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2025 CEPCI updates: July (prelim.) and June (final)

The preliminary value for the CE Plant Cost Index® (CEPCI) for July 2025 (most recent available) rose by a significant amount compared to the previous month’s value. The July 2025 value is the highest since September 2022. The uptick in…

Ketjen completes expansion of its ZSM-5 zeolite manufacturing facility in Texas

Ketjen Corporation (Houston, Tex.; www.ketjen.com) yesterday marked the official inauguration and ribbon-cutting of its newly expanded ZSM-5 manufacturing plant in Bayport, Texas. The ceremony was attended by a distinguished gathering of customers, local officials, and industry representatives all joining Ketjen…

Elkem announces proof-of-concept for recycling of high-consistency rubbers

Elkem ASA (Oslo, Norway; www.elkem.com), a world-leading provider of advanced silicon-based materials, announced the successful validation of a proof of concept for an innovative mechanical recycling process for high consistency rubbers (HCR). The innovation enables the recycling of crosslinked HCR…

Petrobras refinery tests co-processing of vegetable oil with traditional feedstock for SAF production

In the first week of September, Petrobras' (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil; www.petrobras.com.br) Henrique Lage Refinery (Revap), in São José dos Campos (SP), conducted tests for the production of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) from the co-processing of vegetable oil mixed with…

INEOS Inovyn announces mothballing of chloromethane production facility in France

INEOS Inovyn (London, U.K.; www.ineos.com) announced today that is has mothballed its chloromethane production facility in Tavaux, France. The decision reflects persistently weak market demand, regulatory challenges and increased operational and energy costs.  To help mitigate any impact to customers,…

China’s Sinopec appears at top spot in ICIS largest global chemical companies list

China-based Sinopec (Beijing; www.sinopecgroup.com) has become the world's largest chemical company in the newly released ICIS Top 100 Chemical Companies, an annual global ranking of the leading chemical producers. Sinopec has taken the top spot from Germany-based BASF (Ludwigshafen, www.basf.com)…

Sphera and Evonik launch automated lifecycle-assessment (LCA) process for chemical industry

Sphera (Chicago, Ill.; www.sphera.com), a leading provider of sustainability and operational risk management software, has partnered with Evonik (Essen, Germany; www.evonik.com), one of the world’s leading chemicals companies, to launch the first TÜV-certified (www.tuvsud.com) process for automated life cycle assessments…

Phillips 66 agrees to purchase remaining interest in WRB Refining LP

  Phillips 66 (Houston, Tex.; www.phillips66.com) announced today that it has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire the remaining 50% ownership interest in WRB Refining LP from subsidiaries of Cenovus Energy Inc. (Dublin, Ohio; www.cenovus.com) for total cash consideration…

U.S. chemical production slips in July, ACC says

U.S. chemical production fell by 0.4% in July, continuing a downward trend seen in five of the past seven months, according to the American Chemistry Council (ACC; Washington, D.C.; www.americanchemistry.com). “The industry is losing momentum,” said David Lan, ACC’s Director…

Ascend Elements produces recycled lithium carbonate from used Li-ion batteries at commercial scale

Ascend Elements (Covington, Ga.; www.ascendelements.com) achieved a significant milestone in domestic critical minerals recovery last month – producing >99% pure, recycled lithium carbonate (Li2CO3) from black mass for the first time at commercial scale. Black mass is a dark, powdery…