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Business News: February 2024

Plant Watch Solenis to build new polyvinylamine production facility in Virginia January 12, 2024 — Solenis, LLC (Wilmington, Del.; www.solenis.com) will invest $193 million to expand production capacity of polyvinylamine (PVAm) in Suffolk, Va. The company will build a new…

2023 CEPCI updates: November (preliminary) and October (final)

The preliminary value for the CE Plant Cost Index (CEPCI) for November 2023 (most recent available) is down by a small margin from the previous month, continuing a string of monthly declines since June 2023. In November, small decreases were…

CPI Outlook for 2024

Following a strong year for the chemical process industries (CPI) in 2022, 2023 saw modest growth, with global industrial output rising only 0.6% and chemical production growth at about 0.3% [ 1]. Numerous factors contributed to the lower demand for…

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Business News: January 2024

Plant Watch Trinseo inaugurates new PMMA depolymerization plant in Italy December 7, 2023 — Trinseo (Berwyn, Pa.; www.trinseo.com) inaugurated a new polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA) depolymerization plant in Rho, Italy. This depolymerization operation will be designed to enable the efficient recycling…

Recently published books for the CPI: January 2024

The following is a selection of recently published books with potential relevance to various parts of the chemical process industries (CPI).  Process Design for Cryogenics. By Alexander Alekseev, Wiley-VCH Publishing, 2024, 384 pages, $160.00. Handbook of Construction Management for Instrumentation…

Q&A with CISA Industrial Control Systems Cybersecurity Lead Matt Rogers

Editor's note: The following responses were provided by Matthew Rogers, the Industrial Control System Cybersecurity Lead at the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA; www.cisa.gov), part of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (www.dhs.gov). The statements were provided in response…

2023 CEPCI updates: October (prelim.) and September (final)

The preliminary value for the CE Plant Cost Index (CEPCI) for October 2023 (most recent available) is lower than the previous month’s value, continuing a trend of lower monthly values that has been observed since May 2023. To arrive at…

Clariant shuts sunliquid bioethanol plant in Romania

Clariant AG (Muttenz, Switzerland; www.clariant.com), a sustainability-focused specialty chemical company, today announced its decision to shut down its sunliquid® bioethanol production in Podari, Romania, and to downsize related activities of the business line Biofuels & Derivatives in Germany (Straubing, Planegg…

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Business News: December 2023

Plant Watch Petrobras announces biorefining breakthrough at Riograndense refinery November 9, 2023 — Petróleo Brasileiro S.A. (Petrobras; Rio de Janeiro, Brazil; www.petrobras.com.br) has successfully processed 100% soybean oil in a fluid catalytic cracking (FCC) unit at its Riograndense petroleum refinery…

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Applying Location Factors for Conceptual Cost Estimation

A practical overview on how to use location factors, and some tips on when to use — or not use — them Often in the early stages of project development in the chemical process industries (CPI), the development team is…