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Albemarle Expands South Haven API Production Site

June 27th, 2012

Expansion enables the company to advance its growing portfolio of custom products

BATON ROUGE, La., June 26, 2012 /PRNewswire/ – Albemarle Corporation (NYSE: ALB), a global developer, manufacturer and marketer of highly engineered specialty chemicals, announced today that its FDA-registered South Haven, Michigan site has expanded and upgraded its multi-product cGMP active pharmaceutical ingredient (API) manufacturing facility. Production using the new expanded capacity commenced on June 1, 2012.

This expansion is the latest in a series of projects at the South Haven site to increase capabilities and production throughput, meeting the increasing demand for both generic API products and custom manufacturing service portfolios. In the past two years, the number of custom API projects has more than doubled at the South Haven site. The investment matches the solids handling equipment with the reactor capacity and will enable the company to advance its growing portfolio of custom API products, several of which have progressed to late stage clinical development and pre-registration status.

Albemarle Fine Chemistry Services specializes in enabling its customers to go to market in an efficient and fully compliant manner by providing comprehensive process development and validation capabilities followed by seamless transition into commercial-scale production. Albemarle uses the Quality by Design (QbD) approach to establish manufacturing processes and then speed validated commercial products to market.

About Albemarle
Albemarle Corporation, headquartered in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, is a leading global developer, manufacturer, and marketer of highly-engineered specialty chemicals for consumer electronics, petroleum refining, utilities, packaging, construction, automotive/transportation, pharmaceuticals, crop protection, food-safety and custom chemistry services. The Company is committed to global sustainability and is advancing its eco-practices and solutions in its three business segments, Polymer Solutions, Catalysts and Fine Chemistry. Corporate Responsibility Magazine selected Albemarle to its prestigious “100 Best Corporate Citizens” list for 2010 and 2011. Albemarle employs approximately 4,000 people and serves customers in approximately 100 countries. Albemarle regularly posts information to www.albemarle.com, including notification of events, news, financial performance, investor presentations and webcasts, Regulation G reconciliations, SEC filings, and other information regarding the Company, its businesses and the markets we serve.

Albemarle’s Fine Chemistry Services (FCS) division is an innovative, full-service provider of fine chemicals to the world’s leading companies across the pharmaceutical, agrichemical, and specialty materials markets. Albemarle’s FCS division helps global customers complete hundreds of successful projects through a powerful combination of proven chemistry expertise, game-changing process development, high-quality custom manufacturing and exceptional service. From innovative R&D to commercial-scale production, Albemarle’s FCS division delivers the knowledge, experience, resources, creativity and service you need to move products to market faster and accelerate your business. To learn more about Albemarle’s FCS division, please visit www.albemarle.com/fcs.

Tags: albemarle, albemarle corporation, Eco-friendly flame retardant, Green Chemistry
Posted in Company Information, Eco-friendly flame retardant, Education, In the news, albemarle

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Albemarle Announces Plans to Exit Phosphorous Flame Retardants Business

May 17th, 2012

BATON ROUGE, La., May 17, 2012 /PRNewswire/ — In order to restructure its business portfolio and address underperforming assets, Albemarle Corporation (NYSE: ALB), a leader in the global specialty chemicals market, announced today that it plans to exit its existing phosphorous flame retardants business. Albemarle currently produces phosphorus flame retardants, part of its Polymer Solutions business segment, at its Avonmouth, United Kingdom and Nanjing, China manufacturing sites. The proposal to exit the business and cease operations at the Avonmouth, UK site is subject to consultation with its employees, which has begun. In addition, the process to cease operations at the Nanjing, China site has also begun.

The cash outlay related to the above proposals is expected to be in the range of $5 million to $15 million with payback in approximately one year. As a consequence of these plans, the company would expect to incur a one-time after-tax accounting charge in the range of $80 million to $95 million in the second quarter 2012, which would include costs such as severance, asset write-downs and closure costs. Once these actions are completed, including a restructuring program intended to eliminate costs allocated to the phosphorus business, annual earnings per share should improve by $0.10 to $0.15 per share in 2013.

