Daily Chemical News Recommendation (Aug 29 2018)

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>> European benzene spot prices rangebound despite bullish oil

European benzene spot prices have been rangebound this week, failing to react to a significant rise in the oil complex.

The 5-30 day forward benzene spot price was last assessed Thursday at $870.50/mt CIF ARA, and has been trending in the range $867-$870.50/mt this week, seeing minimal changes.

This is in spite of front month ICE Brent crude price reaching $74.73/b on Thursday, up from $71.83/b last Friday.Prices for naphtha have also come up in line with crude, with the CIF NWE naphtha price assessed Thursday at $644.75/mt, up from $621.75/mt last Friday.

Benzene demand has been uninspiring in Europe, especially for prompt dates.An ongoing production issue at LyondellBasell and Covestro's propylene oxide/styrene monomer facility in Maasvlakte, the Netherlands continued to weigh on prompt demand.In other downstream markets, plant run rates remained high in the phenol and [More] 

 >> Microgrid adoption could accelerate in the US in coming years

Citing an increase in power outages, Silicon Valley manufacturing firm JSR Micro said Thursday it will install a microgrid system that can power its operations if the power grid fails, a solution that could proliferate in the coming years.

"The quality of our manufacturing, and therefore the reliability of our electricity supply, are fundamental to the success of our, and our customers', operations," Eric Johnson, president of JSR, said in a statement. "We're taking a major step in ensuring continuity of our electricity supply with the Bloom Energy microgrid," he said. 
The Bloom Energy microgrid will supply 1.1 MW of power as part of a system designed to provide 99.99% availability and enable JSR Micro to continue operations during grid outages, according to the release. The microgrid is expected to be operational by the end of 2018.

Based in Sunnyvale, California, Bloom provides grid-independent power for critical loads in data centers and manufacturing facilities with the use of natural gas-powered fuel cell systems. California ranks highest among US states by number of power outages, according to Bloom's statement. [More]