(Oil Price) - The coronavirus pandemic has shortened Europe’s energy transition. What was initially perceived as a gradual movement towards fewer emissions and greener generation has now become an unprecedently ambitious endeavour – by the time Europe recovers from the COVID-triggered slump, its fuel demand will have already dropped to the point where some downstream assets are no longer needed. This process of refinery backsliding that ultimately leads to the closure of less-efficient assets, be it due to lower refining complexity, geographic remoteness or other institutional factors, has already started. In this article we will look at those refineries that have announced their shutting down in the upcoming years or are on the brink of doing so, providing an explanation as to what exactly has worn it away.
(Business Insider) - The farming industry will become more important than ever before in the next few decades.
The UN projects that the world's population will reach 9.7 billion by 2050, causing global agricultural production to rise 69% between 2010 and 2050. To meet this demand, farmers and agricultural companies are turning to the Internet of Things for analytics and greater production capabilities.
(Hellenic Shipping News) - The Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) has said it is determined to ensure availability of marine fuels that comply with the regulation by the International Maritime Organization (IMO) limiting the sulphur in the fuel oil used on board ships to 0.50 per cent m/m (mass by mass).
(Crop Life) - Predicting the future is rarely a safe activity. Look no further than last year. Anyone’s prognostications for 2020 were ripped to shreds by the appearance of COVID-19. That said, here is a prediction for the rest of 2021 and beyond: The industry will see continued interest in and the growth of biostimulants.
(Down to Earth) - The sulphur dioxide (SO2) emissions from a volcanic eruption in the Caribbean reached India April 16, 2021 sparking fear of increased pollution levels in the northern parts of the country and acid rain. Sulphur dioxide reacts with water to form sulphuric acid which can come down with rainfall.
“Sulphur dioxide (SO2) emissions from La Soufriere volcano eruption in the Caribbean have reached all the way to India,” tweeted the World Meteorological Organisation on April 16.
(Access Online Library Wiley) - Decreased atmospheric inputs of sulfur (S) to cropland and increasing removal with harvested crops necessitates a closer look at sulfur fertility management using the 4Rs. Considering the soil organic matter, percent sand, crop status, and sulfur fertilizer solubility are critical to meeting crop nutrition needs for optimal production.
(news.ca.uky.edu) - Sulfur found in biofuel feedstock could pose serious problems to the industry, because it causes pollution, is toxic to the catalyst and corrosive to biorefinery equipment. A national group of scientists and industry partners led by researchers at the University of Kentucky is studying ways to reduce sulfur levels in pine byproducts used to produce biofuels.
(USA Today) - President Joe Biden pledged to cut U.S. greenhouse gas pollution in half by 2030 at a virtual climate summit Thursday, outlining an aggressive target that would require sweeping changes to America's energy and transportation sectors.
The White House also said it would double its climate-related financing for low-income countries by 2024 and push the private sector to fund sustainable infrastructure, mitigation initiatives and other investments.
(Reuters) - U.S. crude oil stockpiles dropped more than expected as refiners increased activity heading into the summer driving season, the Energy Information Administration said on Wednesday. Crude inventories (USOILC=ECI) fell by 5.9 million barrels in the week to April 9 to 492.4 million barrels, compared with analysts' expectations in a Reuters poll for a 2.9 million-barrel drop.
(Mining Technology) - Nornickel plans to increase production at its nickel refinery in Finland due to the surging demand for battery raw materials in the European market. Mainly powered by renewable energy, the Harjavalta plant uses sulphuric acid leaching for nickel semi-products to enable hydrometallurgical production of high purity nickel.
(Crop Life) - Predicting the future is rarely a safe activity. Look no further than last year. Anyone's prognostications for 2020 were ripped to shreds by the appearance of COVID-19. That said, here is a prediction for the rest of 2021 and beyond: The industry will see continued interest in and the growth of biostimulants.
(Future Farming) - The United States allows India to use its AI technology in order to increase foodgrain production. India and the United States have launched the U.S. India Artificial Intelligence (USIAI) Initiative. This was announced by the Indo-U.S. Science and Technology Forum (IUSSTF), which is an is an autonomous bilateral organisation – jointly funded by the governments of India and the U.S. – that promotes science, technology, engineering and innovation through substantive interaction among government, academia and industry.
(AZO Nano) - The agricultural sector is dealing with enormous challenges such as rapid climatic changes, a decrease in soil fertility, macro and micronutrient deficiency, overuse of chemical fertilizers and pesticides, and heavy metal presence in the soil. However, the global population increase has subsequently escalated food demand. Nanotechnology has immensely contributed to sustainable agriculture by enhancing crop production and restoring and improving soil quality.