“One of the fundamental drivers of Albemarle’s future growth is our ability to manage our business portfolio and show discipline in addressing underperforming assets or product lines. It has become clear that our current phosphorus business and product lines are not strategically aligned with Vision 2015’s growth plans,” commented Luke Kissam, Albemarle’s Chief Executive Officer. “We recognize the impact a proposed closure would have on our employees, their families and the communities where they live, and we will strive to minimize this impact,” added Kissam.

Subject to the conclusion of the consultation process in the UK, production at both facilities will cease upon completion of customer contracts.

“Safe Harbor” Statement under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995: Statements in this press release regarding Albemarle Corporation’s business that are not historical facts are “forward-looking statements” that involve risks and uncertainties. For a discussion of such risks and uncertainties, which could cause actual results to differ from those contained in the forward-looking statements, see “Risk Factors” in the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K.

SOURCE Albemarle Corporation

Tags: albemarle corporation, brominated compounds, Brominated Flame Retardants, Eco-friendly flame retardant, flame retardant, specialty chemicals
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Green Flame Retardants Featured in Specialty Chemicals Magazine

April 2nd, 2012

Dr. Kumar G. Kumar gave SCM in-depth performance data about Albemarle’s upcoming eco-friendly flame retardant, GreenArmor. The flame retardant will be the first of a line of environmentally preferred products released by Albemarle under their Earthwise division.

Researchers like Dr. Kumar have developed stable low molecular weight brominated polymers using readily available raw materials. These polymers have a wide range of properties that can be tailored to offer specific physical and flame retardant performance in any given resin system. GreenArmor is the first of this new generation polymers and has high bromine content, better FR efficiency, is melt-blendable and can be used in both thermoplastic and thermoset polymers. Polymers flame retarded with GreenArmor have excellent mechanical and electrical properties, offer better thermal and color stability and have excellent recyclability.

This isn’t Dr. Kumar’s first time presenting on GreenArmor, and for more details you can view slides from his BCC presentation here, or read Dr. Kumar’s study here.

Tags: Brominated Flame Retardants, earthwise, Eco-friendly flame retardant, flame retardant, polymer solutions, specialty chemicals
Posted in Brominated Flame Retardants, Company Information, Conferences, Eco-friendly flame retardant, GreenArmor, In the news, Sustainability, albemarle

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Carbon Dioxide Emissions, an Opportunity to Transform the Volume of CO2?

March 21st, 2012

Carbon dioxide (CO₂), which is released through the burning of gasoline and other fossil fuels, represents a significant threat to air quality and the environment.

However, some see reducing carbon dioxide emissions as an opportunity to transform the volume of CO₂ that affects our earth.

The U.S. Department of Energy recently announced six companies were selected to receive government and private funds for projects that develop processes to convert captured carbon dioxide (CO₂) emissions from industrial sources into useful products.

One of the proposed processes will transform CO₂ into polymers, a basic plastic compound, that can be used to make a wide range of products.

Novomer Inc. has teamed with Albemarle Corporation and Eastman Kodak Co. to use a new catalyst technology that permits carbon dioxide to react with petrochemicals and then create thermoplastic polymers. These polymers are the basis for a material that can be used to manufacture bottles, films, laminates, coatings on food and beverage cans, and in other wood and metal surface applications.

Capturing the carbon dioxide emitted through the consumption of fossil fuels and recycling it obviously reduces the CO₂ emissions in the environment and has a major impact on air quality in the vicinity.

Presently, carbon dioxide emissions from large power plants are captured and put in long-term storage underground, a process known as geologic sequestration.

Now, Novomer and its partners will use some of that CO₂ inexpensively and turn it into a raw material for production of consumer and industrial packaging.

According to Novomer’s CEO Jim Mahoney, “It would be a much better use of carbon dioxide to turn it into something a company can develop a business around, rather than relying on government subsidies to bury it.”

In announcing the six awards, U.S. Energy Secretary Steven Chu said, “These innovative projects convert carbon pollution from a climate threat to an economic resource.”

This exciting innovation in carbon dioxide processing will likely yield many new products and applications, such as the plastic bottles pictured here, starting next year.

