Bio-based lubricants are environment-friendly and do not have any toxic effect on the ecosystem. They do not result in problems occurring from hydraulic leaks or injuries at work, resulting in reduced cost, better production, and profitability. Bio-based lubricants do not cause skin inflammation, which is generally caused by petroleum-based lubricants. Additionally, they have various advantages, such as the reduction in energy usage, reduction in labor cost, increased employee safety, improved environmental conditions, increased machine life, and increased production. With growing environmental concerns and increasing spills from petroleum-based lubricants, both consumers and governments across the world are focusing on using environmentally acceptable lubricants (EALs).

A major amount of caprolactam produced globally is used in manufacturing nylon 6 resins and fibers. Caprolactam is preferred to ω-aminocaproic acid for the manufacture of nylon 6, as it is easier to make and to purify. ε-caprolactam is the most common caprolactam isomer. Nylon 6 is known to be a tough and abrasion-resistant material, which possesses high tensile strength. This material is commonly available in the form of sheets. Some of the common applications of nylon 6 include industrial yarns, resins, films, textiles, and carpets, among others.  Some of the major producers of nylon 6 are BASF SE (Ultramid), RTP Company (ESD, RTP), Domo (DOMAMID), SABIC (THERMOCOMP, THERMOTUF, LUBRICOMP), and PolyOne (Nymax / Bergamid). Nylon 6 is witnessing a growing demand from the Asia-Pacific countries, owing to the increasing demand for nylon filament. Additionally, in the recent past, a significant amount of capacity was added for nylon 6 in this region. This is expected to continue in the future.

Fluorochemicals can be defined as the chemical compounds containing fluorine. The report focuses on the current trends and future growth opportunities of various types of fluorochemicals such as fluorocarbons, fluoroelastomers, fluoropolymers, inorganics, and others. The end use of fluorochemicals analyzed in the market are electrical & electronics, petrochemicals, chemicals, aerospace, and others. Moreover, application areas are also studied in the report. These include surfactants, propellants, aluminum production, refrigerant, automobile, agrochemicals, and others. Furthermore, the study evaluates the current market trends and suggests future growth opportunities by analyzing government regulations & policies. The report further covers the strategies adopted by the key players to sustain the competitive environment and increase their market share.

The report focuses on revenue generated from various caustic soda materials such as sodium and chlorine as well as applications in which caustic soda is used. Moreover, the report analyzes the current market trends of caustic soda in different regions and suggests the future growth opportunities by analyzing government regulations & policies, further increasing the consumer acceptance of caustic soda. The study includes Porter’s five forces analysis of the industry to determine the impact of suppliers, competitors, new entrants, substitutes, and buyers on the market growth. The key players in the global caustic soda market are adopting different strategies, such as product launch, expansion, collaboration, agreement, and acquisition to compete against each other in the global competitive market. The market players profiled in this report are caustic soda manufacturers, who serve the product globally and to end-user industries. The data pertaining to market players and their strategic moves are gathered through annual reports and press releases of respective companies, various blogs available on the website, and primary calls made to the experts in the industry.

The global market for rhizobium-based agricultural biofertilizer was valued at USD 256.8 million in 2018, and is projected to reach USD 417.5 million by 2024, witnessing a CAGR of 8.5% during the forecast period. It has been estimated that 40-250 kg of nitrogen per hectare per year is fixed by different legume crops by the microbial activities of rhizobium. In terms of product, rhizobium also accounts for the bulk of the bio-fertilizer production globally. The popular genera used as biofertilizers are Bradyrhizobium, Sinorhizobium, Azorhizobium, Mesorhizobium, and Allorhizobium. Some popular rhizobium-based products are Cell-Tech® (Novozymes), Nitragin Gold® (Novozymes), TagTeam® (Company-Novozymes), Mamezo® (Tokachi Federation of Agricultural Cooperatives), R-Processing Seeds® (Tokachi Federation of Agricultural Cooperatives), and Hyper Coating Seeds ® (Tokachi Federation of Agricultural Cooperatives), among others.

巴西养老金改革顺利推动：2019 年 10 月 22 日和 23 日，巴西参议院投票分别通过了养老金 改革基本文本和修正文本，于 2019 年 11 月正式生效，其中作为养老金改革有效措施之一的 新社保征收税率将于 2020 年 3 月 1 日生效。法案涉及上调最低退休年龄、增加个人缴纳年 限、限制遗属抚恤金和分段调整公民的社保征收税率等具体措施，将有望为巴西未来 10 年 节省公共支出 8550 亿雷亚尔（约合人民币 1.37 万亿元），并为农业提供有力的财政支撑， 促进巴西农业的持续性发展。

2008年美国次贷危机引发全球性金融危机和经济放缓，布油价格而从2008年7月140 美元/桶暴跌至12月的50美元/桶。

本周化工新材料指数跑赢创业板指，截至 2020 年 3 月 21 日，化工 新材料指数收 772 点，较上周的 784 点下跌 1.54%，跑赢同期创业 板指的下跌 5.69%。

氟聚物是化学工业发展到较高水平后的产物，聚四氟乙烯（PTFE）随着 各种新应用场景的发展成为产量最大、消费增长最快的氟聚物品种。从需 求端来看，随着全球 5G 市场的兴起，PTFE 消费将在高频覆铜板、射频 线缆、基站天线滤波器等领域迎来大幅增长；而特斯拉基于干电极技术的 超高镍正极材料锂电技术的推出，不仅带来锂电行业的技术变革，还将带 来 PTFE 粘结剂的巨大需求增量。此前制约中国材料行业进步的障碍主要 在于：先进材料的应用场景主要在发达国家。随着中国在 5G 领域和锂电 池领域迈向全球领先水平之后，中国企业在先进材料的开发应用上也拓宽 了市场空间。而同时与这两条主线密切相关的就是“塑料之王”—PTFE。

2008年美国次贷危机引发全球性金融危机和经济放缓，布油价格而从2008年7月140 美元/桶暴跌至12月的50美元/桶。

疫情在全球蔓延，或对国内化工品出口造成不小影响。截至北京时间 3 月 21 日，全球新冠肺炎确诊病例累计超过 27 万例，死亡病例超过 1.1 万例。其中，欧美疫情持续快速蔓延。国内目前已经形成完善的化工产 业配套，不少化工大宗基础原料，国内生产在全球产业链格局中占据重 要地位。在海外疫情持续发酵的背景下，出口需求的下滑或对不少化工 产品影响较大。