(gCaptain.com/Bloomberg) - For a glimpse of how quickly and unevenly economies are recovering from the pandemic, look no further than the market for shipping raw materials. Rising demand for everything from soybeans to steel has sent the cost of hauling dry goods soaring more than 50% this year. Manufacturing, which first picked up in China, is now accelerating elsewhere, and countries are stepping up commodity purchases to rebuild stockpiles after running them down during lockdowns that slowed port operations and hit economic activity globally.
(aip.scitation.org) - Quantum chemistry simulations of some industrially relevant molecules are reported, employing variational quantum algorithms for near-term quantum devices. The energies and dipole moments are calculated along the dissociation curves for lithium hydride (LiH), hydrogen sulfide, lithium hydrogen sulfide, and lithium sulfide. In all cases, we focus on the breaking of a single bond to obtain information about the stability of the molecular species being investigated.
(SCI-News) Using data from the Atacama Large Millimeter/Submillimeter Array (ALMA), astronomers from India have detected acetone, disulfur monoxide, and carbon monoxide in the atmosphere of Jupiter's moon Io. Io is the innermost of the four Galilean moons of Jupiter and the fourth-largest moon in our Solar System.
(Railway Age) - Taking into account last year's pandemic-related rail volume drop, "rail traffic has clearly rebounded" and "recent signs of strength in manufacturing are good signs for railroads, too," Association of American Railroads Senior Vice President John T. Gray noted in the AAR traffic report for March 2021 and the week ending April 3, 2021.
(Bloomberg) - OPEC+ expressed growing confidence in the global economic recovery by agreeing to increase oil production gradually in the coming months.
Before Thursday’s meeting, the cartel had been widely expected to maintain its cautious stance by rolling over the current supply cuts, just as it did last month. Yet Saudi Arabia and its allies showed they are more convinced now that fuel demand is on a firmer footing after a yearlong beating from the coronavirus.
(Agriculture.com) - If soybeans could talk, they’d tell you anti-pollution legislation works. These laws – first passed in the 1970s – squelched sulfur-containing acid rain fueled by industrial emissions. Applications of fertilizer containing sulfur (S) previously benefited only crops grown on sandy soils, as atmospheric S would leach through them.
(Bellona.org) - While hundreds of ship and tankers were blocked from passing through the Suez Canal by a stranded container ship, Russia’s Energy Ministry wasted no time reminding the world of the Northern Sea Route, the 6,000-kilometer sea artery joining Europe and Asia through the Arctic said to lop days off conventional cargo passages.
(MSN) - Exxon Mobil aims to become a leading producer of lithium for electric vehicle batteries through a drilling operation the oil giant is launching in Arkansas, the company announced Monday.
(The Wall Street Journal) - Exxon Mobil struck a nearly $60 billion agreement Wednesday to buy Pioneer Natural Resources in the largest oil-and-gas deal in two decades, tying the energy giant's future to fossil fuels.
Tessenderlo Kerley, Inc. held a celebratory groundbreaking to mark the commencement of construction on a new liquid fertilizer facility in Defiance, Ohio. The new 50,000-square-foot production facility will occupy 50 acres and is set to become operational in 2024. The facility will service the Eastern Great Lakes Region through its distribution partners and will include terminal loadouts for rail cars and tanker trucks.
(Reuters) - Ford Motor Co (F.N) said on Thursday it will buy lithium from ioneer Ltd's (INR.AX) Rhyolite Ridge mining project in Nevada and use the metal to build electric vehicle batteries in the United States.
(The Daily Scoop) - "The closing of this acquisition marks Koch's first substantial investment on the African continent," said Brad Razook, Executive VP of Koch Industries and CEO, Resources. "We are excited to add another nutrient to the KAES portfolio in collaboration with a world-class partner."
(The Wall Street Journal) - Political uncertainty is clouding prospects for new drilling in the Gulf of Mexico, but Shell PLC—the Gulf’s biggest producer—is still investing billions of dollars in its waters to pump oil for years to come.
(Elko Daily) - Alot has been happening with the Rhyolite Ridge lithium/boron project in recent months.
“On March 31, U.S. President Joe Biden announced plans to invoke the Defense Production Act to provide hundreds of millions in new subsidies for the mining of minerals critical for the wind, solar and electric vehicles industries.
(MSN) - Penflex Corporation recently became the newest member of The Sulphur Institute (TSI), an international, non-profit organization dedicated to advocating for the safe use of sulfur.
(Agri Business Global) - Koch Ag & Energy Solutions (Koch) and OCP have signed an agreement under which a Koch affiliate will acquire a 50% interest in Jorf Fertilizers Company III (JFC III) from OCP, the world's largest phosphate mining and leading global fertilizer group. When closed, the transaction will establish a 50/50 joint venture.
(Reuters) - Exxon Mobil Corp (XOM.N) on Tuesday reported a fourth-quarter profit of $8.87 billion, its largest in seven years, as the top U.S. oil producer benefited from strong energy prices.