Do you know of any other innovative programs related to Carbon Dioxide Emissions?

Tags: albemarle corporation, Brominated Flame Retardants, eco-friendly, Eco-friendly flame retardant, polymer solutions
Posted in Brominated Flame Retardants, Company Information, Eco-friendly flame retardant, Education, albemarle

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Green Future for Polyurethanes Industry Unveiled at UTECH Europe 2012

February 21st, 2012

LONDON & MAASTRICHT, The Netherlands, Feb 01, 2012 (BUSINESS WIRE) — A session titled ‘Green Chemistry,’ detailing the latest advances in sustainable manufacturing processes for key polyurethane raw materials, will open the technical programme of the prestigious UTECH Europe 2012 conference on Tuesday 17 April. The session comprises 12 papers which are expected to announce developments in the production of useful raw materials from natural and renewable resources from specialists working on several key technologies at research establishments throughout Europe, in the Middle East and in North America.

‘Green Chemistry’ is the first of 11 different sessions in the conference, which runs 17-19 April at the MECC in Maastricht, the Netherlands, alongside a major exhibition where more than 100 companies will be showcasing their latest offerings for the polyurethanes industry. This combination of a high-level conference – with more than 90 presentations, as detailed in the full programme available at http://www.utecheurope.eu – with a major exhibition gives the UTECH events a unique appeal: in just three days delegates and visitors can come up to speed in every significant area of technical and commercial development in this still fast-moving technology.

Of particular interest in the Green Chemistry session will be the two opening presentations from Bayer MaterialScience detailing the latest state of play in their fascinating work converting waste carbon dioxide into useful polyurethane raw materials. Christoph Gurtler will present From Waste to Value: CO2-based Polyols, while colleague Hans-Georg Pirkl considers CO2-based Polyols: A Future New Product Class for the Flexible Foam Market? Erwin Honcoop of Purac will also discuss his company’s work in a paper titled Products Based on Renewable Materials with a Minimum Impact on CO2-Emission.

A further nine presentations in the session will highlight advances in other areas of ‘green chemistry,’ including the latest work from Green Urethanes Ltd of the UK in raising incorporation levels of renewably resourced polyols in flexible foam formulations to 100-percent, while other specialists will detail their latest developments using a wide range of natural and renewable resources.

Among these are Angela Smits of Croda who is presenting Bio-based Priplast Polyols for High-Performance Polyurethane Elastomers and a team from the Amirkabir University of Technology, Department Polymer Engineering in Tehran presenting From Aminolysis Product of PET Waste to Novel Biodegradable Polyurethanes, while Aleksander Prociak of Cracow University of Technology will look in depth at Polyurethane Foams and Composites Based on Renewable Raw Materials.

Jeff Rowlands of Green Urethanes will cover Expanding the Use of Natural Oil Polyols in Urethane Foam Formulations. Pietro Campaner of Cimteclab will deliver a paper on Innovative Bio-Based Aromatic Polyols: Polycard XFNTM. Marieke Smidt of DSM Bio-based Products & Services will discuss Sustainable Polyurethane Opportunities with Biosuccinium.

Ugis Cabulis of the Institute of Wood Chemistry in Latvia presents details of the EU’s Seventh Framework Programme project Forbioplast: Developing Bio-based polyurethane Foams, and Minh Ta Ton-That of the National Research Council of Canada will deliver a paper entitled New Biopolyols from Non-Food Grade and Renewable Resources. In addition, Bob Miller of DuPont Tate & Lyle Bio Products in the US will present details of the use of its bio-synthetic propanediol building block, in a paper titled Susterra(R) Propanediol — Evaluating the Structure-Property Relationship in CASE Applications.

Often described as the hidden polymer, polyurethanes are ever more widely used throughout manufacturing and construction industries today. Applications are as diverse as automotive, aerospace, building and construction, furniture and bedding, electrical and electro-technical, footwear and textiles, mining and offshore, pipes and pipelines, refrigeration and building insulation as well as specialist surgical and medical products.

