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The Use of Ozone in Chemical Process Industries (CPI) Applications

The industrial uses of onsite-generated ozone are continuously growing. This article outlines applications for ozone in the CPI and discusses the advantages and disadvantages of using this gaseous chemical Ozone is most commonly thought of as the stratospheric barrier to…

2018 CEPCI updates: August (prelim.) and July (final)

The preliminary value for the August 2018 CE Plant Cost Index (CEPCI; top; most recent available) increased  compared to the previous month’s value, continuing an upward trend that has been in place throughout 2018. The increase, however was driven by…

Quench tower installed at Shell petrochemicals complex in Pennsylvania

Shell Chemical Appalachia LLC (Houston, www.shell.us) today announced the successful installation of its quench tower – the largest piece of equipment at its Pennsylvania Petrochemicals Complex, currently under construction. The heavy lift of the quench tower, undertaken October 7, marked…

Non-phthalate plasticizer capacity to be added in 2019, Perstorp says

Perstorp (Malmö, Sweden; www.perstorp.com) announced that it will substantially expand the production capacity of its non-phthalate polyester plasticizer Pevalen in 2019. To accomplish this Perstorp has entered into a long-term production agreement with Italian company Alcoplast Srl. The new partnership…

2018 CEPCI Updates: July (prelim.) and June (final)

The preliminary value for the July 2018 CE Plant Cost Index (CEPCI; the most recent available) increased slightly compared to the previous month’s value, although, due to revisions in the values, the final June value was adjusted downward by a…

Automation cooperative agreement between Sartorius Stedim and Siemens

The Siemens technology group (Munich, Germany; www.siemens.com) and Sartorius Stedim Biotech (SSB; Aubagne, France; www.sartorius.com), a leading international supplier for the biopharmaceutical industry, have agreed on long-term cooperation in the area of automation. This agreement provides that Sartorius Stedim Biotech…

CPI Booklist for September 2018

The following list of recently published book titles shown here are relevant to professionals in various parts of the chemical process industries (CPI)  Biotechnology of Metals: Principles, Recovery Methods and Environmental Concerns, By K.A. Natarajan, Elsevier ScienceDirect, 2018, 502 pages,…

2018 CEPCI Updates: June (prelim.) and May (final)

The preliminary value for the June 2018 CE Plant Cost Index (CEPCI; most recent available) once again increased compared to the previous month’s value, continuing a string of monthly increases since the beginning of 2018. All four of the major…

U.S. specialty chemical markets end Q2 on a solid note, ACC says

The American Chemistry Council (ACC; Washington, D.C.; www.americanchemistry.com) reported that U.S. specialty chemicals market volumes ended the second quarter on a solid note, increasing 0.4 percent in June after a slightly revised 0.4 percent gain in May, and a 1.0…

Global chemical production expands during June, ACC says

Data collected and tabulated by the American Chemistry Council (ACC; Washington, D.C.; www.americanchemistry.com) show that the global chemical industry ended the second quarter on a good note. ACC’s Global Chemical Production Regional Index (Global CPRI) shows that global chemicals production…