale bio-based ethyl Growing & extracting from plants
opened its new factory in Chandler, mers,” said Mr. Kai Beckmann, Mem- across fi ve categories at an event organi- acetate with lower GHG emissions. in-the-lab to produce new fungicides
Arizona, USA. ber of the Executive Board of Merck, sed in London on October 17. Judges  Best digital innovation from a large for agriculture and QS-21 vaccine
and CEO Electronics. “We are excited from BASF, Barentz, NNFCC, Arkema, company (joint winners): Evonik adjuvants for human health.
The factory features a 75,000-square- about the growth trajectory of our CEFIC and ICIS looked through over 54 Operations Gmbh – Coatino Defect
foot building that doubles the com- Delivery Systems & Services business, individual entries for the award categories. Detection – Quantifying coating de- ICIS Chemical Business Deputy
pany’s manufacturing capacity in the US and proud to open a new site in Arizona fects by using advanced image recog- Editor, Mr. Will Beacham, who chairs the
to produce equipment for its Delivery and strengthen our presence in this The categories and winners are: nition methods; and Dow – Paint judging panel, said, “With the chemical
Systems & Services (DS&S) business, tor equipment and services business, premier destination for semiconductor  Best product innovation from a Vision: Shaping the modern digital industry under unprecedented pressure
which provides high-quality delivery which has become a key growth driver production,” he added. large company and overall winner: lab for paint formulation. to transform for a low carbon future,
and storage of speciality chemicals and thanks to a strong business pipeline. Arkema – Recycling of monomate-  Best process innovation from a large this year’s overall winner Arkema has
gases. The $39-mn investment in the The opening of the site is part of rial shoe in collaboration with foot- company: UPM Biochemicals – shown how a truly circular solution can
new site is the largest investment the “The global semiconductor mar- the “Level Up” growth programme wear group On. Future beyond fossils. be implemented through close partner-
company has made in its semiconduc- ket’s long-term outlook is strong and announced in late 2021.  Best product innovation from an  Best process innovation from an ship with downstream customers.”

154 Chemical Weekly October 31, 2023 Chemical Weekly October 31, 2023 155

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