The UTECH Europe 2012 exhibition and conference offers materials specialists from across all these industries the perfect opportunity to see the latest global advances in polyurethane technology including all the raw materials and processing equipment used in making these versatile polymers. Among more than 100 exhibitors are industry leaders Bayer, BASF, Dow, Huntsman, BorsodChem/Wanhua, Shell, Repsol, Baule, Momentive, Silcart and Evonik, processing equipment makers such as Cannon, Hennecke, Impianti OMS and Beamech Ltd, as well as systems houses, technical consultancies, and test laboratories.

In 2009, the last time the UTECH Europe event was held, almost 3,000 exhibition visitors and several hundred conference delegates came from more than 85 different countries worldwide. As the global industry celebrates 75 years of polyurethane technology in 2012, similar numbers are expected to travel to Maastricht for all the latest information on the key raw materials, such as diisocyanates, polyester and polyether polyols, as well as formulated systems and the key ancillary chemicals such as surfactants, catalysts and flame retardants.

Manufacturing technology innovations unveiled at the exhibition will include the latest mixing and dispensing machinery, equipment for reaction injection moulding as well as the cutting equipment needed for making products based on flexible and rigid foams, elastomers. More specialised companies, such as those supplying the test equipment used in the industry and detailed market research, will also join the event, making it a one-stop source for the whole of the polyurethanes industry.

Anyone wishing to attend the paid-for UTECH Europe conference and the exhibition can now register online at www.utecheurope.eu . Discounts are available on conference bookings made before 29 February 2012. Entrance to the exhibition is free to all visitors who pre-register and costs EUR25 on the day for unregistered visitors. A wealth of travel and accommodation information is available on the event website.

About UTECH Europe 2012:

Held at the MECC in Maastricht, where The Netherlands, Germany and Belgium meet, UTECH Europe 2012 is uniquely placed as the only truly international exhibition and conference for the polyurethanes industry. Unique to Europe is the sheer breadth of the applications of polyurethanes technology. From tiny medical devices to the roof insulation of the highest skyscrapers, polyurethane-based product applications are wide and varied. In 2009 UTECH attracted an audience of just under 3,000 decision makers from 85 countries and the sector is predicted to grow rapidly in the coming years. Website: www.utecheurope.eu Twitter: www.twitter.com/utecheurope Linked In Group: http://linkd.in/utooZo

Tags: albemarle corporation, brominated compounds, Brominated Flame Retardants, earthwise, Eco-friendly flame retardant, Green Chemistry, specialty chemicals, Sustainability
Posted in Company Information, Conferences, Eco-friendly flame retardant, Education, Junk Science, Products, Sustainability, albemarle

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Albemarle Improves Leading Liquid Curative, ETHACURE® 300

February 2nd, 2012

Easy-to-handle aromatic diamine curative recently modified to greatly reduce odor while retaining performance

BATON ROUGE, La., Jan. 30, 2012 /PRNewswire/ — Albemarle Corporation (NYSE: ALB) announced today that it has greatly reduced the odor of its ETHACURE 300 liquid aromatic diamine curative used in both hot and room-temperature polyurethane cast elastomers and sealants.

“This is an advancement that will considerably increase the utility of ETHACURE 300, especially in consumer market applications where odor is critical,” says Chris Knight, global business director of curatives and antioxidants. “Furthermore, we were able to maintain the high properties and performance characteristics of our safe and effective ETHACURE 300 diamine curative.”

Albemarle’s curatives business is part of the company’s polymer solutions business segment. For more information about ETHACURE curatives, please visit http://www.curatives.com/.

About Albemarle
Albemarle Corporation, headquartered in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, is a leading global developer, manufacturer, and marketer of highly-engineered specialty chemicals for consumer electronics, petroleum refining, utilities, packaging, construction, automotive/transportation, pharmaceuticals, crop protection, food-safety and custom chemistry services. The Company is committed to global sustainability and is advancing its eco-practices and solutions in its three business segments, Polymer Solutions, Catalysts and Fine Chemistry. Corporate Responsibility Magazine selected Albemarle to its prestigious “100 Best Corporate Citizens” list for 2010 and 2011. Albemarle employs approximately 4,000 people and serves customers in approximately 100 countries. Albemarle regularly posts information to http://www.albemarle.com/_, including notification of events, news, financial performance, investor presentations and webcasts, Regulation G reconciliations, SEC filings, and other information regarding the Company, its businesses and the markets we serve.

