Mobile Navigation

U.S. CPRI rises in October, ACC report says

The U.S. Chemical Production Regional Index (U.S. CPRI) rose by 0.2% in October, following flat growth in September and a 0.1% gain in August, according to the latest Weekly Chemistry and Economic Report from the American Chemistry Council (ACC; Washington,…

Clariant to acquire Kilfrost aircraft de-icing business in Europe

Clariant (Muttenz, Switzerland; www.clariant.com), a world leader in specialty chemicals, signed an agreement with Kilfrost Ltd. (Newcastle, U.K.; www.kilfrost.com) to acquire Kilfrost’s aircraft de-icing business in Europe. The transaction is subject to regulatory approvals and conditional upon merger clearance.

Current Economic Trends

The preliminary value for the September 2015 CE Plant Cost Index (CEPCI; the most recent available) once again fell compared to the previous month’s value, driven by declines in Equipment producer prices, as well as drops in the Buildings and…

Joule and Red Rock Biofuels announce merger plans

Joule Unlimited (Bedford, Mass.; www.jouleunlimited.com), the pioneer of liquid fuels from recycled CO2, and Red Rock Biofuels LLC (Fort Collins, Colo.; www.redrockbio.com), a leading developer of renewable jet and diesel fuel biorefineries, today announced their intent to merge. Red Rock…

Chemical equities up strongly in October, ACC report says

The S&P index for chemical companies rose strongly in October, by 15.0%, outpacing gains in the benchmark S&P 500 Index, which rose 8.3% in October. The numbers are included in the latest Weekly Chemistry and Economic Report from the American…

Oxiteno announces a new alkoxylation unit in Texas

Oxiteno (São Paulo, Brazil; www.oxiteno.com) a leader in the production of surfactants and specialty chemicals in Latin America, owned by Ultrapar multibusiness company, announced today the expansion of its operations in the U.S. The company is constructing a new alkoxylation…

CE Bookshelf: November 2015

  Handbook of Materials Failure Analysis, with Case Studies from the Chemicals, Concrete and Power Industries. Edited by Abdel Salam Hamdy Maklouf and Mahmood Aliofkhazraei, Butterworth-Heinemann, 2015, 470 pages, $150.00. Encyclopedia of Two-Phase Heat Transfer and Flow I: Fundamentals and…

Global CPRI rises to end third quarter, ACC report says

The American Chemistry Council’s (ACC; Washington, D.C.; www.americanchemistry.com) Global Chemical Production Regional Index (Global CPRI) ended the third quarter by rising 0.3% on a three-month-moving-average basis. The Global CPRI data are discussed in the ACC’s latest Weekly Chemistry and Economic…

DuPont opens cellulosic ethanol facility in Iowa

DuPont (Wilmington, Del.; www.dupont.com) celebrated the opening of its cellulosic biofuel facility in Nevada, Iowa, with a ceremony including Iowa Gov. Terry Brandstad and many other dignitaries. This biorefinery is the world’s largest cellulosic ethanol plant, with the capacity to…

Current Economic Trends

The preliminary value for the August 2015 CE Plant Cost Index (CEPCI; the most recent available) fell compared to the previous month’s value, driven by declines in the Equipment and Buildings subindices. The Construction Labor and Engineering & Supervision subindices…