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It doesn’t seem like a big problem now. In fact, it didn’t seem like a big problem then, but way back in the 1980s, Richard Wilkey was looking for a new type of coating. One that would extend the life of the lawnmower blades of his Wisconsin based firm, Fisher Barton.

To do this he teamed up with Frank Worzala, then a professor of metallurgical and mineral engineering, and Worzala’s master’s student, Bill Lenling. Together they developed a process called Thermal Spray coating in which particles of a material are sprayed onto a surface at such a high velocity that the particles essentially melt and spread evenly across the surface.

This new coating dramatically improved the wear, oxidation and corrosion resistance; electrical conduction/insulation and biocompatibility of products in such industries as aerospace, electronics, food processing, biomedical and energy. In fact the project was so successful that it is now managed as Thermal Spray Technologies, with Lenling as its president.

This may not seem like a major scientific breakthrough or a great help to society, even if the processing plant does provide jobs for 145 people. But what it does show is the importance of an idea and the commitment to back it up with time and money.

Today, the world has greater worries than the durability of lawnmower blades. With a population expected to reach 12.6 billion people by the end of the century, the planet is short of resources, and when it comes to precious metals, the world is desperate for them all. That is what makes them so precious.

The platinum problem.

Just a few hundred tonnes of platinum are mined each year from naturally occurring sources, the rest is produced from a dirty by-product of nickel and copper processing, mostly from Africa.

It has good resistance to corrosion even at high temperatures, yet allows the transmission of an electric current, so it is often used in products such as pacemakers, solar cells and electrodes, as well as drugs, oxygen sensors and spark plugs.

As a valuable catalyst, around half of the world’s annual platinum production is used to control vehicle emissions in catalytic converters.

Demand for platinum is so high, that during the economic meltdown in 2008, its value rose to nearly US$70. Current values are a more reasonable US$41 per gram, but still high enough to be a burden to us all.

The platinum solution.

Researchers at the University of Alabama have developed a new electrode material called NanoCOT, which they claim has many of the same electrical properties as platinum, and yet costs half the price to make from a much cleaner process.

The secret to NanoCOT’s low price is that it is made up plentiful elements of carbon, oxygen and titanium, while the new material’s nanostructure allows for customisation and increased surface area.

Whilst this new product is still trying to find its feet in a commercial world, it does show the near-limitless possibilities that chemical engineering can provide.

You can’t afford gold plated bath taps today, but your children may have NanoCOT platinum plated ones tomorrow.

Sustainability and Progress.

This is a perfect example of chemical engineers responding to the challenges of resource depletion. Thirty years ago, a small piece of research helped to solve problems in getting the grass cut. In 2015, in Alabama they may have found a replacement for platinum. What links these two developments is the desire for progress and sustainability.

The world is able to have both, but only by embracing a new way of thinking. The commercial world is too often short-sighted, wanting a quick return on investment, despite the fact that the profit on well demonstrated products and process technologies based on good science are outstanding. The commercial world needs to wake up to what the chemical industry has to offer, how it can generate wealth and at the same time save the world.

So how can the chemical industry save the world? – Research.

Over recent years there has been steady growth in the chemical industry.  This is particularly true in the United States, where industrial production grew by 3.2% during the third quarter of 2014. This is in comparison to developments in the EU, where the recovery process after the trauma of 2008 has been slow. Meanwhile, the prospects of emerging Asian economies in this sector remain unclear.

The production growth in the United States will largely be supported by two key sectors, the automotive and construction industries. Car sales continued to improve last year (up a further 1.4% in 2014), together with household consumption, whilst the construction sector also showed an increase in both prices and the volume of construction, although they have yet to surpass pre-crisis levels. Thus the U.S. represents a suitable region for investment, as it matches home market growth with price competitiveness in production costs.

These American trends have been matched worldwide by growth in the transport sector, a key area for the chemicals industry. This is in part due to the large amount of restructuring that has been undertaken over the last few years.  This has contributed significantly to the recovery in demand for freight transport, which in turn has aided trade.

Only in Europe has the transportation industry suffered, this is as a result of the Russian embargo and strong competition between low-cost airlines, driving prices down.

Generally, however, higher global growth and an expected increase in trade should positively impact even the slowest economies over time, making a bright outlook for the chemicals industry in 2015.