Tags: albemarle, albemarle corporation, Brominated Flame Retardants, Eco-friendly flame retardant, Green Chemistry, specialty chemicals
Posted in Company Information, Conferences, Eco-friendly flame retardant, Education, Packaging, albemarle

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Albemarle Expands Production Capabilities for Finished Polyolefin Catalysts at Its Baton Rouge Facility

January 25th, 2012

BATON ROUGE, La., Jan. 25, 2012 /PRNewswire/ – Albemarle Corporation (NYSE: ALB) successfully completed the latest expansion of its Process Development Center (PDC) in Baton Rouge, Louisiana by installing a new production train for finished polyolefin catalysts and a number of supporting auxiliaries.

“This new train will add to the capacity in our existing facilities at the PDC,” explains Amy Motto, vice president of Albemarle’s Performance Catalyst Solutions (PCS) division. “The increased capacity is needed to meet the growing demand for finished single site catalysts used in the polyolefin industry including Albemarle’s ActivCat® technology.”

“The project team deserves a lot of credit for completing this project on a highly expedited schedule,” said Jay Roberg, technical director for Albemarle’s PCS and Fine Chemicals divisions. “Not only did the team deliver the project safely, but we were able to produce high performance finished catalysts on specification from the very first batch.”

This expansion is the latest in a series of projects that Albemarle is undertaking to meet the growing demand for its metallocene/single site finished catalyst business. A separate production facility is also being constructed in Yeosu, Korea to help meet this demand.

About Performance Catalyst Solutions
In November 2011, Albemarle’s Polyolefin and Chemical Catalyst division, a segment of its Catalyst global business unit, was officially renamed Performance Catalyst Solutions to reinforce the division’s transition from supplying components, such as organometallics, to delivering high performance catalyst solutions through a finished catalyst product portfolio. The division is comprised of three business units: Polymer Catalysts, Chemical Catalyst, and Electronic Materials. Collectively, these businesses provide performance-based products and services that are used in the plastics, agricultural, and electronics industries.

About Albemarle
Albemarle Corporation, headquartered in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, is a leading global developer, manufacturer, and marketer of highly-engineered specialty chemicals for consumer electronics, petroleum refining, utilities, packaging, construction, automotive/transportation, pharmaceuticals, crop protection, food-safety and custom chemistry services. The Company is committed to global sustainability and is advancing its eco-practices and solutions in its three business segments, Polymer Solutions, Catalysts and Fine Chemistry. Corporate Responsibility Magazine selected Albemarle to its prestigious “100 Best Corporate Citizens” list for 2010 and 2011. Albemarle employs approximately 4,000 people and serves customers in approximately 100 countries. Albemarle regularly posts information to www.albemarle.com, including notification of events, news, financial performance, investor presentations and webcasts, Regulation G reconciliations, SEC filings, and other information regarding the Company, its businesses and the markets we serve.

Tags: albemarle, albemarle corporation, brominated compounds, Brominated Flame Retardants, earthwise, Green Chemistry, Sustainability
Posted in Brominated Flame Retardants, Company Information, Conferences, Eco-friendly flame retardant, Education, In the news, albemarle

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New Pollution Rules Will Benefit Business

January 17th, 2012

In regard to “Lisa Jackson’s Power Play” Review & Outlook, Dec. 22):

New air-quality standards will reduce emissions of mercury and other deadly toxics from power plants. Operators of coal-fired power plants claim new EPA standards will hurt our economy, but those claims are self-serving. Instead, listen to businesses not tied to the fossil fuel industry, and you’ll realize the opposite is true.

Bureau of Labor Statistics data show that for every $1 million invested in a construction project, 11 jobs are created. Under that formula, every $200 million invested in a coal-fired power plant to update its pollution controls will create 2,200 jobs.

