Solvay S.A. (Brussels, Belgium; www.solvay) and Ineos AG Rolle, Switzerland; www.ineos.com) have signed a Letter of Intent (LOI) to combine their European chlorvinyls activities in a proposed 50-50 joint venture (JV). The combination would form a polyvinyl chloride (PVC) producer…
The Camille and Henry Dreyfus Foundation (New York; www.dreyfus.org) has announced that R. Graham Cooks, the Henry Bohn Hass Distinguished Professor of Chemistry at Purdue University, is the recipient of the 2013 Dreyfus Prize in the Chemical Sciences, conferred this year in chemical…
Foster Wheeler AG (Zug, Switzerland; www.fwc.com) says that a subsidiary of its Global Engineering and Construction Group has been awarded a contract by OJSC Gazpromneft Moscow Refinery to provide front-end engineering design (FEED) and design documentation in accordance with Russian…
The Global Chemical Production Regional Index (Global CPRI) rose 0.1% in March, a subdued pace compared to January and February, according to the American Chemistry Council (ACC; Washington, D.C.; www.americanchemistry.com). The information on the Global CPRI was part of ACC’s…
Fluor Corp. (Irving, Tex.; www.fluor.com) announced today that it was awarded a contract by The Dow Chemical Company (Midland, Mich.; www.dow.com) to execute a significant portion of its U.S. Gulf Coast investments. Fluor’s scope includes the engineering, procurement and construction…
A variety of technologies, methods and best practices are available to obtain the lowest total cost of ownership for compressors used in plants throughout the chemical process industries (CPI). This article discusses several critical areas in which concerted effort can…
Plant Watch Neste Jacobs to expand enzyme production plant in Finland April 5, 2013 — Neste Jacobs Oy (Porvoo, Finland; www.nestejacobs.com) has signed a contract to expand an enzyme plant operated by Roal Oy (Rajamäki, Finland; www.roal.fi). Enzymes produced at…
Preliminary data for the February 2013 CE Plant Cost Index (CEPCI), which is the most recent available, indicate that capital equipment prices declined from January to February, by 0.2%. The current February 2013 preliminary Plant Cost Index stands at 4.4%…
Domtar (Montreal, Québec, Canada; www.domtar.com) has successfully started up a commercial-scale LignoBoost lignin separation plant at its Plymouth, North Carolina mill. This is the first commercial installation of a LignoBoost plant in the world and the technology is supplied by…
CB&I (The Woodlands, Tex.; www.cbi.com) has been awarded a contract by Shandong Wonfull Petrochemical Group Co. to provide the license and processing engineering design for a first-of-a-kind solid-acid alkylation unit to be located in China. The unit will be capable…