Plant Watch
BioBTX breaks ground on commercial-scale waste-to-aromatics plant
August 14, 2026 — BioBTX B.V. (Groningen, Netherlands; www.biobtx.com) is building the world’s first commercial-scale plant to convert mixed plastic waste into aromatic oil consisting of benzene, toluene and xylenes (BTX). The plant is expected to recycle about 20,000 metric tons per year (m.t./yr) of waste and produce around 10,000 m.t./yr of renewable aromatic oil and 8,000 m.t./yr of other sustainable products.
Lanxess to use hydrogen as fuel at iron oxide production facility
August 11, 2026 — Lanxess AG (Cologne, Germany; www.lanxess.com) will use hydrogen (instead of natural gas) to dry iron-oxide pigments at its site in Krefeld-Uerdingen, Germany, making the spray dryer one of the first large-scale industrial plants in Germany to use hydrogen as a fuel in continuous operation. Lanxess will reduce its carbon footprint by about 6,000 m.t./yr. The hydrogen is produced during chlorine electrolysis at the neighboring Covestro plant and transported directly to the Lanxess plant via a pipeline.
Sinopec commissions new unit at world’s largest single-site PVA production facility
August 7, 2026 — China Petroleum & Chemical Corporation (Sinopec; Beijing, China; www.sinopec.com) commissioned a specialty polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) resin facility with a production capacity of 50,000 m.t./yr at its subsidiary, Chongqing SVW Chemical Co. The new facility increases the site’s total PVA production capacity to 210,000 m.t./yr, making it the world’s largest single-site production base for high-end PVA.
Zeon completes bio-based butadiene demonstration facility at Tokuyama Plant
August 7, 2026 — Zeon Corp. (Tokyo, Japan; www.zeon.co.jp) completed construction of a bench-scale facility at its Tokuyama plant in Shunan City, Japan to demonstrate production of butadiene from plant-based ethanol. The facility is scheduled to begin full-scale operation in January 2027, ahead of achieving full process commercialization by 2034.
Linde to supply industrial gases to semiconductor-fab complex in Arizona
July 31, 2026 — Linde plc (Woking, U.K.; www.linde.com) was awarded a new agreement to support the expansion of a semiconductor manufacturing complex in Phoenix, Ariz. Linde will invest $1 billion to expand its existing onsite industrial-gases complex in Phoenix, making the site one of Linde’s largest investments for an electronics customer globally.
Mergers & Acquisitions
Thermo Fisher Scientific completes sale of its microbiology business
August 14, 2026 — Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. (Waltham, Mass.; www.thermofisher.com) has completed the sale of its microbiology business to European private-equity firm Astorg for approximately $1.075 billion. The microbiology business provides antimicrobial susceptibility testing and culture media solutions for clinical, pharmaceutical and food-safety testing. The business generated $645 million in revenue in 2025.
ENEOS Holdings to acquire TPC Group
August 7, 2026 — TPC Group (Houston, Texas; www.tpcgrp.com) entered into a definitive agreement to be acquired by ENEOS Holdings, Inc. (Tokyo, Japan; www.hd.eneos.co.jp). In connection with the acquisition, ENEOS will acquire TPC Group’s petrochemical operations in Houston, along with terminal operations in Port Neches, Tex. and Lake Charles, La. The transaction is expected to further strengthen ENEOS’ competitiveness in the petrochemical C4 value chain.
SABIC completes sale of thermoplastics business in the Americas and Europe
August 6, 2026 — The Saudi Basic Industries Corp. (SABIC; Riyadh, Saudi Arabia; www.sabic.com) completed the divestment of its Engineering Thermoplastics (ETP) business in the Americas and Europe to Mutares SE & Co. for an enterprise value of $450 million.
Shell sells Environmental Catalysts and Systems business to Lummus Technology
August 6, 2026 — Shell Catalysts & Technologies (Amsterdam, Netherlands; www.shell.com/ct) sold a number of intellectual-property assets relating to its Environmental Catalysts and Systems (ECS) business to Lummus Technology (Houston, Texas; www.lummustechnology.com). The ECS business provides advanced systems for emissions control for environmental applications across a broad range of industrial markets. Among its offerings are systems that are designed to help reduce nitrogen oxides (NOx) emissions.
Hexpol acquires Italian thermoplastics manufacturer Vipa Group
August 3, 2026 — Hexpol AB (Malmö, Sweden; www.hexpol.com) acquired Vipa Group (Ancarano, Italy), a developer and manufacturer of thermoplastic compounds with focus on the fast-growing wire and cable segment. The acquisition includes two production sites in Italy, as well as a research and development center. ■
Mary Page Bailey