Plastics

A Costa Mesa, CA-based startup biotechnology company is touting a commercially viable way to make a thermoplastic using captured methane emissions. It said it could eliminate the need for petroleum product-based plastics, which require a significant amount of natural gas to produce.

The U.S. plastics industry is expected to grow rapidly over the next decade, fueled by cheap and abundant shale natural gas that’s made it more competitive with overseas markets, according to a report by economists at the American Chemistry Council (ACC).

The U.S. plastics industry is expected to grow rapidly over the next decade, fueled by cheap and abundant shale natural gas that's made it more competitive with overseas markets, according to a report by economists at the American Chemistry Council.

The energy industry — thanks to advances in drilling and production techniques resulting in growing natural gas and oil supplies — can lift the U.S. economy out of its doldrums, but only if government regulation and permitting requirements don’t get in the way, speakers at a recent industry conference in Houston said.

From gas and power to clean air credits, bandwidth and plastics,you name it, and EnronOnline now sells it, but out of the plethoraof commodities now trading on the site worldwide, North Americannatural gas still tops the list of most actively traded.