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Occidental and Mexichem form ethylene cracker JV in Texas

Occidental Chemical Corporation (OxyChem; Los Angeles, Calif.; www.oxychem.com), a subsidiary of Occidental Petroleum Corporation and Mexichem, S.A.B. de C.V. (Tlalnepantla, Mexico; www.mexichem.com) have announced the formation of a 50/50 joint venture, Ingleside Ethylene LLC, to build an ethylene cracker with…

Bryan O’Toole becomes president of Bryan Steam LLC…

O’Toole Potier Mathews Waddle Drewes Bryan O’Toole becomes president of Bryan Steam LLC (Peru, Ind.), a manufacturer of boilers, replacing Tom May, who retired in July.   Edwin Reidel becomes business manager for North America for LemnaTec GmbH (Aachen, Germany),…

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Solvay to build large bicarbonate plant in Thailand, and more business news

Plant Watch Novozymes and Beta Renewables open advanced biofuels facility in Italy October 9, 2013 — Novozymes (Copenhagen, Denmark; www.novozymes.com), a producer of industrial enzymes, and Beta Renewables, opened what is said to be the world’s largest advanced biofuels facility,…

U.S. chemical production edged down in Sept.; production remains ahead year-over-year

According to the American Chemistry Council (ACC; Washington, D.C.; www.americanchemistry.com), the U.S. Chemical Production Regional Index (U.S. CPRI) edged down by 0.4% in September, following a revised 0.2% decline in August. During September, chemical production was lower in all seven…

Current Trends

Because the CE Plant Cost Index (CEPCI) is calculated using economic data sourced from the U.S. government, the preliminary August 2013 CEPCI numbers have been affected by the shutdown of the U.S. Federal Government that began on October 1. As…

Fluid dynamics book reviewed by TMTS’ McGowan

Fluid Dynamics and Scale-up in Process Engineering: Theory and Logic in Practice. By Frederick A. Zenz. Analogies in Matters of Science (AIMS), P.O. Box 49, Cold Spring, NY 10516. Web: pemmcorp.com. 2014. 560 pages. $199.99. Reviewed by Thomas McGowan, TMTS…

November Letters: Award for engineering students

Award for engineering students Applications are now open for National Engineers Week Foundation’s New Faces of Engineering – College Edition. This third annual event honors the best and brightest engineering students in the U.S. and beyond. Applications are available at…

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Clariant opens new innovation center in Frankfurt  

Clariant (Muttenz, Switzerland; www.clariant.com) is today officially opening its new €100-million Clariant Innovation Center (CIC) in Frankfurt am Main, Germany. The company’s new global hub for Research & Development (R&D) is based at the Industriepark Höchst. It will be the…

Chevron Phillips completes sale of polystyrene business

Chevron Phillips Chemical Company LLC (The Woodlands, Tex.; www.cpchem.com) has announced that it has finalized the sale to Grand Astor Limited of Chevron Phillips Chemical’s affiliate company Chevron Phillips Chemical (China) Co. Ltd., which owns a polystyrene plant located in…

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Clariant plans to divest Leather Services Business to Stahl  

Clariant (Muttenz, Switzerland; www.clariant.com) plans to sell its Leather Services business to Stahl Holdings B.V. (Waalwijk, the Netherlands; www.stahl.com), which is majority-owned by Wendel Group. Stahl is a Dutch company providing high quality chemicals, dyes and coatings for leather and…