Coal-fired power plants produce about half of all mercury and more than 75% of all acid-gas emissions. Reducing these toxics is expected to save up to 11,000 lives and avoid 540,000 lost work and school days due to health problems. This will prevent an estimated $90 billion in health costs annually—a benefit that all businesses can carry to their bottom lines.

Pollution is a drag on the economy and a liability for any business seeking to remain competitive.

Tags: Brominated Flame Retardants, Eco-friendly flame retardant, flame retardant, Green Chemistry, polymer solutions, Sustainability
Posted in Brominated Flame Retardants, Company Information, Eco-friendly flame retardant, Education, In the news, Sustainability, fire safety

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Green Polymer Chemistry Conference Takes Place in March 2012

December 26th, 2011

AMI’s 1st international conference on Green Chemistry in the polymer industry will take place from 20-22 March 2012 at the Maritim Hotel in Cologne, Germany. Green Polymer Chemistry 2012 provides a forum for environment and sustainability managers, business development professionals, chemical engineers, plastics manufacturers, researchers, and suppliers to the industry to debate the latest developments in producing conventional polymers from sustainable sources such as plants, waste and CO2. There is a welcome reception on the first evening followed by a 2-day programme of presentations.

Conventional plastics such as polyethylene, polypropylene, PET and nylon, have a well-established performance record in protecting and preserving food and water supplies worldwide, from high pressure pipes to thin film packaging. The global population is expanding rapidly and fossil fuel supplies are dwindling, so the polymer supply chain needs to find alternative feedstocks to be sustainable.

For more information, visit the AMI website here.

Tags: albemarle corporation, Brominated Flame Retardants, Eco-friendly flame retardant, Green Chemistry, polymer solutions
Posted in Brominated Flame Retardants, Eco-friendly flame retardant, European Flame Retardant Association, Green Chemistry, GreenArmor, In the news, Polyamide compounds, Sustainability

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Albemarle® and Louisiana State University Develop New Techniques in Flame Retardant and Synergist Analysis

November 29th, 2011

Visualization of key polymer additives in 3-D without damage to polymer or test sample allows for future advances in fire safety solutions

BATON ROUGE, La., Nov. 29, 2011 /PRNewswire via COMTEX/ –

A collaboration between researchers from Albemarle Corporation (NYSE: ALB), Louisiana State University (LSU), and the Center for Advanced Microstructures and Devices (CAMD) has led to innovative new methods that will increase 3-D visualization of flame retardant and synergist components using element specific X-ray tomography. This research shows that it is possible to visualize key polymer additives in 3-D without damage to the polymer or test sample.

Brominated flame retardants and synergists are important polymer additives for fire safety. The ever increasing demand for fire safety, lower cost products and greener chemistry in consumer products drives extensive research aimed at creating more efficient and green flame retardants. Dispersion of the additives in the polymer matrices is critical to their efficiency and use. The spectroscopic tools and mathematical methods developed in this collaboration allow researchers to study both the dispersion of brominated materials and synergists to develop more efficient and greener blends.

“Our collaboration with LSU has been very successful and has led to new insights benefiting polymer additives, especially brominated flame retardants and synergists,” says Joop de Rooij, Albemarle’s R&D director. “New tools developed in this collaboration allow us to more accurately study dispersion and address performance issues in real commercial flame retardant application. This effort enables Albemarle to maintain our technology leadership in this highly competitive field by adapting and developing new and advanced products faster than the competition.”

According to Professor Les Butler of LSU and CAMD, “Working with Albemarle has clearly been a good situation. We have learned a lot about practical polymer and imaging technology and with this knowledge we have been able to develop the novel and powerful visualization tools.”

The work is funded through a Grant Opportunity for Academic Liaison with Industry (GOALI) from the National Science Foundation. Principal investigators with Professor Butler are Professor Randall Hall of LSU, and Dr. Larry Simeral, Distinguished Advisor at Albemarle.

For more information, view Albemarle.com.

Tags: albemarle corporation, Brominated Flame Retardants, flame retardant, Green Chemistry, specialty chemicals
Posted in Automotive Flame Retardants, Brominated Flame Retardants, Company Information, Eco-friendly flame retardant, Education, Products, albemarle